Weekly Race Report - 7th September 2025
The last weekend of summer was a quiet one on the racing front, as parents and children prepared for school returning and the beginning of Autumn, or maybe everyone was just resting up for the weekend just past. Half marathons were the primary focus this weekend, with a large number of Springwell members at the Waterside Half Marathon, some joining the masses at the Great North Run, and members also in attendance at the Break 4 the Border Half Marathon from Newry to Carlingford.
Waterside Half Marathon
There were almost 40 Springwell Members among over 2500 finishers at the Waterside Half Marathon on Sunday morning. This event continues to grow year on year, with over 3,800 athletes in total registered for the event this year, including those participating in the relay.
A challenging route, starting and finishing in Ebrington Square, runners begin by making way for Limavady Road via Hill Avenue before taking a right in the direction of Craigavon Bridge after passing the Train Station. After crossing the Bridge, the route then makes way to the Peace Bridge, where runners cross the Foyle for the second time of the day and then take the tow path the whole way out to Strathfoyle, which is a gradual climb from Gransha on.
After navigating their way through Strathfoyle, runners then made their way back towards town into a slight headwind, where the climbing continued as the route passed Gransha and made tracks for the Foyle Bridge. If the climbing up to this point didn’t take it out of you, the chances are that the Foyle Bridge would – with the initial climb towards the bridge from Gransha, the climb over the bridge itself, and then the climb at the other side up and onto the Culmore Road.
From this point, there was just 5k to go – with a sharp descent from Culmore Road to the banks of the Foyle, where again the head wind played a part. The route then crossed the Foyle for the final time, again at the Peace Bridge, before climbing into Ebrington Square where a wall of noise welcomed runners to the finish line.
The weather would have played a part in the performances of runners today, with a strong South Easterly wind at play in several sections of the route. However, the support along the route was fantastic along most section of the route, with plenty of encouragement coming from the pavements.
Congratulations to all our members who took part in the race. Rodney McPhee led the club home with a fantastic performance, finishing in 1:23:37, just 2 weeks after running Reykjavik Marathon. Peter Tees was next in 1:27:28, and he was closely followed by Maurice Walker in 1:27:36.
Catherine Pinkerton was our first lady in a time of 1:42:32, with Lynne Young next home in 1:48:24, followed by Deborah McPhee in 1:51:21. Pauline Mullan was the 4th scorer for the ladies in the team event in a time of 1:56:58. Provisional results show that the ladies have possibly clinched 3rd place in the NI & Ulster Half Marathon Championship, which took place at the event. Congratulations ladies.
Full results below.
53rd Rodney McPhee 1:23:37; 75th Peter Tees 1:27:28; 77th Maurice Walker 1:27:36; 90th Stephen McLaughlin 1:28:26; 186th Ryan Kennedy 1:35:19; 227th Jeff Young 1:37:00; 322nd Dara Watterson 1:41:21; 330th Timmy Bacon 1:41:20; 343rd Brian Moore 1:41:36; 356th Catherine Pinkerton 1:42:32; 448th Aaron Steele 1:44:41; 568th Lynne Young 1:48:24; 613th Steven Kelly 1:48:14; Jim Bradley 1:49:18; 705th Barry McCluskey 1:51:56; 713th Deborah McPhee 1:51:21; 763rd Jonny Rowntree 1:52:58; 888th Pauline Mullan 1:56:58; 1140th Enda Young 2:03:30; 1157th Fran McFadden 2:03:07; 1176th Leanne Quigley 1:56:52; 1290th Alison Duncan 1:59:58; 1294th Nicole O’Connor 2:00:00 (PB); 1306th Ashley McPhee 2:00:09; 1338th Christine Bonham 2:07:49; 1351st Kathryn Campbell 2:01:50; 1474th Sinead Graham 2:05:47; 1477th Adam Henderson 2:05:42; 1486th Patricia Craig 2:04:37; 1534th Conán Kearney-Loughery 2:06:12; 1603rd Conall Doherty 2:07:55; 1720th Karen Campbell 2:11:53; 1723rd Ryan Campbell 2:13:36; 1749th Leighann Barker 2:12:21 (PB); 1758th Roisin Walker 2:12:32; 1796th Helena Dornan 2:14:15 (2 hrs 15 mins pacer); 2008th Andrew Wilmot 2:21:23; 2009th Karen Garvin 2:21:03; 2027th Heather McLaughlin 2:20:47; 2165th Jacqueline McCloy 2:27:19
Great North Run
Four Springwell Members travelled to Newcastle last weekend to join 60,000 fellow runners in the iconic Great North Run. With a rolling start line that goes on for hours, the point-to-point route takes runners from Newcastle across the Tyne through Gateshead before heading to South Shields along the North Sea coast.
Mark Gardiner had a great run, finishing in 1:27:51. Also with a strong run was Paul Quinn who finished in 1:49:02. David Hughes (2:26:17) and Patrick Magee (2:26:20) finished with just 3 seconds and 31 people between them!
B2R – Break for the Border
Two Springwell Members travelled to Newry last Friday evening for Born 2 Run’s inaugural Break 4 the Border Half Marathon. Starting in the heart of Newry, the race quickly gets off the roads and onto the greenway that hugs the coastline of Carlingford Lough. Exiting the greenway, the route then travels through Omeath before finishing at Carlingford Marina.
There is stunning scenery the whole way along this route. While the first half of the race was relatively sheltered, there was a brisk headwind for the second half as the route became more exposed. Springwell’s two runners still put in fantastic performances however, with David Shiels finishing in 1:38:24 and Michael McKeown completing the course in 2:15:19.
99th David Shiels 1:38:24; 526th Michael McKeown 2:15:19
Laganside 10km
The Laganside 10km was hosted by North Belfast Harriers on Sunday morning. The race starts and finishes in Ormeau Park, taking runners through the park and out onto the Ravenhill Road. Here, there is a left turn onto the Albertbridge Road before another left turn onto the Lagan towpath after crossing the Albert Bridge. Runners will come out at the Ormeau Bridge head back along the side of the river on the Ormeau Embankment to begin a second lap of the towpath and embankment before turning back into the park to finish.
In wet and windy conditions, Fiona Prue led the club home in a fantastic time of 0:42:17 to finish 131st place overall and 2nd in her age category. Shaun Carton, the club’s sole male in attendance, was next to finish in 0:46:14. Julie Corbett had a great run to finish in 1:00:09, with Pauline Duke coming home with a strong 1:04:04. Pauline was closely followed by Lynn Stewart (1:05:12), while there was little to separate Julie Armour and Noeleen Cairns who both finished in 1:11:31.
131st Fiona Prue 0:42:17 (2nd F55); 249th Shaun Carton 0:46:14; 756th Julie Corbett 1:00:09; 866th Pauline Duke 1:04:04; 924th Lynn Stewart 1:05:12; 1048th Julie Armour 1:11:31; 1049th Noeleen Cairns 1:11:31
