Billy Neill Country Park, nestled just a few miles from the eastern side of Belfast, served as the picturesque venue for the 35th Annual British and Irish Masters Cross Country International on Saturday November 16.
Spanning an impressive 115 acres, the southern section of the park features 10 natural grass soccer pitches accompanied by 14 team changing rooms. Meanwhile, the northern and eastern areas boast open spaces and an extensive network of over 5 kilometers of walking and cycling trails, making it a perfect destination for outdoor enthusiasts.
Today’s competition featured four exhilarating races with teams representing England, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.
Mayo AC are especially proud that four of their talented masters represented them in this prestigious event: Pauline Moran (W65), Mary Browne (W65), Mags Glavey (W75), and Paraic Sweeney (M70).
All four Mayo AC masters ran in the first race at 11:00 AM, covering a distance of 6 kilometres. This race included competitors from W65 to W75 and M65 to M80 categories, displaying the remarkable talent and dedication of these athletes.
Racing conditions were good – “We were very lucky with weather. Sun shone, a bit of a cold wind in parts. A testing course, one short sharp hill, one longer more challenging hill, two slow inclines, lots of flat areas” .
Pauline Moran led the Irish F65 team again and finished first overall in 27:27, winning individual gold – a title she also won in 2023.
In Pauline’s W65 Irish team, Sheelagh Jones was 4th (28:00) , Gráinne Grennan 8th (29:05) , and clubmate Mary Browne 10th (29:28).
The Irish W65 team of Pauline, Sheelagh and Gráinne won gold with 11 points ahead of England’s 15.
Pauline takes both club and country representation seriously. She’s a great competitor and a proven winner whatever the terrain – cross-country, road or track.
Likewise, Mags Glavey who is another great masters champion. She was competing in W75 category for the first time, and ran as part of the Irish W70 team.
Mags finished 14th overall and first W75 in 29:42. She was almost 5 minutes ahead of Ros Tabor England 2nd W75. Mags combined with Brigid McCabe 17th (30:14) and Eileen Kenny 22nd (30:43) to lead the Irish W70 team to silver with 14 points behind England with 8.
Pauline and Mags were also category gold winners the last time the event was held north of the border at Gransha Park outside Derry in 2017.
Paraic Sweeney had a great run also, and was 12th in the M70 race – Irish M70 team won silver.
Championship medal presentations and post race awards Banquet was held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Belfast.
The awards banquet is always a highlight of the international weekend.
Ireland won the overall Championships, and also the men’s and women’s titles.
It was a great result underlined by the excellent performances by four Mayo AC masters.
Congratulations all!
