Seeley Cup 10k 27 Nov
Sat 27 November 2010--admin
The Seeley Cup 10k has for many years been one of the most popular races on the local road-racing calendar. This has been particularly so in recent times due to its Athletics NI 10k championship status which ensures greater strength in depth than any other 10k race in the province. Promoting club Willowfield Harriers must have been delighted yet again with an entry approaching 1,000 athletes including a good sized squad from City of Lisburn AC.
The wintry conditions meant that Belfast City Council and Athletics NI had to work very hard all morning to ensure the route was safe to run and the go ahead was given only at around noon. Conditions underfoot on the embankment were fine but at the entrances to Ormeau Park and on some of the inner paths it was still very icy in places, turning to slush in the latter stages due to the heavy traffic from the large field. This meant that it was definitely necessary to keep a foot on the brakes in certain parts of the course.
Despite the conditions there were many good runs from the Lisburn squad. Kelly McNeice was of course amongst the pre-race favourites for the ladies title but unfortunately had to pull out mid-race. This meant that Neil Robinson was the first Lisburn athlete home in a good 42:46 chip time, almost two minutes quicker than last year. Jonny McWhinney celebrated possibly his last race as an M35 with a 44:50 PB to take a minute and a half off his previous best. Trevor Carruthers produced a much quicker 2nd 5k on his way to 45:40.
However, it was the ladies who performed best in terms of the age group categories. Melanie Minshull’s 45:55 placed her an excellent 10th in the F40 category – a superb perfromance in such a high quality race. However, this was not the only top 10 finish as Marie Murphy placed 9th F45 with her 52:34, finishing along-side club-mate Amanda McMaster who with 52:33 was 31st F40.
Well done to the ladies in particular on their fine runs.