Co Tyrone running sensation Nick Griggs has said he ‘could have gone faster’ after recording the fastest ever parkrun in Ireland last weekend.
Nick, 17, ran the five kilometre course at Victoria Park in East Belfast on Saturday in a time of 14 minutes and 15 seconds.
The Saturday morning public runs are attended by thousands across Northern Ireland and across the border, with Nick’s time believed to be the fastest ever recorded at the weekly events.
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Nick described it as ‘another day at the office’ and that he could have gone faster.
“It was kind of just another day at the office, you take what you can get obviously and it’s brilliant to break the record,” Nick told Belfast Live.
“It was just a good run out, it wasn’t taken too seriously. It definitely ranks high enough because of how good I felt.
“There was no need for me to push incredibly hard, I definitely could have gone quicker. It’s just good to know you’re in shape, I wasn’t expecting to do it that fast.
The humble Cookstown High School student said he wasn’t even aware that he had broken the record until well afterwards.
“I didn’t even realise, I thought it was a course record but apparently it’s the fastest parkrun in Ireland so that was a welcome surprise,” he added.
“I always do the Victoria Park one a couple of times over the winter just to shake off the cobwebs and get back into the swing of things.
“Me and my coach had talked beforehand about the course record and if everything goes right I could take it out.
“I didn’t push too hard at the start as it was a pretty cold, windy day but with about 100m to go I was able to sprint to the line and make it in just under.
“I don’t know if I’ll do another one this year but I would definitely like to come back and aim for under 14 minutes - I think the world record is 13:48 so hopefully in the not-too-distant future that’s something I can aim for.”
Nick, who has also played GAA for local club Brackaville Eoghan Roes, is gearing up for the European Under 20 Championships in Italy next year.
He shot to prominence after winning the 3,000m race at the championships in Tallinn last year at just 16.
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