North Belfast Harriers Race Report, 26th February – 3rd March 2024

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North Belfast Harriers Race Report 26th February – 3rd March 2024 

Shane’s Castle, Atlas Running Half Marathon and Marathon, Saturday 2nd March 

It was gold for Michael Lamont in the half marathon on Saturday at Shane’s Castle! Michael Lamont, Zac Wilson and Sandy Carr were the representatives of North Belfast Harriers, competing at this meet staged by Atlas Running. All three ran well in their respective races, with Sandy finishing in 23rd place overall in the marathon, Michael finishing 1st and Zac finishing 4th in the half marathon. Well done Michael, Zac and Sandy on some great running.

Half Marathon 

Place Name Time 
1 Michael Lamont 1:21:49 
4Zac Wilson1:29:20

Marathon 

Place Name Time 
23 Sandy Carr 4:28:57 

Bundoran 10 Mile Race, Saturday 2nd March 

Several Harriers made the journey to Donegal for the Bundoran 10 mile race, and were treated to a great event, with some stunning scenery on the course. However, on Saturday, this section of the Wild Atlantic Way lived up to its name, with cold biting winds, rain and hail showers to add extra challenge for the runners. Well done to all the participants, and a special mention to Kate Montgomery and Elizabeth French, two stalwarts of the Roy’s Rockets group, who ran very well to complete the course, under challenging conditions, but unfortunately had technical issues with their timing. 

Bundoran 10 Mile Race 

Place Name Chip Time Gun Time Bib  Category 
137 A McCaughey 1:07:10 1:07:10 386 MS 
955 Maurice Palmer 1:28:47 1:30:38 390 M60 
1040 Lorraine Hibburt 1:30:43 1:32:34 575 F50 
1495 Leanne McConnell 1:48:22 1:50:13 381 F40 
1512 Monica O’Kane 1:50:21 1:52:15 380 F60 
1513 Nuala Mahon 1:50:20 1:52:15 378 F60 
1515 Brendan McConnell 1:51:13 1:53:04 385 M40 
1516 Colm Smyth 1:51:09 1:53:05 383 M40 
1520 Martin McLarnon 1:52:19 1:54:13 384 M40 
1521 Evelyn Palmer 1:52:22 1:54:14 389 F60 
Above photos from Bundoran 10 Mile Race. Photos courtesy of Eadaoin Claire and Evelyn Palmer.

Carlingford Half Marathon  

Four members of the Harriers made their way to the County Louth town of Carlingford to compete in the annual half marathon, in aid of St Brigid’s Special School, Dundalk. On a day when the chill winds on the southern shores of Carlingford Lough provided added challenge, over 1000 athletes braved the conditions to finish the 21.1km race, while close to 300 opted for the 10k distance. Well done to all the participants.  

Place Name Chip Time Gun Time Bib  
104Martsje Hell1:30:461:30:46319
155 Kev Crossley 1:35:37 1:35:45 133 
193 Dermot Coy 1:37:56 1:38:15 121 
674 Peter Dolan 1:58:47 1:59:48 175 

St Mary’s Pomeroy 5k, Sunday 3rd March 

Joe Gallagher was the sole representative of North Belfast Harriers to make the trip to the Co Tyrone village of Pomeroy for this 5k race in support of St Mary’s Primary School. The race started and finished at the newly opened Cavanakeeran Community Centre and took the runners on a fast initial decent through the village, before entering the forest trails, looping back, and then making the steep climb to the finish. Joe finished in 22:24, in 24th place overall and first in the M55 category. 

Pomeroy 5k Race. Photo by Joe Gallagher.

ParkRuns, Saturday 2nd March  

Locally, the wind and rain held off on Saturday morning, to encourage many a visitor to their local park to enjoy the collective spectacle of the weekly 5k ParkRun.  As usual, North Belfast Harriers were well represented amongst the masses of runners, who partake in the camaraderie, craic and convivial collective engagement, that are at the core of every Saturday ParkRun.  

Worth a special mention this week are Debbie McConnell, who was a first finisher, Fionnuala O’Hare, Oscar Purvis, Conor O’Rawe and Brandon McMinn, who were second finishers, Colin McDowell, who was a third finisher, and Cathy McCourt, who was a first female, on their respective courses. Also, congratulations to Oscar Purvis, Dara Cassidy, Nola Rafferty, Robbie Speers, John Davidson, and Alina Biskupska, who all recorded new Pbs, on their courses. 

Well done to all those who participated, the runners and especially the volunteers, without whom the events could not be staged. 

