Cookstown runner Karen Alexander wins Dublin Half Marathon

On Saturday nearly 7000 runners arrived at Phoenix Park for the annual Dublin Half Marathon. Representing Acorns AC were Karen Alexander, Annemarie McGeehan and Jean Bell. Karen had a superb run to take the victory in the ladies race after a close battle with Aine O’Reilly right to the finish and she broke the tape in 1:22:41.

A fantastic achievement to add this victory to Karen’s already impressive CV on the local and International running scene.

Annemarie also had a fine run and finished the race in 1:57 with Jean not far behind her in 2:05. Well done ladies, excellent running!

Karen Alexander 1:22:41

Annemarie McGeehan 1:57:48

Jean Bell 2:05:56

Belfast City Half Marathon

On Sunday the Belfast City Half Marathon took place and there was a large team of Acorns taking part. The race got underway in dry conditions from Ormeau park at 9am with the competitors running across city including Sydenam, Ravenhill, Falls and Newtownards roads. Sam Linton was first of the team to finish in an excellent 1:20, with Eoin Hughes hitting the line in 1:28 and Richard Smith 1:29. Oli Murphy continued his strong run of form finishing in 1:30. Steven Kerr also had a solid run in 1:37, as did Stacey Hinfey in 1:48. Samantha Covery crossed the finish in 1:49 with Edel McGuckin and Joanne Irwin not far behind in 1:49 & 1:53 respectively. Husband and Wife duo Joe and Clodagh McKinless had an excellent run finishing in 1:57 and 1:59. Ciara Quinn just made it back from Holidays in time for the race and finished in 2:01 and Wanda Hughes hit the line in 2:04. Jason Crawford (2:05) and Roisin Mullan (2:06) had a close battle with little to separate them at the line. Les Hassan and Colin Thom both had strong runs and they crossed the line together in 2:09. Pauline Kelly worked hard through the race and completed the distance in 2:14 and Helen McToal rounded off the team results in 2:33. Congratulations everyone, especially to anyone taking part in their first Half Marathon – you always remember your first!

Belfast Half Marathon results:

Sam Linton 1.20.53

Eoin Hughes 1.28.57

Richard Smith 1.29.12

Oli (Warrior) Murphy 1.30.17

Steven Kerr 1.37.36

Stacey Hinfey 1.48.41

Samantha Convery 1:49:06

Edel McGuckin 1.53.04

Joanne Irwin 1.56.57

Clodagh McKinless 1:57:10

Joe McKinless 1:59:30

Ciara Quinn 2.01.02

Wanda Hughes 2:04:57

Jason Crawford 2:05:00

Roisin Mullan 2:06:00

Les Hassan 2.09.17

Colin Thom 2:09:00

Pauline Kelly 2.14.10

Helen McToal 2:33.07

Derry City Track Club Invitational

Acorns AC were invited by Derry City Track club to a 2 mile relay session in Derry on Wednesday night. The event took place along the banks of the Foyle River and made use of the towpath section with an out and back course. Overall this was an excellent event and we had a large squad representing the club. Full results are as follows. Thanks to Malcolm McCausland and his team for the invite and for the post-race hospitality.

