SCHOOL HILL HANDICAP – 18 APRIL 2023
Tuesday evening saw the second running of the School Hill handicap and, with the weather conditions for the race being just about perfect (bright sunshine and virtually no wind, except for that generated by the runners themselves), some fast times were expected.
The course being the same as last year, the competitors knew exactly what they were letting themselves in for, despite which twenty-three runners threw their hats into the ring and lined up for the start. Sharon Bell was the first to set off, followed by the rest of the field in order of their handicap ratings with, surprise, surprise, Jordan Heron being the last to cross the imaginary starting line. From this point on, the runners were out of sight so the time keepers, spectators, supporters, ragamuffins, ne’re-do-wells and assorted hangers-on (easily half a dozen of them in total) lounged around in Ballygally car park for the next twenty minutes or so until the cry went up that the first three returning runners were back in sight, at which point the timers wandered back across the road to begin the time-honoured process of attempting to screw up the timekeeping.
Diane Hawthorne, Sharon and Laura Smith were the three runners in question, but even with only three hundred metres or so to go to the finish it still wasn’t possible to predict with any certainty which of them would be the first to cross the line. However, as they drew closer to the waiting timers it became apparent that although Laura had overtaken Sharon and was now closing on Diane she was fast running out of road, meaning that Diane was able to claim victory by eleven second in a corrected time of 36:28. The margin separating Laura and Sharon, who comfortably held on for third place, was a further thirteen second. Completing a clean sweep of the top six places for the club’s women were Rhonda Wallace, Ashlynn Rodgers and Laura Brennan in fourth, fifth and sixth places respectively in the corrected times of 35:49, 30:06 and 35:27.
Full details of the places and times for all the runners are set out below, but it is worth noting the significant improvement in the times posted this year compared with those posted in last year’s race by the majority of the runners who competed in both races. The fastest men’s and women’s times of the night were set by Jordan and Charlotte English in 21:46 and 29:59 respectively, while the last of the runners officially competing in the handicap to cross the finish line was Mark Todd – a classic example of nominative determinism given that Mark was so far behind the runners in front of him he may as well have been running on his tod(d).
As always, thanks to all the runners who took part in the race, to Michelle, Emmett, Dale and Ian for marshalling, to Jackie, Michelle and Emmett for timekeeping, to Rhonda and Jackie for the much appreciated post-race refreshment and to Diane for organising the prizes. Apologies if I have missed anyone out.
| Place | Name | Race Time | Corrected Time | 2022 Time |
| 1 | Diane Hawthorne | 38:40 | 36:28 | 38:53 |
| 2 | Laura Smith | 38:51 | 34:31 | – |
| 3 | Sharon Bell | 39:02 | 39:02 | – |
| 4 | Rhonda Wallace | 39:24 | 35:49 | 40:43 |
| 5 | Ashlynn Rodgers | 39:26 | 30:06 | – |
| 6 | Laura Brennan | 39:37 | 35:27 | 40:42 |
| 7 | Billy Thompson | 39:39 | 28:09 | – |
| 8 | Michelle McIntosh | 39:46 | 34:36 | 38:39 |
| 9 | Roberta Barham | 39:53 | 34:53 | – |
| 10 | Phelim McAllister | 40:05 | 24:25 | – |
| 11 | Nigel Kane | 40:16 | 29:36 | 27:32 |
| 12 | Charlotte English | 40:44 | 29:59 | 28:13 |
| 13 | Paul Tilson | 40:46 | 28:41 | – |
| 14 | Sean McAllister | 40:50 | 27:30 | 28:49 |
| 15 | Paul Magill | 40:55 | 35:05 | 35:18 |
| 16 | Davy Johnston | 40:57 | 28:32 | 30:16 |
| 17 | Marie Hagan | 41:00 | 40:40 | – |
| 18 | Bobby Garrett | 41:15 | 29:55 | – |
| 19 | Jordan Heron | 41:16 | 21:46 | 22:30 |
| 20 | Kerri-Anne Craig | 41:22 | 35:57 | – |
| 21 | Allan McCullough | 41:42 | 30:52 | 33:31 |
| 22 | Mark Todd | 43:15 | 31:00 | 29:32 |
| 23 | Heather Graham | 49:32 | 49:12 | – |
