All roads led to ‘Sunny Bundoran’ on Saturday, 11th March. Lifford Strabane AC athletes & supporters made their way to the seaside resort in Donegal to “The Cara Bundoran 10K & 10 Mile Challenge”.
65 athletes in total represented the club in these two races, were there was a combined total of 1,873 finishers.
60 club athletes chose the 10 mile route whilst the remaining 5 opted for the 10K route.
The unexpected warm & very sunny weather made it extremely hot for racing, all be it perfect conditions for spectating. Despite the hot racing conditions a lot of fantastic times & personal bests were achieved. We had club athletes running from 1 minute faster to 21 minutes faster than last year on this course.
Lifford Strabane AC’s own “Brownlee Brothers” Bill & Michael Duncan both picked up category prizes in the M50+ Category. Bill placed 2nd with Michael placing 3rd. Well done folks.
The first 3 senior male Lifford Strabane AC athletes to the finish line all recording outstanding finishing times were Paul Dillion with a personal best in a fantastic time of 62:02PB, next was Bill Duncan in 62:25 placing 2nd M50+ & Michael Duncan placing 3rd M50+ with a personal best in a super time of 65:20.
Juvenille club athlete Brandon McGrinder racing the 10 Mile distance for the first time finished in superb time of 64:38, 1st Junior Male overall. Thomas Mullen Junior was 2nd junior male club finisher in a great time of 82:24.
The first 3 female club athletes all achieved personal bests. Dympna Houston was the first of the female senior club athletes running 2 mins faster than last year in a terrific time of 75:26PB, Carmel Hoynes ran 3 mins faster than her previous race on this course in a time of 78:40PB, Claire Keys who is in great racing form this season and displaying great potential was next to the line in a super time of 80:16PB.
This athlete ran 6 mins faster than last year and it’s the 2nd time this year she has raced this distance running faster times in both occasions.
Next up is the St Patricks Day 5K, race starts at 10:15am.
Training continues at the club on Mondays & Wednesdays for Juveniles at 6.30pm on both evenings. Adult training on Tuesday & Thursdays at 6.45pm. Our Couch 2 5K members will train on Wednesday at 6:30pm due to the race on Friday.
Well done to all our club members who raced at the weekend. Congratulations to those who deservedly achieved personal bests & category prize winners.
Registration is open for Strabane Lifford Half Marathon. Early bird offer closes on Sunday 19th March.