No & Name

Cum Time / Split Time

391 Darrell McKee

Acorn Masters A 00:10:17 00:10:17

392 Martin Loughran

Acorn Masters A 00:21:23 00:11:06

393 Diarmuid O’Kane

Acorn Masters A 00:33:17 00:11:54

394 Pat Groogan

Acorn Masters A 00:45:13 00:11:56

421 Alan Shaw

Acorn Masters B 00:12:18 00:12:18

422 Oliver Murphy

Acorn Masters B 00:24:17 00:11:59

423 Karl Murphy

Acorn Masters B 00:39:19 00:15:02

424 John Knocker

Acorn Masters B 00:53:02 00:13:43

381 Bliadhan Glass

Acorns A 00:10:49 00:10:49

382 Francis McDaid

Acorns A 00:21:39 00:10:50

383 Shane Donnelly

Acorns A 00:32:57 00:11:18

384 Cathaoir Purvis

Acorns A 00:44:24 00:11:27

401 Marty McVeigh

Acorns B 00:11:03 00:11:03

402 Diarmuid Logan

Acorns B 00:23:00 00:11:57

403 Eoin Hughes

Acorns B 00:34:38 00:11:38

404 Sam Taylor

Acorns B 00:46:47 00:12:09

411 Niall Hassan

Acorns C 00:13:05 00:13:05

412 JP McGuckin

Acorns C 00:26:00 00:12:55

431 Leeanne Sands

Acorns Ladies A 00:14:01 00:14:01

432 Anne McGeehan

Acorns Ladies A 00:29:49 00:15:48

433 Rosemary Hargan

Acorns Ladies A 00:44:21 00:14:32

441 Jill Overend

Acorns Ladies B 00:14:52 00:14:52

442 Jean Bell

Acorns Ladies B 00:30:42 00:15:50

Boom 10k

Jonathan Dempsey was in action at this local Coleraine Event on Saturday and he finished in 20th place in a time of 41:03. Well done!

Parkruns

Well done again to everyone who participated in the various Parkruns on Saturday, especially to all those who achieved personal bests over this 3.1 mile distance.

If you would like to take part in any Parkrun, please register at www.parkrun.org

If you have already signed up, please ensure your club name is registered as “Acorns AC” to ensure all results are captured correctly.

MUSA parkrun results:-

Pos ↓ parkrunner ↓ Time ↓

1 Darrell MC KEE 16:15

4 Aidan O’HAGAN 17:12

7 Pat GROOGAN 18:44

9 Gordon LINTON 18:56

14 Roger MCLEAN 20:08

18 John Paul MCGUCKIN 20:35

19 Niall HASSAN 20:39

25 Enda DALY 21:35

28 Annemarie MCKERNAN 21:50

46 Nigel STOCKMAN 27:40

50 Bernard BATESON 28:48

51 Andra MCKEOWN 28:56

52 Marina ABBOTT 28:57

61 Maria BRADLEY 32:10

64 Patrice HUGHES 32:58

69 Breige WALKER 35:20

70 Emma QUINN 35:27

Parkrun Waterworks

9th Bliadhan Glass 17:36

NI Relay Championships

These take place on Sat 3rd October over a 2 mile distance, if you wish to put your name forward please contact Francis Purvis.

Cross Country Season

The Cross Country season will be getting underway in October, with details of training to be published shortly. It’s time to dust of the running spikes for anyone wishing to take part!

News and race results:-

If you wish your results to be reported in our weekly press coverage, then please ensure you send the details to Gary McGuckin (PRO) [email protected]

Race Calendar

We will be organising a bus to selected running events, please watch out for our text alerts for further details.

Sat 26th September – Keith Reid Memorial, Draperstown @ 12.30pm

Sat 26th September – Bangor Aurora 10k @ 11.30am

Sat 26th September – Slemish Challenge @ 11am

Sun 27th September – Lurgan Park 5k & 10k @ 11am

Training & Venues

Meadow Bank Sports Arena (Magherafelt)

Mon & Wed Couch to 5k programme @ 6.45pm

Mon Senior Training @ 7pm

Wed Senior Training @ 7.30pm

Mid Ulster Sports Arena (Cookstown)

Tue & Thur Couch to 5k and Senior Training at 6.30pm.

All newcomers wishing to take part in our regular training schedules are welcome!

Club Kit

Stock of club kit is available from Trevor Dallas and Francis Purvis, please place you order with them by text or at the club training sessions.

We have T-Shirts, Vests, Shorts, Hoody’s and Rain Jackets available to order.

Social Media updates

Full details of training, club events and weekly news will be updated on Facebook plus follow us on Twitter.

www.facebook.com/acorns.ac

Twitter.com/AcornsAC

“Mighty oaks from little acorns grow”