If there’s one thing Irish runners know well, it’s that March weather rarely behaves itself. Back during this week in March 1979, the great John Treacy powered through mud, wind and cold to claim the World Cross Country title in Limerick, proving that Irish runners thrive in tough conditions. While this week in Belfast brought a typical mix of showers and blustery spells, the clouds cleared just in time for race night, giving runners a welcome stretch of dry roads. The improving conditions certainly helped as our young Stags turned out in force, firstly for the Deep RiverRock Queen’s 3K & 5K, and across both Parkruns 5K and Junior 2K events, showing once again that when there’s a start line, North Belfast Harriers will be there ready to run.
Deep RiverRock Queen’s 5K
The first event of the week was the Deep RiverRock Queen’s 3K, where North Belfast Harriers enjoyed a fantastic turnout and some excellent performances from our young athletes. Leading the way in outstanding style was Thomas Coy, who produced a superb run to take 1st place overall, crossing the line in an impressive 9:01 and setting the standard for the evening’s racing.
The first North Belfast Harriers junior female home was Cassie Curran, who delivered a strong and determined run to finish 15th overall with a time of 10:26, also securing 3rd place in her category, a fantastic performance in a very competitive field and a great result for the club.
Together they led a strong showing from the young Stags, with the rest of the North Belfast Harriers runners also putting in excellent performances on the night.
The next race of the evening was the Deep RiverRock Queen’s Elite 5K, where three of North Belfast Harriers’ junior athletes stepped up to compete in a very strong field. All three produced excellent performances, showing great determination over the fast Belfast course.
Cormac Leheny led the way for the club, finishing in an impressive 25th place overall with a superb time of 15:34. Fellow junior Cormac Carabine also ran strongly to finish 58th overall in 16:17, continuing a fine evening for the club’s young runners. Completing the trio was Joe Eager, who put in a determined effort to finish 135th overall with a time of 17:15, rounding off a strong showing from North Belfast Harriers’ junior athletes in elite company.
Deep RiverRock Queen’s 3K
| Pos | Bib | Firstname | Lastname | Gender | Club | Finish |
| 1 | 3104 | Thomas | Coy | M | North Belfast Harriers | 00:09:01 |
| 8 | 3128 | Lucas | Mooney | M | North Belfast Harriers | 00:10:11 |
| 15 | 3153 | Cassie | Curran | F | North Belfast Harriers | 00:10:26 |
| 19 | 3118 | Mason | Mercer | M | North Belfast Harriers | 00:10:37 |
| 28 | 3031 | Leila | Jones | F | North Belfast Harriers | 00:10:53 |
| 30 | 3013 | Kobe | McClelland | M | North Belfast Harriers | 00:10:55 |
| 38 | 3040 | Eloise | McAuley | F | North Belfast Harriers | 00:11:10 |
| 47 | 3105 | Eimear | Coy | F | North Belfast Harriers | 00:11:41 |
| 50 | 3154 | Eimear | O’ Regan | F | North Belfast Harriers | 00:11:45 |
| 51 | 3047 | Lois | Usher | F | North Belfast Harriers | 00:11:46 |
The Waterworks Parkrun
The Waterworks parkrun also saw some excellent performances from North Belfast Harriers, with a number of our young Junior Stags taking on the longer 5K distance and producing very strong runs.
Leading the way for the club was Sion McAllister, who ran superbly to finish 4th overall in an impressive personal best of 18:24. Close behind were Oisin Caldwell and Kobe McClelland, who both delivered strong performances to finish 21st and 22nd respectively, crossing the line in 22:05 and 22:06 in a very tight finish.
Also running well on the day was Séadna Lynch O’Hare, who produced another determined run to finish in 23:35, while Sophia Kielty was the first Junior NBH female home in this event, completing the course in 26:22.
