The 45th Mourne Mountain Marathon took place on Saturday and Sunday.  A test of navigation skills and endurance, teams of two compete in their choice of category, and are required to camp overnight and be self-sufficient.  Scrabo Strider Joanne McCandless, along with team mate Irene Lawless covered around 35km distance and 1800m of climbing in the two days.  They were on the move for 6:52:15 on day 1 and 5:27:05 on day 2, giving a total time of 12:19:20 and a vet time of 10:35:49.

On Sunday, 60 Striders attended The Moy Park Belfast Half Marathon.  With a route change in the earlier miles, the race began on Ormeau Embankment, taking in Ormeau Park, Ravenhill Road, Ormeau Road and the path along the River Lagan towards Albert Bridge.  Runners then joined the usual route which included Victoria Park, Sydenham Road, City Hall, Lower Falls and Botanic, before finishing on the Embankment.  The club results were as follows:

Martin Strachan 1:18:32 (course personal best), Andy Haylett 1:23:50 PB, Norman Mawhinney 1:25:51 1st M65, Matt Bell 1:28:19 CPB, Gareth Davies 1:29:19 PB, Colin Harper 1:32:00, James Cole-Boyle 1:32:32 PB, Graeme McGowan 1:33:04 PB, Niall McIver 1:34:06 PB, Abrar Hossain 1:34:38 CPB, Michael Johnston 1:35:11 PB, Jonathan Winter 1:39:06 CPB, Catherine Cauley 1:39:42, Jordan McIntyre 1:39:54, Simon Ferguson 1:40:38 PB, Michael Warke 1:42:00, Chris Burns 1:48:13, Steven Hanna 1:48:19 CPB, Colin Campbell 1:49:27, Craig Simpson 1:49:41 PB, Jenny Taylor 1:50:47, Lorna McMurray 1:53:22, Amanda Martin 1:53:41, Penny Hamilton 1:54:16 CPB, Rebecca Robinson 1:55:57, Karen Collins 1:56:54 PB, Rachel Bell 1:57:39, Curtis Adams 1:57:39 PB, Curtis McCosh 1:57:53 PB, Sarah Johnston 1:58:40, Emma Stewart 1:59:09 PB, Darren Johnston 1:59:18, Louise Barnes 1:59:19 PB, Maxine Dynes 1:59:30, Christopher Murdock 2:00:32, Richard Bovill 2:02:41, Emma Clements 2:05:47, Naomi Magowan 2:06:04 PB, Karen Farrelly 2:09:42 PB, Karen Warnock 2:13:14 PB, Georgia McGonigal 2:13:57, Peter McGonigal 2:13:58, Beverley McKee 2:14:25, Martina Finn 2:14:28, Fiona McAvoy 2:14:30, Lyndsey Blair 2:14:52, Dee Patterson 2:17:16, Karen Wilson 2:18:27, Gordon McEwan 2:24:18, Emma McCracken 2:31:28, Vanessa Mannis 2:31:30, Nicola Forsythe 2:31:56, Jasmine Holden 2:31:58, Elaine McGonigal 2:32:58, Moses Matovu 2:33:06, Hugh Lyons 2:33:12, Jenna Lavery 2:33:12, Naomi Fleming 2:49:40, John Potts 2:57:01, Victoria Graham 3:15:10.

Also on Sunday, the Cross-Country season began with TJ McElmeel Cup at Palace Demesne in Armagh.  Lyla McNamara was there with her family, and competed in the Under 9 Girls 500m race.  Well done Lyla!

58 Striders ran at 13 different parkruns on Saturday morning.  Most popular location was Stormont, where 25 members celebrated Chris Burns’ 50th event.  Heath Farrington and Karen Collins achieved course PBs, while young Elijah Ferguson recorded a new PB of 25:57!  Russell Armour (24:06) and Alyson Lee (26:49) crossed the line with PBs in Comber, while Matthew Halus took 3rd and David Morton finished with a CPB.  Jonathan Keenan also set a CPB in Castlewellan.  Sarah Luce was at Holyrood parkrun in Edinburgh, while Cheryl Macartney, Paul Blair and Michael Burgess ran at Glenfarne Wood in County Leitrim.  Gavin McDonnell continued to represent his club at his new local parkrun, Abingdon, just south of Oxford.

Six Striders ran at Comber junior parkrun on Sunday.  Willow Farrington’s 2nd place finish was also a CPB.  Also running were Joe Brown, Lydia Blair, Nathaniel Frazer, Harriet Frazer and Leo Williams.

Boyd Rice Solicitors sponsored Member of the Month for August was presented to Mark Halus.  A Strider for seven years and a coach for five, Mark has been a regular face at training and events.  He is very supportive, and also encourages new members into the club as a leader of the local Couch to 5k program.  Mark had great results at Run the Trails, Vice Captain’s race, Rathlin 10 mile and Last Strider Standing.  He is currently looking forward to celebrating 300 parkruns in the next few months.

Through the autumn and winter months, Scrabo Striders continue to offer coach led training sessions Monday to Thursday evenings, social runs Friday evening and Sunday morning, and a trail run on a Sunday evening.  There are many local parkruns, races and cross-country events where you will find plenty of our members running!  New members are welcome, even if you are new to running, and you can find out more on Facebook or at www.scrabostriders.com.

Michael Burgess