Striders Weekly Update 01/01/2025
The Festive week saw no let up in running activities, the first of which was the Christmas Day parkrun on offer at many locations across the province. With the Christmas Day 5k as much as a tradition as a turkey dinner for some, 52 Scrabo Striders visited 5 different venues. The most popular destination for club members was also the most popular overall, with Stormont seeing a record breaking 790 parkrunners. Notable achievements at Stormont were a 50th milestone for Elaine Johnston and a 25th for Ashlyn Allen, while Michael Burgess and Harry McCready recorded course PBs. Overall parkrun PBs were had in Comber by Mark Halus, Martin Conroy and Ellen Ross. In Bangor, Peter Doggart recorded a course PB while Colin Verth ran at Oriam parkrun for the first time.
On Boxing Day it was the CIYMS 5K fun run in Belmont Park organised by Orangegrove AC. This popular event raises money for the NI Hospice and Children’s Hospice and this year saw 230 runners take part, many in Christmas fancy dress. Luke Braniff led the Scrabo contingent with a time of 21:22, followed by Daniel Warke who completed the course in 24:25, with Chris Burns close behind at 24:35. Strong performances continued with Harry McCready (25:18), Mark Arnold (25:45) and Norman Mawhinney finishing in 26:03. Naomi Magowan crossed the line in 26:54, followed by Rory Braniff in 27:27. Sarah Luce came in at 27:57, with Catherine Lavery wrapping up her race in 29:14. Georgia McGonigal clocked in at 31:13, while Maddie Dynes and Maxine Dynes finished together in 32:37 and 32:40, respectively.
Undoubtedly the main event of the week was the Castlewellan Christmas Cracker on Saturday which saw over 700 2-person teams take on the approximately 8.5 mile course across road, forest track, fields, grass, mud and many hills. First Strider over the finish line was Norman Mawhinney, paired with North Down AC’s Sarah Benton, who clocked an impressive 1:18:24, securing an age group win. Hot on their heels were Jenny Taylor and Ronan Maguire finishing strong with a time of 1:23:50. Next were Colin Harper and Catherine Cauley, who came in at 1:40:22, closely followed by Olli Seeger and Gary Clarke completing the course in 1:40:42.
The familiar paring of Sonya Summersgill and Judith Boyd posted a time of 1:43:03, closely followed by Naomi Magowan and Gayle Malaugh, crossing the line at 1:43:40. Simon Ferguson and Karen Collins were next in at 1:46:16.
Amanda Martin and Alison Busby were next, completing their run in 1:46:46, followed by Emma Clements and Paul Coulter with a time of 1:49:54. Next in were Stephen Braniff and Graeme Farrington (1:49:54) and Mark Arnold and Heather Baron (1:50:07). Paul Blair and Craig Simpson followed closely, finishing at 1:50:47.
Fiona McAvoy and Martina Finn crossed the finish line at 1:51:48, followed by Darren Johnston and Ashlyn Allen, with a time of 1:52:09. Rounding out the sub-2 hour finishes were Peter McGonigal and Moses Matovu (1:52:22), and Gavin McDonnell and Donovan Jones (1:59:59).
Cheryl Alexander and Georgia McGonigal completed the course in 2:04:46, and Karen Warnock paired with Gillian Pearson to finish at 2:06:10. Chris Edwards and Karen Wilson were next, finishing in 2:08:42, while Philip Adams and David Morton achieved a time of 2:12:31.
Emma McCracken and Emma Johnston clocked in at 2:12:33, followed by Karen Clarke and Joanne Wray at 2:20:56. Naomi Fleming and Lyndsey Blair, alongside Sarah Luce and Jennifer McAteer, completed the course with times of 2:25:07 and 2:25:08, respectively.
Also on Saturday, Maxine Dynes travelled to Tullaroan in Kilkenny for the “Run Off The Pudding” Marathon, organised by Tullaroan Athletic Club. Maxine completed the 26.2 miles in 4:54:23.
Saturday also saw the usual host of parkruns, with 45 Striders running in 15 different venues. In Comber, Mark Halus knocked another 18 seconds off his overall parkrun PB from Christmas Day, while Martin Strachan also claimed a PB at Victoria Park with an incredible time of 17:19. PBs continued at Knockbracken for first timers Joshua and Lousie Bingham, where Nicola Forsythe also claimed a course PB. Other Course PBs were had by Catherine Lavery in Ormeau, Maddie Dynes in Kilkenny and Michael Burgess in Valley. Andy Haylett recorded a 2nd place finish at Paisley, while in Castlewellan Keara Simpson celebrated her 50th 5k parkrun.
On Sunday it was the turn of the club’s juniors, with Harry McCready claiming 2nd place overall in Comber, followed by Keara Simpson (1st F) and Elijah Ferguson with a PB. Other notable achievements were recorded in Victoria Park with a PB for Michael Bingham and a course PB for Rory Braniff.
Well done to all club athletes for finding the time to represent the club in a busy festive week!
Looking further ahead, the first of the Club’s open races on the calendar, Run The Runways on 9th May is now open for entry. With a 10K, 5K and kids’ 2K race on offer, as well as plenty of post-race refreshments, there’s something on offer for everyone. Be sure to get signed up for this unique opportunity to run on the runways of Ards Airport – perfect for PB potential.
Scrabo Striders is an all abilities running club with training sessions up to 4 nights per week as well as social runs, club-only events and social outings. Why not come along to a few training sessions free of charge to see if it’s right for you before signing up? More information on training sessions and open races is at scrabostriders.com or by searching Scrabo Striders Running Club on Facebook.