from Athletics Northern Ireland Four hundred and fifty competitors took part in the Mourne Mountain Marathon on the weekend of 20/21 September. The annual two day navigation and endurance event was sponsored by Lowe Alpine and Jackson Sports. Cross channel team Tim Higginbottom and Chris Near justified their favourites tag in the premier class, the Elite Class. The mountain marathon specialists had a commanding lead of 54 minutes at the overnight camp after the first day of competition and extended it further on day two. They clocked 9 hours and 26 minutes for the 36 mile course which involved some 10,000 feet of climb. The local team of Deon McNeilly and Eamon McCrickard of Newcastle AC were runners up in 11 hours and 25 minutes with Moire O’Sulivan and John MacEnri third.
Twenty teams tackled the gruelling Elite Class, while there were over two hundred teams of two competing in the shorter B, C and D classes. This year’s event started and finished in the Annalong Valley and a large number of competitors came from outside Northern Ireland.
Staging the event requires a huge organisational and logistical effort. The organising committee and volunteers are to be congratulated on a highly successful event and commended for all their hard work. Full results, split times and photos are published on the event website www.Mourne2day.com
Elite Class
1. T Higginbottom & C Near 9.26.32
2. D McNeilly & E McCrickard 11.25.55
3. M O’Sullivan & J MacEnri 12.21.44
4. D Burke & R O’Donnell 13.06.50
5. R McMahon & P McArthur 13.24.03
6. A Coppinger & P Mahon 13.30.16
B Class
1. N Barrable & A Whitwam 9.10.35
2. L Harris & W Spain 10.47.20
3. R Campbell & M Hanna 10.52.58
4. A Stirk & J Beech 10.56.22
5. D NiChallnin & K B Jones 11.13.38
6. T Begley & S McKendrick 11.16.36
C Class
1. M Alexander & J McCormick 6.53.50
2. J Steede & B O’Boyle 7.09.06
3. D Carrivick & D Hunt 7.28.02
4. C Coffey & D O’Hagan 7.54.59
5. J Rennie & D Rennie 7.56.57
6. S McMillan & L Rose 8.05.43
Report & Photo
Brian Ervine
Lowe Alpine Mourne Mountain Marathon
