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Strabane 10k
LARGE NUMBERS MAKE STRABANE 10K A SUCCESS
17 July 2006
Large numbers turned out on last Saturday for the Strabane 10K Road Race and Leisure Walk organised by Strabane District Council and Strabane District Sports Forum. Over 190 runners and walkers took part in the event, which was run over the same route as last year.
A change of plan turned out to be fortunate for Diarmuid Grant. The City of Derry athlete had arranged to come home to Buncrana from his Belfast base to take part in the annual 10K race and attend the wedding of a friend.
However, when he learned that an evening start to the race clashed with the church ceremony he switched his attention to the Strabane 10k.
The Tyrone air obviously agreed with the University of Ulster student who ran out a very convincing winner in a respectable 32 minutes 17 seconds.
Grant had seized the initiative as early as the third mile and had 26 seconds to spare at the tape over Kieran Carlin from the Finn Valley club with Ballymena Road Runner Neil Douglas third in 33:08.
“I had a bad injury to my Achilles for several months but was able to get back for last weekend's Northern Ireland championships,” revealed a surprisingly fresh Grant within seconds of crossing the line outside the Riversdale Leisure Centre.
“I thought running 1500 metres would be alright but I found I that my other Achilles was sore after that. That meant I was never able to get up my toes today but I was able to do enough to win.”
As ever the masters' categories were very competitive. Finn Valley's Pat Hegarty was the first M45 across the line in 34:54 with M40 winner Declan McCarthy the leading M40 another ten seconds back.
Late convert to the sport Warner Mullan from Strabane took the M50 prize in 44:03 with evergreen Jimmy Reid the first over 60 across the line an excellent 43:10 – not bad for a 69-year-old!
Recently married Catriona McGranaghan who has decided to continue using her maiden name was a class apart in the women's race.
The Finn Valley athlete clocked 38:08 for a facile victory. Karen Alexander from the Sperrin club took second in 43:28 with Inishowen's Katrina Mills third in 45:22.
Omagh Harrier Patricia Campbell was the leading F35 in 45:25 with Bernie Ryan from the Foyle Valley club excelling in the F40 age group with a 44:17 clocking.
Another late vocation to the running game, Gloria Donaghey from Sion Mills, was top F45 in 49:36 while Noreen Bonner's 48:16 time in winning the F50s section was top class.
Strabane District Council Chairman, Mr Thomas Kerrigan said about the event: “I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all the competitors, whether they are seasoned runners or health conscious joggers. Every single person deserves credit for their efforts in completing what must be said is a very difficult course.'' He continued “The event has been a great success and we would hope that the Strabane 10K Road Race and Leisure Walk will grow from strength to strength each year and a local charity will benefit also from the event. Sport is always a strong tool for bringing people together for the benefit of others.”
The Strabane District Sports Forum Chairman, Mr. Bill McIntyre, paid tribute also to all the helpers. “The event has been a great success. However, the day would not have been so without the valued assistance of all the helpers and marshals from the various sports clubs in the area,”
The proceeds from Saturday's event will go towards a very worthy charity – The Special Olympics. A sincere thanks is also extended to all the sponsors of the event; O'Neills Sportswear, Lifestyle Sports, Sperrin Springs, Mc Gillion Cars, St John's Ambulance and Strabane District Council.
If you require any more information please contact:
Aiden - Sports Development Unit, Strabane District Council.
Tel 028 71382204 email: alynch@strabanedc.com
