Saintfield Striders

https://www.sientries.co.uk/event/saintfield-5k-10k-sun-18-oct-26-2026

💙🧡 parkrun Report — 29 August 2026

52 Saintfield Striders members took part in parkrun this week, representing the club across 21 different events.

A great spread of participation this week, with members running locally, around Northern Ireland, across Ireland, and as far afield as Singapore.

🏆 Highlights

* Sara Mitchell was the standout club performance at Claudy Country Park, finishing 6th overall and 1st female.
* Ryan Warnock was our highest-placed male, finishing 8th overall at Montalto Estate.
* Rachel Davison had an excellent 7th female position at Derry City.
* Lorraine Sloan was 10th female at Dunleath Playing Fields.
* Several events saw particularly strong club representation, including Comber (7), Portrush (6), Montalto Estate (5) and Orangefield (5).

🌍 Club spread

Members represented Saintfield Striders at:

Queen’s Belfast • Buncrana • Stormont • Portrush • Armagh • Montalto Estate • Dundalk • Belfast Victoria • Lurgan Park • Hillsborough Forest • Orangefield • Comber • Riverside Ballymoney • Ormeau • Claudy Country Park • Bedok Reservoir • Wallace Lisburn • Dunleath Playing Fields • Derry City • Upton Court

A special mention to Gillian Graham, who represented the Striders at Bedok Reservoir parkrun in Singapore, having now completed all the parkruns in Singapore. 🌏

👏 Well done everyone

Whether you were chasing a PB, getting some miles in, volunteering, returning from injury, or simply enjoying your Saturday morning parkrun, well done to all 52 Striders who got out and got it done.

Huge thank you to the volunteers who make it all possible 🦺

🎽 RATHLIN RUN 10 MILE 🌊💙

What a day for Jenny Fitzsimons, Julie Healy and Brian Swain, who made the trip across to Rathlin Island today for the iconic Rathlin Run 10 Mile Road Race.

The Rathlin Run is certainly not your average 10-miler! Described by the organisers as “the most unique and challenging road race in Northern Ireland”, the race takes runners over the undulating island roads, with the stunning Rathlin scenery providing an unforgettable backdrop. 🌊🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️

And there was a fantastic result for Brian Swain, 🏆 1st Male 60+ ⏱️ A fantastic 4-minute PB for the Rathlin 10 Mile.

Brilliant running, Brian - a PB and an age-category victory on one of the toughest 10-mile courses around is some achievement! 👏👏👏

And a huge well done to Jenny and Julie for taking on the Rathlin challenge and representing the Saintfield Striders so well. 💙

Three Striders, one island, ten challenging miles — and plenty of memories made along the way!

👏 Well done Jenny, Julie and Brian! 👏

💙🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️

🎽 Strangford Festival 5K & 10K 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️

Three Striders were out on Friday evening at the Strangford Festival 5K & 10K, with Heather Jackson and Niall Bradshaw taking on the 5K, while Rachel Burgoyne tackled the longer 10K challenge.

The Strangford Festival races are a popular part of the village’s annual August Bank Holiday celebrations, bringing runners into Strangford and out towards the scenic Castle Ward Estate. The courses are undulating and mixed-terrain, making for a great test while taking in some beautiful surroundings.

A great evening of local running, with all three Striders getting stuck in and representing the club proudly. 👏💙

A big thank you to the Strangford Festival Committee, organisers and all the volunteers for putting on another excellent event and for making sure the runners were well looked after. Events like this are a fantastic showcase for local running and the wider community.

Well done Heather, Niall and Rachel! 💪🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️

🎽Clonmore 10 Mile ….
…….wet, wild and worth it! 🏃‍♂️🏃‍♀️🌧️

An intrepid quartet of Striders took on the inaugural Clonmore 10 Mile this morning, with the event raising funds for local cancer charities. 🩷

From the warm welcome in the hall to the fantastic support from the marshals out on the course, it was clear that the local community had put everything into making this a great event. 👏

The route itself certainly kept things interesting, skirting the Armagh/Tyrone border and crossing the Blackwater River a few times. And as for the weather… let’s just say there was plenty of water to go around! 💦💦💦😂

Our four Striders - Ann Wilson, Katrina Godfrey, Alan McCaughtry and Ben McCaughtry - all made it back in one piece.

