The East Down AC juniors raced at the weekend while the adult runners enjoyed a quiet weekend
It was all about the Juniors this weekend as the seniors opted for a weekend off writes Alison Carroll. The action in recent weeks has been fairly intense with cross country racing most weekends plus the Seeley Cup 10K last weekend, so most were glad of the rest. Not so with EDAC Juniors Jacob Crawford, James Wright and Oliver Robinson. Keen for a road trip they were easily persuaded to travel to Cookstown where Acorns AC were hosting the Irwin Speirs Memorial Races. The intrepid trio were transported by running coach Paul Burns giving their parents welcome respite from support crew duties.
They were all entered in the U16 race, 2 miles in 2 laps. This was the first cross country in a while for James Wright and it provided a good test for all the hard training he has put in recently.
Proper cross-country weather appeared with a vengeance for this run. The wet weather during the week made the course the ‘worst one’ so far this season as far as the runners were concerned with the ground very muddy and the cold temperature added to the challenge.
(Photo courtesy of East Down AC)
Thankfully there was little wind to contend with. There were only 12 runners in the U16 race. Maybe other runners decided to take a break after their exertions in the All-Ireland races last weekend. Oliver Robinson went hard from the gun on the first lap followed gamely by his teammates.
The twisting course had a steep hill not far from the start and then the runners passed through trees at the mid-way point where fallen leaves were extra slippy underfoot. They all negotiated the tricky areas successfully and by the start of the second lap Oliver had a clear lead.
Oliver completed the 2 mile distance in 12.28 to take the win. He was almost a full minute ahead of next finisher, Jacob Crawford who came second in 13.15. James was third in 13.28 giving a clean sweep of the medals for the club. It was well worth the trip for all involved with medals won and another race under the belt as good experience.
Well done boys!
