By Joe Quinn One of the country’s best road races, Jimmy’s Ten, is only a few days away. This now firmly established St Patrick’s Festival event takes to the roads around Downpatrick on Sunday 15th with a 12.00 noon start and a record crowd is expected. The race has a New Primary Sponsor this year in the form of M.B McGrady & Co. Chartered Accountants, Belfast, Downpatrick and Newtownards though Down Democrat have provided invaluable support in producing Entry Forms and in media promotion.
East Down officials promise that it will be bigger and better than ever with something to offer everyone, be they walkers, novices or more hardened runners. The race offers great prizemoney with £200 on offer to both men and women winners and the carrot of an extra £50 for a new race record, currently 30.20 for men and 34.17 for women and £100 and £50 respectively for 2nd and 3rd placed athletes. But the prizes don’t stop there. East Down have always prided themselves in spreading the honours as widely as possible and are offering prizemoney and trophies to all first and second placed runners in all categories from Over/35 to Over/70 as well as for first Male and Female Under 18.
But there’s more – every finisher will be entered in a draw for a £700 holiday voucher and there are weekend and midweek hotel breaks, vouchers for free meals and days at the races also to be won – the only proviso being that to collect the prizes winners must be present at the draw, made at the prizegiving ceremony in Down Leisure Centre after the race.
And this year a special memento will be given to all entrants.
As well as the 10K race itself the popular Relay Race for Teams of 2, will be an option for those who cannot yet face the overall 6.2 mile distance, particularly the younger and novice runners – and of course a special welcome is extended to Walkers who turned out in great numbers last year. Please note that walkers will be expected to leave no later than 11.00am to be back in time for the presentations.
The organisers are encouraging runners to Pre-Enterand are offering a reduced rate, to help avoid congestion on the morning of the race, though they stress that entries will be taken on the day from 10.00am onwards in Down Leisure Centre. Pre-entrants will simply have to call at Registration to collect their running numbers.
Uniquely also, entrants who can’t manage to run on the day for whatever reason will be offered a refund, so get your entries in and don’t worry about the credit crunch, you can’t lose on this one.! And another first. Down District Council Chairman, Colin McGrath already in the record books as the youngest ever council leader in NI seeks to set another first by taking part in the race itself, certainly the first from DDC and perhaps any other council, to do so.
Entry Forms are available on the club’s website www.spanglefish.com/eastdownac or from Athletics Northern Ireland website www.niathletics.org or by email from [email protected] or phone 02844 614235 or 07933214894
Joe Quinn
5 March 2009
