Mawhinney’s Monumental Marrakesh Marathon

Sunday saw Strider Norman Mawhinney travel to the vibrant city of Marrakesh in Morocco for the 33rd Marrakesh Marathon. With an early start at 7.30am and colder than expected conditions, runners from around the world set off from the Menara Gardens on the 26.2 mile single-lap circuit through the city’s historic streets. Norman definitely made his mark during his first Marathon outing in the M65 age category, setting a new Irish Record with a time of 2:59:07, knocking almost 3 minutes off the previous record! Congratulations Norman on another phenomenal performance!

Saturday was the continuation of Born2Run’s Run Forest Run events, with the 5th race of the series being in Antrim Castle Gardens. With a 5K option taking in the picturesque Gardens, and a 10K extending the route out to the ruins of Shane’s Castle, the events comprised over 650 runners. Scrabo Striders were represented in the 5K by Willow Farrington, finishing in 23:21, and Debbie Osborne in 34:28. In the 10K, first Strider home was Graeme Farrington in 54:11, followed by Davy Gordon (58:00), Nicky Alexander-Locke (1:03:54) and Jennifer McAteer (1:14:01). Well done to all who participated!

Also on Saturday, travelling to Carnagh Forest Park for Run Armagh’s Beat the January Blues Marathon was lone Strider Colin Campbell. Colin completed 12 laps of scenic forest trails to finish the marathon distance in a time of 5:05.

The weekend wouldn’t be complete without parkruns, and this week saw 63 club members completing the weekly 5km timed run in 16 different venues.  PBs were recorded by Andy Haylett at Victoria Park in Belfast, as well as Matthew Halus on his first outing to Queen’s parkrun, and Louise Barnes as 3rd female at Dunleath Playing Fields. Congratulations also to Lexie Brown completing her first 5K parkrun, having been a regular at junior parkrun previously.

Junior Parkrun on Sunday saw Ethan Lappin take 2nd place overall in Comber, Keara Simpson first placed female, as well as Adam Haylett and Nathaniel Frazer recording new PBs. Also representing the club were Joshua Bingham, Olly Simpson, Lydia Blair and Hamish Orr-Stewart. Meanwhile in Bangor, Willow Farrington achieved a new PB. Well done all!

Scrabo Striders is an all-abilities running club based in Londonderry Park, Newtownards. With training sessions on Monday and Wednesday evenings offering runners of all ability levels the opportunity to train together in an inclusive and encouraging environment, as well as a regular 9-week Progression plan on Tuesday and Thursday evenings for runners building up to 10K distance, returning from injury, or wanting to improve their 10K performance. 3 social runs a week are also on offer – on Friday evening, Sunday morning for the longer miles, or Sunday evening for some trails. In addition to regular club-only races and events, there really is something on offer for everyone. New members are always welcome, and encouraged to come and try a few sessions before needing to sign up. Why not come along and see what you think? For more information visit scrabostriders.com or search Scrabo Striders on Facebook.