Springwell Running Club members enjoy feast of festive events

By Una Culkin
Published 4th Jan 2024, 12:37 BST
Updated 4th Jan 2024, 12:37 BST
James Hughes at the Greencastle 5. Credit David McGaffinJames Hughes at the Greencastle 5. Credit David McGaffin
James Hughes at the Greencastle 5. Credit David McGaffin
Christmas always has a busy running calendar, and this year was no exception with a veritable ‘selection box’ of events.

A traditional opener to the Christmas festivities saw an impressive run from Ryan Kennedy on December 22, at the Run Armagh ‘Black Eye Friday’ Marathon where a 3:13:46 saw him finish in second place.

Boxing Day provided excellent running conditions, as over 120 runners headed to the Mournes for the traditional Turkey Trot. The 7.5km course presented the competitors with 400m of elevation to test their stamina and redress any calorie imbalance from Christmas Day. Peter Tees and Barry Mullan made the trip to the Kingdom of Mourne, where Peter finished 29th in 50:12, with Barry 51st in 55:08.

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The 38th Greencastle 5 Mile Road Race on Boxing Day attracted an impressive field of over 700 runners to this extremely popular event. Four Springwell RC members made the trip to Tyrone for the race with Jenny Chartres leading the quartet home, finishing 144th in 35:40. James Hughes was 189th in 37:11, with Patrick Magee 422nd in 43:08 and David Hughes 533rd in 46:42.

Jenny Chartres at the Greencastle 5. Credit David McGaffinJenny Chartres at the Greencastle 5. Credit David McGaffin
Jenny Chartres at the Greencastle 5. Credit David McGaffin

Saturday, December 30, saw the start of two days of races hosted by the East Antrim Marathon Series in Carrickfergus. In the half marathon four Springwell ladies rose to the challenge with Fiona Prue finishing as first lady and second overall in a time of 1:34:28. Alison Duncan ran a personal best to finish 13th in 2:08:01 with Sinead Graham 14th in 2:08:01 and Gael Butcher 15th in 2:08:02.

Chris Denton took full advantage of perfect weather on the Sunday as he produced another sub 3 hour run to add to his already extensive marathon CV. Chris produced a strong run to win the event in a time of 2:49:45, finishing over 29 minutes ahead of the second-place runner.

The Expleo Festival of Running on New Year’s Eve saw two Springwell RC members make the trip to the Belfast Harbour Estate for the event. In the 5k Janet Patrick ran a 25:38 to finish 132nd, while in the 10k Leisa McKenna produced a personal best time of 44:55 to finish 80th. Also on Sunday, in Tyrone, at the Lough 5 Road Race in Loughmacrory Shaun Carton ran a 39:22 to finish 279th in a field of over 700 competitors.

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