East Antrim Harriers AC

What a day of running in Belfast with several of our members taking on the 26.2 mile distance while many others played supportive roles either pacing club-mates or cheering on the sidelines. Special mention to Ricky Craig for finishing 14th overall in a time of 2.41 and to Pamela Kane for flying the flag for our female runners in her first marathon for the club. RESULTS 14th Richard Craig 2.41.16 37th Colin James 2.49.20 239th Matt McDowell 3.12.08 331st Ross Mercer 3.19.03 332nd John Rooney 3.19.03 730th Mark McElhinney 3.39.08 741st Conor Graham 3.39.22 854th Jonny Craig 3.43.29 1905th Pamela Kane 4.17.15

In other Marathon news, the terrible twins took on the heat of the Vienna Marathon yesterday. While there had been some in-club debate regarding whether the race was simply a sideline to other weekend activities, there is little doubt that the lads had knuckled down to train hard over the preceding weeks. On this occasion, Club Chairman came out on top by finishing in a time on 3.48. Sadly the self-heralded ‘Coach’ wilted in the heat as the Marathon earlier in the week took its toll, but well done to Mark McElhinney for battling to the finish in 4.05. A day for the student over the Master! 

BREAKING NEWS - NEW CLUB RECORD Congratulations to Nick Weston who has just smashed the club Marathon record by almost 3 minutes with an incredible time of 2.34.49 in this morning’s London Marathon. In the long history of our running club, this is a very notable achievement and Nick was even rewarded with a slot on television as he crossed the line!  

The Barkley Marathons is a unique race with a very select entry list every year. Only a very small number of runners from these shores have competed in the race, with only a handful ever completing the 100 mile plus, extremely elevated, 5 loop course in often difficult conditions. This year our little club was represented at the Barkley by Billy Reed & this incredible experience was captured by his daughter & fellow club member Chloe. Have a watch of this special video here…

With Marathon season now in full swing, 6 of our athletes took on the distance in both Manchester & Boston over the weekend, with each runner excelling themselves with strong performances and several personal bests. First up was Manchester Marathon on Sunday which saw Ross Mercer as the first Harrier over the line in a new PB of 2.45. Next over the line was relative newcomer to the club Michael Nugent, closely followed by Matt McDowell in 2.55 for more PBs. Reuben Moore (pictured) broke the 3 hour barrier for the first time, completing the course in 2.59 while Pete Fraser notched up another marathon in 3.20. The following day and across an ocean, international jet-setter Mark McElhinney completed his 50th marathon by completing the undulating Boston course. Mark finished in 3.27, making all the winter training worthwhile. Well done to all our runners.  

Good turn out this evening for our Club Handicap Race at Sixmilewater Park. Competing for the Kirkpatrick Cup over a 6 mile distance, Reuben Moore took the win in his first ever cross country race. He was followed by Billy Reed in 2nd place in one of the closest races for some time and James Gourley in 3rd. Thanks to Stephen McCullough & Pamela Kane for time keeping.

We are well and truly into Spring Marathon season with some excellent performances from those who have been training hard over the winter. Yesterday, Colin James produced a 2 minute personal best with an outstanding time of 2.38 in the Paris Marathon. Colin ran identical splits in both half’s of the race to finish strong. This followed another personal best the day before by Conor Graham (pictured) in the Westport Marathon. Conor broke the magical 3 hour barrier for the first time by finishing 7th in a time of 2.59. Shout out also to marathon man Mark McElhinney who notched up yet another medal over the 26.2 mile distance the week before in Barcelona. Mark finished in a time of 3.41. Well done lads! All eyes to London…