Results
The first NIMRA short race is at Glenariff on Saturday starting at 12.00.
Anyone that would like to share a lift meet at Castlewellan Upper Square at 9am.
Any queries contact Deon

Newcastle defend Team Trophy over the Glens on New Year’s Day
A report on the Race over the Glens by Wingman, with special commentary by Bogusboy.

The desire and commitment to defend the trophy for annual New Year’s Day over the Glens Race in Glenariff Forest Park was such that the captain sent out an early response – well it was 8:30am on December 29^th!!! With plenty of time to make arrangements it was envisaged that a bus full of ‘maybes’ could be organised.  There were instant responses of support from Luke McMullan, fresh from his great performance in the Christmas Cracker and Sam McNeilly who sent the captain an email and a text rather than walk from one room to another to confirm her availability. By the time Strachan was donning his Kilt for a ‘Tollymore’ style Hogmanay on New Year’s Eve, the over-zealous McMullan was repeatedly enquiring about the strength of the men’s team via Facebook.  The response from the captain was candid; ‘it is only you and me!!!’ Continue reading →

Congratulations to Samantha McNeilly, the 2014 Queen of Gullion


Results. Report to follow.

The 35th Mourne 2-day mountain Marathon will take place on September 20th – 21st.
The Mourne Mountain Marathon is Ireland’s only two day endurance and navigation event held each year in the beautiful mountains of Mourne in Northern Ireland. It is run entirely on a voluntary and non-profit basis by a team with many years experience of organising and competing in this type of event.

Their website will be active from May to October during which it will be regularly updated with news, instructions, entry information and results.
All details HERE.

Newcastle AC had a good turnout in the 4^th N. Ireland Mountain Running Championship Race, over the tough 11 mile course in hot conditions. The team secured the team prize ahead of Ballymena AC. Best Newcastle AC performance was Seamus Lynch  2^nd overall, just behind Ballymena’s Jonny. The next race in the series is on 5^th July over the Spelga Skyline course.

‘It’s the ‘oul dog for the hard road and the young pups for the wrong pad.’
A special report on how it all went wrong at the Donard Challenge by Bogusboy

Mist, rain, sleet and poor visibility: conditions that would lead to the postponement or abandonment or most sporting events. However, fell runners in general and open-mountain runners in particular are made of sterner stuff and consequently the running of the Donard Challenge, the latest round of the British Championship, was never in doubt. With more than 270 athletes, the majority from England, Scotland and Wales, registered and all of the competitors accustomed to the unpredictability of the UK weather, a strong field took to the line in Donard Park for a demanding course that would pass over Millstone before climbing to the summit of Donard. The descent was back through to the quarry to the finish in Donard Park. On any clear day navigation would be a formality, but with visibility as little as 7 feet in places, uncertainty crept in and many of the pre-race favourites drifted off course and ran considerably further than was needed. Despite the fact that all the competitors are competent navigators and were festooned with the mandatory equipment, full body cover, food, map, compass and whistle, many found the conditions challenging to say the least and the result was some highly unexpected results.

Continue reading →