Busy Couple of Weeks for Springwell Runners

Horrendous weather conditions, wind and rain, did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of the thousands of runners taking part in Monday’s (7 May) Deep River Rock 31st Belfast Marathon.  Conditions may have been bad for the runners but they were not pleasant either for thousands of spectators who turned out to cheer on their friends and family.  

Despite the atrocious weather conditions, Urga Negewo of Ethopia ran a superb time of 2:13: 41 to slice 75 seconds off the course record set by Jacob Chesire last year.

Kenya’s Alice Chelagat also found the conditions to her liking by taking 20 seconds off Marashet Jimma’s 2008 course record as she came home to win the ladies race in 2:39:02. 

Springwell had seven runners completing the full distance; first home was Alistair Shaw in a new PB time of 3:13:25, James McMullan 3:15:02, Philip Given 3:25:24, Ross Armstrong 3:29:42 PB Jean-Claude Bourgeois 3:51:29and Ali McAllister 4:06:14 PB.
Prospective new member Mark Alexander who trained with the Ballymoney group before Belfast finished in 5:11:58.

Well done to all the Springwell runners who completed legs of the relay for their various teams and those who took part in the fun run.

Springwell runners made a successful raid on the prizes in the Lisnagelvin 5K on Wednesday night 9 May. There were two Springwell runners among the 120 taking part in the second race in the Furey 5K series on a cold an breezy evening. Neil Johnston, who is warming up for the Ulster schools 5K at the weekend finished in a tremendous 5th place, winning the MU20 category in a jaw dropping time of 15.55. This was a new club record for 5K breaking Colin Loughery’s record (16:14) set back in 2005.  He was supported by Jim Breen who had a good run to win the MO55 category in 18.33.  The male winner was the Kenyan runner Freddie Keron Sittuk in 15.05, who two days earlier finished fifth in the Belfast marathon. Marina Campbell of City of Derry won the woman’s race in 18.32.

Last Thursday, 170 hardy runners lined up at the bottom of a cloud-topped Slieve Binnian for the start of the 4th race in the Hill & Dales series, Binnian to the Top. Consisting of almost 2000ft of climbing in less than 2 miles, this must be one of the few races where the “sprint finish” consists of scrambling over a steep rocky slope on your hands and knees! Robbie Bryson, running for Newcastle AC, proved that despite being over 50, he has not lost his legendary climbing ability by leading the field to the summit in an amazing time of 23:32. Newcastle made it a clean sweep of the top three with Ian Bailey second (24:34) and David McKibben third (25:04). In the ladies race, Lagan Valley’s Shileen O’Kane took her second victory in the series in 27:37, followed by Diane Wilson in second (28:46) and Springwell’s sole representative in the race, Gillian Wasson, in third and 1st FO35 (29:58).

On Saturday Jim and Agnes Platt took part in the Belfast Waterworks Parkrun. Jim completed the 5K course in 23:17 and Agnes improved her PB for the course to 35:13.

On Saturday, 5 May, Athletics NI held the final competition of the year for the Rising Stars squad at the Antrim Forum. All the athletes who have been training hard in the programme since last September came together to compete in four disciplines, the 100m, Shot Put, Long Jump and 800m.

Kirsty McBarnet from Ballymena and Antrim AC and Mathew Dalton received trophies for the best over-all male and female performances

The Rising Stars programme is one of the first steps on the Athletics NI Development pathway. Each athlete receives a high standard of coaching across four key athletic disciplines; sprints, jumps, throws and endurance.

The aim of the programme is to identify and develop young athletes across the multiple disciplines.

Talent Development Coach, Catherine Crawford, also used this opportunity to thank all the coaches on the programme. Without the commitment on and off the track from each coach the programme would not be able to exist.

Springwell had four junior athletes in the programme. Their results Aife McSheffrey - Long Jump 3.98, Shot 5.21, 100m 13.9, 800m 2.32.9; Leah Gilfillan - Long Jump 3.42, Shot 5.22, 100m 14.1, 800m 2.48.1; Jill Thompson - Long Jump 3.77, Shot 4.92, 100m 15.8, 800m 2.2.53.7 and Sinead Gormley - Long Jump 3.54, Shot 4.69, 100m 15.9.

The competition ended off with a BBQ and a chance for the athletes to relax with all their new friends. 

Also at the Antrim Forum on Saturday 5 May was the Flahavan's Athletics NI Cross Country Squad. Three Springwell juniors went in the 1000m. Andrew Gordon finished 4th in 3.26.2, Stephanie Forsythe-Wilson 3.56.6 and Eileanoir Blair 4.00.0.

On Sunday 29 April the Greater Manchester Marathon returned after a 10 year absence. The 26 mile 385 yard course took in some key landmarks and beautiful countryside around the borough of Trafford. The course is one of the flattest in the world, which is great for anyone doing their first marathon, or for those looking to improve their personal best time.

Unfortunately the conditions were to say the least horrendous with gale force winds, torrential rain and bitter cold for the majority of the race, and at stages it was more like a trail race with mud and water 4 inches deep. First across the line for Springwell was Richard Crown 3:30:35 closely followed by Kenny Coulter 3:30:37, Nicky McPeake 3:30:54, Janeen McGregor 3:49:56 and Paul O’Neill 4.05.21. All were happy with their results and a good weekend was had by all.

