Issac Mooney 1st place in the U15 3000m
Long before there were spikes or starting whistles, Armagh was already a place of racing legend. Ard Mhacha takes its name from Macha, who, the old story goes, was made to race the King of Ulster’s horses at Emain Macha and she beat every one of them to the line. So there was something fitting about the cross country season getting under way on Sunday in the Palace Grounds, just a stone’s throw from that ancient site. The TJ McElmeel XC welcomed young athletes from across Ulster for the first muddy outing of the autumn, and our junior stags were there to meet it.
TJ McElmeel XC, Palace Grounds, Armagh – Sunday 27 September
Our U18 boys turned out in force and made their presence felt. Thomas Coy led the North Belfast charge in 5th place, and Joe Eager, Zac Connolly and Lucas Mooney followed him home in 8th, 9th and 10th. With Tom McLoughlin in 13th, that put five Harriers in the top thirteen, and Micheal Devlin completed a strong team effort in 22nd.
Boys U18
| Position | Athlete | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Thomas COY | 17:54 |
| 8 | Joe EAGER | 18:24 |
| 9 | Zac CONNOLLY | 18:38 |
| 10 | Lucas MOONEY | 19:00 |
| 13 | Tom MCLOUGHLIN | 19:22 |
| 22 | Micheal DEVLIN | 20:52 |
The girls were every bit as impressive. Leila Jones ran a superb race to finish 4th, just missing out on the podium, with Lois Usher inside the top ten in 9th and Eimear O’Regan in 16th
Girls U18
| Position | Athlete | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Leila JONES | 14:27 |
| 9 | Lois USHER | 15:19 |
| 16 | Eimear O’REGAN | 16:13 |
The standout moment of the day, though, belonged to Isaac Mooney. In a field packed with talent, Isaac powered his way to first place in the Under 13 race, crossing the line as a winner in the Palace Grounds. It was a performance built on the hard work he has been putting in week after week at training, and on Sunday that effort paid off in the best possible way.
The U9 to U15 races weren’t chip-timed, so full results for those age groups are on the Armagh AC Facebook page.
It was a quieter weekend on the parkrun front, and no wonder. The heavens opened over Belfast on Sunday morning, and the junior parkruns around the city were run in a torrent of rain. Those who braved it were rewarded, though. At Waterworks junior parkrun, Séadna Lynch O’Hare led the whole field home, with Ronan O’Neill, Tommy Burns and Naoise Lynch O’Hare all running strongly behind him. On Saturday, three of our juniors took on the 5k at Waterworks parkrun.
Waterworks junior parkrun – Sunday 27 September
| Position | parkrunner | Age Group | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Séadna LYNCH O’HARE | JM10 | 8:06 |
| 6 | Ronan O’NEILL | JM11-14 | 10:10 |
| 8 | Tommy BURNS | JM10 | 10:41 |
| 13 | Naoise LYNCH O’HARE | JM10 | 12:40 |
Waterworks parkrun – Saturday 26 September
| Position | parkrunner | Age Group | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | Séadna LYNCH O’HARE | JM10 | 21:59 |
| 83 | Georgia O’SHAUGHNESSY | JW10 | 26:04 |
| 190 | Naoise LYNCH O’HARE | JM10 | 33:26 |
Coming up
Target club races and training: the next two months
Sunday’s outing in Armagh was a great start to the cross country season, and now the real work begins. After a fantastic year last season, when our juniors brought home three Ulster and two Irish team titles, the coaches are hoping to go even better this time. Strong teams need numbers, though, so we’d love to see as many young people as possible running in every age group.
To give our stags the best possible chance, the coaching team is asking all parents to help by:
- Putting the dates below in your diary now, for both the races and the extra Saturday training sessions.
- Not entering your child in any other races over this period, apart from the ones listed.
- Giving parkrun a rest until the championship season is over, so the juniors arrive at each race fresh and ready.
| Date | What’s on | Where | Getting there |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 10th Oct | Cross country training, 12:30 | Valley Park | |
| Sat 17th Oct | Cross country training, 12:30 | Valley Park | |
| Sun 25th Oct | NI & Ulster Even Age Group Championships | Billy Neill Playing Fields | |
| Sat 31st Oct | Cross country training, 12:30 | Valley Park | |
| Sat 7th or Sun 8th Nov (TBC) | NI & Ulster Uneven Age Group Championships | Donegal | Club bus: leaves approx. 7:30am, back approx. 6pm |
| Sun 22nd Nov | Irish Even Age Group Championships | Dublin | Club bus: leaves approx. 6:45–7am, back approx. 6:30pm |
| Sun 6th Dec | Irish Uneven Age Group Championships | Dublin | Club bus: leaves approx. 6:45–7am, back approx. 6pm |
Entries. The club will enter and pay for every child who wishes to race at both Ulster Championships. For the Irish Championships in Dublin, the club will enter and pay for every team and individual who qualifies through the Ulsters.
Registration for the 25th October. Could all parents please make sure their child is registered as soon as possible by adding their details here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1i80pYcCZdI8McvoxUyz_-pcp2ljrpqiNyKq8OdTY4tA/edit?usp=sharing
Buses. The club will provide heavily subsidised buses to Donegal and Dublin. For the Even Age Group Championships on the 25th, parents are asked to make their own way. All timings are approximate for now, so keep an eye on the WhatsApp group for confirmed details closer to each date.
If you have any questions, just ask one of the coaches at training or send us a message.
Training continues as normal on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at the usual times. Now that the evenings are getting cooler, please make sure all Juniors bring a raincoat, a water bottle and extra layers to put on after training. They’ll be glad of them when the session finishes!
That’s all for this week folks.