Congratulations to our very own Trevor Wilson on completing one of the big majors . Trevor travelled to New York for the marathon last weekend and finished with a 3.42 .
Anyone that knows Trevor will be aware of his love for Parkrun so it will come as no surprise to many that he managed to join a bus load of other marathoners and head off for a park run the day before the race . Well done Trevor . Arf ! Arf !
Well done to Philip Ward and Declan McGrellis who both completed yesterday’s We Run Wild NI trail marathon starting out from the stunning Carrickfergus Castle on a mix of road and trails with some mud thrown in for fun.
Philip in action yesterday. Pic MRamsey
Runners were given a handbook at the start to follow the race route around and get themselves to the finish line . Both men managed to get round the tough course with strong finishes . Well done Arf ! Arf !
Declan at the start line ready to roll !
Last weekend Declan McGrellis travelled across the pond to take the Jedburgh Three Peaks Ultra. Definitely a race with a difference, 38 miles and 2800 feet elevation over forest trails , wobbly bridges , battlefields, riverbanks and an adventure playground named Playpark of Doom at the 27 mile mark .
Declan said the highlights involved the YMCA warm up dance led by unicorns at the start line and the playpark at 27 mile .
Sounds like good craic was had by all , well done Declan . Arf! Arf!
Well done to two of athletes who took part in Dublin Marathon at the weekend . Dessie Green earned himself a pb with a great 3.21.32 as he raised money also for Titanic Tigers special olympics team .
Dessie (left) with a well earned after race pint
Gerry Kingston also took on the streets of Dublin a week after the Mourne Skyline and showed great strength to get round in 3.32.07 after suffering a few side effects from his mountain exploits the week before .
Gerry with his Dublin memorabilia
On Sunday two of our athletes took to the roads of the famous city Amsterdam for a scenic half marathon . Aaron Shimmons ,still shaking off a few niggles from his Bigfoot exploits , ran a great time of 1.32.21 as he begins his road to Seville marathon in February 2020 .
Aaron in action at Amsterdam half marathon
Paddy Mallon was also in action in this great city to take on the half marathon. He too ran a great race finishing in 1.37.26 and looked to have paced it to perfection with his last two mile being his fastest .
Paddy in Amsterdam
Great to see are club colours travelling far and wide once again , well done lads Arf ! Arf !
On Saturday morning hundreds of hardy mountain runners arrived on Newcastle promenade ready to take on the prestigious Mourne Skyline Mountain Trail Race which has grown from strength to strength year on year . It sees runners set off for the mountains from Newcastle heading over as far as Fofanny Dam before making their way back across the summits as they come thick and fast on the return leg , 35 km in total with over 3000 metres elevation on open mountain trail , it’s not for the faint hearted .
Kathleen Monteverde receives her age category prize from Ryan Maxwell
Rónán Davison-Kernan finished the course in 5.16.58 , Gerry Kingston 5.21.18, Declan McGrellis 5.26.54, Alan Ritchie 5.30.09 , Geoff Smyth 5.40.48 , Matt Crawford 5.51.11, Kathleen Monteverde 6.53.09 which saw her win her age category with a fantastic run .There was also as many , if not more Barf athletes throughout the course marshalling and helping at critical points in the race . I know the race team are very thankful for the effort and turnout from our club in helping to put these races on so well done to all of you and those who stepped up to take this race on Arf ! Arf !
The weekend saw two of our runners take to the start lines in Armagh and East Antrim . Peter Thompson headed for the highly competitive and fast paced Armagh 10 mile road race . He was on a flyer too completing the course in 1 hr 10 seconds for a fantastic 17 th overall .
East Antrim Marathon series regular Philip Ward had a great run on a tough new route for a marathon . Philip managed to complete the course in 4.38 .38 and a super top 5 finish for him also .
Philip at the East Antrim Marathon series Dams race
well done lads great effort ! Arf ! Arf!
Last weekend was the annual event of the Mourne Mountain Marathon , a gruelling two day event with several classes and distances to suit all mountain enthusiasts with a one day score event also. This year was a significant year with it being the 40th anniversary of the event and BARF members as from day one until now have been an integral part , more on this in the next report .
Saturday at the startline saw the sun shining at Shimna College and conditions stayed favourable throughout the day as our members made their way through the majestic Mournes . Sunday proved a harder day weather wise ,after Paddy Mallon had serenaded the cosy campers they made their way onto the Silent Valley Dam wall in heavy rain to mark out their maps and head for the hills once again.
The score class on Saturday saw Helen Brown and Roisin Mallon win the vet prize with Aoife Mallon also taking part .
In the elite class Brian Linton finished the two days with an impressive 14.34.55. Meanwhile in the B class Declan McGrellis and Trevor Wilson finished 7th overall and first in vet category with a vet score of 9.06.30. Stephanie Pruzina was also in this class and finished 3rd place in the vet category with a vet score of 9.54.21 . Richard Gibson and Matt Crawford finished 9th overall in the B class with 11.16.23 . Rónán Davison-Kernan and Kyle Stewart were home in 12.56.17 in the same class.
B class vet winners in the Barf purple , Trevor and Declan
Pauline O’Hara and Denise O’Hagan who took part in the C class with a vet score of 8.37.51 , they also brought cake and wine , proper mountain diet ⛰👌
Last weekend Barf athlete Alan Ritchie was taking part in the Ultra Trail Harri Cana in Canada . A mix of trail and mountain through some of Canada’s most remote wilderness and breathtaking scenery. The race was 65k with nearly 2000 metres elevation . Alan managed to secure a top 50 finish in 7 hours 43 mins for 47 th overall in a competitive field . Well done Arf! Arf!
The weekend saw Jackie Toal take on the tough Kerry Way ultra clocking up 200 k of stunning mountain and forest trails . The accomplished ultra runner battled a tummy bug early on and didn’t let it put her off her stride finishing in an impressive 37 hrs 14 mins on an energy sapping course .
Jackie in action in Kerry
Closer to home Philip Ward was up at the East Antrim Marathon Series 100th event celebrations taking on the marathon . Philip is a regular at these events and added another marathon to his belt in 4.50 .
Philip at EAMS 100th marathon
Well done to both Barf athletes ! Arf ! Arf !