THE HONOURS were evenly shared at the Northern Ireland Road Relay Championships with the titles going to four different clubs.
A record 151 teams entered the event that was held in ideal autumn conditions and excellently organised by host club Orangegrove at the idyllic Victoria Park in east Belfast.
North Belfast Harriers’ senior men were the only team to successfully defend their title on the two-lap 3380m concrete surface course. That completed a clean sweep of provincial championships for the Stags after lifting 5K, 10K and Half Marathon crowns in 2015.
Paddy Robb (9:55) put the St Malachy’s squad, comprised entirely of teenagers, at the front of the action at the end of the first leg. North Belfast moved to the front on the second stage through Mark McKinstry (10:02), but he had no answer to a late charge from Neil McCartan who left East Down at the head of the field at the second changeover.
Normal service was resumed on the third leg as Ulster Schools’ cross country champion Conal McCambridge (10:32) took North Belfast back into a lead they were never to lose subsequently. Derry City Track Club’s 18-year old Matt Doherty (10:13) caught the eye, bringing the northwest outfit up from eighth to second.
Any lingering hopes of an upset were quickly dispelled on the final leg when Andrew Annett (10:02) stretched away to take his club to a 52-second victory over St. Malachy’s. Jamie Budde (10:35) won the battle for third, another 10 seconds back, to give North Down the bronze medals.
Kerry O’Flaherty’s class made the difference in the Senior Women’s relay. Ireland’s World Championships steeplechase representative gave her Newcastle club a significant lead on the opening leg, clocking the fastest split of the race with a 10:49 timing.
Joanna Mills (11:38) kept up the good work on the second leg to send Mari Troeng off on the final leg with a 59 second advantage over the chasing back headed by North Belfast.
Breege Connolly (11:11), one of only two Irish woman with the Olympic marathon standard, did her utmost over the shorter distance to claw back the advantage but the county Down-based Swede (12:04) held on to claim the win by seven seconds.
Willowfield had too much class for the opposition in the Masters Men race. After identical opening legs of 10:17 by Brian Campbell and Neill Weir, the Dundonald club romped to a 49-second victory over holders North Belfast.
The Stags had started well with Conor Curran (10:15) putting them in front on the first leg, but they could match the Willowfield overall firepower. Ballymena Runners took third to make up for narrowly missing out on a podium place 12 months earlier.
Fastest split of the race went to Stephen Duncan (10:05), bringing Omagh Harriers up to ninth on the final stint.
World F35 800m champion Kelly Neely stood out in the Masters Women contest. She watched colleagues Ann Terek (12:19) and Diane Watson (12:45) build up a lead for City of Lisburn before applying the coup de grace with an 11:35 timing for the fastest leg of the race.
Behind her, Louise Smith (12:09) guided North Belfast to the runner-up spot ahead of Sharon Leitch (11:57) who came through to grab the bronze medals for Ballymena Runners Club.
