Saturday 7th September dawned bright and dry and as I looked from the bedroom window of our accommodation, on the outskirts of Fortwilliam, I could clearly see the upper slopes of Ben Nevis. Standing at 1345m high it is the highest mountain in the UK, and being so far north in Scotland weather conditions can change in the blink of an eye, if the event had of been one week earlier, they would have had to cancel it. NAC on tour were over for the annual pilgrimage to Fortwilliam to race The Ben, a race to the top and back.

The weekend started 24hrs earlier for us as we met in Hilltown at 5am for an early flight to Glasgow. Picking up the hire car, we made our way north on one of the most scenic routes I’ve ever driven. The mountain ranges were simply stunning and once we passed through the snow barriers, used to close the road in adverse weather, we knew we were getting close. Arriving at our house in the early afternoon, we had lunch, gathered a few provisions and did a bit of sightseeing. The team so far included, Catherine McIntosh, Gary McEvoy, Pete Grant and David Hicks, who although injured at the minute was there to shout from the sidelines. Arriving on later flights were Bronagh McInerney and Brian McBurney who was over to complete his 21st Ben Nevis race, quite an achievement on its own to make the trip over every year. Continue reading →

The Burrendale Hotel, Country Club & Spa Open Day takes place next Sunday 15th September! For one day only – no joining fee! Full details are available in the poster below.

Castlewellan parkrun celebrates 100 events on Saturday 7 September. Many NAC members have been regular attenders and volunteers for almost 2 years. We would love to see a big turn out from club members in club vests to mark this milestone. Please encourage family and friends to come along. if you are not able to take part, we could do with a few additional volunteers as we expect this to be a very busy morning. Support your local parkrun. #loveparkrun

Saturday 31st August, saw the last race of the NIMRA series take place in Rostrevor.  Not the usual Fallows race this time, but another new addition to the series this year, Dan Whites Dander. Starting at the upper car park at Cloughmore Stone, the route follows the walkers’ path towards the Big Stone and continues around Cloughmore Glen to cross a stile below the summit of Slieve Martin. Checkpoint No.1 is located on the summit of Knochshee, and although it looks straight forward to get to, it can prove very difficult in bad weather. Dropping off Knockshee, runners headed for a river crossing well hidden in the briars, which took them to checkpoint 2 at the Nurse’s Cottage. Judging by the amount of cut legs after the briars, I’m sure if the nurse had have been home she would have had her hands full for a while!  From here began the long climb back to the summit of Slieve Martin for checkpoint 3 before a blistering down hill sprint on the switch back paths to the finish. Conditions on the morning looked grim after heavy overnight rain fell, and with Cloughmore Stone not even being visible from the village, which is usually a good indicator of conditions in the mountains, it didn’t look good.  However, come the 11am start time it had completely cleared and was quite warm. Continue reading →