By coincidence, Sunday also saw the 43rd running of the Blaydon Race, run as ever on the 9th June as enshrined in Geordie Ridley’s North East anthem.
As had happened in the morning, the short burst of light showers fortunately didn’t herald a spell of more persistent rain or dampen the enthusiasm of the several thousand who had gathered on the Quayside to be part of the iconic race, which was once again won by a flying Callum Johnson of Gateshead Harriers in a time of 27 minutes 41 seconds. Morpeth Harriers did, however, have the distinction of providing both 2nd and 3rd placed runners, with Carl Avery next home in 28:16 and training partner Finn Brodie a couple of seconds behind in 28:18. With Sam Hancox starting to return to some good form 7th in 29:43 and James Tilley 12th in his first Blaydon in 30:21, the club were again clear winners of the Men’s team award. Sonia Samuels, once of Wallsend but now with Sale Harriers, was the first female finisher in 31:28, ahead of Durham City’s Jasmine Wood (32:44) and North Shields Polytechnic Harrier Molly Pace (34:04), with Catriona Macdonald providing Morpeth’s first female finisher, running well to come home 6th in 34:31. A whole raft of Morpeth finishers as ever, who included: Tom Prentice, making a return to competitive action after injury and looking strong in 22nd (31:13); Harry Armstrong, 70th and 6th U/19 in 33:06; Shaun Land, 83rd in 33:33; Richard Deathe, 92nd in 33:22; Dave Stabler, 117th in 34:28; Ian Armstrong, 122nd in 34:34; Anthony Jannetta, 144th in 35:06; Richard Glennie, 410th in 38:49; Mike Winter, 415th in 39:18; Mark Snowball, 459th in 39:23; Tayla Douglass, 461st in 39:23; Dave Marshall, 465th in 38:49; Anna Wright, 522nd in 40:14; Jane Kirby, 593rd in 40:53; Dave Swinburne, 624th in 40:03 (but family bragging rights going to younger brother Andrew, who had a fine run to come home 14th in 30:29); Stephen Johnstone, 850th in 42:52; Stephen Land, 864th in 43:34; Frances Naylor, 1713rd in 49:00; Norman Clark, 1823rd in 51:10 and Arjan Piet, 3950th in 1:09:33. Some 4341 finished – link to full results here ( note places are given on gun not chip time – hence the anomalies). This year’s race, starting sadly once again on the Quayside – although the rumours are that next year it will return to Collingwood Street and the original course – was notable for being slightly longer at just short of six miles. It had yet another finishing section, this time the course losing the road past the petrol station and having to use the path to the right of the small section of woodland which is normally the way to the buses. There was then the inevitable few hundred yards on grass with the dulcet tones of ex Radio Newcastle DJ Alfie Joey welcoming runners in. Just what you need. Worse was to come with a walk of nearly a mile to the buses, which were some way past Shibden Pond down the road, the snaking queue for which was rather like that for the Royal Funeral. All that and a vibrant pink T shirt, which gave the hordes leaving the course the look of a crowd who’d been to see Barbie. Hmm.
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A torrential rainstorm which lasted approximately two hours forced cancellation of all of the Field events, with the exception of the first round of the Javelin, plus two Hurdles events at the second meeting of the Start Fitness North East Grand Prix Meeting, held at Jarrow’s Monkton Stadium, on the evening of Wednesday 29 May.
Thankfully the rest of the meeting, which included 200m, 800m, and 3000m events went uninterrupted, however a great deal of praise must be given to both officials, and athletes who persevered throughout the most difficult of circumstances, and all must have been glad to eventually return the warmth of their homes following a deluge which possibly would have led to cancellation had it got even slightly worse. Fourteen athletes from Morpeth Harriers took part, and in the main event of the evening, the 800m, with fastest race being run for the Jimmy Hedley Trophy, Ellis Hetherington in a nail-biting battle to the line, just missed out on a moment of glory, when finishing second to Sunderland Harrier Scott Armstrong, who posted a finishing time of 1m56.16s, whilst Hetherington posted 1m57.27s for second place. Another Morpeth Harrier in action in the fastest 800m was Connor Marshall, who finished ninth in 2m03.47s. Other Morpeth Harriers in action in accompanying 800m races were, Anthony Liddle, who finished second in the third fastest race in 2m10.67s, Under 15 Girl Emma Tomlinson who finished seventh in the fifth fastest race in 2m32.04s, and her younger Under 13 Sister Zoe, who was fifth in the seventh fastest race, posting a personal best time of 2m46.17s. There was an epic battle for supremacy in the fastest 3000m event between the rest of field, after Houghton’s Brandon Pye quickly stole away to an easy win in a season’s best of 8m19.75s. Second place went to the visiting Highgate Harrier Monte Watson, who posted a personal best of 8m31.03s, ahead of Morpeth’s Will Cork in third place in 8m34.47s. James Tilley of Morpeth continued his excellent recent form, to finish fifth in 8m39.05s. Other Morpeth Harriers in action in the fastest 3000m were Sam Hancox, continuing his return from injury, who finished tenth in 8m46.82s, Elliot Kelso (12th) 8m50.52s, and Bertie Marr (15th) 9m20.39s. In the third fastest 3000m event, Morpeth’s Harry Armstrong produced an excellent run throughout the seven and a half laps, to finish second, posting a personal best finishing time of 9m44.99s. Morpeth Veteran Woman athlete Morag Stead, finished 15th in the same event, also posting new figures of 10m44.76s. In the second fastest 3000m, Morpeth’s Oliver Tomlinson finished fifth in 9m20.74s. Morpeth Under 20 Woman Ellie Wickens finished seventh in the seventh fastest 200m event, posting a time of 28.36s. ………………………………………………………………….. Morpeth Under 23 Man Daniel Melling posted a brand new personal best time of 1m58.63s in the second fastest 800m at the Loughborough Open on Wednesday 29th May. Melling won the race, and his time was the sixth fastest overall in the three contested races. Town centre racing returned to Morpeth on Sunday morning with the inaugural running of the Run Through Morpeth 10k.
