The legendary WBPH-TV9 weatherman, Phil Connors, once predicted while preparing for a live outside broadcast in Punxsutawney, Pennslyvania:
“Its going to be cold, its going to be grey, and its going to last for the rest of your life”
For those of you who were at the Mary Peters Track last Thursday evening for the opening night of the Super 6 Track & Field, that forecast may well ring true. Track season in the bitter cold instead of mild sunny weather….someone please check in on Punxsutawney Phil.
Despite that weather we had some very positive results on the tracks and on parks…
All Ireland Indoor Track & Field Championships – Athlone – 11th April
After success at Ulster Indoors, Cassie Curran took the road down to Athlone on Saturday to run in the Irish U16 Girls 1500m final. This proved to be an adrenaline fuelled race for spectators and runners alike in what was a blistering race. Cassie ran an incredible race and was just pipped for 3rd place and a medal by less than 0.5 of a second. Nothing was left on the track by Cassie who subsequently set a new Female club record of 4:44:39 (previous record set by Roise Roberts 4:45:21 in 2023). Well done Cassie and no doubt she’ll be back even more determined next year!
Lagan Valley AC Super Six Meeting 1 – Mary Peters Track – 9th April
The first outdoor track event of 2026 and the weather didn’t get the memo that this was meant to be Spring. Lots of young Stags who were lucky enough to get registered (these events always sell out fast so be ready for each opening!) put in tremendous efforts with many getting PB’s and medals along the way. These events are great preparation for the marquee Schools and Club track events later this Spring/Summer.
The full results can be accessed here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1sol6xh1nL8p5cepA34Tq2wBhOSDFqOjQ3gmVwP1fQNw/edit?usp=drivesdk
U10’s:
- Miles McKinney ran an excellent 100m race finishing in 4th place in a time of 17:59
- Miles also competed in the Long Jump finishing in 7th place with distance of 2:46
U14’s:
- Ethan Huddleston ran in the boys 100m race finishing 4th in a time of 15:87
- Maria Maguire (14:61), Jessica Murray (16:09) ran the 100m
- Boys 800m had 3 stags racing with Mason Mercer grabbing 3rd place and a medal in 2:24, Sion McAllister in 4th place (2:26) and Ethan Huddleston 21st in 3:00 – Well done boys.
- We had 4 girls race in the 800m – Nola Rafferty 7th (2:43), Maria Maguire 17th (2:52), Jessica Murray22nd (3:09) and Eva McLoughlin 25th (3:41)
- Finally in U14s, Maria Maguire completed a hat-trick of events coming 7th our of 14 in the Long Jump with a distance of 3:23, fair play Maria!
U16’s:
- We had one stag in the boys 100m with Tanoj-Reddy Yakkanti winning his heat in 12:89 and finishing 7th overall
- For the girls 100m, Lois Usher finished her heat in 7th place in a time of 14:62
- In the boys 800m, we had a big field of runners with congratulations to Ruarrc Sheridan (2nd – 2:13) and Cormac Leheny (3rd – 2:14) for top 3 finishes! They were quickly followed home by Cormac Carabine in 9th (2:20), Lucas Mooney 10th (2:20) and Tom McLoughlin 15th (2:35)
- In the girls 800m we had 4 Harriers and two of them taking first and second place! Cassie Curran finished 1st in 2:19 and hot on her heels was Leila Jones in 2:22 – hopefully like Cross country season these two girls keep pushing each other with more medals and all-ireland tracks to look forward to. Lois Usher then came in 16th (2:42) and Eimear Coy in 19th (2:56) – great work girls!
- Like Maria in the U14’s, Lois decided to multi-task and she came 7th in the Long Jump recording a distance of 3:96 – great work Lois.
U18’s:
- Daisy Lewis secured a podium and 3rd place in the 100m in a time of 14:71!
- Three boys rans the 800m with Leo McAuley in 8th (2:10), Thomas Coy 9th (2:11) and Joe Eager in 14th (2:18) – good running for the boys as they were competing against many much older boys in this race.
- In the girls 800m, we had Niamh McMillan finishing in 9th place in 2:41
The 2nd in the six event series takes place May 14th and most events are full but still worth checking availability for some events – these are great preparation for the bigger and ultimately important club and schools districts/Ulsters with the incentive of All-Ireland final qualifications in the Summer. Make sure to be ready to book places for the 3rd night when entries open, keep an eye on the group chat post May 14th!
Parkruns – Saturday 11th April
Waterworks
Well done to Lois Usher getting a PB and first female harrier over the finish line in 21:25 in 21st place.
Big shout out to Kobe McClelland for a new PB of 20:58! Thomas Coy ran a fast run in 17:50 finishing in 2nd place. We had several other Juniors complete the 5k parkrun, for full results you can view here:
Elsewhere…
- Erin O’Regan was the 44th female to complete the Ormeau Parkrun in a time of 27:30
- Seadna O’Hare Lynch was the 72nd finisher at the always fast Victoria Parkun in a time of 22:30
Waterworks Junior Parkrun – Sunday 12th April
Maria Maguire wrapped up a busy week with an excellent 1st place in a time of 8:12 – bonus that it was a PB!!!
Also a big well done to Hollie Brennan for a PB in a time of 12:41
In total we had 11 Juniors complete the course. Full details can be found here:
results | Waterworks junior parkrun
Future Dates for the Diary:
- Ulster Schools Track & Field Championships: 15th & 16th May – Antrim Forum
- All Ireland Schools Track & Field Championships: 29th & 30th May – Tullamore
- NI & Ulster Track & Field Club Age Group Championships: 6th & 7th June – Mary Peters Track
In other news
Congratulations to our very own Conor Curran (NBH social media manager and enthusiastic junior supporter at many a race!) who was in Torun, Poland over Easter racing for Team Ireland at the European Masters Indoors Athletics Championships. Conor raced in the M50 1500m final and sealed a silver medal in a time of 4:15:67. Well done Conor! And he still has a few more age categories at Masters level to go yet so maybe more to follow!
Training
Training as normal this Tuesday and Thursday at Girls Model track from 6pm
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 still cool and often wet, hopefully the Groundhog doesn’t see his shadow next time he ventures out…