Club Championship Update - April

The April Championship tables are now completed and with marathon season in full swing, together with the Parkruns, a 5 miler and the popular Titanic 10K, 90 eligible times have now been feed into the record sheets.  That’s 44 this month alone, congratulations ladies in out- scoring the men 5 to 3 in the marathon stakes.

Overall the men are still maintaining their 2:1 advantage with 53 performances to the ladies 27 but the favoured Maghera looms in May where no doubt the ladies captain will be rallying the troops for another team victory.

In the men’s 10k championship there is a close battle for silver and bronze with 17 seconds separating James McMullan and Jim Platt.  William O’Kane has a commanding lead in the male marathon of over 47 minutes but that may come under some pressure when the results from Manchester and Belfast appear.  In the ladies Marathon Fran McFadden slots into the gold medal position with a 23 minute lead but only 30 seconds separate silver and bronze (Linda Gillen and Caroline “David” Irwin).  All to play for in Dervock.   

As for the Challenge Cup there are only three male athletes who have run qualifying distances but no ladies as yet. Remember to look out for a 5 mile, 10K and a half marathon to be in with a shout for the silverware.

See the men's results so far here and the ladies here.

Springwell Roundup 30 April 2012

Thursday evening, 26 April, saw Springwell junior athletes travel to the Antrim track for their second Edwards & Co Super 5 track and field competition the season.

The evening weather was dry with very blustery conditions. The athletes had a marvellous evening picking up medals and personal bests along the way.

Springwell results - U11 Boys 80 metres – Eoghan Gormley 12.66, Andrew Gordon 12.98, Luke Gilfillan 13.40, Sam Thompson 14.42 and Will Thompson 14.67.

1000 metres – Andrew Gordon 3:30, Eoghan Gormley 3:45, Luke Gilfillan 4:18, Sam Thompson 4:21 and Will Thompson 4:26.

Shot putt – Luke Gilfillan 4.73metres, Eoghan Gormley 4.63metres, Andrew Gordon 4.03metres, Sam Thompson 3.20metres and Will Thompson 3.06metres.

U11 Girls 80 metres – Natasha Simmons 13.2 and Hannah Taylor 14.81.

1000 metres – Natasha Simmons 4:12.

Shot putt – Natasha Simmons 3.77metres and Hannah Taylor 2.63metres.

U15 Boys 100 metres – Gareth Kee 12.60.

U15 Girls 100 metres – Leah Gilfillan 14.27, Sinead Gormley 15.04 and Jill Thompson 15.22.

1500 metres – Aife McSheffrey 5:26 and Jill Thompson 6:11.

Long jump – Leah Gilfillan 3.93metres, Jill Thompson 3.85metres and Sinead Gormley 3.58metres.

U15 Boys 1500 metres – Luke Dinsmore 4:34.

U17 Boys 1500 metres – Conor Christie 4:13.

U20 Boys 100 metre – Jack Dunseith 12.03.

Senior Girls 100 metres – Holly Clark 13.01.

Thursday evening also saw the third race in the Hill & Dales series. Held on Slieve Martin, this was the first of the “proper” mountain races in the series and saw Andrew Annett of Mourne Runners take his first win in the series in 33:45. Ciara Largey of FERMO had a comfortable win in the ladies race in 40:03. Springwell’s Gillian Wasson finished fourth lady and 1^st LV35 in 46:06.

The 31st Annalong Horseshoe on Saturday was the second race in the NIMRA Championship. The 13 mile mountain run with a climb of 5200 was a challenge for all the competitors. Newcastle’s Deon McNeilly 2:05:42 and FERMO’s Ciara Largey 2:26:56 were the major prize winners.

Springwell’s sole representative Colin Brennan came home in 26^th place in a time of 2:42:10.

Get set for the “Round the Bridges” 10 mile road race

Springwell Running Club launched their Jude Gallagher Memorial “Round the Bridges” 10 mile road race on Saturday. This year’s race will be held on Thursday the 28^th June at 7.30pm and is an established fixture in the Limavady sporting calendar.

The race is run in memory of the late Jude Gallagher who was a coach in Roe Valley running club, which went on to be part of Springwell Running Club. The “Round the Bridges” race starts at the Limavady Recreation club on the Killane Road and is renowned as a fast, flat course, ideal for those looking for a personal best at the distance.

The course is officially registered as accurate by Athletics Northern Ireland and this year there will be over £700 in prize money on offer. As well as serious club runners looking for a good time, the race also attracts those runners who are happy just to complete the distance and enjoy the experience. The beautiful countryside of Limavady on a summer’s evening is certainly the perfect place to do that! The success of the event is evident in the fact that many runners keep coming back year after year.

Entry forms for the event are available at local sports centres and online entry can be made through the Athletics NI website. Entries will also be accepted on the night from 6pm and further information is available here.

Marshals are still needed for this event so any club members available to help out should contact Gillian on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   as soon as possible. Thank you.