Castlewellan Christmas Cracker 2023

Report by John T Glover

Those mad enough to enter  the Christmas cracker know to expect the worst but the biblical conditions on Saturday morning must have scared even the maddest. As it turned out the rain passed over but, the – damage had been done. The planned start line was flooded as were several field on the course so changes were required but there was still enough muck and mayhem to satisfy even the worst of the sadists.
The nature of the event meant that some members – went to the dark side and paired up with non sky blue and  navy (even with Annadale striders, although it was their brother and husband respectively).
First home for the club were youngsters Jack M’ causland and Oisin McGloin with a superb top ten finish. Our First Lady home not unexpectedly was the mountain GOAT Shileen paired with Martsje Hell. In the mixed gender category Stephen m’ateer and Liz Dawson just beat Richie the birthday ‘boy and Jennie. The first of the all female pairs were Hazel and Martina and it was a family affair for Kate and daughter Dawn.
The following morning Jenny, Stephen and Trevor were on firmer ground as they added the expleo 10k to their 2023 palmares.
Full results of the Cracker are available on the Newcastle AC website.