Whilst NIMRA host the local championship, they also take one leg of the four races that comprises the British championship, and with the long category assigned for them this year what better or tougher event to stage than the Mourne Seven Sevens on Saturday 9th April. With a slightly longer 19.5 mile course involving 2600m of ascent it takes in the seven peaks over 700m (Meelmore just short when remeasured), starting and finishing at sea level in Donard Park. This brought an elite field over from across the water with some top names who are usually plying their trade in Snowdonia, the Peak & Lake districts and the Scottish Munros. Despite a chilly start to Saturday morning, the day stayed bright and clear, but there was an exposure risk on a few of the summits nevertheless.

After coming a fantastic 9th position at the 50KM Maurice Mullins Ultra in Wicklow a fortnight past, Alan Ritchie certainly had the training in the legs for the challenge. Opting for the Black Stairs to summit Donard by 52 mins, he made light work of the first 4 of the 7 and was over Meelmore in under 2 hours. However the crux of the race is the second half travelling down the bog from Meelbeg to Ben Crom Dam, then taking in the full Binnian ridge to the far summit only to turn back and lose the height gained. After a few minutes break on the way towards the final seven Lamagan, Alan made a superb attack on the contour round Cove and the rise over Slieve Beg to reach the saddle at 4hrs 30mins. 22 mins later he was at the pavilion finishing in a great 38th place and 4hrs 52mins. Continue reading →

Saturday 26th March saw the Slieve Gullion Race hosted by Armagh AC returning to the calendar after an absence last year. Falling in the short category of approx 4 miles but with still at least 1000ft of climbing, it is a good warm up for the upcoming Hill & Dale series and there is usually a healthy number of red and yellow vests attending.

Starting on the narrow Ballard Road outside Lislea the 82 racing made their way along the undulating sheep track for the first mile. Gullion is known for usually being soft underfoot and plenty of mud to contend with, but with the recent great spell of dry weather, the runners made light work of the track towards a few steeper outcrops to the first checkpoint of the north cairn. From there it was a straightforward path past Calliagh Beara’s Lough towards checkpoint 2 on the summit south cairn (576m) and the high point of county Armagh. This was the 2 mile marker and from here the race gathered pace as this was the turn back towards the start, sharpening up after checkpoint 1 doubled up as checkpoint 3.

Davy Hicks continued his great form coming in under 2 minutes behind winner Andrew Tees of BARF to finish 5th (32:37). JP Gartland was another top 10 finisher a minute after in 9th place (33:23). Colm Murtagh was back on the hills and had a solid mornings work to place 18th (35:32). Next in 2 minutes later, making good time on descent was Pearse Brogan in 25th (37:34). A fantastic performance from junior Ciara Savage in 38th (41:04) put her on the ladies podium in 3rd. Sam McNeilly was then 4th lady home just behind Ciara in 39th (41:11) and Stevie Rice followed Sam for the finish coming 40th place (41:18). One minute later Owen Brady with another good effort came in 42nd position (42:18) whilst Seamus White was to take 61st place with a good time of (47:39).

Thanks to Armagh AC for hosting and holding on perfect day of conditions for the race. The first four men listed above gathered enough points to take 3rd mens team home on the day behind the host club and nearby Newry AC. The next NIMRA event is the classic Mourne Seven Sevens race on Saturday 9th April where 8 Newcastle runners (so far) will take on an elite field coming from across the water, including the likes of multiple Ben Nevis winner Finlay Wild amongst others!

Saturday 19th March brought the second race of the 2022 NIMRA championship, the medium distance Fallows race which was held in Kilbroney Park, Rostrevor. Those who have participated in the Slieve Martin Hill & Dale race will be familiar with the beginning and finish of this race, and recall it’s sharp climb and drop from the forest to the open mountain. The middle part of this race however stretches through the wildness of Crenville and onto the fire roads towards Slievemeel before climbing back towards Slievemeen via the dreaded zig zags. Approx 16km in distance and with 800m of climbing in total

Newcastle AC had 9 runners representing on the day, which was bright and pleasant despite a westerly tracking gust on the higher sections. This proved difficult climbing around Slievemeen at the start but was a useful tailwind on the runnable path to the trig point & first checkpoint on Slieve Martin. Helicopter operations to assist with path building between here & Crenville were postponed for the duration of the race but the runners had to work around the tote bags of stone as well as the swampy ground.

Davy Hicks was first body home finishing in a great 10th position (1:24:18) amongst a very strong field. JP Gartland had a very steady run throughout to come 22nd (1:32:14). Pete Grant prefers going round a lot of the course on two wheels but made handy work of it taking 35th position (1:39:07). The experienced hands Dominic McGreevy (40th- 1:41:45) & Gerry Kingston (42nd- (1:42:33) saved their attack crucially until the zig zags and finished strong. Pearse Brogan (49th- 1:44:52) did the opposite going out fast from the start but hanging on for the finish. Declan McElroy was next home with a great run in 53rd (1:47:02) followed in by 7th lady Catherine McIntosh in 60th overall (1:53:16) and Owen Brady wrapping things up in 63rd with 1:54:10.

Thanks to Newry AC for hosting as always, especially their race organisers, encouraging checkpoint marshalls and the finish line snacks. The next mountain race for the schedule is Slieve Gullion which is this Saturday 26th March @ 11am, hosted by Armagh AC. The next NIMRA championship race is back in Rostrevor which will be our own Slieve Martin Hill & Dale race on Thursday 28th April.

On Saturday 12th March the first race of the 2022 NIMRA championship took place in Glenariff with the Spud Run hosted by Glens Runners. A change of scenery from the usual Mournes, six Newcastle runners made the journey to the start at the Oisins hurling field in Waterfoot, lifted their complementary spuds and dibbers and got ready to roll.

The race is broken down into a 2 mile stretch from the start on a grass path along the Moyle river, before a strenuous 1 mile up hill of 370m ascent to the top of the glen, followed by a very sharp descent and retrace steps back to the finish. The weather held out on the day with a calm day in pleasant sunshine between the showers of Friday and wind of Sunday.

2 of the men placed in the top 10 with Alan Ritchie in 6th place (49:20) chased in by Gary McEvoy in 8th (50:21). Next set in was Pearse Brogan in 37th (58:02) and Pete Grant 41st (58:30). Rebecca Magee ran a strong race (11th lady & 1st FU23) to come in 57th place (1:02:33) and Declan McElroy finishing in 63rd with (1:03:54).

Not long to dwell for the next championship race, with the Fallows taking place over 10 miles in Kilbroney Park, Rostrevor this Saturday 19th March and should see a good contingent out to tackle it.

Saturday brought another historic day for Newcastle & District AC with the women finally emulating the men when they secured the Cross-Country League title at the final race of the series at the 2022 NI & Ulster Senior Cross-Country Championships in Gransha, Derry.

The series started all the way back in September in Palace Demesne in Armagh where the team secured victory but in a trait that almost derailed their title ambitions didn’t score maximum points as they failed to get 8 women across the finish line.

The points awarded are 16 for a race victory 14 for 2nd, 12 for 3rd and so on. Then each finisher up to a maximum of 8 secure an additional point for the league. So a team winning a race with 8 runners would secure maximum points of 24. Continue reading →

Minutes from the Newcastle AC AGM on Thursday 27th January 2022 are available to view below.

View AGM Minutes