There were also personal best performances from several of our young runners, including Folá O’Kane, who ran a superb PB of 26:35, with Lucy Jones (26:38) and Eimear O’Regan (21:57) also producing excellent runs on the day.
| Waterworks Parkrun, Belfast 5K | |||||
| 4 | Sion MCALLISTER | Male | JM11-14 | North Belfast Harriers | 18:24 |
| 21 | Oisin CALDWELL | Male | JM11-14 | North Belfast Harriers | 22:05 |
| 22 | Kobe MCCLELLAND | Male | JM11-14 | North Belfast Harriers | 22:06 |
| 44 | Séadna OHARE LYNCH | Male | JM10 | North Belfast Harriers | 23:35 |
| 89 | Erin O’REGAN | Female | JW11-14 | North Belfast Harriers | 26:12:00 |
| 99 | Fóla O’KANE | Female | JW11-14 | North Belfast Harriers | 26:35:00 |
| 96 | Sophia KIELTY | Female | JW10 | North Belfast Harriers | 26:22:00 |
| 101 | Lucy JONES | Female | JW11-14 | North Belfast Harriers | 26:38:00 |
| 129 | Annie CULLEN | Female | JW11-14 | North Belfast Harriers | 27:49:00 |
| 147 | Eimear COY | Female | JW11-14 | North Belfast Harriers | 28:34:00 |
| 148 | Nola RAFFERTY | Female | JW11-14 | North Belfast Harriers | 28:34:00 |
| 274 | Katie KIELTY | Female | JW10 | North Belfast Harriers | 39:51:00 |
The final event of the week was the Junior 2K Parkrun, where North Belfast Harriers once again had a fantastic turnout from our young athletes. Despite the rather blustery conditions, there was a brilliant turnout of both young runners and dedicated volunteers, creating a great atmosphere around the course.
In a superb display for the club, the first three runners across the line were all North Belfast Harriers, with Lucas Mooney leading the way in outstanding style to take 1st place in a brilliant 6:39, setting a new personal best. Close behind was Isaac Mooney, who finished 2nd in 7:19, with Sion McAllister crossing the line just seconds later in 3rd place, also recording 7:19, completing a clean sweep of the podium for NBH.
There were strong performances right throughout the field from the club’s young runners. Oisin Caldwell ran superbly to finish 5th overall in 7:55, also recording a new personal best, while further down the results Cillian Coy produced a great run to set another PB of 10:54.
Waterworks Junior Parkrun
| 1 | Lucas MOONEY | Male | JM11-14 | 06:39 |
| 2 | Isaac MOONEY | Male | JM11-14 | 07:19 |
| 3 | Sion MCALLISTER | Male | JM11-14 | 07:19 |
| 5 | Oisin CALDWELL | Male | JM11-14 | 07:55 |
| 7 | Tom MCLOUGHLIN | Male | JM11-14 | 08:20 |
| 9 | Séadna OHARE LYNCH | Male | JM10 | 08:37 |
| 12 | Jessica MURRAY | Female | JW11-14 | 09:03 |
| 13 | Sophia KIELTY | Female | JW10 | 09:04 |
| 14 | Olivia BOYD | Female | JW11-14 | 09:06 |
| 16 | Miles MCKINNEY | Male | JM10 | 09:24 |
| 20 | Annabelle BOYD | Female | JW10 | 10:05 |
| 22 | Annie CULLEN | Female | JW11-14 | 10:08 |
| 24 | Ellen CULLEN | Female | JW11-14 | 10:17 |
| 25 | Eva MOONEY | Female | JW10 | 10:19 |
| 28 | Eva MCCARNEY | Female | JW11-14 | 10:36 |
| 29 | Eva MCLOUGHLIN | Female | JW11-14 | 10:37 |
| 31 | Ronan O’NEILL | Male | JM10 | 10:41 |
| 32 | Olivia MCAVOY | Female | JW10 | 10:42 |
| 33 | Cillian COY | Male | JM10 | 10:54 |
| 47 | Ellie MCCARNEY | Female | JW10 | 12:43 |
| 51 | Harry TEAGUE | Male | JM10 | 13:20 |
Elsewhere at Ormeau Junior Parkrun, Etain McLoughlin flew the flag for North Belfast Harriers, recording a strong 10:05.
Over all it was a great way to end a fantastic week of running for North Belfast Harriers, with our young athletes once again showing great determination, talent and club spirit.
Just a reminder that there will be no training on Tuesday 17th March as the Girls Model will be closed for St Patrick’s Day. Training will resume as normal on Thursday 19th March. We hope everyone enjoys the St Patrick’s Day festivities and we look forward to seeing all the young Stags back on Thursday night, ready to stretch the legs and run off the celebrations! ☘️🦌🏃♂️