Northern Ireland Road Relay Championships
Report by Jim McKeown
It was another fantastic day for Lagan Valley AC at the NI Relays in Victoria Park, with podium finishes, personal bests, new and returning faces, and as always, incredible team spirit across all age groups. Our travelling supporters added to the atmosphere too — thank you for your enthusiasm and encouragement throughout the day!
We had seven teams toe the line, and each one represented the club brilliantly:
• Mixed Teams
Our Mixed A team of John Jackson, Suzie Cave, Daire McCartan, and the returning Rory Hollywood, got us off to a flying start, securing a superb 3rd place podium finish. The Mixed B team of Peter McHale, Philip Brines, Madison Bowyer and Maureen Finnegan also ran strongly, finishing a solid 14th out of 28 teams.
• Senior Ladies
Our Senior Ladies quartet of Rebecca Wallace (so great to see Rebecca back in club colours), Olivia Morgan, Katie Keown and debutant Catherine Martin produced an excellent performance to claim silver medals, finishing 2nd behind a very strong Willowfield team. A special mention for Catherine on a brilliant club debut.
• Under-17 Boys
In a thrilling race run alongside the Senior Ladies, our U17 boys pulled off a stunning victory. Despite trailing Ballymena & Antrim AC by 1 minute 32 seconds halfway through, a storming 3rd leg from Alex Downey cut the deficit to just 31 seconds. On the anchor leg, Noah Harper delivered a blistering run to turn the tables and secure victory by 10 seconds. Harry Moffitt and Ollie Hanna completed the winning quartet — outstanding performances from all four.
• Senior Men
The showcase Senior Men’s Relay saw Lagan Valley AC field three competitive teams out of 25 entries.
• Our A team finished a superb 5th overall, with Noah Kavanagh setting the tone (running the 5th fastest leg of the day), handing to new member Conor Irving, then Stephen Lunn and finally Oisín McGloin, who closed strongly to secure the club’s best finish at this level.
• Our B team also excelled, finishing 7th thanks to strong runs from Jude McGann, Tommy Arthur, Scott Owen, and Sam Moffitt.
• The C team placed an impressive 11th, led by new member Rory McCamphill on his debut (super job Rory) supported by Joshua Hanna, Robertho Dos Santos and Jack McCausland (who continues to improve).
This was another memorable outing for the club, showcasing our strength in depth and growing presence in the senior ranks. Well done to every athlete who raced — and thank you again to our supporters for making the day even more special. Proud as always to be Lagan Valley AC 💙