Striders Razzle Dazzle in Chicago

Chicago was the place to be this weekend with Striders travelling the 3,637miles to compete in one of the 6 biggest marathons in the world.  Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York City all form the Abbott World Marathon Majors series, which once completed, runners are not only added to the Hall of Fame but are also honoured with the 6 Star Medal.

Starting off their race weekend with a little shakeout of the legs and to indulge in the excitement of downtown Chicago Johnny Kinney (27.44), Leanne Campbell (27.44), Barbara McKechnie (29.20), Amanda Martin (29.22) and Martina Finn (29.28) completed the Abbott Chicago 5K on Saturday morning.  This course weaves through downtown Chicago taking runners on a journey past iconic Chicago landmarks.

Five striders then took to the start line of the 44th Bank of America Chicago Marathon on Sunday 9th October 2022.  The Bank of America Chicago Marathon is known for its flat and fast course. The race starts and finishes in Grant Park and travels through one of the world’s most magnificent cities. The course has produced four world records, several national records and countless personal bests. Runners enjoy the support of 1.7 million spectators as they run through 29 neighborhoods including four themed cheer zones on the course at the 8K marker, Mile 13.1, Mile 15 and Mile 26.  First over the line with a personal best of 3:30.30 was Jonny Kinney followed by Barbara McKechnie in 3:43.35 which was a personal best for her, Martina Finn in 4:22.02, Amanda Martin in 4:23.47 and Clare McIlveen 4:50.46 which was again a personal best.

Parkrun this week had an amazing 49 Striders take part in 15 Venues that included Castleblayney, Co Monaghan and Cranbrook Country Park, Devon.  The most popular location was Comber with 13 members enjoying their local timed run.  There were 19 members trying out a new location which included Neil Mearns who finished 3rd place over all at Castleblayney.  Personal Bests were recorded by Colin Verth (23.59) and Graeme Farrington (25.05) both at Comber along with Ben McCracken (22.23) at Stormont.  Michael Johnston (20.28) and Catherine Lavery (27.35) both achieved a course personal best at Comber.

Saturday 8th October lone Strider Colin Campbell made his way to Omagh to compete in Track 48-6 hour Challenge.  The Challenge see competitors run on a 400m (0.25 of a mile) track with one goal – Seeing how far you can go!  Not shy of a marathon or an Ultra, Colin completed 105 loops in the 6 hours which equated to just over marathon distance at 27 miles.  Not only a physical but also a massive mental accomplishment.

Saturday also saw the NI Masters Athletics Association (NIMAA) Cross Country Championships & Trials take place at Queens.  Qualifying for a place in the Male 60-64 category Norman Mawhinney ran his 8k in a fantastic time of 31:40.  Norman will now go on to represent Northern Ireland and compete against England, Scotland, Wales and Republic of Ireland in Dublin on Saturday 5th November and we wish him the best of legs.

Armagh 10 mile Road Race took place on Sunday from The Navan Centre.  Striders Liam Rodger and Gavin McDonnell took on the hilly yet fast course finishing in 1:43.32 and 1:37.07 retrospectively.

Not to be outdone by the adults, 7 of our Junior Striders were out in force on Sunday morning at Junior Parkrun.  Comber Parkrun being the location of choice for Ethan Lappin who finished in 2nd position in a time of 8.08 closely followed by brother Archie who took 3rd male finisher in a time of 8.52 which was also a personal best.  Next over the finish line with a personal best of 9.29 was Adam Haylett and 3rd female was Lydia Blair who crossed the line in a time of 13.40.  Bangor was the venue of choice for Willow Farrington this week where she was 1st Female finisher in a time of 8.37.  Over at Belfast Victoria saw Riley Hanna complete the 2k course in 7.38 followed by Lyla McNamara in 14.17.  Riley will be completing his 50th Parkrun next week at Bangor and we hope that as many Striders as possible will join him to celebrate a fantastic achievement.

Scrabo Striders is an all abilities club that offers 4 training nights along with 2 further, non coach led, social runs therefore offering something for everyone.  More information is available on our Website  or why not check out our Facebook page.