The Armagh International Road Races produced a landmark home double as Nick Griggs and Emily Haggard-Kearney claimed emphatic victories on the famous Mall circuit on Thursday evening.
It was the first home success in the men’s 5km in over 30 years, with Tyrone’s Griggs winning in 13:37, just four seconds outside the course record.
The Candour Track Club athlete, recently crowned European Cross Country champion in Portugal, started conservatively, tracking the leaders over the opening three laps of the approximately 1km circuit as Sweden’s Emil Danielsson and Jonathan Åstrand Lorstad forced the early pace.
Griggs hit the bell alongside former national cross country champion Cormac Dalton but proved strongest over the closing stages, pulling clear in the run to the line. England’s Matthew Ramsden was rewarded for a late surge with second place in 13:39, narrowly ahead of fellow Candour runner Callum Morgan, who matched Ramsden’s time to take third.
The hometown kid, Nick Griggs, becomes the first Irish winner of the Armagh 5K in 32 years.
Griggs breaks the tape in 13:37 with @WightmanGeoff on the call.
He was one of 23 runners to finish under 14 minutes, and one of 129 to break 15. #Armagh5K pic.twitter.com/gS8vkSbcPv
— Marley Dickinson (@marleydickinson) February 12, 2026
Dalton finished fifth in 13:41, while Belfast’s Lughaidh Mallon clocked 13:45 for an impressive seventh.
In the women’s 3km, Emily Haggard-Kearney took control well before the final lap. The Wirral-based athlete, who competes for Ireland, broke away by halfway and was unchallenged thereafter, winning in 9:07.
Behind her, Tullamore Harriers’ Danielle Donegan produced a strong finish to secure second in 9:12, just ahead of Leevale’s Louise Shanahan, third in 9:13. The strength of the field was underlined by the result for Irish national cross country champion Fiona Everard of Bandon, who ran 9:20 but had to settle for ninth.
In the Open 3000m, Belgrave Harrier William Driscoll took victory in 8:32. Letterkenny AC’s Philip McGee finished second in 8:35, with Holland’s Wannes Van Uytven third in 8:36. Dromore AC’s Russell White, runner-up at the NI & Ulster Cross Country only days earlier, placed fourth in 8:41.
Check out our gallery from Thursday night’s event.
