Great night of running at Brooks Armagh Road Races

Last night the 24th running of the Armagh Road Races welcomed runners from all over the world to race laps of The Mall, against each other and against the clock.

The show began at 1830hrs and attracted thousands of supporters and runners who revelled in the atmosphere. The evening started with the children’s races that were run in clear conditions but conditions turned chilly during the women's race and there were some gusting winds. This affected times but did not mar a wonderfully entertaining series of races.

Laura Whittle came home first in the women’s 3k race. The first of the three laps saw Ann Marie Larki Glynn forcing the pace closely followed by Elle Vernon, Racheal Bamford and Laura Whittle. On the second lap Laura Whittle (handicap -0.3) and Elle Vernon (handicap 1.2) were at the fore and forcing the pace, with Ann Marie Larki Glynn and Racheal Bamford (handicap 0.4) in their slipstream. With a three metre lead going into the final lap, Whittle maintained her lead to triumph in 9:26 ahead of Vernon in 9:29 from Bamford in 9:31.

The womens 3k saw 10 runners under 10 minutes and 44 under 11 minutes.

The men’s race was won by 2010 winner, Nick McCormick (handicap -3.5). Ryan McLeod (handicap -5.1) and Ieuan Thomas (handicap -3.1) were at the head of the field on the first lap leading a large pack of over 20 runners and continued to be a rather tactical affair with 12 runners baying for places at the bell as they entered the final lap of around 1050metres.  Dewis Griffiths(handicap -4.0) set the pace for the final lap as the others followed, waiting for their moment to pounce down the long finishing straight. It was Nick McCormick (who ran 13:18 for 5000m in 2012) who struck out first, seizing the initiative and opening a gap for others to chase. The finishing line was slow to arrive for some though as McCormick held on from a fast finishing Richard Weir (handicap -5.3)and Ieuan Thomas.19 year old Gordon Benson (handicap -2.3) impressed the crowd with 8^th place in 14:17.

The men’s race saw 45 runners break 15 minutes and 80 break 16 minutes. There were only 2 minutes 45 seconds between first and last.

Provisional results:

Women’s 3km Results

Men’s 5km Results