4 Newcastle & District athletes make the Irish Team for the World Mountain Racing Championships
The Irish Mountain Racing Association (IMRA) hosted trials throughout the weekend for athletes wishing to be selected to represent Ireland at the upcoming Mountain Running World Championships being held in Innsbruck-Stubai, Austria, between the 6th and 10th June (https://www.innsbruck-stubai2023.com/en/).
The Irish Mountain Racing Association (IMRA) hosted trials throughout the weekend for athletes wishing to be selected to represent Ireland at the upcoming Mountain Running World Championships being held in Innsbruck-Stubai, Austria, between the 6th and 10th June (https://www.innsbruck-stubai2023.com/en/).
Report by Siobhán Grant
This week, the idyllic and peaceful surroundings of the rolling hills of Tollymore and Castlewellan were soon forgotten as the hardcore put on their mudclaws and prepared to take on the first open mountain race of the 2023 Hill & Dale Series where the mist engulfed the peaks on high.
Report by Siobhán Grant
On Thursday, focus returned to the second race of the Hill and Dale series in our own backyard of Tollymore Forest Park. It doesn’t matter how many times you run around Tollymore, there is always a hill that you have chosen to forget existed until you are half way up it and cursing your great idea to follow this route.
Report by Siobhán Grant
The second instalment of the Fab 5 series was yet again blessed by beautiful clear blue skies and a dramatic drop in temperature as the sun went to bed and our young athletes powered on at Mary Peters Track on, late into Thursday evening.
Report by Siobhán Grant
One would have anticipated that the heavens would open and pour upon over 340 runners who had made the trip to Castlewellan as Newcastle AC rolled out Race One of this years Hill and Dale Series. However there was a change in the daily weather storyline as the grey clouds dispersed and Castlewellan Lake glistened under clear blue skies. However the weather in recent days had held itself within the ground and runners were quickly reminded of this at different points throughout the route when they skidded around corners and searched for any grip on the grass.
Always a popular race with the trail and mountain runners alike, Race 1 also opens itself to those who tentatively want to dip their toes in some off road adventures, maybe inspired by their participation in December’s Christmas Cracker, with the stunning backdrops of the forests and mountains of South Down surrounding them. They either finish and have caught the bug or decide spectating is way more fun.