The week after Easter proved busy for runners from North Belfast Harriers, and as usual there were some great performances and podium places in road races in Ireland and in Europe. Even the blustery conditions that accompanied Storm Kathleen did not detract from the excitement of the racing.
Podium Places for Eliosa Crawford, Nat Glenn and Fionnuala O’Hare at the Whitehead 5 Mile Race, Monday 1st April
The annual Easter Monday 5 Mile Road Race celebrated its 100th year on 1st April, and members of North Belfast Harriers celebrated also, with some great performances, as well as podium places for Eliosa Crawford, Nat Glenn, Fionnuala O’Hare, and Brian Stewart. Running in the F50 category, Elisoa outran all other female athletes to finish in 30 min; 28 secs, equalling the existing course record for a female. Nat finished first in his age group in 30 min; 13 sec, in 11th place overall. Fionnuala lifted bronze as the third female finisher, crossing the line in 32 min; 49 sec, while Brian finished third in the M60 category in 37 min; 32 sec. Well done to all the finishers, who displayed some great running.
Above: Elisoa Crawford, First Female, at the presentation after the Whitehead 5 Mile Race on Easter Monday. Below: Fionnuala O’Hare lifts the prize for Third Female. Photos courtesy of Catherine Carleton.
Above photos from Whitehead 5 Mile Race courtesy of Catherine Carleton.
Whitehead 5 Mile Race
| Place | Name | Category | Chip Time | Bib |
| 11 | Nat Glenn | M50 | 30:13 | 184 |
| 12 | Elisoa Crawford | F50 | 30:28 | 181 |
| 28 | Fionnuala O’Hare | FO | 32:49 | 175 |
| 31 | Matthew Carleton | MO | 33:22 | 173 |
| 44 | April Clarke | FO | 34:46 | 183 |
| 57 | Carole Clarke | F55 | 36:55 | 182 |
| 61 | Brian Stewart | M60 | 37:32 | 177 |
| 101 | Angela Robinson | F50 | 40:51 | 186 |
| 153 | Marie Murphy | F40 | 46:26 | 180 |
| 186 | Colm Smyth | M40 | 51:15 | 185 |
| 204 | Eadaoin Kelly | FO | 53:50 | 178 |
Battle of Clontarf 10 Mile Race, Monday 1st April
Joe Gallagher was the sole representative of North Belfast Harriers to compete in the Battle of Clontarf 10 Mile Road Race, around the picturesque surroundings of St Anne’s Park, Raheny, in North Dublin. Despite transport problems that caused a late start to the race, Joe finished 260th in 1:28:03.
Prague Half Marathon, Saturday 6th April
Kevin Crossley and Jason Reid made the journey to Czechia, visiting the historic city of Prague to run in the Half Marathon. In pleasant sunny conditions on Saturday, both athletes joined many thousands of runners, enjoying the favourable spring weather, as they traversed the historic streets of the old city. Starting and finishing in Jan Palach Square, the athletes were taken on a loop through the streets around the historic city. Well done to Kev and Jason and all the finishers.
Prague Half Marathon
| Place | Name | Chip Time | Gun Time | Bib |
| 3697 | Kevin Crossley | 1:42:58 | 1:56:20 | 7045 |
| 8674 | Jason Reid | 2:09:35 | 2:27:09 | 5865 |
Kevin Crossley at the Berlin Half Marathon. Photo courtesy of Kevin.
Generali Berlin Half Marathon, Sunday 7th April
Not content with one half marathon at the weekend, Kevin Crossley decided to run the Berlin Half Marathon, only 24 hours after completing the Prague Half Marathon. Kev finished the Berlin Half Marathon in 1 Hour; 42 min; 02 sec, just slightly under the time in which he finished the race on Saturday. The Berlin Half Marathon started and finished in the beautiful surroundings of Tiergarten Park, in central Berlin. The course took runners through the streets of central Berlin on a loop, which eventually led them through the historic and iconic Brandenburg Gate, just a short distance from the finish line. Well done to all the runners, and especially Kev, on his central European odyssey.
Generali Berlin Half Marathon
| Place | Name | Chip Time | Gun Time | Bib |
| 4236 | Kevin Crossley | 1:42:02 | 1:45:00 | 51414 |
Conán McCaughey on the podium at Sunday’s Omagh Half Marathon. Photo courtesy of NBH Twitter.
