Pegasus AC Junior does Northern Ireland proud!

The final mountain race of the season took place 8 th October at Slieve Gallion just outside Magherfelt, with Mid-Ulster AC hosting a well run British/Irish Junior Mountain Running Championships which brought teams from England, Scotland, Wales and Republic of Ireland to compete for the UK Athletics medals at stake. The weather was extremely mild, perfect for running and meaning the whole atmosphere was boosted.

Pegasus AC’s Jason Wilson came into the race not in the best shape, but the Dalriada student was still able to compete against a very high class field, with a number of world championship runners in the mix. The start of the 4.3 mile race got under way along the narrow pathways up through the forest, with the packs becoming obvious from only half a mile in. Jason managed to hang on with his Northern Ireland team mates through the tough 1300ft climb, and was matching the pace of a couple of Irish world junior performers. The decent seen Jason running away from some of the Irish lads, managing a creditable 18 th overall, and 5 th in the Irish Championship! Northern Ireland just missed out on a much sought after medal, with a few points separating NI and the Irish in the team standings. Jason is planning to put in a full winter’s mountain specific training to hopefully achieve a spot on the world team for next season and compete in the British Under 23 Mountain Running Championships! Watch this space!

Congratulations must also go to Lorna Stynes, the new Pegasus AC recruit managed to win the Vet 35 category during the weekend fast Waterside Autumn Five race, with a sharp time of 44:52 in near perfect conditions at Gransha, Londonderry. Female race winner was mountaineering extraordinaire Hannah Shields of City of Derry. Lorna has come up from being a non runner to a race winner in a fairly short space of time, thanks to Shirley Park’s female only running classes on Tuesday evenings from 6:30! She is one of many others such as Tess McComb, Cathy Barr and Linda Gillen to name but a few who have progressed rapidly thanks to Shirley’s expertise. So if you want to just loose weight BEFORE Christmas to get rid of the guilt during it, or want to a fitter, healthier person with the added benefits of gained skin and muscle tone, consider attending these meetings! CONTACT: SHIRLEY PARK Tel: 07717572901.