​NCR’s Terry O’Hare triumphs in Portugal

São Silvestre Vila Real de St António, 10km

Storm Darragh put paid to all racing around the county this weekend but not so in Portugal, where Terry O’Hare had a very successful evening 10K race.

The São Silvestre Vila Real de St António, 10km took place at the Spanish Border, a place much visited by Irish Runners for Winter training, where there is a superb and high-quality synthetic track beside Monte Gordo.

Organised by Jardim Funcional VRSA – Associação Desportiva and the Municipality of Vila Real de Santo António, the out and back course took place at 6pm in the evening, so temperatures were lovely and mild.

The course was fast and flat heading out to Monte Gordo and back, and with not even a breeze in the air, it was the speed of the runners who fanned the supporters on the sidelines. Thankfully for all those participating, there was only 200 metres of the dreaded cobbled street at the start and finish of the race.

With some 600 runners of a high calibre taking part, Terry had a terrific race. Not only did he run his fastest 10K in a couple of years with a time of 44:28, but he also won his age category, by being 1st in the M70 group.

The Christmas Classic Memorial Race

Unfortunately, we had to postpone the Christmas Classic this weekend owing to Storm Darragh. Runners safely is paramount to us, and we sadly had to make the decision to postpone the race.

As it is of the longest running races in the running calendar – we hope to reschedule The Christmas Classic as soon as possible.

This race has historically been in memory of Kevin Heaney, and it still is. However, over the years we have sadly lost so many more legends within the running community. This has led to a slight change in the name of the event to The Christmas Classic Memorial Race.

This race is in honour the memory of the friends, family members and loved ones we have lost over the years, whether it be runners or those who supported the running community.

As always, the race will be in support of The Southern Area Hospice, with all proceeds on the day going directly to them.

It is a ‘no frills’, unchipped event, with a minimum donation of just £5.00.

The ‘out and back’ route is along the towpath, which is a nice flat route. It is a race for all abilities and is handicapped, so everybody has an equal chance of winning the Kevin Heaney Cup!

The race will take place at W.I.N. Industrial Estate, date and time to be confirmed.

Registration will take place at 09:00 a.m. at the Enterprise Centre at W.I.N. on the morning of the race.

Please come along and support this race, honour the memory of great people, become part of an historic race, raising much needed funds for a great cause.

Willie’s Winter Training: Willie’s Winter Training returns to Kilbroney Park again this Sunday, 15th December at 09.30am. Meeting point is in the Lower Carpark. The session, which is free of charge, is open to all runners and will last for 90 minutes consisting of a 1-mile warm-up, drills, jumps/hurdles, hill work to mention a few followed by a cooldown.