NIMRA teams in action at Inter Counties in North Wales
by Ryan Maxwell
On Saturday 16th May 2015, a strong group of local Northern Ireland Mountain Running Association (NIMRA) athletes represented Northern Ireland at the Inter Counties Fell Running Championships in North Wales. The event, which took place over a stunning course in Betws-y-Coed, attracted a top quality field and included teams from England, Scotland and Wales.
The ladies race, which covered 10.1k in distance, incorporating 472m of ascent, was first off and the Northern Ireland athletes performed well, getting the day off to a perfect start. Shileen O’Kane (Lagan Valley AC) continued the form that saw her win the Annalong Horseshoe and EAH Trail Race this week as she secured 20th place in a time of 46:33. The ever impressive Hazel McLaughlin (Lagan Valley AC) followed in 52:19 (39th place), while international debutant Sam McNeilly marked her first international race with a good run, crossing the line in 55:34 (47th place). The ladies race was won by GB & NI international Emma Clayton in 40:29 (1st place). In the team order flagyl 200mg online competition, the Northern Ireland ladies finished in 10th place; Cumbria claimed the top prize (1st place).
The men’s race measured 10.4k, with 488m of ascent, and it was England based NI man Gavin Mulholland who led the local athletes home. Gavin followed on from his excellent performance at last weeks Stretton Six Summits event with another quality outing, taking 11th place in 48:44. Allan Bogle returned to action after a recent injury niggle and performed well to record 52:10 (30th place), finishing just nine seconds ahead of fellow NI man Andrew Annett (North Belfast Harriers) who clocked 52:19 (34th place); this secured 4th place in the Under 23 race for Andrew. Armagh AC’s Paul McAnespie completed a good day for the Northern Ireland squad when he crossed the line in 55:55 (57th place). The race was won by Scotland’s Andrew Douglas in 45:26 (1st place). In the team standings, Northern Ireland took 6th place, while Yorkshire finished in 1st place.