National Novice and Juvenile Uneven Cross Country Championships
Sunday 1st December 2024 saw 8 of our Juniors head off to the beautiful seaside town of Tramore in County Waterford. The 430 mile round trip didn’t seem to deter our young stags, who stepped out with pride to show Ireland’s elite that they were a force to be reckoned with.
First of the stags to take to the starting line was Sophia Doris, who was representing Ulster and was the sole NBH Junior running in the U11 Girls race. Undeterred by this, Sophia ran her heart out, weaving her way through the 1,500m course and finished in a fantastic time of 6.13. Fantastic running Sophia.
| U11 Girls | Representing | |||||||
| Position | Name | Bib | Age Group | Club | Antrim | Ulster | Distance | Time |
| 125 | Sophia Doris | 164 | U11 Girls | x | x | Not listed | 1,500m | 06:37 |
Next up it was the turn of the U15 Girls. Both Leila Jones, representing Antrim and Ulster, and Eimear O’Regan, representing Antrim are no stranger to cross country and ran an amazing race around the 3,500m course. Leila finished in 21st position with an amazing time of 13.39 and Eimear finished in 136th place with a great time of 16.20.
Both girls helped County Antrim to an overall 12th place and Leila helped the Ulster team to a fantastic 3rdposition.
Congratulations to both of you.
| U15 Girls | Representing | |||||||
| Position | Name | Bib | Age Group | Club | Antrim | Ulster | Distance | Time |
| 21 | Leila Jones | 938 | U15 Girls | x | 12th | 3rd | 3,500m | 13:39 |
| 136 | Eimear O’Regan | 939 | U15 Girls | x | 12th | x | 3,500m | 16:20 |
The penultimate race with representation from NBH Juniors was that of the U15 boys. Here the club had a great contingent with 4 juniors stepping up to complete the 3,500m course. First across the line in 17th place was Thomas Coy, representing NBH, Antrim and Ulster in a blistering time of 12.09. Hot on his heels was Cormac Leheny, also representing NBH, Antrim and Ulster in a fabulous time of 12.19. Third NBH junior to finish was Franky Mooney finishing in 81st place in a great time of 13.25. Frankie was representing NBH and Antrim. Finishing off the junior stags in this race was Thomas Weiniger, representing NBH , finishing in 138th place in a great time of 17.09.
All 4 boys ran superbly with the club finishing in 6th place overall.
Both Thomas and Cormac took 4th spot for the County Antrim team and 2nd place for the Ulster team.
Well done to all the boys. Super running.
| U15 Boys | Representing | |||||||
| Position | Name | Bib | Age Group | Club | Antrim | Ulster | Distance | Time |
| 17 | Thomas Coy | 1105 | U15 Boys | 6th | 4th | 2nd | 3,500m | 12:09 |
| 25 | Cormac Leheny | 1106 | U15 Boys | 6th | 4th | 2nd | 3,500m | 12:19 |
| 81 | Franky Mooney | 1107 | U15 Boys | 6th | Not Listed | x | 3,500m | 13:25 |
| 138 | Thomas Weiniger | 1108 | U15 Boys | 6th | x | x | 3,500m | 17:09 |
Last, and by no means least, Emily McRitchie stepped up as the solo participant for NBH in the U19 Girls race. Emily fought hard and worked her way through the pack during the 5,000m race, finishing in a fantastic 36th place in a time of 22.07. Emily was representing County Antrim and Ulster and helped both teams to finish in 4th place, narrowly missing out on the coveted top 3 position.
| U19 Girls | Representing | |||||||
| Position | Name | Bib | Age Group | Club | Antrim | Ulster | Distance | Time |
| 36 | Emily McRitchie | 1545 | U19 Girls | x | 4th | 4th | 5,000m | 22:07 |
Congratulations to all our runners. You did yourselves, your coaches and the club proud. Time to take a bow.
St Genevieve’s Cross Country Running
On Thursday 28th November, several of our junior stags took part in the Belfast Post-Primary Cross Country running competition at St Genevieve’s Secondary School in west Belfast.