Conán McCaughey Lifts Silver at the Omagh Half Marathon, Sunday 7th April
In slightly challenging conditions at the Omagh Half Marathon, Conán McCaughey ran a great race to finish 2nd overall, in a time of 1 hour; 8 min; 29 secs. Meanwhile Debbie McConnell finished 1st in the F35 category, in 1 hour; 26 min; 46 sec, and Colin McDowell was 3rd in the M50 category, in 1 hour; 18 min; 56 sec. There were some great performances on Sunday at the race, which doubled as the NI and Ulster Championship. North Belfast Harriers were well represented in the sellout event, which had over 4000 entrants. The race, which started and finished at Omagh Leisure Centre, saw runners taken on a scenic undulating course through and around the outskirts of the county town. On a day when the showers that threatened, never fully materialised, the runners were nonetheless challenged by the remnants of Storm Kathleen and strong headwinds that negated any advantage or respite on some of the downhill sections. Well done to all the runners.
| Place | Name | Chip Time | Gun Time | Bib | Category |
| 2 | Conán McCaughey | 1:08:29 | 1:08:29 | 13 | MS |
| 44 | Colin McDowell | 1:18:56 | 1:18:57 | 1758 | M50 |
| 50 | Ian Keys | 1:19:23 | 1:19:24 | 980 | MS |
| 75 | Matthew McNutt | 1:22:32 | 1:22:34 | 3047 | M35 |
| 95 | Steven Walker | 1:23:31 | 1:23:42 | 3059 | MS |
| 145 | Debbie McConnell | 1:26:46 | 1:27:16 | 2493 | F35 |
| 230 | Frank Hughes | 1:30:32 | 1:30:39 | 2386 | M50 |
| 261 | Martsje Hell | 1:32:19 | 1:32:23 | 984 | F35 |
| 536 | Joe Gallagher | 1:39:22 | 1:39:53 | 2500 | M65 |
| 595 | Una McConnell | 1:40:44 | 1:41:16 | 2467 | F45 |
| 836 | Peter McClelland | 1:45:45 | 1:46:33 | 2942 | M |
| 997 | Vincent Bradley | 1:49:16 | 1:50:07 | 1312 | M60 |
| 1711 | Maurice Palmer | 2:00:51 | 2:02:58 | 1946 | M60 |
| 1775 | John Davidson | 2:01:14 | 2:04:20 | 1625 | M55 |
| 2243 | Gerry Anderson | 2:15:43 | 2:18:15 | 2970 | M55 |
| 2419 | Rebekah Lutton | 2:22:00 | 2:25:18 | 3275 | FS |
| 2491 | Eadaoin Kelly | 2:26:42 | 2:29:59 | 1843 | F35 |
| 2495 | Nuala Mahon | 2:27:06 | 2:30:25 | 1932 | F60 |
| 2496 | Martin McLarnon | 2:27:14 | 2:30:32 | 1823 | M45 |
| 2497 | Monica O’Kane | 2:27:43 | 2:31:02 | 2384 | F60 |
| 2600 | Brendan McConnell | 2:38:55 | 2:42:12 | 1989 | M45 |
| 2601 | Leanne McConnell | 2:38:54 | 2:42:13 | 1838 | F45 |
| 2648 | Aoife McCaughey | 2:48:30 | 2:51:52 | 1917 | F35 |
Photos from the Omagh Half Marathon, courtesy of NBH Twitter, Eadaoin Clare and Joe Gallagher.
Wizz Air Milan Marathon, Sunday 7th April
Sandy and Samuel Carr made their way to the historic city of Milan, in Northern Italy to compete in the Wizz Air Milan Marathon. The organisers claim that the race is Italy’s fastest marathon, with one of the smoothest loops round the city. Starting and finishing near the Piazza del Duomo, Sandy and Samuel joined over 8,500 marathon runners in this racing spectacle. Sandy finished in 4 hours; 25 min; 57 sec, while Samuel finished in 3 hours; 32 min; 48 sec. Well done to both on a great race.
Wizz Air Milan Marathon
| Bib | Name | Time | Place | Category Place | Category |
| 3812 | Samuel Carr | 3:32:48 | 1703 | 12 | PM |
| 3813 | Sandy Carr | 4:25:57 | 4298 | 100 | SF40 |
ParkRuns, Saturday 2nd March
Locally, Storm Kathleen caused some ParkRuns to be cancelled. However, members of North Belfast Harriers are never deterred by inclement weather and turned out in force, at many a course locally and further afield, to 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 Conor O’Rawe, who was a third finisher, Fionnuala O’Hare, who was a first female finisher, Kerry McShane, who was a second female finisher, with a new PB, and also Dara Cassidy, who also set a new PB on his course.
