EDAC Notes: Jimmy's Ten Just Round The Corner

Stormont Estate, where over 260 primary school boys and girls took part writes Joe Quinn. Among them were Eimear Connor and Aoife Cochrane who placed 14^th and 25^th respectively in the Girls race and Matthew and Andrew McGrattan  who were 26^th and 95^th respectively  in the Boys. This is clearly a course that suits Eimear as she showed her best form of the season and should do well in the final round of the McGrady Financial Services Junior Cross Country series on 12th March while Aoife is invariably consistent. It is just a pity more East Down athletes did not take part. In the senior event, Liam Keenan placed 21^st in 31.43 over a course he clearly enjoys, with Peter Morgan continuing his love affair with the turf by recording 37.45. Anne Sandford kept the Newcastle colours flying with a fine 12^th place in 22.43, another who appreciated the faster going. On Sunday I went for what was intended to be my long, slow run around the streets of Harrow, came across the Harrow Hill 6 Mile race, pawned my phone to pay the entrance fee of £15 (us runners are notorious for not carrying money when we go out) all in the interest of getting a bit of company and made it to the start line with two seconds to spare. I then spent the first mile trying to pin my number on as I ran, the first attempt leaving me with my gloved hand attached by the thumb to my chest and several expletives later the second ended with the loudly expressed opinion that “Two pins will do!!” The race itself was very enjoyable although it included several Everest-sized climbs but which did not require too much energy as you’re not allowed to sweat or swear going past a public school. I also became the proud recipient of a medal and goody bag with fruit, bottle of water and crisps inside, the only problem being I still had 4 miles to run back to my starting point. Later that day several East Down runners took part in the first running of the Ben Dearg Coast Run, an event which attracted over 120 runners and proved a happy hunting ground for the local club with Liam Venney exacting revenge on his Rollercoaster conqueror Gary Flynn with Stephen Shannon filling 3^rd spot and Neil McCartan in 4^th.  Fionnuala O’Boyle gave notice of things to come with a splendid 2^nd place in the Ladies race and Kim Surginor going from strength to strength in 4^th recording 43.27 for the 10K distance. Michael Degan too with 45.07 and Ross Denvir 47.54 could be well pleased with their performances.  Proudest finisher though was Donna Brown who broke the 60 minute barrier for the first time, crossing the line in 57.02.  Well done to her. The fast approaching Jimmy’s Ten which takes place this year on Sunday 13th March at 12.00 noon has seen a deluge of entries in the past week and runners are reminded entries will be limited to 600 this year and entries will only be taken on the day if this figure is not reached before then.  Online entry is now available on www.niathletics.org and the recommendation is get in now to avoid disappointment. And of course as well as the usual top prizes on offer all finishers will be included in a draw for a £700 holiday voucher, thanks to the continued sponsorship of MB McGrady & Co, Chartered Accountants. Championchip Timing will be in use as last year so accurate times are assured and the Club will be using Pacers for the first time in a race of this kind to help runners achieve their target times. For further details contact Joe Quinn 02844614235 or 07933214894 or log on to www.spanglefish.com/eastdownac]]>