Striders Weekly Update 11/12/2024

Posted: 11/12/2024

Fun Run Club’s First organised race a Success!

Well Storm Daragh arrived on Friday night and with winds gusting at over 60mph, it is no wonder that the Park Runs were cancelled on Saturday!  Portrush Parkrun tried to hold out, but in the end with the waves covering the route they had no choice but to cancel!

Junior Park run went ahead on Sunday, with 6 runners out at Bangor Park Run. Joe Brown got a Course Personal Best with a time of 9:17 and Keara Simpson a time of 9:51 and was the third female in, well done Keara!

On Sunday we also had the Fun Run Clubs first organised 10k race up at Ormeau. With the council having to undertake tree maintenance the club had to think fast and come up with an alternative route around the park.  Congratulations to Chloe McEvoy, Sara McMaster, Kathryn Chesney, Martina Finn, Fiona McEvoy and Nicola Forsythe for taking part. Thank you also to our volunteers Kim and Mina who helped get everyone round the course safely.

A little further afield in Sunny Lanzarote, Colin Campbell completed his 87th Marathon in a time of 5:39:55. Andrea Cairns completed the Half in a time of 2:19:27. Brilliant running!

This week the club also announced our Run the Runways 2025, sponsored by Grant Estate agents on 9th May 2025. This is a brilliant club race, and the hospitality after is fabulous, and for all you nervous runners, including my good self, there are always plenty of Portaloo’s at the start line!

So, for the last two and a half years, I have been a member of the Chronicle Team for the Scrabo Striders. I have recorded hundreds of Personal Bests, Park Run milestones and reviewed a lot of Courses, both far and away!  I have also reported on an outstanding attendance at various park runs by our Club. But do you know what never gets discussed in these articles, the shoes that are on our feet whilst we are running! Now every runner has a personal choice of shoes, so I asked the Chronicle team what they thought was theirs!  So firstly, our Karen Warnock – our marathon runner loves a good Saucony shoe but also rotates between these and Brooks. Our Chairman George McGonigal also loves a pair of Brooks Ghost - of which he said he could do a full half and have no blisters! Jennifer loves Saucony endorphin Speeds and has had the 2 and 3 editions and when she hurt her foot at the Spar Craic during the year, it was not the shoes’ fault!  Continuing this theme our Male Club captain Michael Burgess also loves the Saucony shoes, endorphin pro or speeds 2 and 3, and has never had any issues! Finally our tech wizard Ian Frazer’s shoe of choice would be On Cloudflow, which he loves when he is able to get out running. But do you know what my favourite shoes are? Anything Asics! My first pair was a pair of Gel Excite 7’s and I loved them so much I bought another two pairs! I then bought Magic Speeds and Novablasts, both original and 2,3 and I would say soon to be 5! Nova’s have got me through everything from a 5k to the half marathons I completed this year!  Shoes are important whether you are going to be chasing Personal Bests or Personal goals, and it is good to find the right fit for you, whether it be by going to a running specialist and trying them on or like myself by trial an error!  I should also note other shoe brands are available, so try and find what’s right for you!

Another important aspect of running is the social aspect. When you join a running club, you expect to run but you don’t expect to make so many great friends. Whether it be a run with the girls with a coffee after, a walk and catchup or yoga at the Leisure Centre, I love it all!  These people would not have been in my life without the club, and I am so grateful for that.

And with that, I am now officially signing off! If you fancy having a go at writing articles, give George a shout, and if you fancy coming to an all-inclusive club which offers more than just running, we offer training on a Monday – Thursday with a social run on both Friday evening and Sunday morning with coffee after. We also have a trail run on Sunday evenings. Details to be found on our website, adios!

By Naomi Fleming

 

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