This weeks Hill and Dale race was Rocky Mountain starting in Leitrim Lodge . 11 hardy BARF runners lined up to take the loop race with a fast descent back to the finish . First home for the club was Colin Pascoe in 37.02 and 13 th overall .

Rónán Davison-Kernan finished in 40.12, Jim Brown 41.31,Paddy Mallon 43.03,Stephanie Pruzina 46.16,Andy Bridge 49.25, Mark Pruzina 49.58, Trevor Wilson 50.36 , Phil Ward 52.59, Gary Longridge 53.32 and Stephen Waterworth 1.05.

A great summers evening running by all and superb effort on a great course with over two hundred taking part …pics by P Fegan ……well done Barfers ! Arf ! Arf !

Newcastle town centre was the start line for Saturdays annual Slieve Donard race with our largest mountain looking down on the eager runners about to tackle the tough climb to the summit and fast lung busting descent again back to Donard Park.

Rónán Davison-Kernan (below ) was first of our 8 BARF mountain goats home in 1.12.47 followed by Alan Ritchie 1.14.30 ,Paddy Mallon 1.21.58,Andy Bridge 1.30.24,Trevor Wilson 1.34.01,Kathleen Monteverde 1.42.18 which saw her first in her category with a strong performance(bottom pic ),Philip Ward 1.57.18 and Ian Taylor 2.17.50.

Strong running once again from all our club members in what is a very stern test but highly enjoyable race . Photos can be found at the link below

https://www.flickr.com/photos/newcastleac/sets/72157705052139932 (Paul Fegan)

Alan Ritchie made use of the bank holiday weekend to head to Kerry to take part in the Waterville Trail Running Festival, a multi stage race of 129.6 km and total elevation of 3720 metres taking in some of the Kerry Way with each stage consisting of 43.2 km and over 1000 metres per day over the 3 days .

Day 1 saw the runners head anti-clockwise and saw Alan finish in 5.22.11, day 2 was clockwise and he ran even quicker in 5.15.16 but there was better to come . Day 3 and anti-clockwise again he ran his quickest day in 5.14.22 finishing overall winner of the multi stage event and over an hour in front of second place . A perfectly paced weekend of running from Alan as he prepares to take on the West Highland Way shortly . Well done ! Arf ! Arf !

This week’s Hill and Dale race saw it double as a NIMRA championship race and runners came out in force with 254 taking to the start line beneath the impressive Slieve Binnian. The weather was looking great and promised a rewarding view after the relentless climb and a chance to get your breath back at the finish line on the summit.

First home for the club was Rónán Davison-Kernan in 28.54 for 40th overall showing strong climbing power . Jim Brown ,Geoff Smyth,Peter Magowan,Andy Bridge , Trevor Wilson,Mark Pruzina,Gary Longridge, Andrew MC Gibbon ,Clarke Campbell ,Ian Taylor ,Ian McCullough and Stephen Waterworth all took part representing the club .

Thankfully the weather on top was as good as it was down at the start line . The 13 strong BARF Crew certainly gave it all on the climb to the finish line ,took in the views ,posed for pics then plenty of banter . Well done ! Arf !Arf !

Saturday saw the British Championship come to the Mournes but once again the weather ruled the days proceedings with Storm Hanna raging through the hills . Organisers put safety first and changed the course but didn’t deter the hardy mountain runners who turned out in force .

Three BARF mountain goats took to the start line with Alan Ritchie finishing in 1.25 , Andrew Mc Gibbon in 1.47 and Kathleen Monteverde in 1.50 . Great running by all three in a very strong field from England, Scotland,Wales and Ireland .

We also had a great turnout of volunteers and officials throughout the course ensuring a very professional look to race day. Jim Brown, Denise O’Hagan , Pauline O’Hara,Gareth McKeown,James Carr ,Mark Pruzina ,Mark Hopkins ,Clarke Campbell ,Fred Hammond and Ian Taylor were all in attendance in a strong showing from BARF once again.

Sunday saw the London Marathon take place ,probably one of the most famous and popular marathons in the world . Our club was lucky and indeed proud to have three members over taking part in the iconic race .

Colin Pascoe (pic above)ran a very impressive 3.00.04 and agonisingly close to a sub 3 hour marathon and will no doubt dip under this barrier very soon indeed.

Colm Kelly (above)had another great race finishing in 3.18 he battled hard from mile 22 and held on for a great result and again this result will certainly spur him on for even better in the future .

Trevor Wilson ,pictured above with his wife Ann also completed London Marathon in a very strong 3.26 completing a very good day of running in London by BARF athletes. Trevor’s wife also finished the marathon making it a double day for the Wilson family . Well done to everyone on very impressive day’s running .Arf! Arf!

On Saturday 3 BARF ultra runners took part in the Highland Fling 53 mile Ultra in Scotland . The race follows the West Highland through the spectacular Scottish countryside and along Loch Lommond. It’s a well organised and very popular race indeed and always has a good representation from BARF over the years .

Gerry Kingston (above) was first home for the club in 10.47 followed closely by Stuart Maxwell in 10.49 (below )

Martin Morrison had a strong run also in a day of tough conditions and finished well in 11.39 …(below)

This week’s race saw the runners take on the Slieve Martin race ,a sharp winding climb with great views out onto carlingford , the descent is fast and furious . Peter Thompson made the return to the hills after a successful year on the roads and carried that speed onto the hills with a great 10 th place overall . 13 BARF runners made the start line and there was strong running by all , at one stage we had 5 purple vests climbing in a row battling hard . Another great turnout from the club ! Arf Arf !…photo of Paddy Mallon during Thursday evening’s race by Paul Fegan