County Antrim Harriers had 18 runners out in Saturday’s Larne Half Marathon in a well organised event promoted by Larne A.C. Among those taking part was club stalwart Greg Hopkins who has ran in every Larne Half Marathon while newcomers Lisa Morgan, Helen Baird, Naomi Hoy and Ian McKeown were all making their competitive debut for the club.
With the weather bright and sunny conditions were reasonable over the 13.1 miles course which takes in the coastal road from Larne towards Ballygally, and up to Cairncastle and back towards Larne. First to finish for the Harriers was Glen Wilson in an impressive 1:33:07, just ahead of the vastly improved Gary Montgomery who gained an excellent personal best with 1:35:16 and who bettered his previous best time by an amazing 9 minutes. Next to finish were Ricky Mason, Christine Murray and Greg Hopkins, who grouped well and finished in 1:41:09, 1:42:41 and 1:42:45 respectively. Mason was running only his 2nd half marathon in 22 years and had a personal best, beating his 1988 Southampton Half Marathon time by 11 minutes, while Murray, who incidentally was laid up in her sick bed on Wednesday, once again displayed her renowned competitive streak and managed to hold off a late challenge from Club Coach Greg Hopkins who was a few seconds behind.
Next home for the Ballyclare club and a minute apart were Michael Matthews and Ian McKeown, who given their limited training opportunities should be pleased with their times of 1:47:10 and 1:48:31. Next to cross the finish line for the Harriers was the quartet of Irene Downey, Andrena Berry, Jonathan Turner and Jim Hodgens, who bunched well and finished in 1:52:00 personal best, 1:52:44 personal best, 1:53:36 and 1:54:37 respectively, with Downey, Berry and Hodgens, like some of the others, using the race as preparation for next month’s Virgin London Marathon or the Belfast Marathon in May. Ultra runner Turner too will be pleased given his recent injury problem just to have reached the finish line.
Next to finish for CAH were a delighted Paula Hilman in 1:59:12, Lisa Morgan in a very well deserved 2:04:06, the gutsy and determined Natalie Davidson in 2:07:16, a smiling Gillian Hanna with an excellent personal best in 2:07:56 – a rich reward for all her endeavours in training, Angie Owens in a surprising 2:12:02, and first timers Helen Baird and Naomi Hoy over the proverbial moon with 2:18:04 and 2:18:06.
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