European Club Cross Country Championships

Report by Jim McKeown

At the end of February our Junior Men marked an exciting new venture for Lagan Valley AC when they proudly took the line to represent Ireland at the European Club Cross Country Championships in Albufeira, their reward for winning the National Junior XC in Gowran last November. It was a thrilling experience for the boys as they lined up against a plethora of talent from right across Europe. 

The course was firm, fast and pretty unforgiving and our 4-man team finished in an outstanding 9th position (just a few points shy of a top 6 finish) led home by Lughaidh Mallon in a classy 13th, a resurgent Jack McCausland 28th, Butler bound Charlie Jones 31st and the ‘King of Kenmare’ Tommy Arthur in 66th. The team were joined by travelling reserves Oisin McGloin and Noah Harper and fair to say we all gained so much valuable international experience from the event. Huge thanks to the support group from Belfast, Kenmare and beyond and a special thank you to all our sponsors and donors who made it all possible (including Athletics Ireland, Lagan Valley AC, IFS Group Ltd, Mybaggage.com, Kenmare Stone Circle, Cedarmount Dental and Andersonstown Meats).

Aside from the competition, we also had a small cohort who flew out with the team for a warm weather camp, a first for this particular endurance group. Happy to report the camp was a massive success and I am already planning ahead for next year!

The U20 Team has also been shortlisted for Junior Team of the Year (2023) at the upcoming Belfast Sports Awards – best of luck to the lads as they look to emulate our Junior Girls from 2022!