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Another success!

Despite dire weather at times (sorry you got the short straw there Michael) we finished in a very respectable time (for our age) of under 4.5 hours.

And the celebratory meet up at Cutters Wharf was thoroughly enjoyed by all!

Next challenge is Lisburn half marathon and 10K on evening of Wednesday 18 June. Fund raising continues for "Action for children" at:

http://www.virginmoneygiving.com/classof76

Thanks to all who have contributed so far and helped us over half way to target amount this year!

George

...and what a relief to finish that one!

Sunny hot summer evenings may be lovely for spectators but definitely not for runners! But we made it and have the medals to add to the collection, despite anguish and pain at the finish. Although the 2 hours 3 minutes or so times were quite respectable for "class of 76ers".

Marie Curie fund raising effort now up to £1335.00—just £165 off the target with the Great North Run still to come in September.

Donation link:

http://virginmoneygiving.com/classof76.

Thanks to all who have donated to date!

The weather was perfect for it... not too hot, light breeze, and only a sniff of rain that came to nothing.

Michael worked his way towards the top athletes at the starting line and crossed it less than a minute after the gun.

Steady pace right through the first two stages to hand over to Adrian at Hillview street and the start of what is unarguably the hardest leg of the relay up the gruelling Antrim Road hill.

Glen, Michael's neighbour's son and 35 years our junior, joined the race here also, taking advantage of our spare race bibs to fulfill an important plan and pace us old ones as a bonus.

Glen went sailing past George at Gideon's Green one hour later and George set off in hot pursuit. They both caught the 4 hour race completion marker runner with his purple balloon after 10 minutes.

A consistent stubborn hammering the tarmac for another 70 minutes or so saw us cross the finishing mats with a time of 3:51:10 on the big clock above the line. The best one yet!

A wonderfully restful afternoon at Cutters afterwards, settling for extra pints and sauce smothered burgers rather than venturing up the stairs to the restaurant. A great time was had by all before heading off 6 hours later for a well deserved early night :-).

Next challenge is Lisburn half marathon/10K/fun run on Wednesday 19 June.

Big thanks to everyone who has donated so generously so far. Almost £1200 for Marie Curie to date. If you haven't given anything yet and would like to then just visit the following web page:

http://virginmoneygiving.com/classof76

Hopefully see some of you in Lisburn—feel free to join the team and help raise more by taking part in any of the runs on 19 June (fun run is easy :-).

Weather atrocious, but finishing time the best yet!

The news said that parts of the UK had lower temperatures over this May holiday than during Christmas and it certainly felt it! Wind and rain were icy cold and there was no hanging around after running or flopping on the rain sodden muddy grass to recover!

Adrian started the charge at City Hall, getting over the line about 8 minutes after the starting gun. Jenny picked up after 6 miles, then handed over to George at Hillview Street after her 3.5 mile sprint through the city centre. George stormed up the Antrim Road with close to a personal best for his 7 miles and handed over to Michael's son Devin at Gideon's Green. Devin faced the full force of wind sea and rain along the 5 mile coast route into Dargan and Corporation Street where Michael took over for the last stage along the Lagan, Ormeau Road and Ravenhill.

Official finishing time for Classof76 team was 4 hours and 12 minutes. Taking off the 8 minutes or so before Adrian crossed the line brings that down to 4:04 or so. Not bad for 76-ers!

A welcome drink and full meal were enjoyed by all at Cutters Wharf afterwards, amidst reminiscing about bygone days at Friends!

Next challenge is Lisburn half marathon or 10K on 20 June. Sponsorship page still open raising funds for Cancer Research. Over £1000 raised so far. Please give a little if you haven't to date and big thanks to all those who have been so generous. See: justgiving.com/classof76.

Well, amidst the usual apprehension as to whether these bodies were still up to it, we just did it, and we did it well!

It was a great day! Weather was gorgeous—sunny but with a fresh breeze. Everyone in the team finished their stage in a faster average time than earlier years. We've also almost hit the target for the fund raising for Alzheimer's Society (Class of 76 Justgiving) and with a few more donations still to come, it looks as though we'll get there.

And most important we had a great reunion over a few drinks and a meal at Cutters Wharf afterwards.

Well done everyone!

The official time was 4:31:15. That's actually a bit slower than last year but doesn't account for lost time before crossing the starting line and the fact that Barbara wasn't there this year devouring miles on one of the longer stages, and so slower members of the team had a lot more to do.

There are official photographs online and for sale at Marathon Photos. You'll see Jenny at the end of race, Christine near the beginning and one of Michael along the lough shore stage.

I've added a few of my own photos below and expect the rest of the team may be uploading more here soon!

This is the third year that the Friend's School Class of 76 relay team have entered the Belfast Marathon. This year we are raising money for the Alzheimer's Society. Unfortunately Barbara can't make it this year so without more volunteers from Class of 76 to run with us, we've got a friend of the team to enrol. Speed will not improve by her inclusion but hopefully the donations will keep coming in. All the best guys!

If you'd like to encourage us along by donating, just go to Class of 76 Justgiving site. Many thanks.

The "classof76" Belfast marathon relay team have done it again, and this year 27 minutes faster than the 2009 time, completing the marathon distance in 4 hours and 18 minutes.

This year the fund raising target of £1500 for our selected Northern Ireland good cause, NI Chest Heart and Stroke (NICHS) has been achieved, again using the justgiving.com web site.

A big thank you to everyone who donated to this worthy cause! "Each year in NI almost 10,000 people die from chest, heart and stroke illnesses. Almost all of our families have been affected. NICHS is committed to caring for today and finding a cure for tomorrow. All funds are raised in NI and used for work in NI."

After the marathon this year, the team met at Cutters Wharf for a very enjoyable meal together. Everyone relished the running challenge and is as determined as ever to be back again next year.

Congratulations to all those who took part in the Marathon relay team on 4 May!

The official time was 4 hours 45 minutes, but I know the changeovers weren't as smooth as we'd hope. So let's say it was 4 hours 30 minutes... for our first go, that's a sterling time.

More importantly, we've raised almost £2500 for the Foyle Hospice (well above our original target). Well done! Thanks to all who have donated. If you'd still like to donate, it's not too late, see: Classof76 JustGiving site.

Still gathering some photos together of the event and afterwards, see the Photos section of this site.

Now here's to the next challenge... ideas welcome!

Everyone,

Michael and I had a chat over Christmas and have decided we are going to enter a "Class of 76" relay team in the Belfast Marathon this year, Monday 4 May.

So we're hoping some of you will join the team, otherwise we'll be running a half marathon each!!!

If enough of us are willing to give it a go then we'll maybe enter two or more teams.

We would also like to use the occasion for "Class of 76" to raise some funds for a local charity (we haven't decided which one yet).

There are details of the length of the relay's five stages (varying from 3.5 to 7.1 miles), changeover points and full route map at the following link:

Belfast Marathon stages for the relay teams

We can make use of specially laid on buses to take team members to changeover points or, if any of you are not running and would like to volunteer as helpers to ferry the runners, we may not have to stand around for so long!

We could also decide on a meeting point in Ormeau Park at the end of the race and (if able :-) go for a celebratory drink and bite to eat afterwards!

OK, who's game for it!

George