Edie Carroll was again the sole Club representative in the Under 11 girls race at very muddy Dromore on Saturday afternoon and finished 6th to inspire her dad to victory in the Open race later. Daniel Atkinson took a fine 2nd place in the Under 13 Boys event with Christopher O' Connor and Owen Edwards  a little further back, all struggling to maintain company with their shoes. Aoife Cochrane also finished 2nd in her Under 13 race to maintain her very successful visits to the venue.
An impressive debut too from Caolán Atkinson in the Under 15 race, finishing a fine 5th.

Peter Morgan contested the Vets race and Gavin Oakes the Open contest over 8 laps of the quagmire in what continues to be a disappointingly poorly attended event in spite of excellent prize money from the very enterprising and supportive club

ALL IRELAND CHAMPIONSHIPS
At the time of writing the All Ireland Age Group Championship results are still not available due to “a major systems failure” according to AAI. I can still remember in the pre-technological age when two or three people stood with watches and clipboards and recorded numbers and times as runners came across the finish line and produced near perfect results within an hour of the race ending. This is not a massive testament to my memory, it was only two years ago after all, but it raises the question of what do you do when the machinery breaks down?  Surely some sort of back up is essential, especially in a Championship event.  However our two representatives Laura Gardiner and Ellen Erskine gave good accounts of themselves in the Under 15 Girls race in difficult conditions and after a long journey to the venue in Adamstown Co. Wexford.

Next weekend attention focuses on Gransha Park in Derry where the North West Cross Country Championships take place.  It's round four of the League competition and East Down are hoping for at least 4 runners the pre-requisite to having a team.

Joe Quinn

10 December 2012