On a cold and frosty day up the Coves Reservoirs, sixty two seniors and thirteen juniors set off in the biggest field ever assembled on the course.
On the first lap of the Men’s scratch race, Dylan Crawford took up the pace, with Neil Lafferty in hot pursuit. Andy McCall held third place with Andrew Osbourne and Daniel Doherty following about 30 metres behind.
Dylan taking up the pace on the first lap
Andy McCall in third place on the first lap
On the way up the hill through the woods on the second lap, Neil made a break and opened a gap up on Dylan (who was tiring noticeably). Andy McCall sensed this and managed to pass Dylan whilst Andrew Osbourne closed in on Andy and opened up a gap on Daniel who was working really hard to stay in contact. On the 3rd lap Dylan dropped to 4th place, being passed by both Andy McCall (2nd) and Andrew Osbourne (3rd). Neil finished 18 seconds ahead of Andy who in turn finished 14 seconds ahead of Andrew.
Neil makes a decisive break coming out of the woods on the second lap
Gents – Harris Memorial Trophy – 1st Neil Lafferty 32:30, 2nd Andy McCall 32:48, 3rd Andrew Osborne 33:02
On the first lap of the Ladies race, Jill Cox (36:47) was well up the Men’s field, in the top 10 in fact, running just behind Owen Atkinson, Steven Campbell and Kevin Craig. Jill maintained her position well up the field and posted a club record for the course, beating Emma Baxter’s time of 36:53 in 2012 by 6 seconds. For this reason, Jill’s performance was the outstanding run of the day.
Jill on her way to winning the Ladies race
Next in the Ladies race was Sue Hewitson (41:39) who ran a well paced race in the company of Danny McLaughlin, Micky Dunn and Eric Lindsay. And in third place for the ladies was the ever improving Lynne Harrison (44:54). In fourth place was Lorna Mitchell (45:43) who finished 4 seconds ahead of Viki Smith (45:47) in a sprint to the finish.
Nice to see Sue Hewitson back racing again
Ladies – Betty Anderson Memorial Cup – 1st Jill Cox 36:47, 2nd Sue Hewitson 41:39, 3rd Lynne Harrison 44:54
In the Handicap race Micky Dunn was the clear winner, nearly a minute ahead of second placed Jill Cox. Next in and just 3 seconds behind was Stephen Harrison. Other recent improvers well up in the handicap were Mathew Deegan, Kevin Begley and Chris Mooney.
Handicap winner Mick Dunn
John Russell Memorial Cup Handicap Times : 1st Micky Dunn 30:21, 2nd Jill Cox 31:17, 3rd Stephen Harrison 31:20.
Thanks to our sponsor: WB Smith Trees and Turf (Andy Smith) and our band of volunteers willing to guide our runners over the frost and ice: Aidan Coyle, Alan O’Rourke, Cheryl Thomas, Fiona Macfarlane, Gavin Morrison, James Doherty Jnr, John Stevenson, Kev Craig, Lynne Harrison, Oliver Reilly, Ross Slater, Stephen Fulton, Stephen Harrison, Stevie McLoone, Stuart Crawford, Terri Wall and Yvonne Prager.
Special thanks once again to the Handicap Committee.
Click here for results :
Harris-2024-Results-v1
Kirsten on the 3rd lap
Eileen looking cool in her shades with a lap to go
Gavin driving down the hill on the last lap
Danny working hard on the run-in to the finish
Doris Heron smiles for the camera with a lap to go
Kevin and Matthew in a head-to-head on the 3rd lap