With representation from over 10 schools, again our Junior Harriers did themselves and their schools proud, putting on a very impressive show. After trolling the internet looking for official results, it would appear that they have not been officially released yet. Congratulations to everyone who took part including Eimear Coy, Olivia Boyd, Ruarcc Sheridan, Tom McLoughlin, Thomas Weiniger and Dualta McGleenan (sorry if I’ve missed anyone out), however, special mention must go to Dara Cassidy and Nola Rafferty who both had podium finishes, receiving medals on the day.
NI Hospice Jingle Run and Reindeer Dash – Valley Park
Sunday saw the annual Jingle Run and Reindeer Dash taking place at the Valley Park in Newtownabbey. These races raise vital funds for the local NI Hospice. Hundreds turned out on the day to take part with only one junior stag taking on the Reindeer Dash. The course, consisting of “the shortest” 1km on record, was won by Nola Rafferty who raced home taking first place. Well done Nola.
Park Run – 5km
Saturday morning saw 6 juniors take to their local parks to complete the 5km Parkrun. Special mention goes to Dara Cassidy who finished in 5th place at Waterworks Parkrun with a whopping time of 19:55 and Mason Mercer who achieved a new PB at Sixmilewater Parkrun with an amazing time of 20.09, finishing in 4th place.
Well done to everyone who took part.
Waterworks parkrun – 5km
| Position | parkrunner | Gender | Age Group | Club | Time |
| 5 | Dara CASSIDY | Male | JM15-17 | North Belfast Harriers | 19:55 |
| 52 | Orán STEELE | Male | JM15-17 | North Belfast Harriers | 24:57 |
| 71 | Niamh MCMILLAN | Female | JW15-17 | North Belfast Harriers | 25:51 |
| 102 | Nola RAFFERTY | Female | JW11-14 | North Belfast Harriers | 27:32 |
| Carrickfergus parkrun – 5km | |||||
| Position | parkrunner | Gender | Age Group | Club | Time |
| 36 | Ronan O’NEILL | Male | JM10 | North Belfast Harriers | 27:03 |
| Sixmilewater parkrun – 5km | |||||
| Position | parkrunner | Gender | Age Group | Club | Time |
| 4 | Mason MERCER | Male | JM11-14 | North Belfast Harriers | 20:09 |
Junior Park Run – 2km
On Sunday, 13 Juniors attended 2 different Parkruns to showcase their talent.
At the Waterworks, the top 7 places were filled with 5 Junior Harriers with special mention going to the Mooney brothers taking 1st and 2nd spot.
Also big shout out to Tanoj Reddy Yakkanti who finished in 2nd place at Belfast Victoria Junior Parkrun.
Well done to all who took part.
| Waterworks Junior Parkrun – 2km | |||||
| Position | parkrunner | Gender | Age Group | Club | Time |
| 1 | Lucas MOONEY | Male | JM11-14 | North Belfast Harriers | 07:48 |
| 2 | Isaac MOONEY | Male | JM10 | North Belfast Harriers | 07:54 |
| 4 | Olivia BOYD | Female | JW11-14 | North Belfast Harriers | 08:26 |
| 5 | Max MCCURDY | Male | JM10 | North Belfast Harriers | 08:34 |
| 7 | Malcolm MACKENZIE | Male | JM10 | North Belfast Harriers | 09:12 |
| 13 | Miles MCKINNEY | Male | JM10 | North Belfast Harriers | 10:04 |
| 15 | Annabelle BOYD | Female | JW10 | North Belfast Harriers | 10:13 |
| 22 | Charlie MCCURDY | Male | JM10 | North Belfast Harriers | 10:33 |
| 23 | Ronan O’NEILL | Male | JM10 | North Belfast Harriers | 10:55 |
| 36 | Owen WHITE | Male | JM10 | North Belfast Harriers | 12:38 |
| 50 | Dara MCLAUGHLIN | Male | JM11-14 | North Belfast Harriers | 16:58 |
Belfast Victoria Junior Park Run – 2km | |||||
| Position | parkrunner | Gender | Age Group | Club | Time |
| 2 | Tanoj Reddy YAKKANTI | Male | JM11-14 | North Belfast Harriers | 07:54 |
| 42 | Taanya YAKKANTI | Female | JW10 | North Belfast Harriers | 13:59 |