Northern Ireland names team for Commonwealth half marathon

by FR Newsdesk September 7, 2018

Paul Pollock and Ann Marie McGlynn are among the Northern Irish team set for Cardiff.

Athletics NI has named a team of five athletes for the Commonwealth Half Marathon Championships, which take place in Cardiff on Sunday, October 7.

Paul Pollock, Eoghan Totten, Andrew Annett and Conor Bradley make up Northern Ireland’s competitive men’s team, while Ann Marie McGlynn is the sole female athlete selected.

The new road racing competition is sanctioned by the Commonwealth Games Federation will mark the 60th anniversary of the 1958 Cardiff Commonwealth (Empire) Games.

Olympian Pollock is the most experienced in the team and in August represented Ireland in the marathon at the European Championships.

Pollock is joined by Northern Ireland and Ulster Half Marathon champions Annett of North Belfast Harriers and Letterkenny’s McGlynn, who impressed last weekend at the Waterside Half Marathon in Derry.

The team is completed by Newcastle & District’s Totten, who ran 66:14 in Barcelona this year and City of Derry’s Conor Bradley, who ran a 10 mile personal best of 51:48 last month at the Kilcock 10.

England, Scotland and Wales have all announced strong teams in recent weeks for the October competition.

“We’re very much looking forward to this inaugural Commonwealth Half Marathon Championships that are being held on a super-fast course in conjunction with the Cardiff Half Marathon,” said Director of Coaching and Athlete Development, Jackie Newton. “It’s a great opportunity for our athletes to race in Wales, where conditions and the environment will be familiar to them and to compete with the Commonwealth’s best teams.

“This team is a mix of those who have experience at major championships and others who have that to come. This competition will give them the opportunity to learn from their counterparts with regard to the performance behaviours and competition processes that are required for success at the highest level.”

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