Mc Veigh Classic, Castlewellan Forest Park

Hill and Dale Race 1

Thursday 10th April 2008

Duncan impresses in a record turnout

The 2008 Hill & Dale Race Series got off to a brilliant start last Thursday in Castlewellan Forest Park with the traditional opener – the McVeigh Classic. After last year’s 161 runners (surpassed the following week in Tollymore with 164 runners) no one really expected that another record would be set, but it was with 169 runners starting and finishing.

Glimpses of spring had been seen earlier in the week but at Castlewellan the weather was bitingly cold in the north wind. It would be hard to find a better setting for spectators with the lake on one side and the castle as a backdrop and the atmosphere was excellent with the superb turnout of runners backed up by as many supporters. The route lends itself to a good view with spectators able to see the field twice as it returns from the first two climbs to the back of the castle before the ‘sting in the tail’ of a finish as the runners toil their way up the gentle (but it feels anything but gentle) rise to the waiting timekeeper.

After the whistle signified the start of the race, early reports came back from the marshals of a woman in kilt with arms and legs akimbo and squealing like a cat - it only turned out to be Brian McBurney grappling with his bagpipes – Braveheart it was not.

Defending champion and assigned the number ‘1’ for the series, Alan McKibbin, just like the first race last year, was a no show, but still there was real quality at the head of the field as it descended towards the Spring Gardens shortly after the start. Recent Northern Ireland Half-Marathon Champion, Omagh’s Stephen Duncan, second last year in this race, was joined by the ‘eternal bridesmaid’ North Belfast’s Neil Carty, former Hill & Dale Champion, Newcastle’s Dave McKibbin, Irish School’s Junior Steeplechase Record Holder, Omagh’s Noel Collins, Mourne duo Stephen Cunningham and Eddie Hanna and Newcastle’s David O’Flaherty.

In the ladies section, last year’s defending champion Mourne’s Fiona Maxwell was also resting up following a superb 2nd in the first British Championship of the season having raced for over two and a half hours through the Mournes the previous weekend. This left the way open for fast starting locals Shalene Ward and Alwynne Shannon to fight it out with Omagh pairing Frances Orr and Angela Speight. By the end of the first climb and descent, Ward was just edging out Shannon with Orr ahead of Speight.

As the runners tackled the Ridgewalk climb the second and longest of the race, Shannon closed and passed Ward and meanwhile Omagh’s Duncan was pulling away from the main field. Off Slievenaslat and back to the castle, Duncan now had an unassailable lead from the eternal bridesmaid. Much discussed in years going back, North Belfast’s Neil Carty has a penchant for finishing second. Like all diseases it turns out that this is now spreading to his team mates – this winter County Antrim finished 2nd in the Irish Inter-Counties Masters Cross-Country Championships and then North Belfast finished 2nd in the Northern Ireland & Ulster Masters Cross-Country Championships and to cap it all off also 2nd in the Northern Ireland & Ulster Cross-Country Championships and you guessed it, Carty was a member of each team. So inevitably Carty was destined to come home second this evening again and he did not disappoint, just over a minute behind Duncan and a half minute of junior star Collins.

The minor places were led home by Dave McKibbin (in better shape than many a year), followed by Hanna, Cunningham and O’Flaherty. Next home was the second junior Noel’s older brother Ciaran who is also in the best shape of his life.

Meanwhile the race between Shannon and Ward was a good one with Shannon finally edging her rival out by 6 seconds. Omagh’s Speight ran on strongly for third well ahead of club mate Orr. The first lady vet40 Newcastle AC’s Anne Sandford was next in 5th overall.

As ever the varying characters that make up a Hill & Dale evening are never slow in coming forward – former athlete (although it is at least two decades since he was at his best) Paddy McCartan decided to go for what he thought was the more leisurely and less stressful option of marshalling on Slievenaslat rather than race. He returned afterwards demanding a copy of the job description – ‘am I really required to tie laces, pick up fallers, supply water and lie about how far the runners have to go?’

Mourne’s Barbara Brown turned up demanding (maybe slightly too strong a word) the ‘number 50’ for the series to celebrate her recent anniversary – normal people like to keep quiet about it. Also Ballydrain’s Francie Boal had a jubilant look on his face as he was coincidentally handed ‘number 100’ at registration as he then declared that he needed only three races to make his 100 Hill & Dale finishes – two more to go now then.

Connell Nugent from Castleblayney is infamous for turning up at the start of each series and declaring that he hasn’t run since the last race of last year’s series. His brother Frances, who uses the series to help his endurance for motorbike scrambling, confirms this fact and Connell’s improvement in performance as the series progresses also tends to support it as well. As he approached the castle for the first time Connell was to be found almost at the back of the field, right behind Pauline O’Hara and seemingly admiring the view on this scenic course – at least that’s how the watching spectators understood his comments as he started the long climb. Anyhow each week Connell has promised a joke – this week:

“Stevie Wonder got a cheese grater for his birthday, thought it was the best book he ever read”.

Many people say that Northern Ireland seems to have moved on, but notwithstanding this, Davy Hughes remains the last man standing for ACKC – once again he proudly wore the ACKC vest and despite the fact that the Mourne youngsters claim that ‘he is no great loss at the sharp end’, it is still amusing to witness their scowling faces staring at Hughes’ vest that is identical to the Mourne Runners’ one apart from the letters ‘ACKC’ where the rest have been replaced with ‘Mourne Runners’.

Last year’s ‘Runners’ Runner’ winner Peter Turkington seems to have been deeply affected by this honour, so much so that he was seen ‘being a real gent and letting a female runner cross the line before him’ – someone should let him know that ‘one is only able to win this award once’.

In the first round of the NIMRA Junior (U-18 and U-16) Championship held in conjunction with the main event and over a shorter course much talent was on show with Omagh Harrier’s James Speight leading all home despite being Under-16 with Newcastle AC’s Eoghan Totten in second. In the girls, East Down’s Aine McCann won emphatically and then jetted off to participate in the London Mini-Marathon over 3 miles at the weekend.

Finally a thank you is due to Blue Lough, erstwhile sponsors of the series, for providing the administration facilities and to the Barbican Supervalu Supermarket for providing the prizes for the under-age championship race.

Race two is this coming Thursday at the Tollymore Mountain Centre with an exhilarating run around the small trails of the forest. Anyone is welcome to participate with all abilities represented with times expected between half an hour and the full hour depending on ability. Just arrive in the car park at the Centre by 7pm and enjoy the challenge.

BOGBOY

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