Ballymena Runners Awards dinner
On Saturday night Ballymena Runners celebrated a year of achievement with their Annual Awards Dinner at the Wild Duck Inn, Portglenone.
Being honoured on the night were:-
Male Athlete of the Year - John Robinson
Female Athlete of the Year - Gillian Wasson
Best Male Newcomer - Kieran Scullion
Best Female Newcomer - Zara Surgenor
Male Most Improved (Performance Group) - Eamonn Loughran
Female Most Improved (Performance Group) - Judith Brown
Male Most Improved (Development Group) - Scott Fleming
Female Most Improved (Development Group) - Tanya Agnew
Male Most Improved (Beginner Group) - David McClintock
Female Most Improved (Beginner Group) - Liz Speedy
Male Performance of the Year - Conor Reid
Female Performance of the Year - Claire Martin
Club Person of the Year - Alastair Donaghy
Unsung Hero - Martin Harris
The Curran Cup - Michael Bennett
In addition, presentations were also made to Claire Martin for setting a new club 24-Hour Record, Sharon Leith for breaking the female marathon record last week in Dublin, Paula Worthington for the female half marathon record and the clubs international athletes James Turtle, Noel Connor, Gillian Wasson, Brigid Quinn and Paula Worthington.
McConnell Shield
The cross-country season continued on Saturday with the 84th edition of the McConnell Sheld, hosted by East Antrim Harriers and held in Sixmilewater Park in Ballyclare.
Ballymena Runners were represented in both the Male Open and Female/M60 Veterans events.
Over the 3-mile Female/M60 race Judith Worthington was first home for the club in 20:58, ahead of James Galbraith (28:02) and Brigid Quinn (30:42).
Meanwhile, in the 5-mile Male Open, Kieran Scullion led the club charge in 30:41, just ahead of Richard Agnew (30:49) and Jim Moore (32:04). Also running were Ian McCracken and Robert Meban.
Pure Running Half Marathon Series
Congratulatons to Linda Petticrew and Rodney Agnew who travelled to the Mary Peters Track during the week to collect their prizes as age category winners in the 2018 Pure Running Half Marathon Series.
Competing in nine races across the season (Dundalk/Newry, Larne, Newry, Lisburn, Dervock, Mount Stewart, Dambusters, Killyleagh and Monaghan), Linda topped the F50 category while Rodney - one of only four runners to complete the entire series - claimed the M50 honours.
Decathlon 10k
A number of runners from the club were in action at the annual Decathlon 10k in Belfast on Sunday, amongst them Chris Davies (44:15) and Tim Hawksworth (49:26) who both achieved personal best's over the distance. Also running were Jennifer Dickson, Elizabeth Speedy and Roisin Waterson.
Born2Run Minnowburn
The Born2Run series for 2018/19 got underway at the weekend with the opening event in Belfast around Minnowburn Forest Park starting and finishing on the Mary Peters Track.
In the 10k, Tim Hawksworth clocked a time of 54:22, Jennifer Dickson came home in 1:08:10 while Adrian Dodds and Heather Birrell, less than a week after running in the Dublin Marathon, completed the challenge route in 1:14:46.
Meanwhile, in the associated 5k, Elizabeth Speedy dipped below sub-30 in 28:23.
EAMS Ryan Armstrong
Congratulations to Ryan Armstrong on completing the East Antrim Marathon Series Halloween Frightener on Sunday in 3:29:08. It was Ryan's 86th marathon, and his 18th in just over six months!
Ballymena Runners awards dinner winners
Roisin Watterson, Tim Hawksworth, Chris Davies, Jennifer Dickson and Elizabeth Speedy after the Decathlon 10k
Robert Meban in McConnell Shield cross country action
Rodney Agnew and Linda Petticrew - age category winners in the 2018 Pure Running Half Marathon series with Michael Jenkins (Pure Running)