Liam Runs Wild From Castle to Castle & It’s a Farewell to the Captains

The “We Run Wild Castle to Castle Trilogy” kicked off with the Part 1 event on Saturday 26th March in glorious sunshine. Part 1 of the Trilogy saw the sole strider, Liam Rodger starting at Glenarm Castle in the quaint coastal village of Glenarm and running towards the Antrim Hills Way en-route to Carrickfergus Castle. The route measures approximately 50k (31+miles) and covers a multitude of terrain including forest paths, trails and rural roads. The climbs which include Shane’s Hill at 312m resulted in Liam achieving a total assent in the region 3,100m. Due to the difficulty of the terrain, the event has a cut off time of 9 hours. Liam finished the event well inside the cut off in a time just over 8hrs. Congratulations Liam.

On Saturday morning, Dunleath Playing Fields, Downpatrick hosted its inaugural parkrun. Our very own Norman Mawhinney, the Parkrun ambassador was instrumental in setting up this parkrun. His knowledge of the course certainly counted with Norman crossing the line in 2nd place in a time of 18:48. Kathryn Chesney was also in attendance in Downpatrick, completing the new course in 29:53. In Bangor, Thomas Steele, Andy Haylett and Willow Farrington recorded Course PBs in 18:12, 19:37 and 24:35 respectively. Crawfordsburn was the destination for Lynn Sheldon to achieve a new Course PB in an excellent 25:40. In Comber, Curtis McCaw continued his running comeback with a 3rd place 19:07. Matthew Halus recorded a new Parkrun PB in 20:47. Congratulations to Hannah Magee recording her 25th Parkrun at Stormont.

A special mention to Willow Farrington who was first female finisher and went on to run a new Junior Parkrun PB on Sunday morning in an impressive 08:45 in Bangor (that’s 7.03 minute mile pace). Two PBs over 2 distances on consecutive days is an exceptional achievement. Congratulations to Lyla McNamara, also competing in Bangor. Well done to Eva Coey, finishing 2nd place female at Comber.

In the glorious sunshine on Sunday 27th March, the outgoing Captains comprising Chris Green & Barbara McKechnie hosted the Captains Race in the scenic Crawfordsburn Country Park. The captains set up a race circuit of approximately 3.7 miles through the various, trails and costal paths and were well supported with over 50 runners taking part as well as 16 volunteers all keen to support the club.

Prizes were up for grabs for the fastest 3 male and female runners. In the men’s section, James Lappin was victorious in an impressive 24:41 followed by 2nd place Norman Mawhinney in 24:55 and 3rd place Curtis McCaw in 25:15. In the ladies section, Catherine Cauley continued her impressive run of form coming in 1st place in 28:22. Andrea Thompson was the 2nd place lady in 34:18 with Judith Boyd finishing 3rd in 35:17. This was the first podium finish for Andrea and Judith. From all accounts, a very successful end to their captaincy enjoyed by all in attendance.

The captains gave the following reflection on their time:

Chris said: “Looking back on the last 12 months as captain of this great club it’s amazing how much has changed.  It was great to see people finally being able to take part in events that had been delayed for more than 18 months, running the roads again with spectators to cheer them on. At several events I enjoyed being a volunteer or spectator myself and being there to support and cheer on our runners, giving back a little of the fantastic support they have provided to me during my tenure. This support was no more evident than at our captains challenge race, with 54 runners and more than a dozen marshals and volunteers, it was a fitting end to the year.

One thing I underestimated as captain was how challenging it would be to select a member of the month each time given the quality of runners and people within the club. It was a wonderful experience to be able to recognise some phenomenal achievements and witness the surprise and pride from each recipient.

It has been a great honour to captain this club and I look forward to continuing to run with and support our amazing members. Best of luck to our new captains and VC’s for what I’m sure will be another fantastic year”.

Barbara said “It has been an honour to hold the position of Ladies Captain 2021-2022. The last year has been a challenging time for everyone but the Office Bearers, Committee and coaches have worked hard to keep the Club motivated and moving forward and it has been a pleasure to have been a small part of it. Being back attending races again as a Club is a real joy that everyone has really missed and it is wonderful to see our members back doing what they love!  Best wishes to our new Captains Amanda Martin and Paul Blair who I know will make amazing Captains”.

The club would like to congratulate Chris & Barbara on a successful captaincy in what has been another challenging year and with both the very best for the future.

Scrabo Striders meet Mondays & Wednesday for training sessions and meet on a Friday evening and Sunday morning for social runs and long runs, always followed with a cup of coffee and sometimes even a bun. Head over to  for more information or check out the Facebook page.