Write a commentThe Newry AC athletes were out in force this week, even in the poor weather conditions that mother nature threw at them. Track meetings and mountains were the callings this week, of which two events were track and two were mountain. There were some fantastic performances in the mountains, with Keiron Kelly being the Club Star this week on having an outstanding run in the Mourne Way Marathon.
Drogheda Graded Meet, Lourdes Stadium, Dundalk
3 Newry AC athletes travelled to Dundalk on Thursday evening for a Graded Meet under the watchful eye of coach Kookie O’Hagan.
Lee Maginnis ran in the 800m and completed in a time of 2:17.
Sarah Jane Beattie and Gavin Crilly both ran the 3,000m. Sarah Jane finished in a time of 12:29 and Gavin came first in his heat with 10:44.
Hill & Dales - Loughshannagh Horseshoe
The weather did not bode well for this race with heavy rain all week and on the evening it continued to be a damp event. However, 177 brave souls, which included 9 Newry AC athletes, arrived and made the courageous walk to the start line. Ground conditions were wet and muddy adding to the physical effort runners had to give for this already challenging race which covers the summits of Carn, Doan, Loughshannagh and Ott.
Another strong and outstanding performance was delivered by Esther Dickson, with a 2 minute lead on the 2nd lady, and finishing in the top 20 overall. Adam Ervine also continued his consistently strong runs coming in just behind Esther in a time of 50:13. Warren Cartmill and Rory Mulvany also continued their good runs in the mountains with Warren lifting 2nd MV45. Great running performances were completed by all the club athletes in tough conditions. With only 2 races left in the series, all the competitors especially further down the field are jostling to finish as high up in their category rankings as they can, and Newry AC should be lifting a few of these category prizes at the series finale night with Esther Dickson already securing her place as top lady.
All the Newry AC results
Esther Dickson, 1st lady, 18th overall, 49:25
Adam Ervine, 19th, 50:13
Warren Cartmill, 22nd, 2nd MV45, 51:03
Rory Mulvaney, 23rd, 51:06
Maurice Harte, 38th, 53:32
Paul Le Blanc, 46th, 55:02
Sarah Quinn, 70th, 60:26
Ciara Coffey, 127th, 72:19
David Burns, 141st, 76:29
26EXTREME MOURNE WAY MARATHON, ROSTREVOR
After the torrential rain during the week, Newry AC athletes took on the various disciplines of the 10k, half marathon and full marathon at the annual Mourne Way event, based in Kilbroney Forest Park. Ground conditions in the open mountain sections were challenging and the weather threw all four seasons at the competitors to add to the challenge.
Kieron Kelly had a fantastic run over the Mournes and came home first overall in the event. Kieron gave a strong performance and clearly demonstrated his top form by finishing an astonishing 25 minutes ahead of the second finisher. Mark McElroy finished in the top fifteen of the marathon with a placing of 11th.
Andrew Knapton, Aaron Montgomery and David Burns took on the half marathon with Andrew taking the podium with 3rd placing.
Jonny Gregg took on the 10k race and had a comfortable finish of 5th placing.
Full results for Newry AC were:
Kieron Kelly - Marathon - 1st - 3:16:41;
Mark McElroy - Marathon - 11th - 4:10:28
Andrew Knapton - Half Marathon - 3rd - 1:35:49;
Aaron Montgomery - Half Marathon - 39th - 1:57:46;
David Burns - Half Marathon - 98th - 2:18:45;
Johnny Gregg - 10k - 5th - 39:36.
NI ULSTER ATHLETIC CHAMPIONSHIPS, MARY PETERS TRACK, BELFAST
Meadow McCauley attended the NI ULSTER Championships on a damp Saturday morning in Belfast. She was competing in the U17s 1,500m race of which was her first time completing this distance outdoor. Meadow ran a good consistent race in a competitive pack of runners and finished with a time of 5:14, of which she now has a benchmark PB to work against.
