The running weekend kicked off on Friday evening with Abi’s Butterfly Breeze 10K in Portaferry, raising funds for Bright Future; a counselling service for young people run by Inspire. The one loop course started at Portaferry GAC grounds before proceeding to the east coast of the Peninsula, offering some stunning scenery, and returning along Ballyblack Road.

First home of the thirty Striders in attendance was Martin Strachan in an impressive time of 37:53, followed by Andy Haylett, claiming a sub-40 in 39:49, and Daniel Clarke (41:16). Michael Johnston was next in 41:52, followed by Jonathan Winter (42:40) and Paul Blair (45:56). First lady Jenny Taylor crossed the line in 48:07, completing the sub-50 group. Coming in next in under 55 minutes were Ian Bailie, Matthew Harris, George McGonigal and second lady Fiona McAvoy (54:07).

Nicola McNamara (58:19) was next, with Carl Harris and Catherine Lavery also completing the course in under the hour. Gavin McDonnell crossed the line, closely followed by Emma Johnson then Judith Boyd and Sonya Summersgill who also finished together. Liam Rodger was next in, with Michele Ennis, Karen Clarke, Emma McCracken, Natasha Graham and Heath Graham all crossing the line before the clock hit 70 minutes.

Completing the Strider line-up were Cheryl Alexander, Donna Dugan, Norman Mawhinney, and another pair crossing the finish together in Sharon Gamble and Karen Thompson. Well done to all runners!

On Saturday, Norman Mawhinney travelled to Meath for the Ratoath AC Half Marathon at Fairyhouse Racecourse, incorporating the National Half Marathon Championships. Norman finished the 13.1 mile distance in 1:23:52, placing 5^th in his age category.

Sunday saw the 41^st Great North Run take place in Newcastle upon Thyne. The world-renowned Half Marathon this year had some 60,000 entrants; among them 14 Scrabo Striders making the journey to tackle the famous route.

First across the line for the club was Peter McGonigal in 1:40:29. Colin Campbell came next in 2:01:57, closely followed by Stephen Herron (2:02:38) and George Johnston (2:06:41). Ken Rodgers crossed the line in 2:25:29, followed by Judith Boyd and Sonya Summersgill once again finishing as a pair in 2:31:45. Another pair in next with Michele Ennis and Karen Farrelly finishing in 2:32:58, followed by Andy Le Gallez (2:52:28), Jennifer McAteer (2:58:55), Deborah Erskine (3:11:51), Alison Rodgers (3:27:36) and Rhonda Magowan (3:52:23). Congratulations to all who completed the distance in warm conditions.

As always, parkruns proved popular on Saturday with 63 club members running in 12 locations. Louise Barnes achieved her 50^th parkrun in Comber, and 3 other members claimed their 25^th milestone with Kathy Henderson in Comber, and Nicola Honeyman and Eva Alexander at Stormont. Personal Bests this week were achieved by Faye Alexander at Stormont, and Riley Hanna, Bill McGucken, Rory Braniff and Phoebe Coey in Bangor.

Junior Parkrun on Sunday saw Riley Hanna claim 3^rd place in Comber, joined by 5 other Striders Juniors including Finn and Ewan Creighton who both achieved PBs and Emma Creighton completing her first Parkrun. In Bangor, Willow Farrington came in 3^rd place, while PBs went to Rory Braniff and Phoebe Coey – hot on the heels of their senior Parkrun PBs the day before.

Scrabo Striders is an all-abilities running club offering training sessions 4 nights a week as well as 2 weekly social runs. Newbies are always welcome to come along and try a few sessions before deciding to join up - why not give it a go? More information on Facebook or scrabostriders.com.