North Belfast Harriers Race Report 4th – 10th August 2025

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As the intermittent summer sunshine of early August, was occasionally interrupted by showers, members of North Belfast Harriers continued to participate in running events and races on the track, roads, countryside and parks, with some stunning successes, podium places, records set and team trophies lifted along the way. 

North Belfast Harriers Shine at the Mallusk 5 Mile Challenge, Friday 8th August, with Podium Places Galore and First Place Team Trophies for both the Men and the Women.  

There was a bumper turnout of Harriers on Friday night for the road race meeting, hosted by near neighbours, Mallusk Harriers. On a verry challenging, but scenic 5 mile course, there were some stunning performances. The ladies’ team trophy was lifted in style by North Belfast Harriers, as Sarah McNutt, Fionnuala O’Hare and Sarah-Jane McFadden romped home, to monopolise the podium, claiming gold, silver and bronze, respectively. A strong all round performance by the men, ensured that they also lifted the team trophy in the men’s race. In addition, there were category wins for Mark Smith (M55) and Dara Cassidy (MJr). Meanwhile, Ryan Moore (M40), Fionnuala O’Hare (FO), Joe Gallagher (M65), Helen Weir (F50), Frances McMullan (F60), Neve Johnston (FJr) and Nuala Mahon (F65) all achieved category second places. Sarah-Jane McFadden (FO), Sandy Carr (F45), Brian Stewart (M60) and Monica O’Kane all picked up category third places. Also worth a special mention are Derek and Katie-Louise Goodfellow. Tackling the infamous Sealstown Hill on a wheelchair is truly commendable. Well done to all the participants, especially those, for whom Friday, was their first experience of the course. 

Group photos by J Gallagher. Action photos courtesy of Tony Dalton Photography.

Mallusk 5 Mile Challenge 

Position Number Name Male/ Female Place Category  Category Place  Time 
7 215 Conal McCambridge 7 MO 5 28:39 
8 227 Matthew McCombe 8 MO 6 28:41 
9 281 Ryan Moore 9 M40 2 29:16 
13 259 Brandon McMinn 13 MO 8 29:24 
16 350 Mark Smith 16 M55 1 30:01 
19 184 Michael Lamont 19 M35 2 30:15 
23 267 Sarah McNutt 1 FO 1 30:44 
42 304 Fionnuala O’Hare 2 FO 2 33:47 
44 52 Dara Cassidy 42 MJr 1 33:55 
49 390 Colin Willetts 47 M40 10 34:06 
50 237 Sarah-Jane McFadden 3 FO 3 34:07 
61 158 Frank Hughes 56 M55 4 35:12 
85 111 Joe Gallagher 79 M65 2 37:06 
87 45 Ray Cameron 81 M50 7 37:14 
108 133 Nicky Hagan 96 M35 12 39:01 
116 388 Helen Weir 16 F50 2 39:21 
123 261 Frances McMullan 18 F60 2 39:44 
137 48 Sandy Carr 21 F45 3 40:32 
140 359 Brian Stewart 118 M65 3 40:39 
150 226 Greg McClure 124 M65 4 41:11 
194 51 John Casey 154 M65 5 44:20 
195 6 Gerry Anderson 155 M55 16 44:20 
221 322 Jason Reid 167 M35 22 46:23 
222 121 Derek and Katie-Louise Goodfellow 168 M45 26 46:29 
223 82 Martin Doherty 169 M40 25 46:29 
238 148 Lorraine Hibburt 61 F50 10 47:13 
259 30 Joanne Boal 71 F50 12 48:55 
260 38 Mark Brooks 189 M55 23 48:56 
277 165 Neve Johnston 83 FJr 2 50:28 
289 367 Robyn Ellen Thompson 91 F35 13 52:05 
292 228 Brendan McConnell 200 M45 31 52:34 
294 255 Martin McLarnon 201 M50 18 52:38 
310 351 Colm Smyth 206 M45 32 54:23 
316 374 Roisin Tomlinson 108 F60 8 55:01 
317 197 Nuala Mahon 109 F65 2 55:06 
325 306 Monica O’Kane 115 F65 3 57:51 
340 356 Robert Speers 213 MO 53 1:03:47 
344 81 Alison Dickson 130 F50 21 1:04:46 

Lurig Mountain Challenge, Saturday 9th August, Cushendall 

A total of six brave Harriers took on the Lurig Mountain Challenge on Saturday afternoon. Veteran international mountain runner, Philip Goss, demonstrated some exemplary running technique, for this course, to lift overall silver and finish first in his category, in the superb time of 30 min: 35 sec. Second home for the Harriers was Martin Muldoon, a runner who also is no stranger to mountain running. Martin tackled the unusual course in an accomplished manner, finishing second in his category and 25th overall, in 36 min: 46 sec.  

