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There are a few environmental things that can spoil a good run, things like heavy rain, strong winds or if it's very cold. Any one of these is unpleasant, a mixture of any pair is miserable but if all three turn up together, well then this is advanced misery!
It was indeed advanced misery that greeted the 1000+ runners in all age groups and the thousands of spectators who turned up to compete in or to watch the Armagh International road race, 5km for elite men and 3km for their female counterparts around the Mall in the city centre. The weather on the night was responsible for the times of both races being a bit slower than in recent years but the depth of talent on show, and in the men's race 130 athletes clocked times inside 15 minutes, making these two races among the fastest in the world.
Newry AC’s Jack O’Farrell also representing N.I.& Ulster spent the race in the leading group and eventually came home in 42nd place in a time of 14’21”. Next Newry man Gary Crummy crossed the line in 15’04”which was a good effort as he had only decided on Tuesday night to run the event as he had been recovering from the flu. Third man home from the Newry club was Mark Malone and Mark stopped the timekeeper’s watch in 15’25”.
In the women's 3km Newry AC also had three athletes and despite the terrible conditions all ran well and came home in 22’21” for Ciara Coffey, junior Eve Welsh in 11’26” and SJ Beattie in 12’21 Congratulations to all three.
