Happy New Year to all the junior Harriers, their families and friends, and of course our dedicated coaches who make it all happen in all weathers and in all parts of Ireland. We hope you all enjoyed a well deserved rest and perhaps are ready to show off new running gear, especially Stag embossed clothes – we all look forward to seeing many of you making your mark in the new year.
Indeed, the new year was only 11 days old but our juniors quickly started 2026 with a bang as many competed in the Mathieson Cup and Shield XC at the Mallusk playing fields on Sunday and performance’s carried on where they had left off in the old year.
In windy but thankfully not wet conditions the first race saw our Primary 5-7 girls running 800m over the soft ground. Sophia Doris was the first Harrier over the line in 5th place in a tight finish, and Isla McNutt followed her home in a gutsy 17th place. Well done girls.
The next Harriers to run were in the U13 combined boys and girls event over 2km. Hitting the front and never looking back – apart from a cheeky grin to his supporters – Cormac Carabine crossed the line first in a super time of 7min 10secs, although Mason Mercer was not far behind in 4th. Other Stags to cross over with gutsy runs were Isaac Mooney in 15th, Oisin Caldwell in 31st and then a fine finish from the first female Harrier as Nola Rafferty took 34th place overall and 10th in the girls section. Also in the girls section we saw Eva McLoughlin and Fola O’Kane battle it out and cross the line close to each other. Well done girls and boys and congratulations to our medal winner on top of the podium !!
The U15 event was also a combined race, this time over a 3km course, and yet again we saw a junior Stag at the top of the podium, this time Ruarcc Sheridan leading the field home and again with a healthy margin in a time of 9mins 37secs. Great running Ruarcc ! Further down the field we saw two of our juniors battling it out against each other, with Joe Eager finally just pipping Lucas Mooney to 15th place, whilst Tom McLoughlin dug deep to cross in 26th place. And with the course starting to get muddy our very own Eimear Coy gave it her all to cross in 17th place in the girls section. Great determination from you all and enjoy your win Ruarcc !!
It may be a new year but our Harriers continue to make it to the start line where our own volunteers help take charge for the weekend Park Runs at the waterworks. Whilst the Saturday 5km saw some strong performances it was Sundays 2km run that saw 2 super PBs, with great times from Eloise McAuley, who also finished 1st and Olivia McAvoy. Keep the PBs coming juniors !!
Waterworks Park Runs
5km Park Run
| 40 | Alex Reid | Male | JM15-17 | North Belfast Harriers | 23.12 |
| 48 | Joseph Eager | Male | JM15-17 | North Belfast Harriers | 23.48 |
| 61 | Seadna O’Hare Lynch | Male | JM10 | North Belfast Harriers | 24.47 |
| 132 | Georgia O’Sshaughnessy | Female | JW10 | North Belfast Harriers | 27.50 |
2k Park Run
| 1 | Eloise McAuley | Female | JW11-14 | North Belfast Harriers | PB 7.28 |
| 4 | Luke Doris | Male | JM10 | North Belfast Harriers | 9.14 |
| 7 | Sophia Kielty | Female | JW10 | North Belfast Harriers | 9.52 |
| 8 | Lucy Jones | Female | JW11-14 | North Belfast Harriers | 10.04 |
| 10 | Eva Mooney | Female | JW10 | North Belfast Harriers | 10.28 |
| 12 | Olivia McAvoy | Female | JW10 | North Belfast Harriers | PB 12.43 |
| 18 | Hollie Brennan | Female | JW11-14 | North Belfast Harriers | 15.28 |
As always we also had a fair share of our juniors running in other Park Runs around Belfast (and sometimes beyond) and on Saturday 3 of our girls ran the Ormeau Park 5km, with Eimear O’Regan finishing as second female and a super 49th overall in a time of 22min 09secs, followed by Niamh McMillan as 14th girl in 24mins 59secs and Erin O’Regan as 59th girl in 29mins 11 secs. And considering the size of the field and I am sure a lot of jostling these were all great runs ! Not to be outdone Lois Usher ran the 5km at Paisley Park, finishing as 1st female and 4th overall – super run Lois – and somehow Lois followed up with a 2nd place at the 2km run in Antrim on Sunday !! And last but not least Ronan O’Neill ran the 2km park run at Musgrave and finished in a time of 12mins 27secs – we look forward to seeing lots more from you Ronan !
Although most of our juniors (and parents) took a well deserved break over the holidays many also still took the time to go for a jog or join a Park Run which was great to see. Yet two in particular did more than just stretch their legs and deserve a mention. Just before Christmas Eimear O’Regan competed in the National Indoor Athletics junior event in Dublin and posted a new PB in the U16 800m girls event which was a superb run and a great experience for her, whilst at the Victoria Park 5km parkrun just after Christmas our very own Cormac Leheny gave the current U23 XC European champion a run for his money whilst also hitting yet another PB. Super running from two of our more seasoned juniors and perhaps incentives for our younger runners to keep training and running !
Unfortunately training saw a false start last week due to the inclement weather, but despite the forecast looking wet this coming week we should resume training this week at Girls Model School. Attendance will be important for many as the Secondary Schools District XC races are fast approaching, being scheduled for 23rd January for District A and 27th January for District B. As usual please wear appropriate clothing and follow all instructions from your coaches.