Lough 5

A massive collective effort by the local community who worked around the clock to clear the road route along the Fingrean and Ballybrack roads as well as the Lough itself, ensured that the event proceeded as planned. The atmosphere was superb as the run got underway at 12 noon on New Year's Eve. 

Local record breaking marathon runner, John McCann, sounded the horn for the first ever Lough5 run to start and from there it was Noel Collins (Omagh Harriers) who lead the way from start to finish. Collins strided the tough 5 mile course in a very impressive time of 27 minutes 14 seconds. He finished just ahead of local man, Eoin Mullan, who claimed the runner-up berth with a time of 27.56.

Karen Alexander, of Sperrin Harriers, claimed the Female Open honours with a time of 31.45, just in front of Terry Canninan, of Omagh Harriers, who had a time of 31.59. Nigel Grier, Dromore AC, took the Mens 40+ honours (30.26) and Dominic McCartan finished with a time of 32.48 to win the Mens 50+ category. Omagh Harrier's Conor Meyler, put in a time of 31.12 and finished 12th overall and first in the Men's Under 19 category. Sarah Moore (Omagh Harriers) took the Female Under 19 honours with a time of 36.36 while Diane Wilson claimed the Female 40+ category with a time of 36.30. Deirdre Heagney, Omagh Harriers, was first in the Female 35+ section with a time of 38.25.

The top 20 who finished the run are as follows:

1: Noel Collins, Omagh Harriers, MU19, 27.14

2: Eoin Mullan, Loughmacrory, MO, 27.56

3: Ciaran  Collins, Omagh Harriers, MO, 28.16

4: Matin Cox, Omagh, MO, 28.37

5: Kristopher Muldoon, Armagh Ac, MO, 29.27

6: Barry Kelly, Omagh Harriers, MU19, 29.30

7: Nigel Grier, Dromore AC, M40+, 30.26

8: Connor Moore, Omagh Harriers, MU19, 30.52

9: David Wright, North Belfast, M40+, 30.58

10: Michael Kerr, Carrickmore, MO, 31.02

11: Martin Mclaughlin, Omagh Harriers, M40+, 31.08

12: Conor Meyler, Omagh Harriers, MU19, 31.12

13: Oran McBride, City of Derry Spartans, M40+, 31.14

14: Keith Dawson, Lisburn, mo, 31.27

15: Derek Somerville, Omagh Harriers, M40+, 31.40

16: Karen Alexander, Sperrin Harriers, FO, 31.45

17: Terry Canninan, Omagh Harriers, FO, 31.59

18: Barry Devlin, Omagh Harriers, MO, 32.24

19: Eamonn Donnelly, Greencastle, MO, 32.27

20: Seamus Meyler, Omagh Harriers, M40+, 32.38

Many thanks...

The Lough5 organising committee would like to show our sincere appreciation to everyone who helped and supported the inaugural New Year's Eve Lough 5 event for Charity.

It was only through the tireless efforts of the many volunteers within the community that we were able to ensure that the run proceeded despite such adverse conditions. It must be stressed that there was disappointment, and disillusionment, at the lack of service provided from the DOE in relation to the poor conditions of the road route. If we had depended solely on their contribution to ensure the road conditions were passable then there is no question that it would have been impossible to carry out the event. So ultimately the immense contribution from all areas of the community in clearing the roads and making them passable played an integral and essential part in the huge success of this Lough5 run.

It must also be highlighted that the many donations given by local businesses and individuals throughout the parish of Termon Maguirc and the very large number of local participants also meant that this has proved a highly worthwhile fundraising endeavour for our designated local charity 'The Termonmaguric Friendly Care Group'. We will be presenting all proceeds to this Charity in the coming weeks.

Overall, it is impossible to individually name everyone who gave their services to the 2009 Lough 5 run/Walk for Charity. The massive collective effort of everyone within the community and wider parish essentially ensured the event's success and will now mean this will be an eagerly awaited annual Charity event. 

We would therefore like to conclude by saying a huge thank you to everyone who helped in anyway - whether it be as a steward, those who provided refreshments, the many people who worked on the roads and of course the 548 participants themselves.

We wish you all a very happy new year and trust that you will have derived the same level of satisfaction from this occasion as we have.

Best regards and we look forward to seeing you at the next local events; Carrickmore 10K and Omagh Half Marathon

Lough5 Organising Committee