🏅 Ben and Alan were both quick enough to make the first 50 finishers and bag themselves a medal each, while Ben also smashed his 10-mile PB! 🎉👏

A brilliant morning of running for a great cause, and a huge well done to everyone involved in putting the event together. ❤️

Well done, Striders! 💙🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️

🎽 Antrim Coast Half Marathon 2026 🌊

What a super day for the Antrim Coast Half Marathon 2026! The stunning coastal route, brilliant atmosphere and plenty of hard work from our members made for a great day out.

A huge well done to
✨Simon Davey,
✨Andrew Curran,
✨Frankie Curran,
✨Elaine Emo,
✨Ann Wilson,
✨Nicola Macgregor
✨Heather Baron,
who all took on the half marathon and represented the club brilliantly.

A special congratulations to Simon and Elaine, who produced a superb runs to clock a fantastic personal bests 🔥 - brilliant performances and a great reward for all the hard work and training!

⏱️ Also doing a very important job on the day were Dawn Bannatyne and Lorraine Sloan, who took on pacing duties for 2:15, helping runners around the course and towards their target finish time. 👏

From PBs to pacing, it was another great showing from the club and brilliant to see so many members out enjoying one of the highlights of the local running calendar.

A massive well done to everyone and big thanks to the organisers and our super Strider supporters - another great day of running, teamwork and club spirit! 💪👏

🎽 💛 Run Around Stormont

A huge well done to member Chris McCaffrey, who took top spot at the NI Chamber’s Run Around Stormont 5K at Stormont on Friday night. 👏

Running on behalf of his employer, Chris put in a brilliant performance, crossing the finish line in an impressive 16:35! 🥇🔥

Even better, the event was held to raise funds for Cancer Fund for Children, helping support children and families affected by cancer. A fantastic cause and a brilliant way to put his running to good use.

Congratulations, Chris - a superb run and a very worthy achievement! 👏🏆

Chris pictured (left) along with second placed male, Conor Smyth.

🌿 Doing our bit for our town! 💚

On Friday evening, the Striders were out again for another litter pick, helping to keep our town looking clean and tidy. 🧹👏

We’re proud to support the Town Green Committee, who put in an incredible amount of time and effort throughout the year to keep our town looking its best. They regularly get out there picking litter and keeping the town looking beautiful. We’re only too happy to lend a hand where we can. It’s a small contribution compared to the fantastic work they do, but every little bit helps. 🙌

A big thank you to the Green Committee for everything you do, and well done to our Striders for getting stuck in and helping out! 💚🌱💙

💙🧡 Parkrun report - Sat 22 August 2026

Another great Saturday of parkrunning for the Saintfield Striders, with 63 members taking part across 16 different parkruns.

There were some excellent performances at the front of the field, with Ben McCaughtry first Strider home at Comber, finishing 1st overall in 18:31. Dylan Brackenridge was 2nd overall at Wallace parkrun in 19:01, while Peter Davison was also 2nd overall at Hillsborough Forest in 19:30.

Sara Mitchell was the first female finisher at Pomeroy Forest, while Ryan Warnock was 8th overall at Montalto Estate. Ali Moore was another Strider near the front at Stormont, finishing 14th overall.

The highlight of the week, however, has to be Brian Miskelly, who travelled to Poolbeg parkrun in Dublin. Brian has now completed all of the parkruns in County Dublin – a fantastic achievement and a brilliant addition to his parkrun tourism journey. Congratulations, Brian! 👏

It was great to see Striders spread far and wide again this week, with members taking part across Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Scotland.

Well done to all 63 Striders who got their parkrun fix this week, wherever you ran, walked, jogged, or however you chose to enjoy it.

Huge thanks to the hivis heroes who made it all possible. 🦺🩷

See you all next Saturday! 💙🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️