Waterworks ParkRun 

Position Name Age Grade Time Remarks 
2 Oscar Purvis 74.05% 18:30 Second Finisher & New PB 
5 Thomas Mclaughlin 71.84% 19:53  
6 David Curran 75.14% 20:07  
7 Dara Cassidy 67.94% 20:29 New PB 
11 Paul McAllister 67.75% 20.56  
12 John Gerrd Murphy 73.23% 20:59  
18 Ray Cameron 66.08% 21:58  
20 Lucas Mooney 69.92% 22:19  
28 Isaac Mooney 69.92% 23:23  
34 Joe Gallagher 71.30% 23:45  
36 Sean McShane Jr 53.94% 23:55  
44 Ita McCambridge 81.50% 24:09  
52 Brendan McCambridge 52.15% 24:50  
53 Odhran Conal Rafferty 53.69% 24:50  
64 Milo Purvis 63.95% 25:34  
66 Nola Rafferty 66.71% 25:35 New PB 
68 Sabrina Nulty 61.92% 25:39  
73 Chris Callaghan 62.65% 25:50  
74 Nicky Hagan 51.48% 25:56  
77 Martin Rafferty 54.90% 26:01  
91 Frances Stroud 57.48% 26:58  
92 Greg McClure 63.08% 27:05  
105 Paddy McCambridge 58.35% 27:44  
110 Orán Steel 49.94% 27:52  
118 Thomas Peter Norton 49.94% 28:15  
120 Philip McIlwrath 51.65% 28:20  
131 Nola Jamieson 52.71% 29:11  
135 Patrick Hamill 53.93% 29:29  
139 Stephanie Coy 53.63% 29:37  
140 Gerry Anderson 52.25% 29:40  
143 Catherine Seawright 55.31% 29:57  
144 Lynn McKenna 57.28% 30:00  
159 Gillian Roden 49.60% 31:29  
166 Jack Carberry 65.99% 31:51  
178 Stella Harrison 62.26% 32:33  
180 Margaret Stephens 60.35% 33:05  
190 Matthew Purvis 39.49% 34:11  
193 Paul Jenkins 41.96% 35:09  
198 Paul McCusker 43.90% 36:13  
211 Ita Weir 43.80% 39:14  
230 Denis Loughran 44.15% 47:36  
231 Tony Reid 33.13% 48:24  
242 Roy Rainey 30.38% 51:01  
243 Dermot McGrath 29.71% 51:16  
256 Rosy Ryan 27.21% 60:53  

Belfast Victoria ParkRun 

Position Name Age Grade Time Remarks 
4 Eoin McCann 78.80% 16:26  
73 Peter McClelland 59.70% 23:12  
74 Terence McAtamney 57.81% 23:16  

Queen’s ParkRun 

Position Name Age Grade Time Remarks 
75 John Lavery 58.53% 28:08  
117 Vincent Bradley 49.59% 32:54  
139 Paul Lavery 40.05% 42:17  

Ormeau ParkRun 

Position Name Age Grade Time Remarks 
434 Mannix McAlister 30.74% 42:01  

Valley ParkRun 

Position Name Age Grade Time Remarks 
62 David Johnston 52.39% 29:20  
72 Robbie Speers 40.63% 31:45 New PB 
79 Liam Smyth 48.63% 32:58  

Falls ParkRun 

Position Name Age Grade Time Remarks 
31 Jim Clinton 56.10% 29:21  

Larne ParkRun 

Position Name Age Grade Time Remarks 
6 Nat Glenn 72.49% 21:45  
27 John Davidson 56.22% 27:20 New PB 
39 Jason Reid 40.80% 32:43  
47 Greg lavery 34.09% 43:16  

Sixmilewater ParkRun 

Position Name Age Grade Time Remarks 
1 Debbie McConnell 79.00% 19:03 First Timer & First Finisher 
2 Fionnuala O’Hare 75.64% 19:34 First Timer & Second Finisher 
4 April Clarke 70.30% 21:06 First Timer 
14 Natasha Henderson 65.64% 22:39  
16 Erin Beattie 64.63% 22:54 First Timer 

Carrickfergus ParkRun 

Position Name Age Grade Time Remarks 
2 Brandon McMinn 63.76% 20:14 Second Finisher 
31 Jack Wasson 53.45% 26:19  

Citypark Craigavon ParkRun 

Position Name Age Grade Time Remarks 
3 Colin McDowell 80.88% 18:50 Third Finisher 

Antrim ParkRun 

Position Name Age Grade Time Remarks 
30 Brian Stewart 79.43% 22:46  
54 Alina Biskupska 62.46% 24:49 New PB 
59 Kevin McCann 60.13% 25:20  

Hillsborough Forest ParkRun 

Position Name Age Grade Time Remarks 
5 Cathy McCourt 77.83% 21:48 First Female 

Sligo ParkRun 

Position Name Age Grade Time Remarks 
63 Eadaoin Kelly 43.12% 34:47 First Timer 

Laytown Beach ParkRun 

Position Name Age Grade Time Remarks 
20 Matt Sheilds  22:02  

Hasenheide ParkRun 

Position Name Age Grade Time Remarks 
2 Conor O’Rawe 75.15% 17:10 First Timer & Second Finisher 

Westpark ParkRun 

Position Name Age Grade Time Remarks 
32 Glenn Beattie 59.40% 21:43  

Queen’s ParkRun, Glasgow 

Position Name Age Grade Time Remarks 
8 Ian Keys 68.68% 19:00 First Timer