Weekend Review Cardiff Cross Challenge and Mountain Running World Cup
15 October 2019
A strong team of young athletes travelled to Cardiff on Saturday 12th October 2019 to take part in the first of the 2019 British Athletics Cross Challenge events.
Leading the way in the U20 Women’s event was Springwell Running Club’s Niamh Carr who finished in 7th place in a time of 16:27. Closely behind her was NI teammate, Hannah Gilliland (Willowfield Harriers) who finished in 18th place in 17:39. Finn Valley AC’s Cassie Lagan finished in 20th place in 17:51, with Lagan Valley AC’s Rebecca Wallace in 21st place in 17:59.
St Malachy’s AC’s Adam Ferris was the leading man for the U20 Men’s team, finishing in 8th place in 20:22, with his club-mate, Conall McClean following shortly behind in 11th place in 20:32. St Colman’s College’s Miceal McCaul battled a tough field to finish in 18th place in 20:58, ahead of Beechmount Harrier’s Peter Gracey in 27th place in 21:27 and St Malachy’s AC’s Tony McCambridge in 30th place in 21:54.
The U17 Girls team performed well, with Amy Greene (Rosses AC) in 17th place in 17:31, followed by Tara McDonough (North Down AC) in 28th place in 18:22. Omagh Harrier’s Sorcha Mullan finished in 29th place in 18:23, ahead of City of Derry Spartan AC’s Aela Stewart, who finished in 33rd place in 18:42.
Callum Morgan of St Malachy’s AC finished in 18th place in 18:33 to make him the first team member of the U17 Boys to cross the line. He was followed by Willowfield Harrier’s Dylan McBride in 29th place in 18:58 and Fionntan Campbell (St Malachy’s AC) in 33rd place in 19:18.
The whole young team performed exceptionally well and were enthusiastic when taking on the challenging course. Director of Athlete and Coach Development, Jackie Newton stated: “It was an absolute joy to work with and support this squad of athletes who put their hearts and souls into their races. Every member of the squad went into the race with a plan, committed to it and worked hard to achieve the best result possible. They then spent time in the evening analysing their race, thinking about where they were strong and where they may make improvements in the season ahead. We returned home on Sunday but not before an early-morning squad run to finish off a great weekend of running and learning.”
Also competing at the Cardiff Cross Challenge was City of Derry Spartan AC’s Fintan Stewart, who finished an impressive 12th in the Senior Men’s event in a time of 30:47.
Full results can be found here:
https://results.sporthive.com/events/6587711613056480000/races/468572
Thanks to Rory Friel, Phillip Tweedie and Paula Wallace for their Team Management on this trip.
Elsewhere this weekend…
Northern Irish Mountain Runner, Zak Hanna (Newcastle AC) finished 6th overall in the Mountain Running World Cup. The MRWC consists of a series of 7 events in total, running from May until October 2019.
After competing in France, Wales, Italy and Slovenia, Zak finished the series with a total of 260 points. In his final race on Saturday 12th October in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Zak finished in 9th place in a time of 44:51 to secure 6th place overall in the World Cup.
Overall Results available here: