WELCOME TO THE WEBSITE OF LAGAN VALLEY ATHLETICS CLUB BASED AT THE MARY PETERS' TRACK IN BELFAST. LAGAN VALLEY WELCOMES ATHLETES FROM 11-80+ AND CATERS FOR ALL ABILITIES.
TEAM TROPHY
The NI Team Trophy and Relay Championships take place at Antrim on Saturday 21st August and it is hoped that the Sky Blue and Navy colours will be both plentiful and successful. A full turn out of Under 17's and Senior is expected with two to score in every event. Hammer starts at 1.00 pm and track events at 2.00 pm.
FANTASTIC FINALE (Apart from the rain)
The 2010 Edwards & Co. SUPER 5 SERIES ended on ahigh note with over 200 athletes taking part from all over the Province as well as the Republic and England (well Cornwall). Despite the rain performances were good and the enthusiasm of the athletes brightened up the evening. Some of the Athletes of the Meeting Awards (unique Edwards and Co. T-Shirts) were distributed and the remainder including those from the final meeting will be distributed within the next week or so. All the photographs taken on the night will be posted on Flickr just as soon as I resolve my technical problems (ie. my computer went bang - literally).
"I CAN GO FOR MILES AND MILES AND MILES......"
The next time you complain about having to do two laps warm up or even a long slow 20 miler in preparartion for the marathon then spare a thought for Lagan Valley members Iryana Kennedy and Fred Hamond who spent 24 hours over the weekend circumnaviagting the Mary Peters' Track for 24 hours.
In what was the most amazing feat I have witnessed in over 40 years in athletics this amazing duo along with 16 other competitors took part in the first ever 24 hour track race to be held in Ireland. The rules are simple - travel as far as you can during one calendar day! In this case from 6.45 pm on Friday night to 6.45 pm on Saturday night.
Fred, who at 59 was the oldest in the field, settled into his own zone complete with headphones and his music collection (young members don't ask you wouldn't know) and when the hooter went to bring proceedings to a close he had completed 443 laps for a total distance of 110 miles ie Belfast City Hall to O'Connell Street Dublin.
Iryana was one of four women in the field and by far the novice having previously run no further that 26 miles 385 yard. However those who know the irrepressable lady were in no doubt that she would finish in some shape or form. As it turned out she finished in extremely fine form and 'failed' by just 38 metres to finish second lady with a remarkable 338 laps or 84 miles (that is three marathons back to back with a 10k thrown in for good measure). During the last few hours she made up several miles on the pack in front and was within 1 lap of finishing 10th overall.
The whole event was a remarkable success and facinating to watch and words cannot express the admiration of those who watched for those who competed.
NORTHERN IRELAND YOUNG ATHLETES LEAGUE FINAL Saturday 31st July
Lagan Valley finished in a superb second place in the final of the Northern ireland Young Athletes League at the Antrim Stadium on Saturday 31st July. This was a great team effort by the athletes as well as the team coaches and managers. The strong City of Derry squad were again victorious failing to fill only two events throughout the day. The battle for second place was very close early on with four clubs in contention but by mid afternoon it was Lagan Valley and Regent House who were neck and neck for about an hour. However the final series of middle distance races and relays saw the Sky Blue and Navy roar away with the runner up spot. Overall the club won 26 individual gold medals and 3 Relay golds. Specially mention must be made of Sam Matthews in the Boys Hammer who smashed the League record by 5 metres.
DEHLI GOOD FOR KATIE
Massive congratulations to Lagan Valley's Katie Kirk who was named on the Northern Ireland Commonwealth games team for India in October - a just reward for some superb performances over 300/400 this season.
EDWARDS & CO - ONE TO GO
IRISH SCHOOLS PERFORMANCES
Congratulations to all Lagan Valley athletes who performed with distinction in Tullamore. There were outstanding title winning performances from Katie Kirk, Rachel Campbell, Adam Ingram, Tom Magee as well as a number of other medal winning performances.
Athletes will be changing back into the sky blue and navy vests for the Young Athletes League in Bangor on Wednesday night and the Northern Ireland Senior and older Age Group Championships at Antrim on Saturday.
EDWARDS & CO. PACKS THEM IN
The popularity of the Edward's & Co. Super 5 Series continues to grow with a masive turn out of 260 athletes for the second meeting on Thursday night. Competitors came from far and wide with entries from Dundalk and Letterkenny adding an international flavour. Bus loads of athletes arrived from Enniskillen, Springwell, Newry and Newtownards to take advantage of the only open competition before the schools championships get underway. Big numbers do of course cause problems especially for an entry on the night system and there was some slippage in the timetable but conditions were near to perfect for the 800 metres events later in the evening. FULL RESULTS
KATIE BREAKS RECORD
Congratulations to Katie Kirk who broke the long standing U18 400m record with a superb season opener at Antrim in the first open graded Meeting of the year. This followed on from Rachel Campbell's amazing second place in the Titanic 10k. With Andrew Graham in sparkling sprint form and a large percentage of the London Mini Marathon teams coming from Lagan Valley things are looking good for a very successful season of Track and Field for the Sky Blue and navy. Despite the absence of so many runners in London the Young Athletes League teams more than held their own in the opening round virtually assuring themselves an appearance in the Final.
SUPER 5 SUPER START
The 20th Annual Thursday night series known this season as the Edwards & Co. Super 5 got of to an excellent start on a bright but eventually chilly start on 15th April. With nearly 250 athletes aged from 8 to 60 in action there were some very encouraging early season performances. The only disappointing part of the night was that athletes still have to contend with an unacceptable lighting situation which is decades out of date. this unfortunately led to the photo-finish system being unreadable for the middle distance events and one race having no times for which we can only offer abject apologies. RESULTS AVAILABLE.
BIDEFORD BLUES WELCOME LAGAN VALLEY
Twelve members of Lagan Valley plus honorary member Mark Mackin from Dromore made the journey to Bideford in North Devon to take part in the Bideford half Marathon. The clubs involvement was comprehensively covered in the local press and we were made very welcome despite carrying away four of their trophies. On the honours board were Ruth magill, Fionualla McCourt, Gary Nichol and Julie Murphy while Eric Montgomery, our first finisher, just missed out on the prizes. All thirteen runners were warmly entertained by Bideford member Michael Gilmore and his wife at their home on the evening before the race.
The course along both banks of the River Torridge was memorable for the stunning views made all the more beautiful by the excellent weather we had all weekend. All agreed that this was an excellent trip and with three events arranged by Bideford during the year it is well worth a visit.
the Sky Blue and Navy (and a few other colours from naughty boys and girls who did not wear club vests) was in evidence throughout the festive season in those events not cancelled in particular the Christmas Crackers in Castlewellan. Pictures are available through the GALLERY link. Particular mention to stalwart Dessie Brownlee who took in at least four events during the holidays all over the country. Also to Iyrana who somehow survived her sea swim on Boxing Day to join her partner Professor Maurice Savage in the Cracker. Professor Savage was rewarded for his efforts by getting the OBE in the New Years Honours!
LAGAN VALLEY WINS THE 2.00 O'CLOCK AT KILBEGGAN The All Ireland Even Juvenile Cross Country Championships were held at Kilbeggan Racecourse not far from tullamore in Co Offaly and Lagan Valley added to the success from the Ulster Championships by bringing the Under 16 Girls title back to the North. led by Eva Laverty in fourth place the team of Eva, Yasmin Wilson, Emma Sharkey and Rebecca Crawley beat the mighty DSD by one point. It turned out to be a bad week for DSD as Jedward got knocked out the same weekend. This was the only title for Lagan Valley as some of the qualified teams were not to full strength on the day. For FUL RESULTS see link below.
The Duchess of Gloucester (she's the one on the left) made enquiries about the success of Lagan Valley and the current membership when she presented club founder John Glover with a Torch Trust Trophy Award at the Army and Navy Club in London recently. The guy in the background would no doubt have been impressed with the Killybegs story as he was all for fighting them on the beaches! The Award for Services to Sport made specific mention of Lagan Valley and was presented in the company of Trust President Sir Bobby Charlton and Cairman Roger Uttley, former British Lion and now Principal of Harrow School.
FORMER LAGAN VALLEY MEMBER JOINS ATHLETICS NORTHERN IRELAND STAFF
The post of Coaching and Club Development Manager at Athletics NI has been filled by the appointment of Vicky Kennedy (formerly Jamison) who is still the holder of six Lagan Valley club records. Vicky takes up he new appointment in the New Year and we look forward to working with our former member and wish her good luck in this demanding position.
Following on from the success at Coleraine the sky blue and navy vests were again prominent in the 'Odd' Ages Championships in Killybegs. The medal haul amounted to three individual gold, one silver and one bronze as well as three team titles and one team bronze. A magnificent achievement making the long journey to the west coast well worth while. FULL RESULTS
WINNING START TO CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON
Lagan Valley got the Cross Country Championship season off to a great start with two individual and two team Golds in the Northern ireland and Ulster even Age Group Cross Country held in Coleraine.
First to breast the tape was Jack Young with a debut victory in the Under 10 Boys with Calum Crawford Walker not far behind in fifth place. The other individual winner was Joanne Mills who won the Under 18 girls with Sophie Magee also in the medals in third place. Conall Kirk took the bronze medal in the Under 14 Boys and the team of Conall, Ryan Sharkey (13) Ruairi Gilmore (35) and Dermot O'Hare (46) missed team bronze on countback.
With Silver and Bronze from Eva Laverty and Yasmin Wilson the Under 16s was never in doubt with strong support from Toni Buchanan (9) and Orla McAteer (11). Not to be outdone the squad of Andrew Monaghan (2) Adam Ingram (4) Robbie Rankin (8) and Kris Wilson (21) took the final race of the day the Under 18 Boys. FULL RESULTS
ADAM and YASMIN BEST IN BIRMINGHAM
Seven teams represented lagan valley in the National Young Athlete Relays held in Sutton park, Birmingham. These races are the major road event of the season with all of the six age groups attracting well over fifity starting teams. The Sky Blue and Navy were confident that their U17 Boys team would in the shake up for medals but unfortunately Paddy Monaghan fell victim to the dreaded flu (not swine) the week before and his performance was well below his best. The team however still managed an excellent sixth place in their first eyar in the age group. Adam Ingram brought the team from sixth to second on the middle leg and posted one of the fastest times of the day. Robbie Rankin for the 'B' team handed over in 20th place (out of 70) in an excellent 12:25.
Yasmin Wilson had a superb run on the first leg of the U15 Girls handing over to Eva Laverty in 3rd place in 13:42 again one of the top individual performances of the day. The 'A' teams all finished in the top 20 places making it a very worthwhile weekend.
6 Lagan Valley AC 'A' 36:37
A Monaghan (6) 11:57 Adam Ingram (2) 11:51 P Monaghan (6) 12:49
Conditions at the Billy Neill Playing Fields were perfect for the second Cross Country fixture of the season. The Comber Cup is primarily the trial for the Masters International to be held next month in Birmingham and Lagan Valley athletes once again gave the selectors something to think about.
The opening race was for the Women and Masters over 65 with Gary Nicholl making a welcome return to racing after almost ayear out with illness. He showed signs of a return to his old form by taking second in his event. Ruth Magill, the Masters Female of the Year, was again the winner of the Over 50's with Fionualla McCourt jst behind in second. Diane Wilson also ran well to finish fourth in the Over 40's in a race dominated by fell runners.
Diane Wilson, pictured in the Comber Cup, added to Lagan Valley's International reputation when she represented Northern Ireland in the Commonwealth Fell Running Championships in Keswick. Diane gained selection after a very successful Hill and Dale series during the summer.
Rona Harkens, who like Gary has had a long spell of illness, was looking in excellent form on the opening lap and was closing on the leaders as they crossed the entrance road approaching the last lap. Unfortunately the mat covering the road had rippled and Rona tripped taking a very hard fall which required immediate medical attention. Thankfully the diagnosis was cuts and heavy bruising and Roan was able to return to training on Monday. Hopefully the selectors will take the circumstances into account when picking the teams.
STROLL IN THE PARK The organising team in Barnett's Park who by all accounts did a wheelie good job.
The 2nd Annual Lagan Valley Short Course Cross Country was once again blessed with excellent weather. A good turn out of young athletes from all over the Province resulted in some excellent competition with Kilmaine Primary School from Bangor just holding off the challenge of St Eithne's Derry.
Check out the new athletics sets on the Flicker Gallery
SPRING SPRANG SUCCESSFULLY
The 'Road and Country Brigade' continued to keep the 'Sky Blue and Navy' colours to the fore throughout the Spring and Summer with rarely a race run without Lagan Valley picking up one of in some cases a lot more prizes.
Star billing has to be shared by two of the Ladies. Suzanne McCormick made sure she got her name in the record books before becoming Mrs Higgins when she defied the strong winds to finish as first Northern Ireland woman in the Belfast City Marathon going under the magic 3 hour barrier. Suzanne is unlikely to be in contention in races in the near future as she is hoping to add to Lagan Valley's junior squad sometime around Easter next year.
Not to be outdone the evergreen (as well as Sky blue and navy) Ruth Magill, as well as dominating local age group races, led the British Over 50 Women to the Silver medals in the World Masters Cross Country in Finland. She was ably suported by fellow Lagan Valley runner Fionualla McCourt as well as Dromore's Mark Mackin. Photo QUB Round the Bridges (pity about the old guy stalking her)
Catriona McCorkell continues to produce some excellent results, not always in the most orthodox of events. As well as showing in the results of major road races she can often be found wallowing in Mud Madness, jumping on and off a bike or scampering around contours of off shore islands. Photo Run Armagh 10k
Diane Wilson has also ensured that the Lagan Valley vest is taken to the highest levels as she gained selection for the Northern Ireland team to compete in the first Commonwealth Mountain Running Championships in Keswick in September.
TRACK and FIELD REVIEW 2009
The 2009 Track and Field Season was another highly successful one for Lagan Valley with the most outstanding performance arguably that of Adam Ingram (7) winning the Northern Ireland Senior 800m title - the youngest ever winner. There were also very youthful Senior medals for Chloe Boomer, Andrew Graham and Rachel Campbell while Wendy Davis showed that she is still a force to be reckoned with by taking Silver in the 800m Photo shows Adam on way to winning Irish Schools
Team wise it has to said it was a disappointing year with both Senior and Junior teams not quite reaching the high level we have come to expect over the years. This is no reflection on those who competed rather on the absentees which meant far too many gaps in what should have been scoring events.
Senior
100
Andrew Graham
Bronze
1994
100
Patrick Colhoun
Gold
100
Chloe Boomer
Bronze
200
Patrick Colhoun
Gold
800
Wendy Davis
Silver
800
Johnny Orr
Silver
800
Adam Ingram
Gold
Dis
Tom Matthews
Bronze
1500
Rachel Campbell
Bronze
80H
Emily Mills
Bronze
Junior
Hept
Jodie Murphy
Gold
200
Katherine Trainor
Silver
800
Lee Sharkey
Silver
800
Eva Laverty
Silver
800
Simon McCluney
Bronze
1500
Eva Laverty
Silver
Pole vault
Kirsty Kee
Gold
1500
Rebecca Blundell
Bronze
100 Hdls
Jodie Murphy
Bronze
1993
100H
Lucy Geddes
Silver
Shot
Jodie Murphy
Gold
250H
Lucy Geddes
Bronze
Master
100
Joe Frey
Silver (M50)
1995
1500
yasmin Wilson
Gold
200
Joe Frey
Gold
1500
Toni Buchanan
Silver
200
Rod Leckey
Silver (M40)
Ham
Sam Matthews
Silver
1500
Ruth Magill
Gold (W50)
800
Reece Cleland
Silver
Discus
John T Glover
Bronze (M60)
1500
Rory Hampton
Bronze
Hammer
John T Glover
Silver
NI CLOSED
100
Chloe Boomer
Gold
800
Simon McCluney
Gold
Triple Jump
Laura Frey
Bronze
400
David Graham
Silver
Hammer
Lynsey Glover
Gold
Emma Gordon
Silver
Discus
Lynsey Glover
Gold
Javelin
Lynsey Glover
Gold
Shot
Lynsey Glover
Silver
ELECTION FEVER
As the rest of the country prepares for the excitement (sic) of the General Election Lagan valley members can get into the swing of things much sooner as the annual election of Office Bearers and Committee Members takes place on November 4th. GET YOUR DIARY OUT. Current Chairman Brian Downing pictured wearing his President of Athletics Northern Ireland chain.
FANTASTIC FINALE (Apart from the rain)
The popularity of the Edward's & Co. Super 5 Series continues to grow with a masive turn out of 260 athletes for the second meeting on Thursday night. Competitors came from far and wide with entries from Dundalk and Letterkenny adding an international flavour. Bus loads of athletes arrived from Enniskillen, Springwell, Newry and Newtownards to take advantage of the only open competition before the schools championships get underway. Big numbers do of course cause problems especially for an entry on the night system and there was some slippage in the timetable but conditions were near to perfect for the 800 metres events later in the evening. 
KATIE BREAKS RECORD
SUPER 5 SUPER START 
The course along both banks of the River Torridge was memorable for the stunning views made all the more beautiful by the excellent weather we had all weekend. All agreed that this was an excellent trip and with three events arranged by Bideford during the year it is well worth a visit.
The Duchess of Gloucester (she's the one on the left) made enquiries about the success of Lagan Valley and the current membership when she presented club founder John Glover with a Torch Trust Trophy Award at the Army and Navy Club in London recently. The guy in the background would no doubt have been impressed with the Killybegs story as he was all for fighting them on the beaches! The Award for Services to Sport made specific mention of Lagan Valley and was presented in the company of Trust President Sir Bobby Charlton and Cairman Roger Uttley, former British Lion and now Principal of Harrow School.
Following on from the success at Coleraine the sky blue and navy vests were again prominent in the 'Odd' Ages Championships in Killybegs. The medal haul amounted to three individual gold, one silver and one bronze as well as three team titles and one team bronze. A magnificent achievement making the long journey to the west coast well worth while. 
The opening race was for the Women and Masters over 65 with Gary Nicholl making a welcome return to racing after almost ayear out with illness. He showed signs of a return to his old form by taking second in his event. Ruth Magill, the Masters Female of the Year, was again the winner of the Over 50's with Fionualla McCourt jst behind in second. Diane Wilson also ran well to finish fourth in the Over 40's in a race dominated by fell runners. 
Diane Wilson, pictured in the Comber Cup, added to Lagan Valley's International reputation when she represented Northern Ireland in the Commonwealth Fell Running Championships in Keswick. Diane gained selection after a very successful Hill and Dale series during the summer. 
STROLL IN THE PARK The organising team in Barnett's Park who by all accounts did a wheelie good job. 
The 2nd Annual Lagan Valley Short Course Cross Country was once again blessed with excellent weather. A good turn out of young athletes from all over the Province resulted in some excellent competition with Kilmaine Primary School from Bangor just holding off the challenge of St Eithne's Derry. 
Star billing has to be shared by two of the Ladies. Suzanne McCormick made sure she got her name in the record books before becoming Mrs Higgins when she defied the strong winds to finish as first Northern Ireland woman in the Belfast City Marathon going under the magic 3 hour barrier. Suzanne is unlikely to be in contention in races in the near future as she is hoping to add to Lagan Valley's junior squad sometime around Easter next year. 
Not to be outdone the evergreen (as well as Sky blue and navy) Ruth Magill, as well as dominating local age group races, led the British Over 50 Women to the Silver medals in the World Masters Cross Country in Finland. She was ably suported by fellow Lagan Valley runner Fionualla McCourt as well as Dromore's Mark Mackin. Photo QUB Round the Bridges (pity about the old guy stalking her) 
Catriona McCorkell continues to produce some excellent results, not always in the most orthodox of events. As well as showing in the results of major road races she can often be found wallowing in Mud Madness, jumping on and off a bike or scampering around contours of off shore islands. Photo Run Armagh 10k
The 2009 Track and Field Season was another highly successful one for Lagan Valley with the most outstanding performance arguably that of Adam Ingram (7) winning the Northern Ireland Senior 800m title - the youngest ever winner. There were also very youthful Senior medals for Chloe Boomer, Andrew Graham and Rachel Campbell while Wendy Davis showed that she is still a force to be reckoned with by taking Silver in the 800m Photo shows Adam on way to winning Irish Schools
As the rest of the country prepares for the excitement (sic) of the General Election Lagan valley members can get into the swing of things much sooner as the annual election of Office Bearers and Committee Members takes place on November 4th. GET YOUR DIARY OUT. Current Chairman Brian Downing pictured wearing his President of Athletics Northern Ireland chain.