Last Thursday night saw the ever popular ‘Hill and Dale’ mountain series kick off in Castlewellan Forest Park with the traditional opener – the McVeigh Classic.  Pegasus AC’s Belfast-based veteran Michael Henry and Ballymoney young gun Jason Wilson were the only club representatives out of the huge field of 161 (a Hill and Dale record).

The race was held over the traditional 5 mile course taking in 1200 feet of climb through 3 main climbs.  The race was delayed for 15 minutes due to an accident just outside Castlewellan which left roads closed.  The monstrous pack headed off on at typical sprint pace with gaps appearing only a quarter of a mile into the race.  Jason (competing in his preferred mountain surface) managed to get a front row start and avoid the hustle and bustle of the mid pack to achieve his aim of an initial top 30 placing before the initial climb.  Michael on the other hand was in the thick of the mid pack action!

The first 2 climbs saw Jason carve through a number of runners to form a 3 man pack with fellow Northern Ireland international juniors Conor Moore and Ciaran Collins.  The penultimate descent saw Jason reeling from a blistered foot which let the other 2 junior runners conjure a decisive gap.  In the end, Jason managed a creditable 25th overall and 3rd Under 20 finisher in 37:27.  Michael had a relatively trouble free run to claim 10th Vet 45 runner in 44:31, a commendable result considering he had planned to receive physiotherapy treatment the next day for a year long knee injury (Pegasus runners are made of strong stuff you see)!

Well done to both competitors and visit www.pegasusac.co.uk for more information on training nights (meet at Coleraine Leisure Centre at 6:30 pm next Monday).  Why not come along!?