In yet another step towards the return of some sort of normality, in Club-running terms if nothing else, today (13 November) saw the running of the first Larne AC handicap race in two years. Traditionally the first handicap of the season, the Fulton Five, as the name suggests, is a five mile race which starts and finishes on the Promenade beside the Prom Café and takes in the two-mile stretch of the Coast Road from the top of the Promenade to Drains Bay car park and back again.
Being a handicap, each runner set off at a pre-determined time calculated on the basis of his or her training runs over the past few months or on their recent performances in races or club tempo runs. Diane Hawthorne was the first runner to cross the starting line with Lee Clements, the last of the seventeen runners to start, being given the off almost twenty minutes later. Weather conditions for the race may have been nigh on perfect for the time of the year but this should in no way detract from the number of excellent performance which the race produced, particularly in view of the fact that, for many of the runners, this was their first ‘competitive’ run for some considerable time.
First, second and third in the race were Thompson Crawford, Diane and Mark Todd in corrected times of 35.31, 46.48 and 37.32 respectively, while the fastest times of the day were recorded by John Steele (31.29), Martan Keane (31.52) and Gerry Campbell (32.45). See separate posting for the full results.
Congratulations to all the runners who took part, but special mention to Diane, whose time of 46.48 represents probably her best ever performance, while John’s 31.29 is a five-mile PB by over one minute. It’s also worth noting that Lee produced the fourth fastest time of the day (33.35) despite running under nineteen minute in the Larne Park run just a couple of hours earlier.
Finally, thanks to Rhonda and Jackie Wallace for the tea and refreshments, to Jackie, Kirsty Sharratt and Melissa Shields for their help with the timing, to Billy Thompson for marshalling at the turning point (Isn’t it amazing how, after all these years, he can still come up with an almost convincing excuse for getting out of a race?) and to everyone who turned out to support the runners.
FULTON FIVE HANDICAP 2021 – RESULTS
| PLACE | NAME | H’CAP | TIME | MILE PACE* | CORRECTED TIME |
| 1 | Thompson Crawford | 11.00 | 46.31 | 7.06.2 | 35.31 |
| 2 | Diane Hawthorne | 00.00 | 46.48 | 9.21.6 | 46.48 |
| 3 | Mark Todd | 10.30 | 48.02 | 7.30.4 | 37.32 |
| 4 | Laura Brennan | 02.55 | 48.17 | 9.04.4 | 45.22 |
| 5 | Rhonda Wallace | 02.40 | 48.35 | 9.11.0 | 45.55 |
| 6 | Mandy Johnson | 09.20 | 49.03 | 7.56.6 | 39.43 |
| 7 | David Johnson | 12.00 | 49.55 | 7.35.0 | 37.55 |
| 8 | Kerri-Ann Craig | 08.40 | 50.02 | 8.16.4 | 41.22 |
| 9 | Julianne Keane | 07.20 | 50.18 | 8.35.6 | 42.58 |
| 10 | John Steele | 19.00 | 50.29 | 6.17.8 | 31.29 |
| 11 | Gerry Campbell | 18.20 | 51.05 | 6.33.0 | 32.45 |
| 12 | Shiree McCosh Brennan | 03.00 | 51.15 | 9.39.0 | 48.15 |
| 13 | Martan Keane | 19.30 | 51.22 | 6.22.4 | 31.52 |
| 14 | Sean McAllister | 18.10 | 52.15 | 6.49.0 | 34.05 |
| 15 | Nigel Kane | 18.00 | 52.47 | 6.57.4 | 34.47 |
| 16 | Lee Clements | 19.45 | 53.20 | 6.43.0 | 33.35 |
| – | Alan McCullough | 17.50 | DNF | – | Injured |
| Alan Lockington (+1) | 7.11.8 | 35.59 | |||
| *Minutes, seconds, tenths |