Striders take on London!

Sunday saw our Striders take on the London Marathon! The route has remained the same since it started back in 1981 and takes in many of the capitals iconic landmarks starting at Greenwich, passing the London Eye, Big Ben and Buckingham Palace before finishing at the Mall.

Six Striders completed the 26.2 miles, with the first in being Jonathan Winter with a time of 3:49:53. Following him was Peter Adair 3:54:03, Kieran McNamara 4:10:31, Emma Clements 4:17:59; Jill Long 4:26:40 and Kurtis Hunter 5:23:00. Well done everyone on what will be a memorable day for all!!

Saturday also saw the Striders compete in the NI and Ulster Relay Championship Relays!

Competing and running the two mile two loops of Victoria Park for the Men’s Masters were two teams.  Team A saw Thomas Steele, Norman Mawhinney, Colin Harper and Daniel Clarke come in at a combined time of 49:10.  Team B of Michael Johnston, George T McGonigal, Duncan McAllister, and Graeme McGowan finished with a total time of 56:15.

The Ladies Masters team of Barbara McKechnie, Catherine Cauley, Shannon Clegg and Jenny Taylor came in at a fabulous time of 55:57, and our Senior team of Rebecca Jordan , Andrea Thompson, Louise Barnes  and Martina Finn followed with an impressive time of 1:02:30. Well done to all who took part in what is a very competitive race!

We should also thank our support crew and volunteers for all their help & support on the day.

Following the Relays Barbara McKechnie was presented with the Ladies September Member of the Month by our Captain Amanda Martin, who came 2nd in her age category at the NI and Ulster Championship Bangor 10k last week! Barbara is getting ready to jet off for the Chicago Marathon 9th October and we wish her the best of luck.

Sunday also saw our Striders take place in the Mary Peters Festival of Running. Taking place at the Maze Long Kesh Site, there was a selection of races for all runners, including a 5k, 10k, Half Marathon, Full Marathon and a 20-mile race! The Marathon saw Norman Mawhinney finishing in 2nd place with a fabulous time of 3:01.26 and  Paul Blair completed the 20 miles in 3:02:41. The Half Marathon saw George McGonigal in with a brilliant time of 2:07:29. Six striders took part in the 5k race, with Michael Johnston coming in first with a time of 19:40 followed by Luke Braniff 21:06 Eva Coey 25:17,  Jennifer McAteer 34:34  and Sharon Gamble 42:24. Well done to all!!!

Saturday also meant Park Run!  We had 57 Club runners out taking part at 15 venues!

Comber was the most popular with 21 club members attending and 15 runners were out trying new venues!

Milestones to mention are Aimee Braniff, with her first ever Park Run at 38:20, Sharon Gamble with a new PB 41:00, and Eva Alexander with a new PB of 33:01. Eva Coey also completed her 25th Park Run, well done!  We also had 4 First timers at Narin Beach, Donegal! Neil Mearns was 1st in and Michael Burgess was 3rd , followed by Gavin McDonnell and Cheryl McCartney who also ran! This wasn’t our furthest Park Run mind you, with Mick Honeyman running in Majorca as part of the Park Run Challenge!!  We should also mention our 10 Course Personal Bests from Heath Graham, Elaine McGonigal, Matthew and Mark Halus, Andy Haylett, Faye Alexander, Cheryl Alexander, Matt Bell, Nicola Forsythe, and Conor McNamara.

Junior Park Run took place on Sunday morning and the Club had 11 participants running at 3 venues. Comber was the most popular venue with Ethan Lappin and Riley Hanna coming in 1st and 2nd place, Ethan had a time of 7:57 and Riley a time of 8:22. Congratulations to Lyla McNamara who also had a course PB of 13:09 at Larne.  Well done everyone!

Scrabo Striders meet Monday to Thursday for club training, with a Social Run every Friday evening and Sunday morning.  Everyone and all abilities welcome!