Amy

By Naomi Fleming

This weekend the club lost one of our own, Amy Forsythe.

Not just a Scrabo Strider alongside her mum and coach Nicola Forsythe, but a promising young runner who had just started her running journey having completed Run the Trails at Mountstewart followed by the Ards 5-mile challenge, and who was looking forward to others such as the Castlewellan Christmas Cracker and London Landmarks Half Marathon with both Nicola and her cousin Sara in April 2025.  Amy was very talented, she went line dancing, made handmade jewellery which she sold at market fairs and online, and helped with girl guides.   Amy also aspired to become a sports journalist, and having obtained a degree in Sports Journalism at Liverpool John Moores University, she volunteered for our Chronicle team. We welcomed her in with open arms and were delighted as she brought a set of fresh eyes, enthusiasm, and refreshing articles to read. She was also happy to help if anyone needed her to, and so it is no surprise she became a teaching assistant, passing on her knowledge to others.

The club feels her loss deeply, and as a member of the writer’s team and friend, we will miss her terribly, and we pass on our sincere condolences to the Forsythe family.

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On Wednesday night there was several striders who took part in the 2024 Run in the Dark, at Stormont.  Stormont is one of Run in the Dark’s flagship events with thousands of runners participating for an official chip time.  The run was created by Mark Pollock, who became paralysed following a fall from a window and aims to raise money for Collaborative Cures to source a cure for paralysis. In the 5k race Trevor Woodside was the first strider in with a time of 19:33 and was 4th overall, followed by Clare McIlveen with a time of 19:33 and Richard Bovill 30:03.  In the 10k, Jenny Taylor was the first strider in with a time of 48:28, followed by Craig Simpson 48:44 and Heather Barron 49:39. Well done everyone for participating in an event with a worthy cause.

On Saturday Norman Mawhinney took part in the British & Irish Masters International XC Championships at Billy Neils Country Park.  Norman completed the 6k in a time of 23:56. With this and exceptional running from his team they placed silver in the M65 category.

On Sunday we also had striders participate in the Moy Park Belfast 5k City Fun Run.  The run began at City Hall before taking our runners around the town and finishing near Cornmarket. Runners wore fancy dress to bring some Christmas spirit to the event. The first Strider in was Trevor Woodside with a time of 18:39. This was a Personal Best for him and he was 1st place in his age category, and 8th place overall. Following Trevor we had Clare McIlveen with a time of 26:43 and David Morton with a time of 29:43. Next in was Cooper Holden (35:23), Jasmine Holden (35:29) and Jennifer McAteer (36:01).

Park Run also took place on Saturday. We had 68 runners out at 12 venues. Comber proved to be the most popular location, with 27 club members taking part. Graeme McGowan got a Course PB with a time of 20:33. The following also got Personal Bests, Judith Boyd (23:30), Rebecca Robinson (23:40) and Gayle Malaugh (24:56). It was also Penelope Davis first park run!  At Ormeau Luke Braniff got a PB with aa time of 21:58. Paul Blair and Louise Barnes  took on Ecos park run for the first time with times of 23:34 and 25:35. At Mallow Castle Michael Burgess got a Personal Best on his first run with a time of 20:39. At Knockbracken, we had Willow Farrington come in 3rd female with a PB of 21:33. We also had Course Personal Bests from Sonya Summersgill (26:12) , Karen Wilson (27:11), Jenna Lavery (29:31) who also celebrated her 50th Parkrun!  Georgia McGonigal also got a PB with a time of 29:33, and Faye Alexander, a course PB with a time of 31:09. Harry McCready took on Stormont Park Run for the first time for his 10th Park Run. Course PB’s were also achieved by family members Calum and Sarah Luce.   At Crawfordsburn we had Martin Conroy and Glenn Campbell get Course PB’s with times of both 28:19 and 28:40. Brilliant running everyone.

Junior Park Run took place on Sunday. We had 12 runners out participating at 2 venues. As usual Comber was our most popular venue with 9 club members running there! Joshua Bingham got a Personal Best with a time of 8:44 and was 3rd finisher. Keara Simpson was 3rd Female in and Elijah Ferguson got a PB with a time of 9:46. Leo Williams also got half marathon distance with an 11th Park Run in a time of 19:04.Over at Waterworks Park Run Willow Farrington  got a course Personal Best with a time of 7:41 and was 2nd female.  Heath Farrington also got a course PB with a time of 9:05. Great running everyone.

Scrabo Striders meet every Monday – Thursday for coach led training sessions with a Trails run on Sunday evening. We also meet every Friday evening and Sunday morning for an all-abilities social run in Newtownards Town Centre – at the square. Coffee and buns are a must after.

Details can be found on our website.