20 December 2020
Conor Duffy and Grace Carson were the winners of the Greencastle 5 Miles Road Race in Tyrone. The race was brought forward from its traditional St. Stephen’s Day date and the field limited to 120 runners to comply with current guidelines.
Despite the changes, the 35th edition of the race lacked none of its character as Duffy made it third time lucky after placing second and third in recent years. The Glaslough Harrier was always in control and led a group of four through the three mile mark in 14 minutes and 41 seconds. Moving away on the notorious final long climb, the Castleblayney postman was able to breast the tape with a comfortable advantage in 24:35.
NI & Ulster Senior cross country champion Neil Johnston was next home, some four seconds in arrears with Ethiopia-born Eskander Turki grabbing third spot with a 24:43 timing. Mountain specialist Zac Hanna (24:49), Conán McCaughey (25:04) and Matthew Neill (25:22) made up the top half dozen. Tommy Hughes showed no signs of fatigue from a track 10,000m the previous day as he claimed the over-60 prize in 27:55.
Grace Carson was a class apart in the women’s competition, taking advantage of the mild conditions, the Mid-Ulster athlete impressed with a 28:22 winning time. Rachel Gibson was the next women with a 30:36 timing while Pauline McGurren, in third overall with a 32:10 mark, was the leading female Master.
Full results: www.greencastle5.com