The Lurig Challenge Run, which is advertised as one of the country’s most unique and memorable races and the highlight of the Heart of the Glens festival, involves participants running from the Curfew Tower, in the centre of Cushendall, right to the summit of Lurig mountain and back again. Covering a distance of 3.8 miles, with an elevation gain of 1073 ft, over roads, lanes and open countryside, it certainly puts the participants through their paces. Well done to all the runners, who completed this unique sporting challenge. 

Photos supplied by Paul Horan.

Lurig Mountain Challenge 

Position Number Name Category  Category Place  Gun Time Chip Time 
2 387 Philip Goss M40 1 30:35 30:35 
25 814 Martin Muldoon M50 2 36:46 36:46 
46 467 Odhran Rafferty MO 11 38:28 38:28 
55 815 Paul Horan M50 5 39:30 39:30 
86 363 John Keaney MO 22 44:13 44:00 
197 537 Aodh Rafferty MU20 15 52:36 52:21 
327 566 Edward Kearney M35 41 1:04:46 1:04:46 

Andrew Thompson Storms Home at the BMC Grand Prix Trafford Meet, Saturday 9th August. 

Andrew Thompson delivered a massive 800m on Saturday evening, at the BMC Grand Prix Trafford, storming home in 1min: 46.77sec, finishing in third place, setting a new PB, which was also faster than the previous record for the meet, and setting a new club 800m record. At the same meet Chris Fielding finished 8th in the 5000m, in 14 min:15.94sec, becoming the 3rd fastest North Belfast Harrier of all time, at this distance.  

Chris Fielding at Trafford. 

Details and photo courtesy of Conal McCambridge. 

NI and Ulster Senior Track and Field Championships, Saturday 9th August, Mary Peters Track, Belfast 

Four Harriers took part in the NI and Ulster Track and Field Championships on Sunday. John Balck, Mark Cornett and Colin McDowell ran in the 5000m, whilst Conor Curran, who has demonstrated his ability, and medalled, on a world stage over shorter distances this year, opted for the 1500m and put in another great performance, to set a new Northern Ireland 1500m record for the M50 category. Congratulations Conor and well done to all the representatives from the club. 

NI and Ulster 5000m 

Position Number Name Time 
4 146 John Black 15:35.61 
9 161 Mark Cornett 16:21.77 
11 152 Colin McDowell 17:45.54 

NI and Ulster 1500m 

Position Number Name Time 
9 129 Conor Curran 4:16.47 

Details courtesy of Jim McClean. 

Crawfordsburn 5k Trail Race, Wednesday 6th August 

Three Harriers made their way to Crawfordsburn Country Park on Wednesday evening, for the 5k trail race hosted by North Down AC. The course took athletes over a mixture of tarmac, gravel and grass paths, weaving around the scenic country park and along the coast. Worth a special mention are Lois Usher, who was first in the female junior category in 20 min: 46 sec and Chris Callaghan, who was third in the M60 category in 27 min: 12 sec. Well done to all the runners, who completed this mixed terrain scenic course. 

Crawfordsburn 5k Trail Race 

Position Number Name Category  Category Place Gun Time Chip Time 
20 166 Lois Usher FJ 1 20:47 20:46 
96 27 Chris Callaghan M60 3 27:17 27:12 
135 152 Jessie Smith FJ 8 30:51 30:49 

Altenar Isle of Man Half Marathon Saturday 9th  August 

Andrew Considine represented the Harriers in the Isle of Man on Saturday, opting for the Half Marathon distance. Competing in the M50 category, Andrew ran a great race to finish second in his category and 24th overall, in a time of 1hour: 27min: 35sec. Well done Andrew on a great race. 

Newbridge 5k and 10k Races, Sunday 10th August, Toomebridge 

On Sunday two Harriers made their way towards Toomebridge for the Newbridge races. Cathaoir Purvis ran a great race in the 5k, lifting gold, in a time of 15 min: 57 sec, finishing 19 secs ahead of his nearest rival. Brian Stewart opted for the 10k race, finishing in 50 min: 13 secs. Well done to both runners. 

