It may be the middle of the cross Country season but the recent horrendous weather conditions made the warmth of the Odyssey Arena seem like heaven when it hosted the Woodie's DIY 2009 Irish Indoor Championships last weekend.  And it certainly brought out the best in East Down's Elaine Burch as she scorched round the tight track to claim the bronze medal in the Under 16 Girl's 800 metres in a time of 2.30.07.  This was a splendid effort as the race was well short of Elaine's favourite distance and she should be very confident of her prospects in the N.I. and Ulster Indoor Age Group Championships in Magherafelt in mid March.  Other East Down athletes in action at the Odyssey were James and Caroline O'Hare and Joanne Mills, all of whom performed well in the unfamiliar surroundings.

Further afield at the weekend Gavin Smyth had to rely in courage to complete the Barcelona Half Marathon as a pulled hamstring 3 weeks ago hampered his preparations at the worst possible time.  Not only was this injury challenge enough in itself but he was faced with a 2 hours 30 minute cut off target – no problem in normal circumstances but having to run virtually on one leg for 13.1 miles is not an attractive prospect, but inspired by his desire to finish and claim promised sponsorship for the Children in Crossfire charity he crossed the line, vertically I'm told, in 1 hour 50 minutes.  He may well have been inspired by clubmate James Magennis's exploits in Dublin last year but whatever the motivation he deserves the congratulations of all.  And in a few weeks, on her birthday to be exact, Heather Lindsay will undertake the full marathon distance in the same wonderful city, so best wishes to her – she'll be back in time for Jimmy's Ten as her first outing after that.

This venture will be the first of  several overseas trips by EDAC members in the coming months with Declan Teague and Joe Quinn off to Rome next month and Linda Cunningham having her first go at the very popular London marathon in April – but of course they will be taking part in the 11th running of Jimmy's Ten on 15th March as a warm up before then.  Organisers are urging everyone to enter in advance for the 10K race and are guaranteeing a refund of fees if entrants are unable to take part, such is their desire to minimise congestion at the Registration on race day.  Forms are available on www.spanglefish.com/eastdownac or in Down Leisure Centre or from www.niathletics.org or phone Joe Quinn on 07933214894.