NI and Ulster Even Age Group Championships and Bobby Rea Cross Country and Weekend Round Up
27 October 2025
There was a record entry of almost one thousand athletes for the NI and Ulster Even Age Group Championships which were held at the Billy Neill Centre of Excellence on Sunday the 26th of October.
Cold and breezy weather conditions greeted the athletes, however the course held up very well throughout the day with conditions remaining relatively firm underfoot.
The U10’s were the first races of the program with both boys’ and girls’ races producing emphatic wins for Corey Clarke (Finn Valley) and Casey Seaton (North Down) with Finn Valley winning both the boys and girls team race.
In the U12’s Finn Valley once again achieved the double in the team races with the individual wins going to Sadhbh Callan (Foyle Valley) and Lukas Janosik (City of Derry).
The U14 boys had the closest finish of the day with Harry McVeigh (Newcastle) just edging ahead of Dylan O’Reilly (Shercock) in the final few metres. The Girls race was won by Caoimhe McNeill (Finn Valley) . Finn Valley’s dominance in the team event was eventually broken with wins for Ballymena and Antrim in the girls and North Belfast in the boys.
North Belfast followed up their team success in the U14 boys with another team win and individual win for Thomas Coy in the U16 boy’s race. Madison Welby (COLAC) continued her unbeaten run this season so far with a dominant victory in the girl’s U16 race. The Girls team race was won by Enniskillen Runners in a very close contest with only five points separating the top three teams.
Lagan Valley completed a team double in the U18 races with the individual wins going to Abbey Smith (Shercock) and Odhran McBrearty (Finn Valley).
The senior races were also very well supported and Lucy Foster (Willowfield) who is still under twenty had a very comfortable win in the senior women’s race leading her Willowfield team to overall victory, further strengthening their lead position in the Cross-Country league. Jamie Battle (Mullingar Harriers) showed that his recent training stint in Font Romeu had paid dividends with an emphatic win in the Senior men’s race from Candour’s Tony McCambridge. North Down were the winners of the team race and should have improved their position in the Cross-Country League standings.
Results from yesterday's races can be found here
Special thanks to all Athletes, Coaches, Volunteers and Staff who helped ensure the event ran smoothly on the day and we look forward to the Uneven Age Group and Novice Championships taking place in Stranolar on the Sunday 9th November!
Elsewhere this weekend:
There was a large contingent of local athletes who made the trip down to Dublin on Sunday morning for the Dublin Marathon. First local man home was Stephen McAuley (Letterkenny) running a big pb of 2.17.31 to finish fifth Irishman. Michael Fox (Armagh) broke the 2.20 barrier for the first time running 2.19.37 to finish sixth in the Irish Championships. Ann-Marie McGlynn (Letterkenny) was not quite able to complete her hat-trick of victories by finishing second in the Irish Championships in 2.36.24 with the ever-consistent Caitlyn Harvey (Roadrunners) finishing fifth in 2.41.27.
Emily Haggard Kearney (NBH) ran 72.42 in the Valencia Half Marathon which was also held on Sunday Morning.