Newbridge 10k Race 

Position Number Name Category  Category Place  Gun Time Chip Time 
127 283 Brian Stewart M60 7 50:21 50:13 

Newbridge 5k Race 

Position Number Name Category  Category Place  Gun Time Chip Time 
1 5228 Cathaoir Purvis MO 1 15:57 15:57 

Dambusters 10 Mile Race, Silent Valley, Co Down, Saturday 9th August 

Denise Fuenzalida was the sole representative of the Harriers to make the journey to the scenic Mournes, for the Dambusters 10 Mile Race, which is staged by the Born to Run events organisation. Denise finished the race in 2hours: 31min: 30sec, in 341st place. Well done Denise, on tackling a scenic course, that was not devoid of challenges. 

Photo supplied by Denise Fuenzalida. 

Some Harriers engaging in Parkrun tourism. Photo courtesy of Frances Stroud.

Parkruns, Saturday 9th August 

As the pleasant August weather made activities in the outdoors more appealing, member of North Belfast Harriers turned out in numbers, locally and in more distant locations, to celebrate their love of running and enjoy the camaraderie, craic and convivial collective engagement that are at the core of every 5k Parkrun.  

Worth a special mention this week are Mark Smith, who was a first finisher, Conor O’Rawe, who was a second finisher, James Trainor and Adam McCleave who were third finishers, April Clarke, Emily McRitchie, Alina Biskupska and Natasha Hersom, who were first females, Ita McCambridge, who was a second female and Catriona McCambridge, who was a third female finisher. Congratulations also to Katie-Louise Goodfellow, Derek Goodfellow, Kieran Quinn, Erin O’Regan and Conor O’Rawe, who 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 
3 Adam McCleave 64.45% 20:01 Third finisher 
6 Thomas Coy 68.96% 20:34  
7 Leo McAuley 68.91% 20:35  
23 Dermot Coy 62.55% 22:50  
28 Joe Gallagher 73.90% 23:07  
31 Frank Hughes 66.05% 23:16  
36 Peter McClelland 59.10% 23:38  
55 Piaras McShane 51.46% 25:04  
58 Séadna O’Hare Lynch 65.05% 25:08  
70 Emmett Sullivan 62.52% 26:06  
80 Georgia O’Shaughnessy 66.14% 26:32  
89 Greg McClure 64.21% 26:52  
90 Orán Steel 50.96% 26:53  
97 Peter Dolan 50.58% 27:11  
105 Ryan Moore 50.67% 27:20  
111 Sean McShane 53.61% 27:57  
113 Michelle McLoughlin 55.38% 28:12  
116 David Hurst 48.94% 28:18  
120 Ruby Mae McLaughlin 61.19% 28:41  
122 Lindsay Bell 56.89% 28:46  
123 Laura Connolly 57.56% 28:47  
127 Tony Reid 56.09% 28:51  
138 Ann Craven 64.10% 29:26  
144 Claire O’Shaughnessy 53.76% 30:08  
146 Stella Harrison 68.01% 30:16  
150 Jim Clinton 54.57% 30:27  
156 Jack Carberry 72.35% 30:37  
159 Gillian Roden 51.28% 30:41  
160 Rachel Aicken 48.89% 30:41  
161 Joanne Curran 53.85% 30:46  
164 Oisin Caldwell 49.51% 30:54  
180 David Waugh 54.64% 32:40  
189 Sandy Carr 47.91% 33:09  
190 Margaret Stephens 61.84% 33:17  
195 Paul McCusker 47.39% 33:50  
205 Philomena Donaldson 60.73% 34:56  
216 Michelle Harkley 45.87% 35:19  
217 Martin McLarnon 41.71% 35:22  
219 Eva McLoughlin 46.38% 35:52  
221 Matthew Purvis 36.54% 36:05  
229 Nola Jamieson 39.76% 38:59  
230 Kerry McShane 40.51% 39:35  
238 Kathleen Montgomery 49.74% 42:01  
239 Catherine Carleton 47.50% 42:02  
245 Denis Loughran 47.38% 45:29  
258 Lyle Carleton 29.66% 55:01  

