Ulster Age Group Uneven Championship Cross Country – 9th November
Well, the big news this week is that all roads lead to Donegal for the Ulster Uneven Championship Cross Country races that are hosted by Finn Valley AC at their Stranorlar base this Sunday 9th November. It great to see so many Juniors lined up to race at what is one of the biggest race events of the year for kids. Best of luck to everyone going up and we look forward to cheering every stag on the day. All the results and highlights will be in the next run report plus keep an eye on the WhatsApp group on the day for pictures and results. Fingers crossed for lots of smiles, PB’s and maybe even some bling! Reminder to parents, bring wellies just in case as that lower field can get a little mucky!
As part of the preparations for the Weekend big races, the coaches kindly organised another XC training session up at the valley park on Saturday and what perfect conditions to prepare for Donegal. A great training session with lots of mud. Well done to the kids and big thanks for the coaches.
Parkruns – Saturday 1st November
Waterworks
We saw 11 Juniors take on the Waterworks on Saturday morning and with the heavy rain over the previous two days, they faced a new contingency course due to flooding at the lower pond! Well done to Eimear for being first Junior over the line. Big shout out to Oliver on running his first 5k Waterworks Parkrun.
| Name | Position | Time |
| Eimear O’Regan | 31 | 22:43 |
| James O’Shaughnessy | 37 | 23:21 |
| Oisin Caldwell | 46 | 23:48 |
| Seadna O’Hare Lynch | 65 | 24:46 |
| Georgia O’Shaughnessy | 79 | 25:15 |
| Senan O’Connell | 125 | 27:11 |
| Oliver Bisewski | 156 | 28:40 |
| Erin O’Regan | 164 | 28:49 |
| Lucy Jones | 169 | 29:01 |
| Katie-Louise Goodfellow | 248 | 32:50 |
| Finn McConnell | 322 | 1:00:38 |
We also had two Juniors participate in a little Parkrun tourism with the Mooney brothers, Lucas and Isaac, taking on the Buncrana Parkrun up in Donegal – probably the most beautiful and scenic parkrun! (*biased Buncrana native alert). Well done boys for running what can be a challenging course on a cold and windy day – Lucas was 19th in 24:30 and Isaac followed straight after in 20th on 24:44
Waterworks Junior Parkrun – Sunday 2nd November
Well done to the 12 Juniors who took on the Junior Parkrun at the Waterworks on what was a perfect fresh autumn morning at the Waterworks. Super to see the first 4 runners over the line all being wee Stags then the added bonus to see Oisin and Seadna both getting PB’s!!!
| Name | Position | Time |
| Kobe McClelland | 1 | 7:40 |
| Oisin Caldwell | 2 | 8:11 *PB* |
| Seadna O’Hare Lynch | 3 | 8.18 *PB* |
| Sophia Doris | 4 | 8.38 |
| Luke Doris | 7 | 9.10 |
| Olivia Boyd | 8 | 9:14 |
| Annabell Boyd | 13 | 9:43 |
| Eva McCarney | 23 | 11:44 |
| Olivia McAvoy | 27 | 12:17 |
| Ellie McCarney | 34 | 12:31 |
| Hollie Brennan | 37 | 13:17 |
| Dara McLaughlin | 60 | 20:49 |
Ballyclare XC – 1st November
Well done to Hollie Brennan who ran in the girls U14 race at the McConnell Shield XC races in Ballyclare on Saturday. Hollie ran a great race and was 43 seconds faster than her time for the same event last year. Add into the mix that she’s also recently had two PB’s and a course PB since joining the club 2 months ago, it’s clear to see the training is working – Trust the process as coach Seamus always says!
Event Calendar
- All Ireland Even Cross-Country Championships – L/Derry on Sunday 23November
Several Juniors have qualified for this following on from the recent Even Ulster Championships in Comber. The coaches will be confirming athletes shortly.
- Irwin Spiers Memorial AC
Annual XC races hosted by Acorns AC in Cookstown on 6th December starting at U10’s right up to U18’s – More details via: IRWIN SPIERS MEMORIAL XC 2025 | Athletics Fixtures in Northern Ireland | Athletics Northern Ireland
- All Ireland Uneven Cross-Country Championships – Dublin on 7 December
Place holder for any athletes racing in Donegal on 9th November and who may subsequently qualify.
Training
Training not back to normal times this week due to Girls model closed Tuesday night. Instead, this Tuesday, the older kids who normally train at 6.15, can attend a training session at Belfast Castle main gates at 6pm. Thursday we return as normal back at Girls Model track.
Please ensure all Juniors bring additional layers of clothing for warm up, post running and in case they have to sit out at any time as the evenings are getting very cold now.
Also, if any parents can lend a support at pack up time with the taking down of the mobile lights that would be appreciated – means everyone gets home in good time!
That’s all for this week folks, roll on the racing in the hills of Donegal later this week!!