th in 30.39 while I was 50 places and 8 minutes further back but in almost quarantine distance from the nearest runner ahead or behind. Obviously I hadn’t read the menu! Newcastle’s Anne Sandford continued her recent good form, placing 11th overall in the Ladies race and 2nd in her category – and was still first out for the early morning jaunt around Tollymore! And East Down’s 3rd representative Elaine Burch had a useful work out ahead of her All Ireland Under 17 race next weekend when she took 4th place in the Junior competition and 15th in th Intermediate category. After her recent illness this augurs well for Sunday and our best wishes go with her. ROLLERCOASTER RACES Next weekend too it’s Moira Demesne for the annual City of Lisburn Cross Country races and 2 weeks after that the action switches to home ground and the surface from grass to tarmac as Downpatrick Race Course will be the venue for the Rollercoaster Races around the course perimeter road. This is the ideal opportunity for novice runners to get a first taste of running an achievable distance. The senior race over an accurate 5K distance, 3.1 miles ( about 25 furlongs in horse racing parlance) will be at 2.00pm and has already attracted widespread interest – a large turnout is anticipated. An U/20 race will also be held in conjunction with this race. There will also be races for P4/5 and P6/P7 Colts and Fillies,commencing at 12.00 noon, with special shields for the Best Boys and Girls P6/7 Primary School Teams (first 4 finishers to count) over a 1,000 metres distance as well as at U/13 (1.5K), U/15 (2K) and U/17 (2.5K) age group levels in both categories. All local schools are invited to come along – it will be ideal preparation for the upcoming schools cross country races.]]>