Stormont was painted purple this weekend for the penultimate Cross Country event of the season.

The club are currently sat at 10th in the XC League with over 30 Striders participating in 5 different races.

In Men’s Over 60 Category, the race was won by our very own Norman Mawhinney who finished in an outstanding 20.13.

For the Women’s, The first Strider over the line was Jenny Taylor (24.18). Following behind was Catherine Cauley (25.26) and Heather Baron (26.31).

Also running for Striders was Alison Shanks (27.02), Emma Stewart (29.10), Fiona McAvoy (29.25), Katy Lyttle (29.46), Rachel Bell (29.47), Amanda Martin (30.35), Sonya Summersgill (30.58), Martina Finn (32.00), Gillian Pearson (32.19), Karen Wilson (33.01), Louise Barnes (34.35), Emma McCracken (34.47), Janice McCartney (35.38), Ashlyn Allen (36.52), Elaine Johnston (37.45), Cheryl Alexander & Jenna Lavery (37.46) and Jennifer McAteer (44.24).

In the Men’s category, Norman Mawhinney led the Striders in with a time of 28.40, Followed by Gareth Davies (29.47), Matt Bell (29.49), Colin Harper (29.51), Graeme McGowan (30.51), Steven Hanna (36.12), Michael Williams (38.40), Paul Blair (41.04) and Chris Edwards (41.31).

Our Juniors did us proud in the Under 15 Category with Luke Braniff at 11.52. Close on his heels was Willow Farrington at 12.14, coming in after was Lauren Semple (12.35), Kris Williams (13.13), Bobby McGonigal (13.18) and Eva Coey (14.28).

Under 13s Boys saw Hamish Orr Stewart coming in at 7.50, followed by Joshua Bingham (8.01) and Daniel Barnes (9.16).

Last but not least was our trio of Under 13 Girls. Zara Johnston came in first in 8.46, then Keara Simpson (9.35) and Maddie Dynes (11.01).

As Stormont Parkrun is a weekly fixture to many of our striders, it was closed this week due to the XC. 41 of our members took to 11 different venues for their Parkrun fix, with Comber being the most popular.

24 members travelled to Comber to celebrate Matthew Halus 250th Parkrun, where he finished in 2nd place at a fantastic 18.41. Amanda Piesse also celebrated a milestone of 100 Parkruns. She came in at 30.23. Curtis McCaw was the first over the line at a phenomenal 17.32, and Martin Conroy (28.16) tried a new venue.

4 members travelled to Bangor for Cameron McEwan and Christine Kirkwood’s 25th celebrations. Cameron came in at 26.33 and Christine achieved a course PB at 39.34.

Plenty of Striders tried their hand at new venues with Michael Burgess (22.00) and Cheryl McCartney (43.12) at Fletcher Moss in Manchester, Lorraine Adams travelled to Leamington with a time off 35.21 and Georgia McGonigal achieved a PB of 30.22 at Sixmilewater.

9 Juniors took to 2 venues for Junior Parkrun. 6 Striders celebrated Liam Robinsons 50th Run and he crossed the line in 10.43. Following behind was Harriet Frazer who achieved a PB of 12.56 and Joshua Bingham who took 3rd Place in 8.58. Willow Farrington was first over the Line for her category in Bangor in 08.32, joined by Luke Braniff (8.26) and Heath Farrington (10.07).

In other events this week, there was Armagh 3k. We had two striders taking part - Norman Mawhinney who finished at 10.48 and also took first place in the M65 category and Heather Baron, who came in at 13.03.

Last month saw Joanne McCandless head to England to complete the iconic Winter Spine race in Derbyshire. She ran 46 miles over 18 hours in up to -10 temperatures. You have done the club proud, Joanne!

It was a busy Saturday for Norman Mawhinney. After his XC win at Stormont, he travelled to Belfast for the Northern Ireland Masters Athletics Association Awards Night. Another Trophy to add to his very long list, he picked up the Winter League M60 Winner  for 22/23. Congratulations Norman.

Our member of the month for January is our very own coach Sonya Summersgill. A very deserving recipient, she is not only our head coach, but she is a supportive and encouraging member of our club. Over the last few months, Sonya has been working hard in training sessions and in her own time , and as a result, she achieved her best 5K time since 2018 during Victoria Parkrun. Sonya is no stranger to hitting her PBs including her 10mile time. It has not gone unnoticed by both coaches and members. Congratulations Sonya!