Ballymena Runners Race in Comber!
On Sunday afternoon 14 BRAC runners competed in the NI & Ulster Even Age Groups & Bobby Rea XC Championships.
Conditions were tricky with ground fairly soft underfoot while competitors also had to battle through some heavy showers and strong winds.
From under 10 girls and boys right through to Senior/Masters ladies and men there was about 1,400 competitors had taken part in one of the biggest and best XC events over the winter season.
First up for Ballymena we had the senior ladies and M60 vets in a 6KM race with the very consistent Paula Worthington leading the team home from Nena Cormican, Geraldine Quigley, Tommy Bradley, Paddy Millar, Sinead Scullion, Gemma Clyde and club legend Brigid Quinn.
Next up was the Senior men’s race which took in 4 laps and 8KM distance, and leading us home not for the first time in a XC race with a very strong performance was Kieran Scullion, followed by Tony Scullion, Robert Clyde, Paul Connolly, Duncan Millar and Nicolas McGroggan.
A strong effort put in by everyone in challenging conditions, well done!
BRAC mens runners at Comber
Dublin Marathon 2025
Sunday 26th October-the final weekend of October always brings 2 certainties, an extra hour in bed and a strong turnout from Ballymena runners to the start line of the Irish Life Dublin Marathon.
Cool rainy conditions were the backdrop for a number of fantastic performances from across the club.
First man home for the club was Stephen Gage with a 4 minute PB in a phenomenal 2 hours 33mins. A special mention also to Conor Lynass on his first sub 3 marathon.
First lady home was Judith, with a super sub 3:30. Congratulations to all runners across the club, same time next year?
Stephen Gage 2:33:10
Conor Lynass 2:58:41
Colin Wright 3:13:17
Jim Moore 3:17:30
Ryan Bankhead 3:17:36
Mark McCaul 3:20:09
Denver Robb 3:21:07
Darren Walker 3:27:42
Judith Worthington 3:29:02
John Robinson 3:42:35
Noeleen McKillop 4:05:56
Sara Beggs 4:15:11
Teresa Mark 4:16:11
Raymond Ruck 4:16:11
Jimmy Kerr 4:32:03 who raised £5,500 for the Altzheimers Socety!
Ballymena Runners Compete in Ballyclare!
On Saturday afternoon 26 BRAC runners made the short journey over the Collin to take part in the 89th McConnell Shield XC event, one of our favourite races in the XC calendar, and a race which has been previously won by our own coach Ray Curran.
With conditions almost perfect for grass racing apart from a fairly strong wind the girls and boys age graded races were out first followed by senior and masters ladies and male vets, where 1st in for club was Sharon Leech, followed by Paula Worthington and Judith Brown. The ladies secured a fantastic third ladies team prize!
Next up was senior and masters men where our first 4 home Jack McKenna, James Hamilton, Brendan Kerr and Joshua Blair all had excellent runs to finish second men’s team overall, a fantastic achievement indeed, a superb day all round for BRAC with this turnout being one of our best entries for a XC race for a long time, well done everyone!
Some of the BRAC Squad at Ballyclare
The Day We Went To Comber
In the first target race of the season, a sizeable squad of 22 Runners took to the pitches of the Billy Neill Country Park in Dundonald to participate in The Comber Cup. This race was also used to select the NI Masters Team for the International XC Championships to be held in Leeds in November.
An undulating course as ever with some lengthy pulls, sharp descents and the odd jump thrown in for variety, but thankfully the past week's favourable weather made the course a run in the park. The term "enjoyable" may even have been bandied about in the odd post-run conversation...
The Ladies Team put on a strong performance with Sharon Leetch leading the side home over the 6km course.
The Men faced a longer 8km route, with Brendan Kerr leading the team home.
Great performances all round from both the Ladies and Men's Teams, with several Seasons Bests to celebrate. Hopefully some good news about International selections will be announced in the coming days!
Ladies: Sharon, Paula, Nena, Brigid, Catherine, Nikki, Lisa, Sinead, Gemma and Geraldine
Men: Brendan, Joshua, Ian, Michael, Paul, Duncan, Alan, Tony, Robert, John, Kieran and Nicholas.
A special mention to Lisa and Michael, first timers on the xc course. The first of many, we hope!
The unusually good weather of late has lulled us into a false sense of security; will our luck underfoot continue as the season progresses...?
All eyes will be on the weather forecast for our next Target Race is McConnell Shield, Sixmilewater Park, Ballyclare on Saturday 1st November
Masters 5 Nations Cross Country Leeds, November 2025 Selections announced
We’re beyond proud to announce that 11 Ballymena Runners have been selected to represent Northern Ireland at the Masters 5 Nations Cross Country International in Leeds this November! Selected Athletes:
Sharon Leetch – F50 Team
Geraldine Quigley – F50 Team
Paula Worthington – F45 Team
Brigid Quinn – F80 Team
Brendan Kerr – M40 Team
Kieran Scullion – M45 Team
Robert Clyde – M55 Team (promoted from 1st reserve)
Ray Curran – M70 Team (promoted from reserve)
Reserves:
Sinead Scullion – F45 1st Reserve
Tony Scullion – M40 Reserve
Ian McCracken – M45 Reserve
A massive shout out to Ray Curran, now celebrating his 24th Northern Ireland selection (1993–2025) still not dead… and still a living legend!
An incredible achievement for our club best of luck to everyone heading to Leeds!