Larne AC runners enjoy Easter races

The club had an impressive 14 runners attending the fast 3-lap race at Queen’s. It was no surprise to see Stephen Harkens leading the club runners home in a very impressive time of 16mins 50secs. Shortly behind was Justin Maxwell who was closely followed by Craig Hutchinson who claimed 2nd place in Male Vets 45 Category. Ryan Maxwell and Bert Brady also finished in under 18 minutes with Brendan & Neal O’Boyle, Paul Tilson and Chris Gilbert all coming home in under 20 minutes.

Making his debut over the 5k distance was James Robinson who put in a strong performance to finish in 20.16. Hot on his heels was Larne AC’s top female runner Adele Neill with a fantastic performance in her first race back after the birth of her baby daughter. Peter Marrs was the next Larne AC runner home with Dan Magill securing a P.B. close behind. Completing the Larne contingent was Heather Baxter who was also delighted to achieve a personal best over this distance.

Meanwhile, Larne male veterans swept the boards at the Whitehead Easter Monday Road Race.

Seven Larne athletes made the short trip down the Belfast road to Whitehead to take part in a 5-mile race that was missing from the local fixture list last season but made a welcome return this year. The race route started on King’s Road making its way over the railway line onto the Islandmagee road, up to Bentra Golf Course, onto the main Larne Belfast road before dropping back down into Whitehead again on Cable Road then back onto King’s Road again to the finish again just outside the Community Centre.

Conditions were dry but a blustery wind made them far from ideal. As the race got underway Craig Hutchinson was the first to show for the Larne team and was first home with a fantastic performance that earned him a category win in the male 45 age group. Next home was Nat Glenn who made up some time on Craig in the second half of the race finishing strongly to record a category win in the male 40 group. Bernard Brady, running his fastest race over this distance was next home closely followed by the resurgent John Agnew. John made it a hat trick of wins for the Larne men taking the male 50 category showing that his recent excellent performance in the Jimmy's 10k was not a one-off. No doubt Larne Council will be looking closely at John’s result so don’t be a bit surprised if John turns up to turn on the lights at Broadway at Christmas.

Larne AC would also like to congratulate club member Stephen Harkens. After a successful start to the Duathlon season with Stephen taking four podium positions and remaining unbeaten in his age group, he has been selected to represent Ireland at the World Championships which are being held in Edinburgh this year. The World Championships are run over the distance of 10k run/40k bike/5k run.