Carlingford Half Marathon/10k Race Report
Sat 10th March 2018
Saturday 10th March, 2018 saw a large contingent of BRC members journey to County Louth to take on the Carlingford Half Marathon/10k. Both courses followed a scenic, undulating and challenging route. Conditions were quite atrocious with no let up from the wind and rain throughout. The postponement from the 3rd March was no doubt a headache for the organizers and unfortunately the new date did not suit everyone, particularly those with long standing hair appointments which could not be rescheduled (…ahem Orla). In hindsight, the snow may have been less challenging to run in than the lashing wind and rain.
The half marathon got underway shortly after 10am. The route was perhaps easier to appreciate on a better day and was waterlogged in several places. The coastal road was a particularly brutal section with a strong head wind. There was a photographer on hand to capture the runners who were able to muster a brave face in adversity. Stevey Garland was looking far too chirpy for someone chugging along at such a fast pace, eventually finishing as 1st BRC member in 1.26 which was superb. Times of course go out the window on a day like that and just completing the event was a brilliant achievement in itself. The BRC runners did the club proud, however, with some fantastic performances, securing a pretty cool medal in the process.
The event race results page unfortunately did not list club names but some notable performances were from new member Phil Cooper who came in at 1.32 and Liz Robinson who continues her great form with a brilliant 1.40 (she was pipped to the line by a male runner unusually named ‘replaced pack’) Kathy Gillan had a great race and secured a PB with a fine 1.58, narrowly beaten by local man ‘deferred entry.’ Aidan McPeake had a solid run in 1.42 with London preparations well on track. Another member with one eye on the London Marathon was Nicky Leonard who managed a PB of 1.53 and admirably chose to take part, missing out on the afternoon leg of her friend’s hen do in Belfast which apparently involved some dubious still life drawing, the cold weather may not have assisted the nude male model (whatever happened to paint balling.)
Janeet Rondon-Sulbaran clocked an excellent 1.52 while Mark Rocks easily broke 2 hours finishing in 1.55. Monica Gallagher (sponsored by baco-foil) is in great form of late and had a solid run/piggy back, finishing the race in the recovery area wrapped up like a Christmas turkey. Never let it be said that the race series is taken lightly! Oonagh Murray continues to run well and narrowly finished just outside the 2 hour mark. Events organiser/photographer and all round good guy, Johnny Porter (sponsored by Vaseline) had another strong day out. None of this warm up, jogging and stretching lark for Johnny, he is a smooth operator whose pre race routine I discovered is to smear himself in Vaseline for fear of chafing. He glided round, silently in 1.48.
The 10k started a few minutes late at 10.40am. Several BRC’ers took part and again the rain and wind were a bit of a nuisance but they all got through unscathed. Derry girl Michelle Sweeney clocked a PB which was richly deserved with all the training paying dividends (BTW keep looking for my bike that was nicked from shanty health centre 23 years ago #neverforget.) Jill Mellon got huge plaudits crossing the line as first BRC runner in the half marathon in 1.19 (wrong race clock, I blame the post-race onset of hypothermia)… but the news got even better when the announcer confirmed her podium place as she’d actually claimed 2nd in the female 10k race in a barnstorming 47 mins in what were terrible conditions. Well done Jill! Donna Healey also ran well on the day and is having a good season, must be all the pilates. (#neilpilatesrocks)
There was drama in the male 10k race where Steve Briggs, donning his customary headphones and listening to an audio self-help book (‘you are a strong and confident runner’…) took an early lead and chose not to follow the boring and conventional race route but instead take a dander through the town and visit PJ O’Hare’s pub a tad earlier than planned 
Mark Harvey was running behind in 2nd place, quickly realizing the error, adopted the Black Hawk Down..’no man left behind’ mantra, giving chase, screaming ‘steeeeeeeve’… which went unheeded by his headphone wearing BRC compatriot…’you will overcome all odds and destroy your rivals.’ When Brent…sorry, Briggs, finally turned around, both runners did a u-turn and managed to catch up with the 4 man lead out pack, one of whom quizzically remarked ‘I don’t remember passing you.’ They ended up coming 1st and 2nd and it was great to see BRC dominating the podium* especially as Steve was running in his first 10k. (*for podium, read a local woman who hurriedly handed out a rain sodden plaque in bubble wrap and quickly got us to stand under a canopy while she snapped us on her phone.)
The post-race soup was very welcome and some members went for a well earned drink afterwards. The conditions did not help matters as it became a race to get dry and put some layers on, but members mingled and chatted for as long as possible and shared their experiences. Overall, it was a good day out and testament to the ongoing success of the race series which is helping to encourage participation at races members may not usually consider. BRC continues to perform well at events with an admirable blend of good humour, support and camaraderie on show and solid results all round. Onwards and upwards.
Results from the day itself
Overall Table as it stands after Carlingford:
