Sister act as East Coast runners Hannah and Lucy impress crowds

The first race of the Friday night event was the ‘10 plus’ minute mile which Suzanne Lough completed a new personal best of 12:06.26.

The next race of the evening, the 9-10 minute mile race featured mother and daughter duo Donna and Rebecca Robertson. Donna finished in 9:08.55 (31st place lady), however it was young Rebecca who claimed the family bragging rights when she slashed her previous best by over two minutes, finishing in 10:22.48.

Sisters Hannah and Lucy O’Toole lined up in the evening’s next race, the 8-9 minute mile event.

Young Hannah had the entire stadium in awe with her performance when she completed the mile in a time of 7:08.90 which placed her as 17th lady but also 1st under 9 female and 2nd placed junior girl on the night.

Lucy also ran exceptionally well, crossing the line just ten seconds later in 7:19.46 to claim 18th place lady and 2nd in the under 12 girls category.

Three more East Coast members took part in the 7-8 minute mile race, Martin Taylor, Charlotte Dean and Curtis Robertson.

Martin finished in 7:08.83, resulting in 119th place overall. Charlotte completed the mile in a time of 7:26.79, while Curtis finished in 7:56.28.

The 6-7 minute mile was so popular that 3 races were held, with four East Coast AC members, both senior and junior taking part.

In the first of the races, Allyson O’Toole, Alex Robertson and Rhys McManus lined up together with ten other competitors. Allyson covered the distance in a time of 5:50.12.

After each one of his family produced top class performances before him, Alex was no different, running well to finish in 6:10.86.

Young Rhys McManus proved he is most certainly following in his father’s footsteps when he clocked 6:15.29.

James Robinson, taking part in the second of the 6-7 minute mile races, crossed the line in 5:48.57.

Mark McManus and Murray Deller took part in the 5-6 minute mile. In the first race, Mark appeared to look comfortable in the opening laps; it wasn’t until the final 400m when he began to surge clear, crossing the line in 5:04.37 (22nd place overall and 1st Vet 40 male). The in-form Murray Deller lined up in the second race, looking strong on each lap. He impressed with a 5:29.44 finish which secured him 49th place overall.

The final races of the evening were the much anticipated sub 5 minute mile events. East Coast AC’s Justin Maxwell performed well , clocking 4:55.27, the 14th fastest time of the night.

Meanwhile, last Thursday, Justin, Phil Smyth and Catherine Maxwell took part in the third race of the Hill & Dales Series at Slieve Martin in Rostrevor. Justin was first home for the club, finishing in 12th place with a time of 37:22.