Northern Ireland Mountain Running Association
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Harty wins to effectively clinch the 2005 Hill & Dale title

Tue 7 June 2005 - Bogboy

Leitrim Lodge on the Hilltown to Rostrevor Road is a beautiful location. It is on the edge of the valley between Rocky Mountain and Kilbroney Forest, which stretches from there to Rostrevor. A small copse of trees with picnic area forms race HQ for the 9th race of the www.mountainandwater.com 2005 Hill & Dale series.

At this time of year it is also plagued with midges. There are literally millions of the little beasts that descend and bite to leave that dreadful itch that seems to be worse 24 hours later. It wasn?t to be a problem this year, at least at the start, because just as race time approached the heavens were opening and the rain that we have got so used to this spring started again.

The wind was also up and after the initial steep climb of Rocky Mountain, 800 feet, with Eddie Hanna reaching the summit in less than ten minutes, the runners turned for Pearse?s Castle via Tournaman Rock into the teeth of the gale and the driving rain. To add to the melting pot, the ground was saturated and many stories came back of runners up to the waist in the bog ? firm ground was hard to find anywhere on the course. Summer ? where is it?

112 runners this week and now with two races to do there is still a possible 128 competitors who could complete the minimum six in the Series to gain the Series prize ? 260 different runners have competed in at least one of the 9 races so far.

Meanwhile back at the sharp end, Newcastle AC?s Kerry Harty had won four of the opening 8 races with he nearest rival being club mate Alwynne Shannon with two victories and Anne Sandford and Cathy McCourt winning the other two races. This meant that if Harty could beat Sandford tonight and make it 5 wins with two races to go, she would be very unlikely to be caught.

As the rain poured down, race organiser Damien Brannigan urgently drafted in timekeeper Aidan Austin to start the official watch and set the runners off ? Austin was also a god send to Paul Mawhirt later as his umbrella kept the poor lad as dry as possible as he scribed the results at the finish line. Harty set off at break neck speed and as the climb of Rocky steepened, she was still climbing strongly. Father Joseph McCann asked her if she was having a laugh. McCann and club mate Mark Kendall had run in the ?flat? ECOS 5-mile road race in Ballymena the previous evening finishing 14th and 17th respectively in 28minutes 03 seconds and 28 minutes and 9 seconds. Now the former was under pressure from the leading lady.

Sandford continued to climb strongly but reached the summit already more than 30 seconds down and under real pressure to try and catch Harty. Behind, Clare Galbraith was also running well in third place. Last year Sandford had headed Harty until literally the home straight until Harty?s fast finish won the day. This year, no matter how hard she tried, she could not get back onto terms and left Harty to come home in front in 30th place overall in 41 minutes and 31 seconds only 28 seconds outside her own record, but a better run given the very wet and windy conditions. Sandford secured second one and a half minutes back with Galbraith third another two minutes back.

The men?s race was wide open with the McKibbens and McNeilly absent. It was Eddie Hanna who pulled slightly away from the field on the climb of Rocky to reach the top in 9 minutes and 45 seconds ahead of Stevie Cunningham and Gary Bailey. Hanna, winner of last week?s race, was running strongly and established a good lead by the top of Pearse?s Castle and by Altataggart seemed like the clear winner. However, turning at summit marshal Mark Hanna, rather than find the shortest route back to the main track, he set off alongside the forest wall over the rougher ground. Cunningham, seeing his opportunity, strode quickly to the track and put to good use the track training that he has been doing and literally sprinted down the one and a quarter miles to the finish.

Shell struck, Hanna eventually reached the track to find himself relegated to second place and could do nothing to catch Cunningham, who raced home to his first victory of this year?s Series. A fast-finishing Bailey came home in third only 16 seconds down on Hanna.

Adam Mitten is making a serious race of the junior category. His rival, Mid-Ulster?s Jonathan McCloy won four of the first five races, but tonight Mitten made it three wins in a row with two races to go ? anyone?s title. The measure of Mitten?s improvement is that he finished 41st in race one in Castlewellan and 9th tonight.

Jim Brown continued his challenge for the vet45 title beating Dominic McGreevy, whilst Billy McKay was again the easy winner of the vet50 category. Des McHenry and John Adgey were respective winners of the vet55 and vet60 categories.

Next week is number 10 out of 11 over the classic Meelbeg Meelmore Horseshoe around the aptly named Happy Valley.

BOGBOY