Victoria Park and Connswater AC
“Training with Lions”
About Us
At Victoria Park & Connswater AC we are open to athletes willing to compete in various distances (mainly from 1500m to marathons but we also have athletes who like to compete in shorter distances and in ultras) and willing to try various terrain (road and cross country mainly but also occasionally track, trails and fell running)
Our motto is ‘Training with Lions’ which means that we like to train hard together whilst supporting each other, as in a pride of lions, to get to the best of our ability, set objectives and go for the prize.
Victoria Park in East Belfast is our home and we meet several times a week to train. We encourage a supportive atmosphere at the training sessions as well as at the club’s target and internal races. With experienced and passionate coaches, we are here to help you achieve your best. Get in touch if you’d like to come and try our training sessions and find out if our club is a right fit for you.
If you want to work hard to be the best that you can be at your favourite distances, then we would like to help you achieve that. Get in touch!
Club Officials
Gerry Carson
Honorary President
Club Committee
Ghislain Demeuldre
Chairperson
Ralph Coetzee
Treasurer
Kyle Montgomery
Club Secretary
Anne Moore
Membership Secretary
Liz Watt
Club Captain
Temporarily Vacant
Coaching and Competition Coordinator
Club coaches
Deane Fisher
Club Coach
Gary Keenan
Club Coach
Club Officers (non-committee)
Mark McFeeters
Welfare Officer
Ellen Orr
Information, Media and Marketing Officer
Sile Brennan
Jog Belfast (C25k) Coordinator
Ashleigh Lisette Collim
Environmental Officer
Temporarily Vacant
Kit, Equipment and Merchandising Officer
Peter Nicholson
Club Vice Captain
Training
Our training sessions take place in Victoria Park, Belfast BT3 9EF.
Our weekly training:
| Session | Day/Time | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Tempo | Monday 6:30pm* | Victoria Park |
| Intervals | Wednesday 6:30pm* | Victoria Park |
| Intervals | Thursday 6:30pm* | Victoria Park |
| Long run | Sunday | (locations and distances posted in club WhatsApp chat) |
| Track | One Sunday each month 10 or 11am | Mary Peter’s Track |
* Warmed up and ready to start at 6:30pm
Our athletes represent the club at all sorts of events from road races to mountain ultras. We regularly take part in parkrun and help out with Jog Belfast programmes.
Membership costs £50 a year and includes: registration with Athletics NI, strength and conditioning sessions, club vest, entry to club supported races, long sleeved training top and more!
Club Records
| 1500m | 5:57 | Edyta Różycka-Gabryś | 2018 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mile (Road) | 5:43 | Sarahjane Cooke | 2018 | |
| Mile (Track) | 4:52 | Ed Cooke | ||
| Mile (Road) | 4:55 | Steve Goan | 2020 | |
| 3000m | 11:04 | Jenny Black | 2018 | |
| 3000m | 8:45 | John Craig | 2020 | |
| 5K | 17:19 | Sarahjane Cooke | 30/5/2021 | Down Royal |
| 5K | 15:37 | Peter Thompson | 2022 | Rathfarnam |
| 5 miles | 29:57 | Leann Gibson | 2020 | |
| 10K | 35:40 | Sarahjane Cooke | 3/7/2021 | Coastal 10K |
| 10K | 32:04 | John Craig | 2019 | |
| 10 miles | 1:06:15 | Leann Gibson | 2018 | |
| 10 miles | 54:19 | Stephen Wylie | 2018 | |
| Half marathon | 1:16:43 | Sarahjane Cooke | 29/8/2021 | Antrim Coast Half Marathon |
| Half marathon | 1:11:51 | Stephen Wylie | 2020 | |
| Marathon | 2:46:49 | Natalie Hall | 25/4/2021 | Wrexham |
| Marathon | 2:33:09 | Chris Hutchinson | 2019 |
Club Honours
| 2017 | Male | 🥈 | NI Half Marathon Road Championship Silver Medalists (Team) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Male | 🥈 | NI 10K Road Championship Silver Medalists (Team) |
| 2018 | Female | 🥉 | NI Master Road Relay Championship Bronze Medalists |
| 2019 | Male | 🥈 | NI Master Road Relay Championship Silver Medalists |
| 2021 | Female | 🥈 | NI 5K Road Championship Silver Medalists (Team) |
| 2021 | Female | 🥈 | NI 10K Road Championship Silver Medalists (Team) |
| 2022 | Female | 🥈 | NI Half Marathon Road Championship Silver Medalists (Team) |
| 2022 | Female | 🥇 | NI 10K Road Championship Gold Medalists (Team) |
| 2022 | Leann Gibson | 🥉 | NI Half Marathon Road Championship Bronze Medal (Individual) |
| 2022 | Female | 🥉 | NI Master Road Relay Championship Bronze Medalists |
Contact
If you’re interested in training with us or have any questions please get in touch and we’ll do our best to help.