TRUE GRIT ON THE RUN
True grit on the run
By KAREN QUINN
MORE than 10,000 fun runners and serious athletes braved the Bank Holiday chill yesterday to take part in the 22nd Belfast City Marathon.
Thousands of spectators lined the 26-mile route from the City Hall to Maysfield Leisure Centre to cheer the aching limbs round.
Smiles had been replaced by sweat-soaked grimaces by the finishing line - but all that street pounding was worth the effort.
First home were three Kenyans - the winner in a course record time of 2 hours 17 minutes - but each of the 10,000 competitors who finished -whether it was running, walking or even hobbling - proved they were a winner in their own right.
David Simpson, the first Northern Ireland man home, could find only one word to sum up his marathon effort: "Sore."
Fifty-seven-year-old Willy McCracken crossed the finishing line of his 59th marathon vowing "this will be my last".
But Willy, who has been entering marathons since the 1970s, admitted he said that every year.
"I will probably be back here again next year but at the moment I find that hard to believe.
"I'm getting old and one of these days I'm going to have to hang up my boots," he said.
Thousands thronged the route to roar on their encouragement to the competitors and they reserved their biggest cheers for the wheelchair entrants.
The first wheelchair athlete home, Darrell Erwin of Ballymena, thanked the crowd for willing him on, saying: "They were really buzzing."
But, however they completed the course, there was one factor they all shared - sheer determination.
And, for every tanned and toned athlete who crossed the finishing line, there were hundreds of foot-sloggers.
They were running for fun, for a bet, to lose a few pounds or to earn funds for hundreds of good causes.
US marine Mike Hudson was running to raise money for the Omagh families' court battle to bring to justice the republican gang responsible for the 1998 massacre which killed 31 people, including a mother pregnant with twins.
Capt Hudson said he wanted to help because the people of Omagh had been the first to offer their sympathy after the September 11 terror attacks in the US.
"When I got home, there were so many messages of support from the Omagh people and this is one way that I can repay them," he said.
Although yesterday's marathon was a tougher challenge than he had anticipated, he said he drew inspiration from a number of members of the bereaved Omagh families who travelled to Belfast to cheer him on.
"It was rough at times and the wind and a number of hills along the route brought some additional challenges," he said. "But this was for the people of Omagh and that's what kept me going.
Chief Constable Hugh Orde joined a number of junior officers in the relay race.
He competed in the London marathon last month -running in full uniform to raise money for police charities.
In Belfast, security implications for the Province's top officer were understood to have prevented him from taking part in the full race.
By KAREN QUINN
MORE than 10,000 fun runners and serious athletes braved the Bank Holiday chill yesterday to take part in the 22nd Belfast City Marathon.
Thousands of spectators lined the 26-mile route from the City Hall to Maysfield Leisure Centre to cheer the aching limbs round.
Smiles had been replaced by sweat-soaked grimaces by the finishing line - but all that street pounding was worth the effort.
First home were three Kenyans - the winner in a course record time of 2 hours 17 minutes - but each of the 10,000 competitors who finished -whether it was running, walking or even hobbling - proved they were a winner in their own right.
David Simpson, the first Northern Ireland man home, could find only one word to sum up his marathon effort: "Sore."
Fifty-seven-year-old Willy McCracken crossed the finishing line of his 59th marathon vowing "this will be my last".
But Willy, who has been entering marathons since the 1970s, admitted he said that every year.
"I will probably be back here again next year but at the moment I find that hard to believe.
"I'm getting old and one of these days I'm going to have to hang up my boots," he said.
Thousands thronged the route to roar on their encouragement to the competitors and they reserved their biggest cheers for the wheelchair entrants.
The first wheelchair athlete home, Darrell Erwin of Ballymena, thanked the crowd for willing him on, saying: "They were really buzzing."
But, however they completed the course, there was one factor they all shared - sheer determination.
And, for every tanned and toned athlete who crossed the finishing line, there were hundreds of foot-sloggers.
They were running for fun, for a bet, to lose a few pounds or to earn funds for hundreds of good causes.
US marine Mike Hudson was running to raise money for the Omagh families' court battle to bring to justice the republican gang responsible for the 1998 massacre which killed 31 people, including a mother pregnant with twins.
Capt Hudson said he wanted to help because the people of Omagh had been the first to offer their sympathy after the September 11 terror attacks in the US.
"When I got home, there were so many messages of support from the Omagh people and this is one way that I can repay them," he said.
Although yesterday's marathon was a tougher challenge than he had anticipated, he said he drew inspiration from a number of members of the bereaved Omagh families who travelled to Belfast to cheer him on.
"It was rough at times and the wind and a number of hills along the route brought some additional challenges," he said. "But this was for the people of Omagh and that's what kept me going.
Chief Constable Hugh Orde joined a number of junior officers in the relay race.
He competed in the London marathon last month -running in full uniform to raise money for police charities.
In Belfast, security implications for the Province's top officer were understood to have prevented him from taking part in the full race.
Further Information
Publisher: NEWS LETTER
Ref: NL/462
Published Date: 06-May-03
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