Peter and Jill pick up shining awards during ceremony

IT was with bittersweet emotions and sense of pride that Peter Dolan picked up a special award for his services to running on Saturday.

During the inaugural ‘Spirit of Running’ awards – a glitzy and glamorous night for all involved – Peter picked up the very last accolade of the evening: The ‘Overcoming Adversity’ award.

In essence, the awards night at the Armagh City Hotel recognised and celebrated the growth and impact of running throughout the North.

With hundreds in attendance, and many accolades on offer – including ‘Best 5k’ and ‘Coach of the Year’ – the night further acknowledged the many events, runners and volunteers that make up the entire community. For Peter, the accolade received in his name was testament to the hard work of everyone within the ‘Enda Dolan Foundation’.

“Picking up the award was a bittersweet moment,” Peter told the UH. “Simply because of the reasons behind why Run for Enda and the Enda Dolan Foundation were started. These initiatives were our way of picking up the pieces after Enda’s tragic death.

“However, we have spread the good that has come from it, and the running programmes have snowballed so quickly and are so popular within the local community today.

“Of course it was fantastic to pick up the award – a real honour for us all,” Peter added. “So I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all family, friends and coaches for all the hard work and various running programmes that they have helped us with over the years – because without them, there would be no Run for Enda, and of course, no award.”

Also celebrating success on the night was Jill McCann from Omagh who won ‘Female Runner of the Year’, while Conor McCarroll from Knockmany Running Club also picked up an accolade, as did the Omagh Half Marathon, who were honoured with the ‘Best Half Marathon’ award.

“To see our local town and the people within it coming together, and winning prestigious accolades was wonderful,” Peter concluded.
“The night was great for everyone involved.”