Ballymena Runners swapped the trainers and hi-viz for a bit of glamour and sparkle on Saturday evening for the annual club awards dinner at the Wild Duck Inn, Portglenone.
On a night which celebrated success at the club across all levels Kieran Scullion and Kerry Bamber were named Male and Female Athletes of the Year respectively.
Alastair Donaghy was once again the Club Person of the Year for his unstinting work throughout the year while Harry Armstrong and Naomi Hutchinson both picked up the Unsung Heroes Award.
Perforance of the Year went to Kerry Bamber and James Hamilton while Noeleen McKillop and Steven McBride were selected as best newcomers.
In addition, Bob Dempster and Louise Weir were named Most Improved in the Foundation Group, Sharon McClung and Jim Stewart (Development) and Sean Hasson and Linda Petticrew in the Performance section.
There was also a Special Recognition Award for Ryan Armstrong on reaching a lifetime total of 100 marathons, and a nod was also given to the club's international athletes, namely Linda Petticrew, Ray Curran, Brigid Quinn, Geraldine Quigley, Kieran Scullion and Jack McKenna while Susanna Allen was honoured for setting a new club 24-hour record.
In terms of action, the club were well represented at The Malcolm Cup Cross Country races, organised by Annadale Striders, on Saturday afternoon at Ballyclare's Six Mile Water Park.
Due to the heavy rain of late, long spikes were the preferred option for most runners. The ladies had three laps to contend with and Zara Surgenor ran an impressive race to be first Ballymena Runners finisher. Next up was Sharon Leetch, who recently ran the Dublin Marathon in 3hours 10 minutes, followed soon after by Linda Petticrew and Sinead Scullion.
League participation points were achieved by Naomi Hutchinson, Tanya Agnew, Aine Hasson, Sarah Woods, Helen Metrusty, Lorraine Craig, Brigid Quinn and Rosemary Morrow.
The Mens Open Race followed over four laps. Track star James Hamilton made light of the muddy underfoot conditions to achieve a top ten finish. Kieran Scullion also ran very strongly for 21st spot and was backed up by the ever consistent Ian McCracken (40th) and recent new member John Nicholson (43rd). Marathon men Jim Moore, John Hasson and Rodney Agnew finished soon after.
Regular XC runners Chris Davies, Nigel Davidson and Alastair Donaghy also contributed to the club points tally while Billy Bamber and Jimmy Galbraith also picked up league points too.
Next week it's back on the roads for the very popular Seeley 10k in Ormeau Park with over 1000 runners taking part, good luck to everyone from Ballymena Runners taking part.
