35th British and Irish Masters Cross Country International at Billy Neill Country Park

There are teams from Northern Ireland, The Republic of Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales. All competitors are grouped together in 5 year age bands, with the oldest category being men 80 years of age and over. Once upon a time sport was regarded as something to be enjoyed only by the young. All that has changed and in the present era people have come to understand the physical and mental benefits of keeping fit throughout middle age, and much beyond, even into the later years of life.

The competitors taking part in this event have all had to go through a selection process usually involving a trial race, and every place on each team has been hard won. The standard of competition is very high and will make for a most entertaining day of athletics. One notable member of the Northern Ireland team is Stephen Scullion in the M35 category. He ran in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and is Northern Ireland Record Holder for the marathon . Another outstanding Northern Ireland representative is Mary Slocum who recently became F60 World Champion at the Bucharest Marathon.

Major sponsors of the event are Belfast City Marathon, Belfast City Council, Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council and Kingsbridge Private Hospital and Eye Clinic.

Competition on the day starts at 11am with a total of 4 international events, and the programme concludes with an open race for any men and women athletes not involved in the international, but who want to test themselves over the same course. Entry fee is £10 and this race is being staged as a charity event with profits going to Parkinson's UK. Details regarding this and the whole event can be viewed at here and and NI Masters Facebook page here.