By Gareth Hardy
It started on a beautiful night in Castlewellan in April and ended on a (slightly less) beautiful night in Donard Park in June. From forest trails to mountain terrain, brutal climbs to fast, technical descents, sunny skies to sudden downpours, the 2023 Newcastle AC Hill and Dale Series had a little bit of everything. And so it was that a healthy contingent of Barfers (a theme throughout) made their way to Castlewellan Forest Park for Race 1, an undulating trail race to ‘ease’ the runners into the series. Some things in life are guaranteed – the sky is blue, the grass is green and somewhere in the hills on a Thursday evening you will find Steven Morgan patiently waiting for runners, with a sunny disposition and a penchant for taking photographs. Red-faced poses completed, the runners made their way back down to the finish line. Andrew Tees made the podium in a fantastic 2nd place while there were strong finishes for Terence Murphy, Richard Stringer and Jack Proctor to name but a few. Shirley Farnan, Karens Houston and Coulter, Kathleen Monteverde, Fiona Simms and Lisa Fleming ensured that Barf were well represented in the female categories, whilst evergreen Jim Brown took great pleasure in pipping a fellow Barfer (yours truly) to the finish line!
