Weekly Race Report - 10th August 2025
Springwell members competed in several road, trail and mountain races across the country over the weekend, and over distances from 5 mile right up to marathon. A weekend that seen a race win for Peter Tees, a podium finish for Fiona Prue, and age category wins from Maurice Walker, Sylvia Pollock and David Shiels.
Mallusk 5 Mile
Mallusk Harriers hosted the Mallusk 5 Mile Road Race on Friday evening. The course is as scenic as it is challenging. After the start, entrants are immediately treated to a leg-burning climb up Sealstown Road, with elevation peaking around the 2-mile mark before easing into a flowing downhill stretch for the remaining 3 miles that allows runners to pick up the pace if they have measured their effort on the initial climb correctly!
We had one Springwell Runner at the event, and he did just that, with a rapid last couple of miles enough to see David Shiels finish in a time of 0:35:36. This seen David claim 68th position overall and 1st place in his age category.
Dambusters 10 Mile
The annual Dambusters race series hosted by Born2Run Events took place on Saturday morning at the Silent Valley Mountain Centre near Analong in County Down. There were 5km, 10km and 10-mile race options available for runners to choose from, however all our Springwell Runners opted for the 10-mile race to make the most of the drive across the country.
The Silent Valley is located within the Mourne area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is home to some of the most beautiful scenery in Ireland. The Valley is surrounded by dramatic mountain panoramas and includes a reservoir built in the early 1900s as well as the famous Mourne wall.
Fantastic performances from all our runners in attendance, however, a special mention goes to Shaun Carton who came 2nd in his age category in a time of 1:27:40, and to Sylvia Pollock who came 1st in her age category in a time of 1:29:47!
92nd Shaun Carton 1:27:40 (2nd M60); 106th Jonathan Huddleston 1:29:03; 116th Sylvia Pollock 1:29:47 (1st F55); 224th Liz Dowey 1:44:33; 317th Gemma Wray 2:05:11; 331st Lynn Stewart 2:11:04
Newbridge 10k
Several Springwell members made the short journey to Newbridge on the banks of Lough Neagh on Sunday morning for the flat and fast Newbridge 10k, hosted by Newbridge GAC. Fiona Prue led the club home in 52nd place with a strong performance seeing her claim a place on the podium as 3rd Female in a time of 0:43:21. Jim Bradley made it 2 personal bests in as many weeks, with a 0:47:27 clinching 100th position for him.
There was also a personal best for Leighann Barker, who ran 0:57:06 for 217th place. Meanwhile, Bernie Beattie (0:58:28) and Jacqueline McCloy (1:03:48) had great debut performances for the club!
52nd Fiona Prue 0:43:21 (3rd Female); 82nd Catherine Pinkerton 0:46:14; 100th Jim Bradley 0:47:27 (PB); 154th Pauline Mullan 0:52:20; 175th Michael McKeown 0:54:18; 208th Christine Bonham 0:56:15; 217th Leighann Barker 0:57:06 (PB); 227th Bernie Beattie 0:58:28; 257th Philip Pollock 1:02:23; 260th Jacqueline McCloy 1:03:48
We Run Wild Trail Marathon
Whilst most the Hill & Trail seekers headed to the Mournes or Cushendall over the weekend, Peter Tees had opted for the perhaps lesser known option of a marathon along the Moyle Way between Ballycastle & Waterfoot. This year was the first time it had been run in this direction, all the past versions of the event started in Waterfoot and finished in Ballycastle.
Peter put in months of training for the event, and many, many laps of Banagher Glen and the surrounding Sperrin mountains. As it turns out this was ideal race prep, as the Moyle Way prove to be a lot softer under foot than the Sperrins! Peter's training was well worth it in the end, as he led from the start and finished First overall in a time of 4:32:00.
Seven Sevens
The NIMRA Championship continued with its latest long category race. The Seven Sevens mountain race hosted by BARF, in conjunction with the annual Challenge Walk hosted by Lagan Valley Orienteers, is an arduous mountain race that covers the seven mountains in the Mournes that are greater than 700m in height.
The 19 mile and 8,800 feet elevation race was run anti-clockwise this year and the mountains visited were Donard, Commedagh, Bearnagh, Meelmore, Meelbeg, Binnian and Lamagan.
First back for the club was Shirhaan Hameed who completed the course in 5:49:20, finishing 22nd overall. Bernadette Quinn continues to go from strength to strength on her return post serious injury and finished 29th in 6:22:18. In his first attempt at the Seven Sevens, James Hughes was unfortunately forced into early retirement at Ben Crom.
Lurig Mountain Race
The Lurig Mountain Race, part of the Heart of the Glens Festival, is such a favourite for many in the calendar. The 4 mile & 1,100 feet elevation race starts from Curfew Tower in the centre of Cushendall and sees runners race to the summit of Lurigethan, before choosing their style of descent with sliding down the mountain is the preferred option for many.
Then it's a hard sprint home to the village again where hundreds are lining the streets for an unbelievable atmosphere at the finish. Celebrations didn't stop at the finish line - it was off to the Parish Centre for the prize giving where Maurice Walker collected his prize for 1st M55.
18th Maurice Walker 0:36:21 (1st M55); 78th Mark Gardiner 0:41:34; 101st Deborah McPhee 0:44:55; 110th Carolyn Crawford 0:45:29; 138th Sarah Milligan 0:47:46; 164th Kate O'Loan 0:49:23; 210th Conor Duffy 0:53:10
