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ULSTER    AND    NORTHERN    IRELAND    MEDALS     FOR    OMAGH    HARRIERS

The Ulster Novice and Uneven Age Group Championships were held at the Finn Valley Athletic Centre in Stranorlar recently with Omagh Harriers fielding athletes in a number of categories.

First up for the club in the Under 15 Girls race were Sara Moore, Meabh  Mc. Elduff, Cara Durnion and Kate Ballard. All girls ran well over the muddy, wet course and despite losing a shoe mid way through the race Sara Moore managed to finish 11^th in an extremely competitive race to claim an Ulster medal.

Next up in the Boys Under 15 race were Barry Kelly and Eamon Logue with Barry also managing a fine 11^th place finish to earn the clubs second Ulster medal of the day with young Logue finishing strongly in the top half of the field of over seventy athletes.

The Mens Under 19 race was always going to be extremely competitive with the local club up against the might of the host club Finn Valley and St. Malachys A.C. The early pace was set by Milfords Dan King, Omaghs Noel Collins and Finn Valleys Darren Mc. Glinchey and throughout the tough five lap course these three dominated the top three positions. It wasn’t until the closing two laps that Dan King started to edge away from Collins and Mc.Glinchey. At one stage Collins found himself in third place but showed great fighting spirit in the last lap to overhaul Mc.Glinchey with a fine sprint finish over the final 200 metres to claim the runner up spot and pick up a well deserved Ulster medal. Conor Moore and James Speight both put in gutsy performances to try and help the club pick up team medals but with Andrew Fisher having to drop out with one and a half laps to go that was never going to happen.

The Novice Ladies team of Marie Therese Speight, Hazel  A Mc.Causland, Claire Lawn and Sabine Fritz all ran bravely over the course  but were unable to get themselves into medal contention on the day.

In the Novice Mens race the club were only able to field three runners, Martin Mc.Laughlin, Terry Canning and Mark Gray, with Mc.Laughlin as ever putting in a very strong dependable run and Canning showing he can produce a fine performance when needed and shows he has great potential to improve over the coming months with Mark Gray also putting in a strong run for the club

MARATHON   RESULTS

Two Omagh  Harriers were in action in recent weeks with Jason Walsh competing in the Dublin marathon finishing in an excellent time of  2 hrs 49 mins and Helen Stockdale posting a time of 3 hrs 25 mins for a very tough New York marathon and finishing 2^nd Open Ireland Female athlete home.

All members are reminded that the AGM will be held in the Silver Birches on Thursday 27th Nov 2008.  at 7.30pm   It is important that all club members attend this meeting.

IMPORTANT NEWS.

OMAGH HARRIERS AGM SCHEDULED FOR THURSDAY 20TH NOVEMBER HAS BEEN POSTPONED UNTIL THURSDAY 27TH NOVEMBER.  THE AGM WILL BE HELD IN THE SILVERBIRCH HOTEL OMAGH.

Harrier athletes had good performances running in the 2008 Dublin marathon.

This years Dublin marathon got under way in near perfect weather conditions for the many athletes who braved the 26.2 mile which resulted in some fast times and personal best performances.

Among those who recorded pb’s was Harrier Patricia Campbell who took almost 5 mins of her best marathon time crossing the line in 3 hours and 47 mins.

Patricia ran a well planned race running the first half of the distance at a fast pace.  At 20 mile she felt fairly comfortable so kept up the tempo.  She went through the 21 mile marker in exactly 3 hours and at this point she knew that a PB was well within reach.  Although at this stage she was starting to tire Patricia still managed to run under 9 minute mile pace for the last quarter.

At the finish the Harrier felt a huge relief that she had completed her fastest marathon to date and is already looking forward to the challenge of another marathon next year

Also running the Dublin was Deirdre Haigney and her husband Eugene. The pair decided to run together giving each other support especially over the last quarter and finished the distance in 3 hrs 53 mins.

International Call Up for Marie Therese.

Congratulations to Marie Therese Speight who has gained selection to represent Northern Ireland in the Vets international next month in England. 

Harriers in Cross Country Action

The winter season of running has now arrived and with it comes the difficult and demanding conditions of cross country running.

Over the last two weeks the Harriers have been in action and as like all other seasons the conditions have not been favorable towards the athlete.

In Comber James Speight ran very well to take second place in the under 18 race.

Marie Therese Speight who is looking in excellent early season form took first in her vet’s category while Conor Moore running in the senior men’s race found the going a little tough but still managed to put in a good run.

The Harriers second outing of the winter saw them brave the gale force winds, driving rain and an extremely muddy course at the University of Ulster Jordanstown on Saturday.

Running their first cross country Zarah Moore, Cari Durnion, and Meabh Mc Elduff put in good performances finishing well up the field in the girls under 16 event.

In the boys under 14 race young Eamon Logue ran one of his best races to date finishing 10^th and in doing so gained an Ulster selection.

Barry Kelly moved up to the boys under 16 event and ran well to finish 23^rd.

In the boys under 18 event James Speight finished 18^th and a very much improved Alastair Lewis finished 29^th.

The senior Ladies race saw Marie Therese in action again and like the previous week she won her vets category running a very good race over very difficult conditions.