BRITISH and IRISH MASTERS and NATIONAL INTER COUNTIES CROSS COUNTRY
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Barrie Atkinson and Liam Keenan, East Down’s representatives in Nottingham at the British and Irish Masters Championships.[/caption]With nothing happening on the local front at the weekend interest was centred on the British and Irish Masters International Cross Country Championships in Nottingham on Saturday and the National Inter Counties Cross Country Championships at Dundalk on Sunday, doubling as the official trails for Ireland’s teams at next month’s European Championships in Bulgaria writes Joe Quinn.
East Down’s Barrie Atkinson and Liam Keenan were in Nottingham and performed well in the Over 35 and Over 50 categories, helping the NI teams to 5th place in both, in what were high quality very competitive races. These were well deserved international honours for both dedicated runners and it is hoped that others from the County town club will follow in their footsteps.
In Dundalk the best performances were produced by the Ladies with Catherine O’Connor placing 42nd in the Senior Womens race to help the Down team to overall 4th place. The other members of the team were Newcastle’s Kerry O’Flaherty 7th, Rachel Gibson 32nd and Kerry Speers 39th, both North Down AC.
Laura Gardiner ran well in the Junior Women’s race, placing 30th overall, but taking 19th place in the Under 18 class.xa0At the same venue Owen Edwards did his usual sterling job in the Under 16 Boys race as part of the County Down which placed 6th and the Ulster team which won the Gold medals.
NEXT WEEK The big event next weekend and in fact one of the biggest races on the calendar is the Joe Seeley Cup which takes place next Saturday afternoon in Ormeau Park. A large contingent from East Down and the other local clubs will be taking part as this is one of those races in which PB’s are targetted and often set. So good luck to all – I’ll see you there though from the sidelines.
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