London Min Marathon
The London mini marathon returned on Saturday 1st October which is an annual event held the day before the London marathon. The Harriers were brilliantly represented by three of our young Stags, Cormac, Alex and Thomas being selected for the Northern Ireland U13 boys’ team with each team comprising of six runners.
The course was just over 2.6km and started along the Thames embankment with the boys running past famous sites such as Big Ben, Parliament Buildings, Buckingham Palace with the finish line on The Mall.
Girls and boys races at u13, u15 and u17 started in waves and in the boys race there was a total of 209 runners who were selected from right across the UK.
All three boys ran strong coming in close to each other and finishing in the top half of finishers with Cormac Leheny 9:35 (75th), Thomas Coy 9:38 (77th) and Alex Reid 9:53 (103rd).
The boys were excellent ambassadors for our club both on and off the course and did us proud while bringing home some nice bling and great memories.
Saturday 5km Parkrun
Waterworks
Four of our Juniors took on the full 5km parkrun at the Waterworks this week and the first finisher over the line with a great run was Oscar! Dara not only achieved a top ten finish but got a new PB as well! Then making her 5k debut was Eimear with a fantastic run. Matthew clocked up his 25th parkun at the waterworks and I’m confident there will be many more. Great work guys!
| Runner | Position | Time |
| Oscar Purvis | 1 | 19:42 |
| Dara Cassidy | 8 | 20:43 (PB) |
| Eimear O’Regan | 100 | 27:53 |
| Matthew Purvis | 122 | 29:44 |
Valley
Well done Dara and Phoebe taking on the hilly Valley parkrun with Phoebe achieving a new PB at the Valley.
| Runner | Position | Time |
| Charlie McLarnon | 13 | 22:59 |
| Phoebe Reid | 61 | 31:12 (PB) |
Sunday 2km Junior Parkrun
Waterworks
Thirteen of our Juniors made the most of a sunny morning to run the Waterworks Junior parkrun. Big shout out to Cassie who was first across the finish line and great seeing one of our girl juniors leading the pack this morning! Also special mentions for three PB’s this morning for Jack, Thomas and Grace – Trust the training!
| Runner | Position | Time |
| Cassie Curran | 1 | 7:47 |
| Jack O’Neill | 3 | 8:22 (PB) |
| Finley McCloy | 4 | 8:44 |
| Thomas Weiniger | 7 | 9:09 (PB) |
| Senan Steele | 10 | 9:23 |
| Isaac Mooney | 13 | 10:00 |
| Oisin Steele | 14 | 10:15 |
| Sophie Weiniger | 16 | 10:44 |
| Rachel Curry | 17 | 10:49 |
| Grace McKenna | 20 | 11:01 (PB) |
| Emily Gamble | 21 | 11.01 |
| Max Curry | 32 | 12:46 |
| Dara McLaughlin | 40 | 13:52 |
Bangor
| Runner | Position | Time |
| Ethan Wiltshire | 8 | 8:48 |
*** NI & Ulster Even Age Group Cross Country Championship ***
One of the key cross-country events on the local racing calendar takes place at Billy Neil country park, Comber on Saturday 22nd October. This is a huge event for the club and we really want as many of our juniors to participate.
The link to register with the club is below and closing date is Tuesday 11 October at 5pm; https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1JQvzGaDhSznXWRhxLxrD_OuhZyeZyRdP2w53bUqX73M/edit?usp=sharing
It’s a very simple process and once you have added the child’s name and parents contact details, the club will submit the formal entry and cover the entry fees. As a club its important we have a big presence at this event. This gives the Juniors the chance to experience a provincial final with its great atmosphere and team comradery on the day. The club tent will be there as a meeting point and to help facilitate changing. Coaches will be there to help prepare and brief the runners prior to their races.
Provisional Timetable
| Race | Distance | Start Time |
| Girls Under 10 | 1000m | 11:00 |
| Boys Under 10 | 1000m | 11:10 |
| Girls Under 12 | 1500m | 11:20 |
| Boys Under 12 | 1500m | 11:35 |
| Girls Under 14 | 2500m | 11:50 |
| Boys Under 14 | 2500m | 12:10 |
| Girls Under 16 | 3500m | 1:20 |
| Boys Under 16 | 3500m | 1:45 |
| Girls Under 18 | 4000m | 2:15 |
| Boys Under 18 | 5000m | 2:40 |
That’s all for this week. Remember training is every Tuesday and Thursday at the Girls Model track. Primary school kids 6-7 and secondary school kids 7-8. Any assistance is really appreciated on the night to help coaches set up and take down the mobile floodlights.