A roaring success of a week for Striders!

Thursday Evening saw the start of the racing weekend with the Deep Riverrock Queens 5km. Almost 1,000 runners took part in the race which started at the Annadale embankment and finished at Stranmillis in Belfast.  The course consisted of a loop taking in both Ormeau and Kings Bridge. There was both a 3km race which was one and two thirds of the course followed by the 5km race with two- and three-quarter laps of the course. Representing the striders and taking on the 3km race was Riley Hanna who got a Personal Best with a time of 11:32.

Next came the 5km race and arriving in first place was Norman Mawhinney with a time of 17:52,  shortly followed by our incoming captain Andy Haylett with a time of 18:58. Hot on his heels was Matt Bell who got a Personal Best with a time of 19:14 and Colin Harper with a time of 19:42.  Taking it on for the ladies, Jenny Taylor got a new Personal Best finishing with a time of 22:01, closely followed by Rachel Bell with 23:07,  and Louise Barnes and Catherine Lavery finished with a time of 26:40 and 26:56. Fabulous running on a fast course, and well worth the pizza afterwards!!

On Friday night, there was the City of Lisburn 5km races, organised by Atlas Running and Jog Lisburn Running club. The race started at Bow Street Mall in Lisburn City Centre and consisted of three and a quarter loop around the one-way system in Lisburn City Centre.  Taking on this challenge was Daniel Clarke with a time of 19:34 and Claire McIlveen with a time of 26:35.

Saturday then took our striders on a road trip to Larne for the Annual 10 miler race. This fast and flat route started at the Town Park and finished at Larne Leisure Centre giving runners the opportunity to enjoy the scenic views of Northern Ireland’s iconic coastal route. Taking on and absolutely smashing the 10-mile race for the Striders was Martin Strachan, who came in with an amazing time of 59:53. Martin now holds the Club Record for the 10-mile, special congratulations Martin! He was closely followed by Norman Mawhinney with a time of 1:00:49. Norman also got a Personal Best and smashed through another age record for the third week in a row!   Colin Harper then followed with a Personal Best of 1:06:47, followed by Catherine Cauley with a time of 11:11:51. Jonathan Winter was next in with a time of 1:15:37. First for the ‘Grahamers’ was Coach Heath Graham who came in with a time of 1:32:24, a course Personal Best, followed by our incoming Vice Captain Lyndsey Blair with a time of 1:33:47. Karen Farrelly then flew in with a Personal Best of 1:39:59, followed by Michelle Ennis with a time of 1:44:18 and Emma Johnston at 1:44:40. Emma McCracken was right behind her with a time of 1:44:56. Keeping it in the family and next for the ‘Grahamers’ was Carol Graham with a Course Personal Best time of 1:52:01, matched by Natasha Graham who not only got a 10km Personal Best but also a 15km Personal Best and 10 mile Personal Best.  Jenna Lavery then followed with a time of 1:52:19. Some outstanding running from our Striders, congratulations to everyone!!!

Sunday then saw our striders take on the Omagh Half Marathon.  Omagh Half Marathon started in 1989 and has now grown to be one the largest half marathons in Northern Ireland. The race started and finished at Omagh Leisure Complex. Graeme McGowan achieved a Personal Best with a time of 1:37:02 followed by Jonathan Winter with a time of 1:41:23. Brilliant running gents!

Sunday also saw a new event on the horizon when a pack of striders descended on Belfast Zoo to run the ‘Mane Event’ 5km, organised by the Monkstown Spartans. It took our striders around the paths of Belfast zoo, taking in the 110 species which call our Zoo home.  Our striders could also enjoy the views of Cave Hill and Belfast Lough as they were tackling the well-known hills. This run was important as it supported two charities being NI hospice who provide specialist care to children and young people and to Panthera, which is devoted to the conservation of wild cats around the world. Well done to our striders for supporting this event and what a true privilege this would have been to run!

When our striders weren’t running their races, they were out at Saturday Park Run. The club had 40 participants running at 12 venues.  The most popular location was Bangor Parkrun which had 8 runners taking part. Kieran McNamara obtained a course Personal Best with a time of 21:26 followed by Mariead Curran  with a Course PB with a time of 43:09. At Comber, Curtis McCaw came in 1st finisher with a time of 18:27. Martina Finn and Fiona McAvoy also achieved Course Personal Bests at Valley Park Run, Newtownabbey. Matt and Rachel Bell took on Hillsborough Park Run for the first time and both Matt and Rachel came in as first male and first female with time of 19:33 and 23:32. Tina Boal also took on Antrim Parkrun for the first time and was first female with a time of 23:08. Brilliant running everyone!

Junior Park run took place on Sunday with twelve runners at Comber. Keara Simpson was second female finish with a time of 10:11 and Faye Alexander was third with a time of 11:36. Hamish Orr- Stewart was also 3rd Male finisher with a time of 9:30. Well done to our junior park run crew!!

Scrabo Striders meet every Monday to Thursday for club training with Social Runs on both Friday evenings and Sunday mornings. We also have a trail run for the crazy, I mean adventurous Sunday evening explorers. Details can be found on our Facebook page, and all are very much welcome.