Sometimes things just fall into place (seemingly) and a perfect event takes place. So it was with our latest Race Series event which was the ‘naked’ parkrun around the Falls Park course, an event which doubled as a commemoration for our friend Keith Hanna who passed away 3 years ago.
Keith was a reflection of the spirit of Belfast Running Club. His approach to running was inclusive, welcoming, friendly and accommodating. A lot of members recall their first foray into club running and how it was Keith who offered a smile and a welcome and who helped take away any misplaced mystique about what it means to join a running club. It is entirely fitting then that the race in his honour isn’t won necessarily by the fastest runner – rather all entrants predict their own finish time, discard their fancy watch or phone, and try and run to their time. Its a fun way to try a course you may not be used to and in that spirit 19 BRCers set off round Falls Park parkrun course today. We were joined by volunteers Aaron, Carol, Fiona and Grainne and a number of cheerleaders, all of whom were very welcome.
Falls is a hilly course and of course a ‘naked’ / predict your time event gives everyone else a chance to gain some points on the Race Series leaders, with Jill out in the lead so far this year. So what happened? Jill won! Well, Jill and David Hynes came joint first, both coming within a ridiculous 2 seconds of their predicted time. Eileen, Vernon and Brendan made up the top 5 and scored highly in today’s event. Well done to them and to all today’s runners. And of course the event didn’t seamlessly fall into place; a big thank you especially to Aaron who did a lot of the behind the scenes organising and cajoling which made sure today was a big success.
Winner 1 Jill 
Winner 2 Davy
After the run in the rain we retired to the warmth of Tim Hortons which apparently sells ‘Canada’s favourite coffee.’ That may well be the case and Brendan certainly placed west Belfast’s biggest coffee order and we were well looked after by the staff team.
It was a privilege to be joined by members of Keith’s family including his siblings, in laws and nephews. Keith’s sister Colette handed over the trophy to our joint winners and in doing so she spoke glowingly about Keith, about the family’s experience this morning and in her own words
‘We can see now why Keith loved being part of your club. They way you cheer each other on, the fun you have together is brilliant. Thank you for your welcome and your hospitality today.’
For Keith’s BRC running family, it was a pleasure to have his close relatives with us today.
I am still pretty sure that when races get tough, as they always do no matter what the distance, if you concentrate on the road ahead, and taking those next few steps, getting over the finish line…listen hard enough and you will hear Keith cheering you on from afar.
Thanks to everyone who made today happen and who came along, it was a morning to remember. The results from today are available here and also the overall standings. More photos coming soon
The final race in the Series is the Seeley Cup. We know that not too many people got entered before the race was fully subscribed and the Race Series sub committee has decided that if anyone either runs a 10k that weekend – alone, in a group, whatever works – or does a parkrun on the morning of the 2nd December we will count that as your Race Series entry and work out your age grade score (parkrun age grade scores are easy for us as they are already recorded). We are able to be a bit more flexible as our winners are already beyond doubt and we want as many people to complete the series as possible.
BM