Belfast Victoria Parkrun 

Position Name Age Grade Time Remarks 
34 Gerard McNamara 71.58% 20:56  

Queen’s Parkrun 

Position Name Age Grade Time Remarks 
210 Paul Lavery 36.99% 46:38  

Ormeau Parkrun 

Position Name Age Grade Time Remarks 
190 John Davidson 56.78% 27:32  
431 Mannix McAlister 31.43% 41:09  
432 Malachy McKenna 31.34% 41:16  

Antrim Parkrun 

Position Name Age Grade Time Remarks 
27 Gavin McCaffrey 56.09% 23:00  
111 Paul Williams 57.83% 27:59  
133 Neil Mercer 51.10% 28:52 First Timer 
247 Jason Reid 36.09% 37:16  

Castlewellan Parkrun 

Position Name Age Grade Time Remarks 
83 Vincent Bradley 60.64% 27:24  

Armagh Parkrun 

Position Name Age Grade Time Remarks 
54 Eadaoin Kelly 27.17% 55:42  

Larne Parkrun 

Position Name Age Grade Time Remarks 
5 April Clarke 70.51% 21:05 First Female 
14 Matthew Carleton 55.76% 23:08  
49 Greg Lavery 32.73% 45:47  

Valley Parkrun 

Position Name Age Grade Time Remarks 
1 Mark Smith 82.52% 18:47 First Finisher 
5 Emily McRitchie 72.07% 20:46 First Timer & First Female 
84 Jessie Smith 47.58% 33:02  

Orangefield Parkrun 

Position Name Age Grade Time Remarks 
3 James Trainor 71.00% 19:05 Third Finisher 
81 Katie-Louise Goodfellow 57.53% 29:40 New PB 
82 Derek Goodfellow 48.12% 29:41 New PB 
134 Fergus Jamison 42.40% 37:49  
135 Ita Weir 46.57% 37:52  

Sixmilewater Parkrun 

Position Name Age Grade Time Remarks 
13 Brandon McMinn 60.65% 21:18  
23 Ray Cameron 62.63% 23:33  

Hillsborough Forest Parkrun 

Position Name Age Grade Time Remarks 
40 Kieran Quinn 59.48% 22:57 New PB 
137 Frances Stroud 51.51% 30:19  
189 Lorraine Hibburt 47.11% 36:58 First Timer 

Derrynoid Forest Parkrun 

Position Name Age Grade Time Remarks 
7 Alina Biskupska 60.16% 23:43 First female 

Paisley Park Parkrun 

Position Name Age Grade Time Remarks 
46 Joanne Boal 59.34% 29:43  
58 Lynn Murray 44.45% 41:17  

Aberdeen Parkrun 

Position Name Age Grade Time Remarks 
348 Bernadette Duffy 59.21% 35:50 First Timer 

Wroclaw Parkrun 

Position Name Age Grade Time Remarks 
99 Erin O’Regan 55.54% 28:45 New PB 

Haverfordwest Parkrun 

Position Name Age Grade Time Remarks 
12 Natasha Hersom 69.91% 21:23 First timer & First Female 

Letterkenny Parkrun 

Position Name Age Grade Time Remarks 
20 Ita McCambridge 81.17% 24:36 Second Female 
26 Catriona McCambridge 58.22% 25:51 Third Female 
28 Paddy McCambridge 62.56% 26:05  
38 Liam Smyth 55.28% 29:31  

Great Notley Parkrun 

Position Name Age Grade Time Remarks 
11 Erin Beattie 66.77% 22:10 First Timer 

Glengarriff Parkrun 

Position Name Age Grade Time Remarks 
46 Philip McIlwrath 49.28% 30:10 First Timer 
100 Rosy Ryan 31.99% 53:01 First Timer 

Falcarragh Parkrun 

Position Name Age Grade Time Remarks 
17 John Gerard Murphy 69.04% 22:27  
58 John Lavery 59.27% 28:02  

Milano Nord Parkrun 

Position Name Age Grade Time Remarks 
39 Cillian McLoughlin 62.95% 23:03 First Timer 

Westpark Parkrun 

Position Name Age Grade Time Remarks 
128 Glenn Beattie 43.85% 29:25  

Lordship Recreation Grounds Parkrun 

Position Name Age Grade Time Remarks 
2 Conor O’Rawe 73.71 17:30 Second Finisher & New PB 

Inis Meáin Parkrun 

Position Name Age Grade Time Remarks 
9 Maurice Palmer 58.97% 28:26 First Timer 
18 Evelyn Palmer 64.34% 31:30 First Timer