16/06/2026
As the dust settles on the 10th Anniversary MB McGrady Co Down 5KM, we simply want to say thank you.
What started as an idea around a table ten years ago has grown into something far bigger than we could ever have imagined. On Friday evening, hundreds of runners filled the streets of Downpatrick, thousands lined the route, and together we celebrated not only a race, but a community.
This event does not happen because of Andrew Telford, Gavin Oakes and Mick McCreesh. It happens because of the many people around us, our families, friends and many helpers who see good in what we're achieving!
To every runner who entered, every child who took part in the Paula McCreesh Kids Races sponsored by Mabel's Ice Cream Parlour, every volunteer who gave up their time, every marshal who stood on a junction, every resident who supported us, every local business that backed us, and every spectator who cheered runners home, thank you.
A special thank you to our title sponsor MB McGrady & Co and to all of our sponsors whose support helps make this event possible year after year.
Most importantly, thank you to the committee and wider team behind the scenes. The countless hours of planning, meetings, phone calls, emails, lifting barriers, setting up signage, organising entries and ensuring everything runs safely often goes unseen, but it is the foundation of everything we achieve.
Together, over the past ten years, this event has now raised more than £80,000 for local causes and charities. That is something every single person connected to the Co Down 5KM can be proud of.
Congratulations to Robbie Hagen on making it three wins in a row and to Anna Gardiner on claiming the ladies title.
Thank you for making our 10th anniversary one we will never forget.
Here's to the next chapter.
Andrew, Mick & Gavin
