Gail Rinchey on her first lap at Wallace Park
Two teams from Seapark AC entered the Wallace Park Relay Challenge in Lisburn on Saturday 7th October 2006, with both men and women making their debut at their first team race.
On a deceptively chilly, but dry and sunny afternoon the ladies were first to step up to the start line. Gail Rinchey (Women’s Captain) was first off for her 2 laps (2200m) of the park at breakneck speed followed by Claire Dallas with her 2 blistering laps and Gillian Brown storming home with a group time of 27mins 58secs. Claire and Gillian were able to gain on the ladies placing with strong sprints to the finish line.
After a short break Doug Heyes, who later became “hero of the day” was first up for the men’s 4 man team, each completing 3 laps (3300m). On hand over, Reg Kapur (Vice Chairman) set off at a tremendous pace, which he sustained throughout his race. Alan McMillen, (resident speed demon and Men’s Captain) showed a clean pair of heels to the competiton which left our “hero of the day”, Doug Heyes, bravely stepping forward and offering himself for another 3 laps due to a late withdrawal of our 4th team member. Doug didn’t fail to deliver anything but a very strong and impressive performance. Their finishing time was an acceptable 50mins 02secs.
Both teams gained a vast amount of experience due to the strength of the competition which featured clubs from all over Northern Ireland and will most definitely return next year.
