The Connswater 5 mile is centred around the CS Lewis square in east Belfast. He was one of our cities’s most celebrated novelists and writers and its no work of fiction to say that this is a race Belfast Running Club has taken to heart.
This fledgling race, its development was badly interrupted by Covid, is now well established as a firm favourite of BRC members. And so it was the venue for the latest instalment of the BRC 2023 Race Series.
There were 13 BRC runners in all, and there were plenty of members out in support as well.
This is a flat and fast course overall but there are segments which require single file running and the mile + on grass is typically the slowest mile of the 5. BRC runners were to the fore and a speedy trio of Tony Harvey, David Hynes and Tom Whyatt were well up among the early finishers. Brendan Mulgrew was the next BRCer home and he took full advantage of advancing years in claiming the Male 50 first place spot. His reward? A Boojum voucher, well earned!!
There were Connswater PBs for Donna and Jill also amongst some terrific results from club members. It was also great to see Liz back among the field after recent injury with Vernon, JP, Rowena, Colin, Paul and Siobhan completing our contingent on the night.
It is always a big boost to get a cheer from a club mate and with Aaron on his bike we weren’t short of shout outs or photos (see slideshow).
East Belfast looked terrific for this race, with the famous cranes never far away and Victoria Park providing a perfect background to this Friday night outing. Many thanks to Victoria Park and Connswater Athletics Club for organising this event, and I have a feeling it will make an appearance in the Race Series 2024.
Once the Race Series sub committee applied the magic age grade formula the top 3 Connswater spots went to Donna (50 points), Liz (49) and Brendan (48). The full results and overall league standings can be found on the BRC Race Series Results Page.
Our next event in the series is the Belfast half marathon on the 17th September. It’s all to play for at the top of the table…see you all on the streets of our hometown!
BM