- Posted February 25, 2020
Armagh 5k race report
Armagh International Road Race, Armagh, 13 February 2020
The start was a hectic one, with 240 runners packed in on the left-hand side of the road. A significant number fell in the confusion immediately after the starting buzzer, which I luckily managed to avoid. 4.75 dimly lit laps of the mall followed, at a frenetic pace. I slowly moved through the field during the race, looking to follow (and outpace) some Marshall Milton Keynes vests. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the legs for this going into the last lap. With 400 metres to go, the long straight home felt endless and I was very happy to creep in under 15 mins for the first time with a PB of 14:53 chip (14:56 gun).
During my cool-down, I had the pleasure of chatting to the new world-record holder for the 5km in the over-50s age group, Shane Healy. His talk of the virtues of consistent mileage and regular sleep are something I think we could all learn a lot from.
Armagh is a charming town with a number of attractive churches. The locals seemed very enthusiastic about the event. The organisers looked after us very well, with good accommodation and food provided. It was well worth the trip and I will certainly be back next year.
Joe Morrow
MKDP athlete Ben West finished in 14:37, a new PB! Congratulations to both athletes on their performance.
Full results can be found at https://www.runbritainrankings.com/results/results.aspx?meetingid=342084&event=5K&venue=Armagh&date=13-Feb-20##
