World Masters Mountain Running Championships 2018:

Jim Patterson (Newcastle AC) and Gillian Wasson (Ballymena Runners) picked up individual medals as a number of local athletes raced against the best veteran athletes in the world at this weekend’s WMRA / WMA World Masters Mountain Running Championships in Zelezniki, Slovenia.

A picture-perfect day awaited the nearly 400 competitors at the 18th running of the prestigious event, where last year, the aforementioned Jim Patterson was crowned World Champion.

After several days of afternoon or evening rain storms, the weather held from the first race start to the awards ceremony later in the day.

There were two challenging courses, the long route of 10.8 kilometers with 1184 meters of height difference for men up to 54, and the shorter route of 7.2 kilometers with 869 meters of height difference for the men ages 55-79, and all women (ages 35-79).

The terrain included a short stretch on pavement at the start of each race, and then a combination of wide forested path, single track trail, rocky steps, a section to the finish line in a meadow filled with wildflowers and an amazing view.

In the Vet70 men’s race, Jim Patterson again showed his class with a strong performance to secure 2nd place and the associated silver medal.  Jim completed the 7.2k course in 1:06:23.

Ballymena Runners athlete Gillian Wasson also performed to an exceptionally high standard, clocking an impressive 56:46 to claim 3rd place in the Vet40 ladies event.

Other notable performers were Deon McNeilly (Newcastle AC) and Anne Sandford (Mourne Runners), both of whom finished in or around the top ten.  Deon took 9th place in his Vet55 category, while Anne finished in 11th place in the Vet55 competition.

Full results for the event can be found HERE.