By Aimee Braniff
BELFAST came alive on marathon day as Scrabo Striders took to the streets in purple, tackling every mile of the City Marathon and Relay with smiles, determination and spirit.
The atmosphere throughout the 26.2 miles was exhilarating, with five Striders making their marathon debut. Huge congratulations to Lynsey Cleland (3:57:03), Colin Verth (4:18:00), Michael Brown (4:29:24), Catherine Lavery (4:37:08) and Aaron Cleland (6:02:41).
Max Burton was the first Strider home, in a flying personal best time of 2:57:39, followed by Norman Mawhinney (3:23:26), Craig Simpson (3:46:36), Rebecca Robinson (3:50:46), Amanda Martin (4:00:58), Peter Doggart (4:01:28), Jonathon Caughey (4:09:47) and Gary Clarke (4:11:11).
Maxine Dynes (4:11:46), James Cole-Boyle (4:16:41), Steven Hanna (4:18:24), Mark Halus (4:19:36 PB), Penny Hamilton (4:25:03), Colette McKelvey (4:36:00), Darren Johnston (4:36:04) and Gary Lyttle (4:44:34) were next to finish.
Moses Matovu (5:19:05), Lyndsey Blair (5:30:04), Karen Clarke (5:32:12 PB), Nicola Forsythe, Richard Murray (5:35:50) and Colin Campbell (5:36:57) also completed the 26.2-mile distance.
There many Striders competing in the relay marathon too. The ‘NotSoFastFeet’ team included Strider members Gillian Kerr, Luke Braniff, Sarah Luce McCready and Stephen Braniff, who recorded a time of 4:37:24.
‘Fab Five’ consisted of Emma Craig, Karen Wilson, Caroline Wilson Dwyer, Gary Barritt and Chris Edwards, with a time of 3:58:49, while ‘Roses and Thorns’ featured Joanne Wray, Kurtis Hunter, Cheryl Hunter, Olli Seeger and Kerrie Seeger and a time of 4:34:24.
‘So Confused’ included Karen Collins, Beverley McKee, Lorraine Adams and Jennifer McAteer, with a time of 4:19:05, and ‘NK Group’ (Graeme Magowan, Jasmine Holden and Simon Ferguson) posted a time of 3:53:18.
‘Team Breen’ included Paul Breen, who helped his team to 4:21:37, and ‘Peggy’s Roses’ (5:09:30) involved Phil Adams, David Morton, Angie Crone, Sarah McMaster and Kim Coachrane, with Michael Williams running two legs in the ‘60 and Fab’ team’s 3:43:42 finish.
‘We Can Do It’ had Sharon Murdoch and Alyson Graham running two and three legs respectively, as the ladies went on to secure a time of 4:20:09.
‘Tues Nite Runs’ (4:21:22) included Hugh Lyons, Emma McCracken, Jenna Lavery (Leg 3) and Gillian Pearson (Leg 4), ‘Quills’ featured Sonya Summersgill and ‘Last minute’ (4:16:01) had Beverley Blaine and Ashley Gilliland representing the club.
Lisa Boal ran the final leg to help ‘Coredashions’ to a time of 4:36:02, while Dan Warke and Matt Bell ran for the ‘Ards Nitros’ team which finished in 2:57:39.
Thank you to all of the Supporters and helpers who helped to cheer on all the Striders and make the marathon a fun and memorable experience.
Before Sunday’s main event, Graeme Black completed the Strolling Jim 41-Miler Ultra in Wartrace Tennessee, USA, on Saturday. He completed the race in a time of 6:29:29, finishing 20th overall.
As a Warmup, many Striders completed a parkrun, with over 50 club members running at 10 different venues.
The most popular location was Orangefield, where 22 Striders came together to celebrate Keara Simpson’s 100th parkrun, as she also achieved a course personal best of 25:17. Meanwhile, Joe Brown celebrated his 50th parkrun at Comber.
Well done to Willow, Heath and Graeme Farrington, Rory Braniff, Sonya Summersgill, Chris Edwards, Karen Wilson, Sarah Luce McCready and Maddie Dynes, who all achieved CPBs at Orangefield.
Willow Farrington finished second female at Orangefield and Michael Burgess claimed third overall at IIIaunnmanagh parkrun.
Six club juniors completed a parkrun at two venues on Sunday, with the most popular being Comber. Well Done to Heath Farrington, who came tird overall at Comber, and Lyla Rose McNamara, who achieved a PB of 10:23 at Bangor parkrun.
An amazing weekend full of excitement, nerves and support. Congratulations to all Striders.
