Springwell mountain runners keeping busy this summer

The past weekend seen Springwell members mostly competing in races from 5km to 10km in distance across the country, with Jonny Rowntree competing in the Bluestack Way Ultra being the exception to that.

Our mountain runners were the most active section of the club in the second half of July, with large numbers in attendance at the Rith an Chairn race on 12th July, Colin Brennan travelling to England to compete in the Buttermere Horseshoe race, Shirhaan Hameed running the Helvellyn Sky Ultra in the Lake District, and Andrew Wilmot and Fergus Thompson running the Mullaghcarn Giant Race a bit closer to home in the Gortin Glen.

Stanley Reid 5 Mile

There were seven Springwell Runners who made their way to Cookstown on Friday evening for the Stanley Reid Memorial 5 Mile Road Race hosted by Sperrin Harriers. A family fun run got proceedings underway at 6:45pm, before the main event began in the grounds of Loughry College at 7:30pm.

Jim Bradley was the first of the club members home in a time of 0:37:50. This was a 5-mile personal best for Jim and seen him finish in 81st place. Next home was Louise Hanna with a great time of 0:40:30 in 106th place. Pauline Mullan finished 118th in 0:42:21, and was closely followed by Andrew Wilmot in 120th position and 0:42:47.

In 138th place was Leisa McKenna (0:44:04), with Janet Patrick in 147th place (0:45:21), and Aidan Mooney finished in 196th position in 0:55:07!

81st Jim Bradley 0:37:50 (PB); 106th Louise Hanna 0:40:30; 118th Pauline Mullan 0:42:21; 120th Andrew Wilmot 0:42:47; 138th Leisa McKenna 0:44:04; 147th Janet Patrick 0:45:21; 196th Aidan Mooney 0:55:07

Mazerunner Night of Races

Roadrunners AC hosted a fantastic night of racing at the Maze on Friday night. There was a 3k family race, a 5k race which was then followed by a 10k. We had members competing in both the 5k and 10k races.

In the 5k race we had strong runs from both Rodney and Deborah McPhee, with both recording 5k personal bests! Rodney finished in a time of 0:17:27 for 27th place overall, while Deborah ran 0:21:41 to finish in 108th position. Hannah McCaw and Angeline Platt both crossed the finish line together in 0:34:04, for 188th and 189th places respectively.

Meanwhile, in the 10k race the lead bike took competitors on a wrong turn on the first lap which cut out over 600 metres of the course. This resulted in the course coming up a little short at approximately 9.34 kilometres. Patrick Magee was our sole member in this race, and he finished in a superb 0:46:10 for 187th place.

Rodney and Deborah McPhee at the Roadrunners 5k race at the Maze.

5k - 27th Rodney McPhee 0:17:27 (PB); 108th Deborah McPhee 0:21:41 (PB); 188th Hannah McCaw 0:34:04; 189th Angeline Platt 0:34:04

10k - 187th Patrick Magee 0:33:47**

Féile an Phobail 5k

Over 3,000 runner took to the streets of West Belfast this Sunday morning for the annual Féile an Phobail 5k and 10k races, organised by West Belfast Coolers.

Mark Gardiner made his trip to Belfast worthwhile as he ran a superb race to win the 5k! Mark’s winning time was 0:17:48.

1st Mark Gardiner 0:17:48

Bluestack Way Ultra

There was a weekend of mountain racing in Donegal with the Bluestack Way 25km and Ultra 50km.

Jonny Rowntree after conquering the Bluestack Ultra in the hills of Donegal.

Jonny Rowntree travelled for the 50km Ultra, which included a generous 1,600m of elevation gain for good measure.

The 50km Ultra started at Donegal Castle and finished in Ardara village square. So far so good, but standing in the way was a mix of stoney trails and mountain bogs through some of Irelands best backdrops - the stunning Bluestack Mountains.

The Bluestack 50k Ultra holds its reputation as one of Ireland’s toughest, most scenic off#road ultras - but the only thing Jonny was focusing on was the pint of Guinness that was ordered for the finish line. Jonny finished 32nd overall in a time of 6:46:10.

Helvellyn Sky Ultra

With 57km of Lake District trails and north of 3,700m of ascent, the Helvellyn Sky Ultra is one of the most technical and demanding mountain races in the UK and is part of the UK Skyrunning Championship.

Combining rugged terrain, exposed scrambling on mountain ridges and relentless elevation gain, it’s a full-day mountain mission that challenges even the most experienced ultra and fell runners.

This year’s edition didn’t disappoint. With near-perfect weather conditions - cool, breezy, and mostly dry underfoot, the stage was set for a truly epic day in the fells.

A few points of interest along the route included Swirral Edge, Cofa Pike, the legendary Striding Edge and Helvellyn itself - the third highest peak in England at 950m.

Shirhaan Hameed finished 60th overall in a time of 11:25:58.

Mullaghcarn Giant Race

Now in its second year, the Mullaghcarn Giant race hosted by Carmen Runners is both a NIMRA Championship Race and an Ulster Championship Race. The race in Gortin Glens Forest Park has a little bit of everything in its 12k distance and 500m elevation gain course. Mixed forest paths, rocky trail, boggy off-trail sections and a sharp climb to the summit of Mullaghcarn, where runners greeted Big Darragh followed by a technical descent.

Mark Gardiner after winning the Féile an Phobail 5k.

Two club members were in attendance with Fergus Thompson finishing 49th in 1:15:04 and Andrew Wilmot fishing 101st in 1:36:42.

Rith an Chairn

Springwell had a strong contingent of 20 runners at the brilliantly organised short & sweet 5km mountain race by the An Carn Community Association. The 5k race with 800ft of ascent up Carn Tóchair Mountain was then followed by a fast & technical descent.

With temperatures soaring up towards the 30's, the exposed mountain proved an extra challenge with the heat bouncing off the rocks on the way up. The way down wasn't much better with mixed terrain between the hard rocky trail path, grass, intermittent shucks and possibly the dryest bog in years.

The post-race BBQ always has a tremendous grill for the runners to get a feed during the prize giving.

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From our 20 runners there was a top 10 finish, a first mountain run and a first race ever. Full results below.

7th Peter Tees 23:53; 13th Rodney McPhee 25:12; 36th Bernadette Quinn 29:50; 41st Shane McLaughlin 30:54; 44th Jonny Rowntree 31:14; 53rd Deborah McPhee 33:10; 55th Kate O'Loan 33:24; 56th Michael McKeown 33:28; 58th Jim Bradley 33:49; 68th Aiden Hopkinson 34:47; 72nd Carolyn Crawford 35:10; 78th James Hughes 36:46; 82nd Adrian Finlay 37:06; 90th Bridgeen Canning 38:53; 93rd Pauline Mullan 39:12; 98th Margaret Kearney 39:07; 100th Andrew Wilmot 39:21; 121st Sarah McVeigh 44:06; 123rd Leighann Barker 44:29; 142nd Anne Marie McKenna 52:37.

Buttermere Horseshoe

The Buttermere Horseshoe, also known as The Darren Holloway Memorial, is one of the toughest Lakeland races in the calendar. Clocking in at approximately 22 miles in distance and over 8,400 feet of elevation gain, this makes for a fantastic day out over the quiet Buttermere fells.

The course is only flagged to the fells and when on the tops it's free reign which was made more difficult due to the rainy & wet conditions. Never deterred, Colin Brennan had yet another fantastic day in the fells and not only finish 60th overall but also 3rd M60 in a time of 07:41:21.