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 |
| 4 | Dara Cassidy | 70.17% | 19:50 | New PB |
| 5 | Fionnuala O’Hare | 72.67% | 20:22 | First Female |
| 6 | Frank Hughes | 72.77% | 20:56 | |
| 13 | Kerry McShane | 72.47% | 21:55 | Second Female and New PB |
| 15 | Seamus Leheny | 65.26% | 22:04 | |
| 21 | Brendan McCambridge | 57.13% | 22:40 | |
| 24 | David Curran | 66.45% | 22:45 | |
| 25 | Nat Glenn | 69.30% | 22:45 | |
| 26 | Conal McCambridge | 56/66% | 22:46 | |
| 28 | Peter Dolan | 59.82% | 22:49 | |
| 34 | Milo Purvis | 70.83% | 23:05 | |
| 35 | Matthew Carleton | 55.84% | 23:06 | |
| 37 | Ita McCambridge | 84.84% | 23:12 | |
| 42 | Thomas McLaughlin | 60.06% | 23:47 | |
| 85 | Eimear O’Regan | 59.76% | 26:42% | |
| 88 | John Gerard Murphy | 57.45% | 26:45 | |
| 89 | Orán Steele | 51.99% | 26:46 | |
| 106 | Lyle Carleton | 59.53% | 27:11 | |
| 112 | Paddy McCambridge | 58.64% | 27:36 | |
| 116 | Sabrina Nulty | 57.43% | 27:55 | |
| 118 | Philip McIlwrath | 52.18% | 28:16 | |
| 121 | Catherine Seawright | 52.18% | 28:27 | |
| 122 | Ann Craven | 65.25% | 28:30 | |
| 137 | Gillian Roden | 52.97% | 29:29 | |
| 142 | Maurice Palmer | 56.07% | 29:38 | |
| 143 | David Hurst | 46.17% | 29:47 | |
| 145 | Matthew Purvis | 45.13% | 29:55 | |
| 151 | Martin McLarnon | 47.91% | 30:18 | |
| 160 | Patrick Hamill | 47.91% | 31;57 | |
| 166 | Margaret Stephens | 61.40% | 32:31 | |
| 170 | Grainne Stephens | 45.03% | 32:52 | |
| 171 | Stella Harrison | 61.51% | 32:57 | |
| 180 | Paul McCusker | 47.58% | 33:25 | |
| 197 | Cathy Scullion | 44.71% | 36:14 | |
| 198 | Bernadette Duffy | 57.66% | 36:15 | |
| 200 | Greg McClure | 44.57% | 36:41 | |
| 207 | Eadaoin Kelly | 39.98% | 37:31 | |
| 211 | Jennifer Goodfellow | 39.90% | 37:43 | |
| 215 | Jim Clinton | 40.96% | 37:43 | |
| 220 | Elizabeth French | 40.06% | 42:21 | |
| 231 | Tony Reid | 32.23% | 49:45 | |
| 232 | Philomena Donaldson | 39.71% | 52:38 | |
| 233 | Rosy Ryan | 29.72% | 55:44 |
Belfast Victoria ParkRun
| Position | Name | Age Grade | Time | Remarks |
| 4 | Eoin McCann | 72.21% | 17:56 | |
| 6 | Matthew McCombe | 69.29% | 18:50 | |
| 16 | Stephen Rooney | 66.36% | 19:40 | First Timer |
| 139 | Kevin McCann | 57.05% | 26:42 |
Queen’s ParkRun
| Position | Name | Age Grade | Time | Remarks |
| 23 | Niall Armstrong | 59.54% | 21:40 | |
| 45 | Ray Cameron | 60.57% | 23:58 | |
| 271 | Vincent Bradley | 43.86% | 37:12 | |
| 288 | Paul Lavery | 39.05% | 43:22 |
Valley ParkRun
| Position | Name | Age Grade | Time | Remarks |
| 21 | Alina Biskupska | 60.19% | 25:45 | |
| 29 | Chris Callaghan | 59.57% | 27:10 | First Timer |
| 58 | David Johnston | 59.57% | 30:10 | |
| 91 | Evelyn Palmer | 56.19% | 35:32 | |
| 113 | Paul Williams | 32.46% | 49:24 |
Falls ParkRun
| Position | Name | Age Grade | Time | Remarks |
| 16 | Thomas Peter Norton | 50.95% | 28:02 | |
| 37 | Roisin Rodgers | 32.50% | 46:03 | First Timer |
Orangefield ParkRun
| Position | Name | Age Grade | Time | Remarks |
| 7 | Laurence Johnston | 83.76% | 20:01 |
Sixmilewater ParkRun
| Position | Name | Age Grade | Time | Remarks |
| 25 | Jack Wasson | 60.42% | 23:17 | First Timer |
| 48 | April Clarke | 58.25% | 25:28 |
Citypark Craigavon ParkRun
| Position | Name | Age Grade | Time | Remarks |
| 292 | Colin McDowell | 35.63% | 42:45 |
Falcarragh ParkRun
| Position | Name | Age Grade | Time | Remarks |
| 30 | John Lavery | 59.95% | 27:28 | |
| 41 | Frances Stroud | 52.31% | 29:38 | First Timer |
Finsbury Park ParkRun
| Position | Name | Age Grade | Time | Remarks |
| 3 | Conor O’Rawe | 70.49% | 18:18 | Third Finisher |
Dawesville ParkRun
| Position | Name | Age Grade | Time | Remarks |
| 66 | Paddy Coyle | 48.70% | 28:14 | First Timer |
Mole Valley ParkRun
| Position | Name | Age Grade | Time | Remarks |
| 32 | Matt Shields | 71.50% | 24:23 |