CIty of Derry's John Paul Williamson wins Les Jones 5k Memorial event

The traditional Les Jones 10k race is held in memory of the late Athletics NI Chairman, team manager and athlete, Les, who passed away in 1992. However this year, the race was reconfigured due to the COVID-19 restrictions. Instead of the usual 10k, runners had a new 5k challenge, taking in the scenic Lagan Towpath.

With temperature checks complete, runners were gathered into their waves to start at 9:30am on the Mary Peters Track. Taking in a lap of the famous track, they then headed across the car park and down to the towpath, where they took a lap of the path between Malone Golf Club and Shaw’s Bridge, before returning to the Mary Peters Track.

The City of Derry ahtlete looked comfortable throughout the race and made his break in the latter stages of the race to finish in 15:52, with North Belfast Harrier’s Peter McGarry in

second place in 15:52 and St. Malachy’s AC’s Conall McClean in third spot in 15:57.

In the ladies race, North Down AC’s Rachel Gibson also ran a steady race to finish in first place in a time of 17:59, with East Down AC’s Anna Gardiner second in 18:09 and City of Lisburn AC’s Judith Lonnen third in a time of 19:00.

The full results are available on the website here: www.athleticsni.org/Results