As April draws to a close and the brighter days of spring give way to the promise of summer, it has been a particularly busy and exciting week for the young athletes of North Belfast Harriers. Under clear blue skies on a beautiful Tuesday morning, the action came thick and fast with both the Primary Schools Cross Country and the District B Track and Field Championships taking place, offering our junior stags a fantastic opportunity to showcase their talent, determination and ever-improving skills. There was a great buzz around both events, with strong representation from the club and plenty of encouraging performances across all age groups.
The Belfast Primary Schools Cross Country is a key event in the schools athletics calendar, bringing together young runners from across the city. This year’s races were held at Mallusk Playing Fields, with over 30 primary schools and hundreds of pupils taking part across the different age groups.
North Belfast Harriers were well represented, with many of our junior athletes competing for their schools. It was great to see such strong participation from the club, with our young stags showing determination on a challenging course and gaining valuable race experience in a competitive but enjoyable setting.
The Schools Track and Field Championships for District B took place at the Antrim Forum on a warm and sunny Tuesday, bringing together schools from across the district for a full day of competition. Events ranged from 100m and 800m races to long jump, high jump and shot put, with a high standard on display throughout. North Belfast Harriers were strongly represented by athletes competing for their schools, with several impressive performances across both track and field. It was particularly encouraging to see our young stags stepping up in multiple events and continuing to build confidence in a competitive environment.
As official results are not yet available, we would like to extend our thanks to all those in attendance who shared fantastic photos and provided great descriptions of our young athletes’ achievements.
At the same time, the wider athletics community in the city was firmly focused on marathon weekend. The Belfast Marathon, one of the largest mass-participation sporting events in Ulster draws thousands of runners each year and is known not only for its challenging course but for the incredible support from local communities lining the streets. In fact, the event regularly attracts over 15,000 participants across its various races, making it a true celebration of endurance, resilience and community spirit. With so many club members either taking part, volunteering, or out supporting on the day, there were some changes to the usual weekend routine. While the Saturday parkrun at the Waterworks still went ahead, the Junior parkrun on Sunday was cancelled, with many of our young athletes instead heading elsewhere to run or taking the opportunity to soak up the atmosphere and cheer on those tackling the 26.2 miles.
A special mention to Ruarcc Sheridan who completed a leg of the Belfast Marathon as part of a relay team.
Also another big shout out to our amazing coach Gladys Ganiel also representing the North Belfast Harriers in the Belfast Marathon at the weekend.
Our young members were out in force along the sidelines, proudly cheering on their coach Gladys and soaking up the atmosphere of marathon day.
Some of our young North Belfast Harriers also had the fantastic opportunity to take part in a bit of punditry with BBC Northern Ireland during the marathon, sharing their insights and enthusiasm.
Despite the excitement of marathon weekend, it didn’t interrupt things too much for our young stags, with plenty still taking part in both 5k and 2k parkruns at various locations across the country over the Bank Holiday weekend.
Waterworks parkrun, Belfast 5K
| Position | Name | Gender | Age | Club | Time |
| 111 | Georgia O Shaughnessy | Female | JW10 | North Belfast Harriers | 27:08 |
| 125 | Niamh Mc Millan | Female | JW15-17 | North Belfast Harriers | 27.47 |
| 127 | Folá O Kane | Female | JW11-14 | North Belfast Harriers | 27:56 |
| 222 | Eva McLoughlan | Female | JW11-14 | North Belfast Harriers | 33:42 |
Sixmilewater parkrun 5k
| Position | Name | Gender | Age | Club | Time |
| 6 | Mason Mercier | Male | JM11-14 | North Belfast Harriers | 19:59 |
Illaunmanagh parkrun 5K
| Position | Name | Gender | Age | Club | Time |
| 6 | Séadna Lynch O’Hare | Male | JM10 | North Belfast Harriers | 23:41 |
Musgrave Junior parkrun 2K
| Position | Name | Gender | Age | Club | Time |
| 1 | Kobe McClelland | Male | JM11-14 | North Belfast Harriers | 7.20 (PB) |
Well done to Kobe McClelland with a new PB of 7:20
Derry Junior parkrun 2K
| Position | Name | Gender | Age | Club | Time |
| 2 | Issac Mooney | Male | JM11-14 | North Belfast Harriers | 06:55 |
| 14 | Eva Mooney | Female | JW10 | North Belfast Harriers | 09:59 |
| 16 | Betsy Taylor | Female | JW11-14 | North Belfast Harriers | 10:01 |
Margaret recently shared some very important information on the Junior Harriers WhatsApp group around the effects of under-fuelling in young athletes. This is an important area for all parents to be aware of as training and competition levels increase.
Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) occurs when an athlete does not take in enough energy (food) to meet the demands of both their training and everyday life. In young athletes, this can often go unnoticed, particularly during busy periods when they are balancing school, exams, multiple sports and a packed competition schedule. Over time, under-fuelling can impact not just performance, but also recovery, concentration, growth and overall health.
It’s important that young athletes are properly fuelled with regular, balanced meals and snacks to support their activity levels. Signs of under-fuelling can include ongoing fatigue, frequent illness, reduced performance or loss of motivation. Creating good habits around nutrition, rest and recovery is key to helping our young stags stay healthy, enjoy their sport and continue to develop both on and off the track. A detailed PDF with further information has been shared on the WhatsApp group for parents to read.
Just a reminder for all parents to log in and access their child(ren)’s details to complete the anti-doping declaration on their behalf. There are still a few outstanding, so we would appreciate if these could be completed as soon as possible.
Overall, it has been a hugely positive and encouraging week for our young athletes, with great participation across all events and a fantastic team spirit on display. Well done to all our young stags for their efforts and achievements, and thank you to the coaches, parents and volunteers for their continued support, here’s to another exciting week ahead.