After a quiet start to the week Sunday 19th November saw two XC events taking place in Kilkenny and Comber with several of our young athletes flying the flag for North Belfast Harriers.
Juvenile Even Age Championships, Kilkenny
The National Senior, U20, U23 and Juvenile Even Age Championships (to give it its full title) took place at Gowran Demense in Kilkenny where Ireland’s best cross-country athletes go in search of national glory and European selection. Our young athletes from U12 right up to U18 level stood proud as part of Ireland’s elite to represent NBH, Ulster, Co. Antrim, or a combination of the three.
Some lucky Harriers managed an overnight stay prior to race day, for the rest of us it was up at silly O’clock and on the road for the 3.5-hour journey to Kilkenny.
Competition was fierce on the day, but as usual the might and determination of our young stars shone through with some fantastic results.
A special mention must go to Holly Collins who finished 5th for Antrim and helped the county secure an overall 2nd place, and to Lorcan McCann who finished 4th for the county and help them to an overall 4th position.
Well done to everyone involved. I hope you are all proud of your achievements because we certainly are.
Results
Girls U12
| Place | Name | Representing | Distance | Time |
| 157 | Nola Rafferty | Antrim | 2000m | 09:18 |
| 165 | Eimear Coy | Antrim | 2000m | 09:35 |
Boys U12
| Place | Name | Representing | Distance | Time |
| 87 | Cillian McLoughlin | Ulster & Antrim | 2000m | 07:53 |
| 163 | Tanoj Reddy Yaktanki | Antrim | 2000m | 09:39 |
Girls U14
| Place | Name | Representing | Distance | Time |
| 50 | Leila Jones | Antrim | 3000m | 12:56 |
Boys U14
| Place | Name | Representing | Distance | Time |
| 50 | Thomas Coy | Club & Antrim | 3000m | 12:03 |
| 59 | Cormac Leheny | Club & Antrim | 3000m | 12:12 |
Girls U18
| Place | Name | Representing | Distance | Time |
| 68 | Holly Collins | Antrim | 5000m | 24:45 |
| 96 | Emily McRitchie | Antrim | 5000m | 25:56 |
Boys U18
| Place | Name | Representing | Distance | Time |
| 67 | Hugo Reilly-Stewart | Ulster, Club & Antrim | 5000m | 19:49 |
| 122 | Lorcan McCann | Club & Antrim | 5000m | 21:14 |
The Comber Cup, Dundonald
A little closer to home was The Comber Cup, a regular fixture in the Northern Ireland Cross Country League, which took place at the Billy Neill Playing Fields in Dundonald. It was great to see several of our dedicated juniors running in the various age categories from P6 upwards. Unfortunately, the younger age groups weren’t chipped so we don’t have official timings, but we do have some amazing photographs to show off your efforts. A special mention goes to Mason Mercer who made the podium in the Primary School race.
Well done everyone!
Timed results
Boys U14
| Place | Name | Representing | Distance | Time |
| 23 | Lucas Mooney | North Belfast Harriers | 2800m | 12:59 |
Park Run
With everything else going on it was a quiet week for our juniors at the weekly park runs. This week we had a total of 5 Junior Harriers who braved the elements and took part in the 2K and 5k park runs.
Congratulations to all our runners. Well done!
Waterworks 5k
| 43 | Eimear O’REGAN | Female | JW11-14 | North Belfast Harriers | 23:26 |
| 68 | Orán STEELE | Male | JM15-17 | North Belfast Harriers | 24:49 |
| 215 | Matthew PURVIS | Male | JM15-17 | North Belfast Harriers | 34:42 |
Waterworks 2k
| 1 | Tom MCLOUGHLIN | Male | JM11-14 | North Belfast Harriers | 08:14 |
| 4 | Eva MCLOUGHLIN | Female | JW10 | North Belfast Harriers | 10:35 |
Upcoming Events
Following the success of several Juniors at the Ulster Championships in Donegal on 4th November its not long to go until the Irish Championships in Navan on 3rd December. We wish all 18 qualified athletes the very best of luck. We know you will all be amazing.
Club reminders
The dark nights have arrived, and the club still requires help putting up and taking down spotlights at our Tuesday and Thursday evening training sessions. This only takes a few moments of your time but will be a massive help to the club.
Please speak to one of the coaches at each of the training sessions if you can help. Thank you.
And finally, for the safety of all our young athletes please get them to wear bright, warm clothing when attending training sessions on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.