On a weekend when nothing much was happening on the athletic front, apart from the Home Countries and Schools International Cross Country races at a sun kissed Greenmount campus, in which incidentally there was no local interest,  activity was concentrated on the Sunday morning long runs for those gearing up for London, Belfast and Edinburgh marathons.  Despite the loss of an hour's sleep most made it to pre-arranged starting points respectably dressed and awake.  Depending on the level of injury presently being carried, distances ranging from 8 to 22 miles were covered, in the mist shrouded beauty of the Quoile area, and most were back home and in bed again before they had been missed. 
 

However the highlight of the week was the visit by rising star Ciara Mageean to the Junior club training on Thursday night. While Ciara has ben taking the athletics world by storm and sets her sights on London 2012, a less well known talent was demonstrated by her ability to keep over 60 boys and girls not only interested and enthralled but quiet as she passed round her medals, talked about her career and answered numerous questions from the crowd who were clearly star struck. She finished off her visit with a short exercise work out. 
 

A big thank you is sent to Ciara for giving of her time to encourage the stars of the future and talk about the need for regular training, dedication and sacrifices on the way to success. She is proving not only a success in competition but as an ambassador for the sport too and she can count on a big fan base in this neck of the woods. 
 

Meantime the new 5 Mile Road race arranged  in Leitrim for next Saturday has caught the interest of locals and with large turnouts expected from East Down, Newcastle and Murlough there should be plenty to keep the local friendly rivalry going ahead of the Titanic Quarter 10K the following week.