Write a commentFrom Parkrun, Track, Mountains to Road - Newry AC athletes were out this week and producing great results.
Wednesday 1st August - Dublin County Graded Series Track Meet - Morton Stadium, Santry
Meadow and Joanne McCauley travelled to Dublin on Wednesday evening to compete in the final Dublin Country Graded Series Track Meet of the season. They put their trust in the weather man and left the torrential rains in County Armagh and headed for the sunshine of the South. The weather man for once was right and the weather was warm and dry but a very strong negative 2.9 wind was blowing across the track.
Meadow debuted in the 400m, coming in 3rd in her heat with a time of 66:05 and a time to build on. Joanne completed the 400m in 71:07, not a PB but with the wind against in the final 120m, it was a fair result. Joanne also took part in the Long Jump after the 400m of which was a good performance in practice for the Irish Masters Nationals just being 10cm shy of her current PB.
Friday 3rd August - Michael Fearon & Kevin Marron 5k Road Race, Carlingford
Carlingford 5k is a popular race of which attracts runners from all over Ireland. The race is a fast, flat course which starts at the Castle by the Harbour, follows the outer village roads and then returns to finish in the bustling and lively village centre.
With perfect weather conditions, six Newry AC athletes took up the challenge against a top field of 531 runners. First over the line was Mark Malone with a fantastic time of 16:34 and taking a top 30 placing of 26th; Gary Crummy who has only returned to running recently with little training, was the star performer as he impressed the Newry crew and flew in with a time of 17:35; Hughie Mackin followed in with 18:02 and Andrew Knapton was hot on his heels with 18:03; Rory Mulvaney also came in under 19 minutes with a great time of 18:43. All the men came in the top 100 men - impressive with the top quality field of competition. Meadow McCauley came in strongly with a time of 22:32, taking 4th Female Under 17 and finishing in the top 50 women overall.
Great performances from all the Newry AC athletes.
Friday 3rd August - Bessbrook Duathlon
Sarah Jane Beattie on a very warm night attended this local Duathlon of which all proceeds were going to the Special Olympics Ireland World Games Abu Dhabi 2019, it was also in memory of Malachy and Philip Patton.
The event was a 2 mile run then 11 mile cycle and finishing with a 2 mile run. With a challenging route, Sarah Jane went out determined from the start and finished in a time of 1 hour 14 minutes and took 2nd Female in the competition.
Saturday 4th August - Rostrevor Parkrun
4 Newry AC athletes, namely the Patterson crew, took to the trail paths of Kilbroney Forest Park for their weekly Parkrun event. Ethan Patterson completed the run with 2nd place in a time of 20:11; dad, Martin, followed in 12th place with 24:25; Ryan came in 21st with 25:23 and Pierce completed in 23rd place with a time of 26:01.
Saturday 4th August - Seven Sevens, NIMRA Championship Race, Mourne Mountains
3 Brave Newry AC souls took on this annual event, which was the 9th race of the NIMRA Championships. The race is a tough 19 miles with 8,700 feet of ascent and covers the summits of Donard, Comedagh, Lamagan, Binnian, Meelbeg, Meelmore and Bearnagh. The start and finish was held at the Shimna College within the Donard Forest Park and the course took on a clockwise direction this year which meant Slieve Donard was the first mountain to tackle!
The athletes also have to take in set mandatory checkpoints along the route and cut off points too. The weather and visibility was good but very warm for the athletes compared to the atrocious conditions at the Bearnagh race last week.
Keiron Kelly had a brilliant race and finished in a fantastic 4th place, taking 1st MV45 category and a time of 4:23:00; Cathal McGreevy came in 34th with a time of 5:27:44 and Noel Carr followed in with 5:46:05. A tough race of which all athletes must be commended for completing.
Sunday 5th August- Mullaghbawn 10k
John McCaffrey and Ciara Coffey competed in the annual Mullaghbawn 10k. A hilly and challenging course did not deter these two athletes. John finished in 2nd place and Ciara Coffey came in 1st Female. No official times where available.
