The main event last week was most definitely the National Juvenile Even Ages All Ireland XC Championship which took place at Castle Irvine in Irvinestown, and despite the inclement weather forecast the young Harriers who qualified to run from the Ulster Championship made the journey down in full spirits.
First viewing of a challenging course with plenty of inclines and a steep finish did little to dampen spirits and all the runners warmed up with tense anticipation, encouraged as always by the ever enthusiastic and unwavering support of coaches and senior runners who were also adding their support to the youngsters.
The first group to experience the stampede start were the U12 boys, where Mason Mercer, Luke O’Shaughnessy and Milo Purvis ran in the bright yellow Harrier tops amongst the 182 starters ! A very tough race followed, with the course proving as challenging as it looked. At the line Mason was the first Harrier home, followed by Luke and Milo with firmly gritted teeth. Well done boys !!
We had only one runner in the next race, the U14 girls, and out of 171 starters Leila Jones once again showed grit and determination combined with a strong finish and a willingness to follow coach orders and stick her elbows out to claim a medal in 9th position and a happy drive home !!
Next up we had a larger group of runners in the U14 boys who had done so well to qualify from the Ulster race. Leading the way for the Harriers and fighting hard to stay with the front pack despite feeling under the weather Cormac Leheny dug in to claim a superb top 20 spot in 17th place, and in a very competitive field Cillian McLoughlin just missed out on a top 100 spot, whilst the Harriers of Tom McLoughlin, Dualta McGleenan, Tanoj Reddy Yakkanti, Pearse Leheny and James O’Shaughnessy ran a hard fought battle over the 3km course. Well done to all of you for giving everything all the way to the finish line.
In the U16 girls race the distance jumped up to 4km and Cadence Hamilton and Eimear O’Regan stepped up to tackle the extended course, with conditions under foot also starting to get more challenging. However, both girls showed incredible determination to reach the finish line, and with Cadence making a superb top 50 finish in 46th place. Hats off to both of you !!
Again in the U16 boys race we had a single runner, Thomas Coy, and despite cutting it fine to make the start line (!) Thomas as always put in a brave performance and navigated the now well worn corners to finish an excellent 49th out of a field of 149 – well done as always Thomas.
This just left the U18/Juniors boys race to feature the junior yellow shirt of the Harriers where 3 U18s battled away in a field of 205 – the start must have been something !! But the 3 Harriers of Eoin McConnell, Lorcan McCann and Oscar Purvis survived the initial stampede and worked their way around the now very muddy 4.5km course. Ultimately Eoin edged out Lorcan as first Harrier home in 65th place, with Lorcan 74th and Oscar not far behind in 102nd place – well done young men !!
This first of two All Ireland Championships yet again pitted the young Harriers against the best in the country and once again every girl and boy did the club proud – role on Tramore for some of you !!
Back nearer home the Waterworks also witnessed some great running from several of our juniors at both the Saturday and Sunday parkruns, with particular congratulations going to Niamh McMillan, Oran Steele and Lucy Cronie who all posted PBs over the 5km course !! Well done !! And on Sunday over the 2km course our very own Ruarcc Sheridan hit the tape in first place – great running !!
Waterworks Park Runs
5k Park Run
| 45 | Niamh McMillan | Female | JW15-17 | North Belfast Harriers | 23.20PB |
| 60 | Oran Steele | Male | JM15-17 | North Belfast Harriers | 24.19PB |
| 67 | Senan McConnell | Male | JM11-14 | North Belfast Harriers | 24.40 |
| 220 | Lucy Cronie | Female | JW11-14 | North Belfast Harriers | 33.10PB |
Waterworks Park Runs
2k Park Run
| 1 | Ruarcc Sheridan | Male | JM11-14 | North Belfast Harriers | 7.10 |
| 6 | Olivia Boyd | Female | JW11-14 | North Belfast Harriers | 8.27 |
| 12 | Malcolm MacKenzie | Male | JM10 | North Belfast Harriers | 9.33 |
| 23 | Aoife Lemon | Female | JW10 | North Belfast Harriers | 10.46 |
| 25 | Ronan O’Neill | Male | JM10 | North Belfast Harriers | 10.57 |
| 34 | Fola O’Kane | Female | JW10 | North Belfast Harriers | 12.38 |
| 35 | Owen White | Male | JM10 | North Belfast Harriers | 12.40 |
| 40 | Eva Mooney | Female | JW10 | North Belfast Harriers | 13.06 |
And last but definitely not least Nola Rafferty and Eimear Coy ran in the Moy Park 5km run in Belfast City Centre on Sunday morning, racing over the line to claim their medals and in Nola’s case a superb PB – well done girls !!
Back to training on Tuesday evening, remember to wear appropriate clothing and take care around the roads, and any help with taking down the lights is always greatly appreciated.