WEEKEND ROUNDUP APRIL 25th and 26th 2026

27 April 2026

There was plenty of action this weekend across the track, roads, and mountains, with many of our athletes producing excellent performances in a variety of competitive events at home and abroad.

Lauren Roy of Fast Twitch Athletics delivered two of the weekend’s standout performances while competing at the Michael Johnston Invitational in Texas. She finished runner-up in the women’s 200m on Friday with a time of 23.07, before returning on Saturday to clock a blistering 11.08 in the 100m, securing second place once again. Both performances were comfortably inside the consideration standard for this year’s Commonwealth Games. However, a wind reading of +2.4 m/s (which is above the legal limit) means the times will not be eligible for qualification purposes. Meanwhile, at the iconic Penn Relays in the United States, Cara Laverty of Finn Valley impressed in the women’s 1500m, finishing eighth with a time of 4:18.44.

With the London Marathon taking centre stage on Sunday, younger athletes had their moment in the spotlight a day earlier at the London Mini Marathon, held on Saturday morning along the famous Mall. The standout performance came from Harry McVeigh (Newcastle AC), who claimed an impressive second-place finish in the U14 boys’ race while also helping his team secure second overall in a highly competitive team contest. Emma Stewart of Dromore AC was the top-placed female athlete, finishing 16th in the U18 girls’ race.

Zak Hanna (Newcastle AC) was in action at the latest round of the Mountain Running World Cup, held at the Great Wall of China. Competing in the Elite Uphill race, he produced an excellent performance to finish 11th in 24:25, narrowly missing out on a top-ten place by just two seconds. Closer to home, the historic Three Peaks Mountain Race in Yorkshire saw strong performances from local athletes. Timmy Johnston (Annadale Striders) claimed third place in the men’s race with a time of 3:22.06, while Newcastle AC’s Tom Crudgington finished fifth in 3:25.17.

Earlier in the week, Neil Johnston (Annadale Striders) showed he was returning to fitness by winning the Broadbridge Road 5k, finishing ahead of teammate Luke Dinsmore. Johnston recorded a winning time of 14:47. In the women’s race, Sarah Kelly of City of Derry Spartans took the victory in 17:00.