Youths to run in Cork this weekend

Four locals qualified from the Ulster championships and Sunday brings the new SSE Airtricity 10K road race, out of Ebrington Square, the first of two warm-up races for the June Walled City Marathon.

Beyond that it’s the annual St Patrick’s Weekend 5K in Gransha on Saturday, March 15 at 11am. Another big local race and entries will be taken on the day from 9.30am at the U3A Foyle facility close to the race start/finish.

The first of the qualifying races for the June Kids Mini Marathon will be staged alongside the March 15th event and participants between 9-17 years are invited to take on the 1K run.

While Foyle Valley’s Keith Shiels and City of Derry’s Allan Bogle both posted significant weekend wins at the Cara Bundoran 10 mile road race and the final Sperrin Harriers Winter League 10 miler at Lough Fea to grab the local athletics headlines.

The prolific Shiels led home a very big field in Bundoran on Saturday with a new distance person best of 51 minutes and 31 seconds, an excellent clocking and an indication that he will be the man to beat on the road again this year. With an impressive range of swift times from 3,00m to Half Marathon Shiels is an extremely useful operator.

Into the age group awards and in 14th overall was the Spartans’ James Crampsey, third M40 on 58m 42s; clubmate Gerry Duddy ran 61m 59s for 28th place and the M50 title and another Spartan Christy McMonagle was clocked at 75m 22s for the M60 runners-up spot.

The sixth and final race in the Sperrin Harriers Winter League went to Allan Bogle, whose 56m 23s clocking for the 10 mile mixed terrain race at Lough Fea on Saturday was too good for the opposition.

The Spartan has had a good winter with a NI & Ulster Senior Cross Country team gold for Antrim in January and he also won race one in the Sperrin League, the Davogh Forest 10K in November, plus the NW Cross Country in December.