04 October 2008
Wallace Park Relays
East Down Athletic Club
In time honoured fashion the rain arrived to greet the runners in the Wallace Park Relays in Lisburn on Saturday and as if we might forget what the wet stuff looked like, Mother Nature was more than generous with the helping she delivered. But undeterred runners of all ages braved the elements in what was overall a disappointing turnout - for reasons other than the weather it must be said.
The first race of the afternoon saw Patrick Sheridan and Callum Millar take on a field of 65 in the Under 14 Boys race over 1400 metres. Considering both are just 11 years old they both turned in highly competent performances, displaying a maturity which belied their tender years. Patrick settled in well after the cavalry charge start and proceeded to work his way through the field to finish an excellent 11th in a time of 4m 43secs, just 29 seconds behind the winner. Callum too made significant progress through the field to claim 35th spot in a time of 5m 14s. With 2 years still to come in this category just watch for massive improvements from both in the future. Lauren Bissenden was the only East Down participant in the Girls Under 14 race and started off at the head of the field before succumbing to the chasing bunch, though she held on bravely to 15th spot in a time of 5m 16s - Lauren has much more to offer and will undoubtedly benefit from some regular intensive training before the Age Group Championships at the end of the month.
Despite the weather however, it was a day on which even a monsoon would not have dampened the significance of the occasion as East Down fielded a team in the Senior Relays for the first time in over 10 years. The history making quartet were Emil Danis, Liam Keenan, Stevie Shannon and Mark Quinn and they placed a marker of their intentions from the gun. Indeed Emil led the field through the first half lap of 3, as each leg runner completed 3300 metres. When he attains full fitness he will be a force to be reckoned with on the roads and across the grass. His time of 10.59 let Liam off in 6th place and he proceeded to pick up 2 places over the course of his 3 laps, completed in 12.02. This quickly improved by one and moved the team up to 3rd overall when the Abbey B squad dropped out when runner number 3 didn’t appear - and you thought Olympic teams had problems when they dropped the batons! Anyway Stevie Shannon, just back from injury needed no further encouragement and he completed his leg, amazingly in exactly the same time as Liam 12.02 and handed over to Mark for the anchor leg. By this time the field was well strung out making it very difficult for Mark to run 3 hard laps in the absence of an opponent ahead to target. Nevertheless he stuck to his task, holding onto 3rd place and posting 11.59 in the process - a remarkable display of consistent running from the team.
The pity was that more of the affiliated clubs were not represented, in what is the only Relay series left on the fixture list, and East Down are tempted to organise a similar type of event locally - if only half the clubs took part more than 20 teams would be there. So watch this space for developments.
Meantime - if any young people out there would like try their hand (or feet!) at athletics why not come along to Down Leisure Centre on Mondays at 7.30pm or Thursdays at 8.00pm and talk to Club officials - or phone Joe Quinn on 44614235 or frank Cunningham on 43778119 or Russell Bradley on 44614504. The Club takes members from age 9 upwards - there is no upper limit.
Joe Quinn
In time honoured fashion the rain arrived to greet the runners in the Wallace Park Relays in Lisburn on Saturday and as if we might forget what the wet stuff looked like, Mother Nature was more than generous with the helping she delivered. But undeterred runners of all ages braved the elements in what was overall a disappointing turnout - for reasons other than the weather it must be said.
The first race of the afternoon saw Patrick Sheridan and Callum Millar take on a field of 65 in the Under 14 Boys race over 1400 metres. Considering both are just 11 years old they both turned in highly competent performances, displaying a maturity which belied their tender years. Patrick settled in well after the cavalry charge start and proceeded to work his way through the field to finish an excellent 11th in a time of 4m 43secs, just 29 seconds behind the winner. Callum too made significant progress through the field to claim 35th spot in a time of 5m 14s. With 2 years still to come in this category just watch for massive improvements from both in the future. Lauren Bissenden was the only East Down participant in the Girls Under 14 race and started off at the head of the field before succumbing to the chasing bunch, though she held on bravely to 15th spot in a time of 5m 16s - Lauren has much more to offer and will undoubtedly benefit from some regular intensive training before the Age Group Championships at the end of the month.
Despite the weather however, it was a day on which even a monsoon would not have dampened the significance of the occasion as East Down fielded a team in the Senior Relays for the first time in over 10 years. The history making quartet were Emil Danis, Liam Keenan, Stevie Shannon and Mark Quinn and they placed a marker of their intentions from the gun. Indeed Emil led the field through the first half lap of 3, as each leg runner completed 3300 metres. When he attains full fitness he will be a force to be reckoned with on the roads and across the grass. His time of 10.59 let Liam off in 6th place and he proceeded to pick up 2 places over the course of his 3 laps, completed in 12.02. This quickly improved by one and moved the team up to 3rd overall when the Abbey B squad dropped out when runner number 3 didn’t appear - and you thought Olympic teams had problems when they dropped the batons! Anyway Stevie Shannon, just back from injury needed no further encouragement and he completed his leg, amazingly in exactly the same time as Liam 12.02 and handed over to Mark for the anchor leg. By this time the field was well strung out making it very difficult for Mark to run 3 hard laps in the absence of an opponent ahead to target. Nevertheless he stuck to his task, holding onto 3rd place and posting 11.59 in the process - a remarkable display of consistent running from the team.
The pity was that more of the affiliated clubs were not represented, in what is the only Relay series left on the fixture list, and East Down are tempted to organise a similar type of event locally - if only half the clubs took part more than 20 teams would be there. So watch this space for developments.
Meantime - if any young people out there would like try their hand (or feet!) at athletics why not come along to Down Leisure Centre on Mondays at 7.30pm or Thursdays at 8.00pm and talk to Club officials - or phone Joe Quinn on 44614235 or frank Cunningham on 43778119 or Russell Bradley on 44614504. The Club takes members from age 9 upwards - there is no upper limit.
Joe Quinn
