Busiest week so far for Springwell

Newcastle AC Hill & Dale Series

The second race of the series took place on Thursday, August 12 in the Mourne Mountains on the Millstone peak. Millstone is the most easterly peak of the Mournes and one of the three subsidiary peaks of Slieve Donard. The challenging 4.5 mile course provided almost 1500 feet of elevation for the two Springwell runners who made the trip to the Kingdom of Mourne.

Barry Mullan produced another strong performance to finish 19th with a time of 46.30 while, in his first outing in the Hill & Dale series Conor Duffy finished 66 th in 79.44.

Connswater 5 Mile Race

On Friday, August 13, the action moved to East Belfast with the Connswater 5 Mile Race.

Starting from CS Lewis Park the course was a mixture of road, trail, and grass for the field of almost 230 runners. First home for the club was David Campbell in 102nd with 38.29, Andrew Wilmot finished 147th with 42.59 and Gemma Craig

running a personal best for 200th in 53.13.

Seven Sisters Mountain Race

Hosted by Excel Sports the Seven Sisters Skyline Mountain Race on Saturday, August 14 provided challenging conditions with thousands of metres of elevation, over some of the highest peaks in Donegal, to test the legs of all who took on the challenge.

Saturday’s race once again produced some exceptional performances as competitors took on the 55k and 27k courses. In the Skyline Race of 55k, and over 4000m of elevation Springwell’s Oisin Brennan produced a fantastic time of 7.58.33

to finish in 3rd place overall and the 2nd placed male finisher.

Unfortunately, Leanne Lyons suffered an ankle injury after almost 4 hours of running and was forced to retire from the race after 23k at Crocknalaragagh. In the 27k Sky Challenge the start had to be moved to ensure that the event was

Covid compliant which added another 2k to the race distance.

In the ladies’ race Carolyn Crawford was the first Springwell member across the finish line in a time of 5.47.06 to finish 5th. Adele Tomb finished 7th in just over 6 hours with a time of 6.01.57 and Nicky Frizelle completed the Springwell contingent in 8th with a time of 6.10.09.

Parkrun

This weekend saw 44 Springwell RC members out Parkrunning at five venues. It’s a busy time of the year for the local Parkruns with many visitors to the North Coast availing of the nearby events. It’s important to remember that it’s the volunteers that make Parkrun happen so, if you’re not running but could spare a bit of time to volunteer, Parkrun would appreciate your help. You can contact any Parkrun via their website or Facebook page.

Springwell Results

Cannon Hill - David O’Neill 18:42

Portrush - Maurice Walker 19:57, Rhys Walker 21:47, John Butcher 22:26, Mervyn Thompson 23:44, Graeme Elliott 24:36, Paul Moore 24:54, Alanna Millar 26:25, Andrew Wilmot 26:35, Peter Jack 27:30, Andrew Wilson 27:39, Amanda Scott 29:22, Elaine Montgomery 30:27, Fergal Mackle 30:52, Grainne Moore 30:53, Lorraine Abernethy 32:09, Aisling Hynes 32:15, Roisin Walker 33:26, Emer Thompson 52:49.

Limavady - Chris Denton 17:37, Darren Walsh 20:04, David McGaffin 20:46, David Shiels 21:06, Will Colvin 21:57, Fergus Thompson 22:09, Adrian Finlay 22:45, Pauline Mullan 24:35, Alan Steen 25:22, Alan White 27:50, Leanne Quigley 27:56, Nicola White 35:35, Heather McLaughlin 35:35, David McCool 38:43, Janet Patrick 49:38.

Colin Glen - Ali Shaw 21:32

Garvagh Forest - Meabh Close 21:45, James Hughes 22:23, Judith Buchanan 23:16, Roy Buchanan 24:31, Michael Mulvenna 24:35, Jim Bradley 25:26, Alan Platt 27:43, Catherine Byers 32:27, Colin Connolly 34:37