Last Sunday Norman Mawhinney journeyed to Tullamore in County Offaly to compete in the Irish National Masters Track and Field Championships.  Norman took gold in the 800m (2:45), 1500m (5:38) and 5000m (19:57) to become M65 Champion in the three distances.

Ballymena Runners hosted the Broughshane 5 Mile Road Race on Monday, with Mark Arnold completing the course in 40:03.

Much closer to home, four Striders took on North Down AC’s Crawfordsburn 5k Trail Race on Wednesday evening.  Anyone who has taken part in this event or the parkrun here will know there is no shortage of hills around the country park, making it a challenging run!  Another M65 victory went to Norman (20:26), followed by 1st junior male to cross the line, Luke Braniff (22:46).  Willow Farrington was 5th junior female (23:47), with her dad Graeme finishing in 27:15.

Another hilly event, Mallusk 5 Mile Road Race celebrated its 10-year anniversary on Friday evening.  In attendance were Norman Mawhinney (32:18 1st M65), Trevor Woodside (34:04), Simon Ferguson (37:13), Karen Collins (44:49), Clare McIlveen (49:30), Carli Lindgren (54:03), Victoria Graham (1:06:22) and Karen Thompson (1:16:03).

Also on Friday, Kirkistown racing circuit was the superb venue for this year’s Vice Captains’ Race, organised by VCs Gillian Pearson and Matt Bell.  Around 100 runners and volunteers enjoyed a brilliant evening of good weather, buns and craic, with a bit of running thrown in!  In the junior race, the start times were staggered according to age, with the youngest runners beginning first.  Heath Farrington took the checkered flag, finishing 8:05 after the race start.  Hamish Orr-Stewart was 2nd in 8:25, with Parker Clements hot on his heels in 8:30.  To give every competitor an equal chance of victory, the adult race began at 7pm, but the decision of when to actually cross the start line was up to each person!  The winner would be the Strider to cross the finish line closest to 8pm, and watches were covered to add to the challenge.  Strategies were varied, with some setting off straight away at 7pm and completing the 3 miles at a leisurely pace- one group of friends even managed to enjoy a picnic during the race!  Others delayed their start time, running at a faster pace to try and get in at 8.  Penny Hamilton had the honour of climbing to the top of the podium, having crossed the line at 7:59:55, a remarkable 5 seconds off target.  Rachel Bell (6 seconds) and Captain Lyndsey Blair (7 seconds) took 2nd and 3rd spots respectively.

On Saturday, Silent Valley in the Mourne Mountains was the beautiful location for Born2Run’s Dambusters races.  Harry McCready (23:37) was 5th junior male in the 5k, with his mum Sarah Luce (28:54) 2nd in the F45 category.  In the 10k race were Jonathan Keenan (55:15), Karen Wilson (59:02 3rd F45) and Alison Shanks (1:02:19), while Graeme McGowan (1:17:18) and Philip Adams (1:39:58) tackled the 10 mile event.

Making their parkrun debuts on Saturday morning were Emma Conroy (Comber) and Rory Rea (Bangor).  In Bangor, Karen Warnock celebrated her 25th parkrun, while Cheryl Mulholland set a new PB of 28:54.  Alyson Lee also achieved a PB of 28:13, and Eva Alexander a course PB (32:35), both at Comber.

Joshua Bingham reached a fantastic 50 junior parkruns on Sunday, which earns him an orange “ultra marathon” milestone wristband.  Among those celebrating with him at Comber were Willow Farrington (1st female), Heath Farrington (course PB 8:56), Elijah Ferguson (CPB 9:51) and Keara Simpson (3rd female).  Lyla McNamara also recorded a course PB of 11:58 in Bangor.

The end of July saw two more highly deserving Striders receive the Boyd Rice Solicitors’ Member of the Month award, as chosen by this year’s Captains Lyndsey Blair and Michael Burgess.  Nicola Forsythe has been in Scrabo Striders for 5 years, achieving plenty in that time whilst motivating and encouraging her friends at the club.  She regularly leads one of the pacing groups at training, has recently completed her Leader in Running Fitness qualification so that she can coach, and has been involved in organising several successful Ards Half Marathon events.  Nicola ran the Ards half this year in a brilliant course PB time of 2:37:05, as well as Sea2Sky 10k and Donaghadee 5k in July.  She is currently training hard for her first marathon in Dublin in October, and we wish her the very best for this!

Men’s choice Craig Simpson’s running journey began around a year ago when he completed Couch to 5k.  Within just 8 months he crossed the line at Belfast marathon in a remarkable 4:37:29!  He is a regular at races, running his first half marathon in Ards at the end of June, as well as Portaferry 10 mile relay and Donaghadee 5k in July.  He is friendly and enthusiastic, and has recently qualified as a coaching assistant for the club’s junior “Foundations” training.  Craig is currently working towards several 10ks and Tollymore Trail half marathon.

Visit www.scrabostriders.com or search on Facebook to find out more!

Michael Burgess