SCOTT RANKIN & MARINA MURPHY FAVOURITES FOR NI & ULSTER 10,000M GOLD
03 August 2018
Current NI & Ulster 10k (Road) Champion Scott Rankin (Foyle Valley AC) and reigning NI & Ulster 10,000m Champion Marina Murphy (Derry Track Club) will headline as athletes battle it out for 10,000m gold this weekend (Sunday 5th August 2018).
The NI & Ulster 10,000m Championships will take place as part of the Team Trophy Meet (Round 2) at Meadowbank Arena in Magherafelt.
Scott Rankin picked up the 10k road title at the Seeley Cup in Belfast at the end of 2017. That day, the Northern Ireland international clocked 30:56 for gold. Last weekend at the AAI National 10,000m Championships, the Foyle Valley AC man recorded 30:59, a season’s best.
Providing competition for Scott will be Carmen Runners athlete Martin Cox. Last month, Martin ran a personal best of 15:06 for 5,000m at the NI & Ulster Senior Championships – he finished just outside of the podium place is fourth spot.
In the race for the bronze medal, Andrew McIntyre (Orangegrove AC) should lead the way. However, Victoria Park & Connswater AC man Gary Dane and Ballydrain Harriers’ evergreen Norman Mawhinney also be contenders.
Marina Murphy should dominate the ladies race, following some good performances this summer. The Derry Track Club athlete, who won in 38:27, took the runners up spot at the Lifford Strabane Half Marathon in 1:25:23. A more relevant 38:27 at the TQ10K and 18:05 over 5k at Bay Road shows that Marina is in good form.
Carmen Runners’ Aisling Murray and Armagh AC’s Noreen Fegan are amongst the other competitors in the ladies race.
In the Team Trophy event, City of Lisburn AC will be keen to build on the success of Round 1, when they claimed top honours in the Male events. Lagan Valley AC will also be looking to increase their lead in the Women's events.
North Down AC and Derry Track Club will again provide good opposition. More information about the event can be found HERE.
Elsewhere this weekend…
The Northern Ireland Youth Development League Final and Age Group Relay Championships will take place at Antrim Forum in Antrim (Saturday 4th August 2018). More information about the event is available HERE.
On the same day (Saturday 4th August 2018), Northern Ireland’s Dylan McBride (Willowfield Harriers) and Anna McCauley (City of Lisburn AC) will be amongst the familiar faces in Ireland’s squad at the Celtic Games in Dublin.