Hill & Dale Castlewellan Report

Sun 11 April 2010 - Ian Taylor

The McVeigh Classic – by Bogusboy

The snow had melted, the rain had temporarily stopped, the winds had calmed and the sun was even threatening to shine in honour of the commencement of the Newcastle AC’s Hill and Dale Series, sponsored by Up and Running. 189 had registered for the race in 2009, smashing all previous records. Could 2010 attract an even larger field? Not quite, but with a British Championship race taking place less than 48 hours later, 183 represented an extremely impressive turnout.

Wells is a model of leadership

With traditional Race 1 organiser Marty McVeigh literally out to pasture, there was a new sheriff in town. Barry Wells, a regular Hill and Dale top 20 finisher, and all round good egg had been conscripted to the organising committee and was left with the daunting prospect of looking after the curtain raiser. No doubt he had been given all sorts of advice by Weir, McWhirt et al. in the ‘Celtic Hut’, which presumably echoed the traditional Newcastle mantra, ‘when in doubt, delegate.’ So how did the ‘rookie’ do? Very well is the simple answer. The course was extremely well marked, the entries were processed with due care and diligence, the race started on time, Jason Weir raced for the first time in a decade, everyone who started actually finished, though one or two just before dark, the post race presentations a rousing success and the services of a literary genius employed to write this piece prose for public consumption. If Wells is not careful he could end up organising more races!

Woods wins

The race itself was a tense and tactical affair. Early doors five were in contention, Woods, Carty, Speight, McNeilly and McKibbin. After 8 minutes of fairly even ground the course winds up sharply to Foxes Green, before a sharp descent back to the rear of the castle. By this stage Woods and Carty were clear and Speight was a comfortable third. The knowledgeable, enthusiastic and supportive crowd were cheering all the athletes as they began the second major ascent to the summit of Slievenaslat Mountain. As the leaders entered the Spring Gardens there was nothing to choose between the top two. In the final stages Woods found that little bit extra and held on to win by seven seconds, missing the course record by three seconds. Carty, as one might have predicted at the outset finished second for the umpteenth time, but ran extremely well and will feel confident that he can jettison the much used title of ‘eternal bridesmaid’. Speight maintained his form in the latter stages and secured third position, no mean achievement for a 17 year old with homework and studying on his mind! McNeilly was almost a minute further back in 4^th and McKibbin took 5^th. These two will see this race as a useful marker and no doubt they will look to the more mountainous courses to assert their authority. However both Hanna and Cunningham, neither of whom competed in Castlewellan, will also relish such races, confident in their ability to win.

Juniors show early promise

Further down the field there were, as always, many noteworthy performances. Two other juniors, Ryan Stewart (10^th) and Jonathan Graham (11^th) were very well placed, Kris Muldoon showed great strength to finish 6^th and perhaps the most improved performer was Paul Watson. Paul, a regular also-ran for a number of years, has applied himself to hard training over the winter and the results are obvious. Paul despite continually grumbling about not improving or losing weight (I know how he feels!) finished in 28^th place, far eclipsing any previous results and knocking a staggering six minutes of his time over the same course 12 months previously. John Kelly, on reaching the milestone of being 50 years young won his category, beating Pascal Toner convincingly. John was followed home by PJ McCrickard, who obviously inspired by big brother Eamon, finished an excellent 35^th. There were category wins for Don Travers (V35), Shileen O’Kane (LV40), Stewart Cunningham (V55), Anne Sandford (LV45), Brian Hamilton (V60), Taryn McCoy (LV35), Daisy Murray (FJ), Roma McConville (LV50) and Maureen Oliver (LV55). Congratulations to all on making a winning start to the series.

The Lady Vic boat club three made their annual pilgrimage to Castlewellan and Roddy was treated to a potted history of ‘the town’ as local philanthropist Paddy McCartan escorted him home in the fading light. All three have promised to make an appearance in Tollymore for race 2.

A family affair

Young Sean Knight also deserved special praise for using the Hill and Dale as an opportunity to bond with his parents. In an age where many children feel alienated and disenfranchised it was good to see Sean engaging with his mum and dad. However in true teenage fashion Sean soon gave his parents the slip when the whistle blew and found more interesting company, finishing a very commendable 30^th and sandwiched between Liam Keenan and John McArdle. Undeterred by the desertion, dad Stephen and mum Mary ploughed the lonely furrow and finished 131^st and 174^th respectively. Rumours abound that Sean has been told to go to his room and sulk like normal teenagers on Thursday nights for the foreseeable future!

Equally meriting a special mention is Conal Nugent. This fine specimen of a man came past me puffing, panting and totally spent; nothing strange one would think as Hill and Dale races are notorious for the demands they place on the athletes. However Conal was walking to the start line at the time and after 41 weeks of sustained and uninterrupted rest since the end of the 2009 series, he really has no excuse!

Alexander sets the female standard for 2010

In the absence of Charlene Haugh, Karen Alexander had a relatively straightforward win in the ladies race and perhaps more significantly set a new course record, trimming 1:02 of the mark set by Haugh last year. Angela Speight also beat last year’s record in finishing second lady. Perhaps Haugh will have to work a little harder to retain her tiara than many would have expected at the beginning of the season. Hopefully the two ladies will go head to head in Tollymore as the battle for the ladies series heats up.

There has been much speculation in recent weeks about the alleged return of Jim Patterson to the Newcastle ranks. Is the contagion spreading? Was long time member Noel Douglas seen wearing the Newcastle shorts last weekend while making his final series preparations? Was the same athlete missing form the start line as he was on retreat to ponder his long term future with his present club? Will the ‘Pied Piper’ lead others back to the sewers? Can the Newcastle coffers afford another big name transfer? Watch this space.

Finally, a big thank you to all who processed the entries, recorded the results and marshalled the race. Your efforts contributed to the smooth organisation of a highly competitive and successful race. A particular word of thanks to Martin McMullan of Life who kindly allowed access to his premises for the race entries; it was much appreciated on an evening when the weather could have turned for the worse at any moment. We are equally grateful to the staff of Maginns in Castlewellan for the magnificent food that they supplied at the post-race presentation that left all of the athletes and Eugene McCann truly satisfied! With spot prizes and post race food available, runners are encouraged to visit the pub for the presentation and enjoy the atmosphere that makes the Hill and dale Series unique.

Race 2 sees the series move to Tollymore, with entries taken, as was the case last year, in the main car park and not at the Mountain Centre as had been the case in previous years. The Brew Crew who also made their first appearance at the Hill and Dale will once again be selling a wide range of hot and cold drinks and snacks both before and after the race. Race entries will be taken between 6.15pm and 7.15pm in the Clanbrasil Barn in the upper car park with the race starting at 7.30pm sharp on the path just below the main car. Please help the organisers by arriving early, parking sensibly and, if registering for the first time, completing the entry form in advance.

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Teams by IRT

13 clubs had enough athletes to complete teams, with Newcastle having 24 out, followed by Mourne Runners with 12. Its good to see relatively new clubs such as Newry City (with 8), E Down (7) and Murlough (9) in contention. The Omagh club managed bronze team position with athletes all from the Speight family.

1 Newcastle 17

2 Mourne R 24

3 Omagh 68

4 Newry City 70

5 Armagh 103

6 Larne 146

7 E Down 150

8 Lagan Valley 153

9 Team Purple 168

10 Murlough 195

11 BARF 233

12 LVO 284

13 Rowallane 378

14 Lady Victoria 505

Ian