NI & Ulster Uneven Age Group Cross Country Championship
On a sunny day nestled among the glens of East Donegal, 23 Juniors participated in the NI & Ulster Uneven Cross-Country championship at the Finn Valley course in Stranrolar. While the weather was pleasant, the rain in the preceding days ensured there was plenty of good sticky Donegal mud in all the right places thus giving all our juniors a good challenge.
Great effort by all of the Juniors on the day, every stag gave it 100% from crossing the start line to getting over the finish. Some great experience for our juniors and a few exceptional runs have meant some of our runners have automatically qualified for the All Ireland Uneven Cross Country finals in Cork.
Huge congratulations to Roise Roberts who took first place in the girls U19 therefore is the new Ulster & NI U19 champion and will be a contender for All Ireland glory down in Cork in a few weeks’ time. Two great runs by Thomas Coy (U13 boys) and Holly Collins (U17 girls) meant they automatically qualified as Ulster qualifiers for the All Ireland finals as well.
We may well have a few more qualifiers depending on Antrim qualifiers so keep an eye on that, coaches will advise when qualifiers receive confirmations.
The full list of those who ran in Donegal and results are below.
| Place | Time | |
| Girls U11 – 1200m | ||
| Emily Gamble | 35 | 5:57 |
| Eimear Coy | 72 | 6:41 |
| Boys U11 – 1200m | ||
| Ethan Wiltshire | 21 | 5:11 |
| Dualta McGleenan | 30 | 5:19 |
| Cillian McConnell | 77 | 6:16 |
| Girls U13 – 2000m | ||
| Isla Wiltshire | 25 | 8:25 |
| Eimear O’Regan | 76 | 9:53 |
| Boys U13 – 2000m | ||
| Thomas Coy | 11 | 7:22 |
| Alex Reid | 40 | 7:52 |
| Senan McConnell | 76 | 9:05 |
| Girls U15 – 3000m | ||
| Treasa McConnell | 47 | 13:47 |
| Cliona McGinley | 63 | 14:47 |
| Boys U15 – 3000m | ||
| Ryan Donaldson | 31 | 11:44 |
| Charlie McLarnon | 47 | 12:33 |
| Cathal McManus | 70 | 13:50 |
| Oran Steele | 73 | 16:53 |
| Girls U17 – 4000m | ||
| Holly Collins | 12 | 16:42 |
| Boys U17 – 4500m | ||
| Eoin McConnell | 22 | 15:01 |
| Oscar Purvis | 24 | 15:06 |
| Lorcan McCann | 39 | 16:21 |
| Declan McGinley | 50 | 18:36 |
| Girls U19 – 4000m | ||
| Roise Roberts | 1 | 15:02 |
| Boys U19 – 6000m | ||
| Odhran Rafferty | 15 | 24:18 |
Saturday 5km Parkrun
Waterworks
Seven Juniors tackled the Waterworks 5km parkrun on a damp Saturday morning and great running from all of them. First Junior home was Dara in a very impressive time. Special shout out to Ruarcc for a great run and time on what was his 5km parkrun debut.
Our next big shout out goes to Tom for a fantastic PB time, demolishing his previous best (from June this year) by an incredible 1 minute 21 seconds, well done young man!
| Runner | Position | Time |
| Dara Cassidy | 14 | 21:09 |
| Ruarcc Sheridan | 21 | 22:11 |
| Jack O’Neill | 25 | 22:25 |
| Tom McLoughlin | 27 | 22:37 *PB* |
| Cormac Leheny | 29 | 22:41 |
| Matthew Purvis | 72 | 26:29 |
| Eva McLoughlin | 113 | 29:19 |
Sunday 2km Junior Parkrun
Waterworks
Well done to all eight of our Juniors who completed the Waterworks Junior Parkrun on Saturday. Two special mentions though. Well done Cassie for not only being the first over the line but a new PB for added shine taking eight seconds off her previous PB.
However our next girl to cross the line was not to be outdone with Grace also getting a new PB knocking 45 seconds off her previous PB. Well done girls, the training and hard work is paying off.
| Runner | Position | Time |
| Cassie Curran | 1 | 7:33 *PB* |
| Jack O’Neill | 4 | 8:22 |
| Senan Steele | 13 | 9:56 |
| Finley McCloy | 14 | 10:08 |
| Grace McKenna | 16 | 10:09 *PB* |
| Phoebe Reid | 18 | 10:41 |
| Dara McLaughlin | 36 | 15:56 |
| Clodagh Fahy Duckett | 39 | 16:22 |
Musgrave
Well done to Ronan over at Musgrave Park juniors Parkrun in the South of the city.
| Runner | Position | Time |
| Ronan O’Neill | 16 | 12:48 |
Upcoming Cross Country Race – Malcolm Cup XC
On Sunday the 27th November the Malcolm Cup XC returns to the Dub Playing fields in South Belfast. This is a well run and enjoyable (as well as convenient) event for the Juniors and last year we had several of the juniors pick up some silverware.
Prizes are awarded to the first 6 boys & girls in each race and age category.
U13 boys & girls race is at 1:15 – 1 mile – Entry is £3 –
U15/17 boys and girls race is at 1:40 – 2 miles – Entry is £3
Further details and registration can be done via the following link:
https://ani.opentrack.run/en-gb/x/2022/GBR/malcolm-cup/
Training continues 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 to help coaches set up and take down the mobile floodlights each evening so if you can arrive early or stay a few minutes later, its always appreciated.
Finally, big congratulations to Juniors coach and regular report writer Ciaran Brown who completed the New York marathon on Sunday in an impressive time of 4 hours 7 minutes. Safe to say a few cold ones were enjoyed in the Big Apple on Sunday evening and we hope Ciaran managed to get an upgrade for an extra legroom seat on the six hour flight home if not already kicking back in first class!