With a town centre start and finish, some sunny weather - at long last - and some great support from the many spectators, it was a memorable morning for the 700 competitors who turned out, who had travelled not just from across the North East but locations as disparate as North Yorkshire or the Scottish Borders. Split into an elite ‘A’ race starting at 9 am - with just short of 100 finishers - and an inclusive ‘B’, with some 600, the course of two 5k laps, run on closed roads, was also an opportunity to show off many of Morpeth’s best ‘town and country’ features. A grandstand first kilometre took runners past the Clock Tower and out of the Market Place, with a slow and steady pull thereafter up Newgate Street before a sharp left onto the Mitford Road. Runners were then able to take advantage of the flat kilometres by the banks of the Wansbeck to pick up speed, before a 180 degree turn on the approach to the village saw them retrace their steps back towards town. Undoubtedly the toughest section of the route was to come, however, with Morpeth’s own version of ‘heartbreak hill’ up Dogger Bank taking its toll on everyone in the heat, but especially the second time round. Runners were at least provided thereafter with several hundred downhill metres as they returned to the Market Place before going out for the second five kilometre lap, finishing with an iconic town centre finish. The A race saw a small group quickly emerge at the front formed by Sunderland Harrier Jake Ridding, Darrell Hastie of Gala and Morpeth’s own James Tilley. With the lead changing hands several times, it was anyone’s guess who might emerge as the race’s first ever winner, with the town’s hopes centring on young Tilley in what was his first ever 10k, only a few months from going to university and looking strong on the second lap. However, he was finally dropped in the last kilometre by the experienced Ridding and Hastie, who contested the sprint finish in front of the excited crowd, Ridding taking the victory by the narrowest of one second margins in 32 minutes 10 seconds. James was only a few seconds back in 3rd, finishing in 32:19 but well satisfied with his exertions. A similar close contest for first woman home was taken by Wallsend’s Jennifer Berry, who had run neck and neck with Morpeth’s Catriona Macdonald on the first lap, but thereafter pulled away to win in 37:41. Cat at least had the consolation of second place in 38:05, with Tynedale’s Diane Foster 3rd in 39:03. There were some six other Morpeth finishers in the A race, with Rob Balmbra making the top ten in 7th (34:40). Behind him, Andrew Lawrence was 13th in 35:21, Andrew Ball 17th in 36:15, Dave Stabler 25th in 27:12, Lee Cuthbertson one place behind in 37:29 and Richard Glennie 63rd in 41:50. The B race saw a much larger field, with some very serious competition at the front but also those behind just determined to finish either their first or just their home town 10k. Scott Dormand took the title in 38:27 with brothers Harry and Nicholas Brackenridge 2nd and 3rd in 38:48 and 38:57, having run together for most of the way. Jesmond Jogger Izzy Sharrock was first woman home in 41:34, ahead of Julia Johnstone (42:22) and Sadie Abel (42:46). Tayla Douglass was 4th woman home and 21st in 42:53. Also running for Morpeth were Mike Winter (who finished in about 42 minutes but who’s got mixed up in the results for some reason , Dave Nicholson, 66th and 3rd O/65 in 45:18, Gary Mason, 77th in 45:44, and Kay Errington, 272nd in 53:56. There were just short of 600 finishers in the B, the slowest still completing the course in under one and a half hours with great determination. Specialist event organiser Run Through, for whom Morpeth’s Chris Parr was the director here, professed themselves delighted with how smoothly the event had run and expressed the hope that the fixture would become an annual event in the town’s life, and the feedback on the course was overwhelmingly positive. There was also some great coverage in the local press. With Morpeth Harriers providing event support and local know-how, Club President Jim Alder MBE – who had started both races – and Chairman David Swinburne were also both delighted with how the morning had gone. Swinburne said: "Having lost our own 10k a couple of years ago, it was great to see road racing returning to the streets of the town again and we’re very happy to be working with the Run Through team. "While we appreciate there was some inconvenience for local residents and businesses, we do hope that the event helped show the best of our town off, and we’re confident that there will have been many local cafes, restaurants and shops that will also benefit from the influx of visitors. "We really hope it can become an annual fixture." A special mention needs to go out not just to all those who marshalled on the day (just short of fifty, up for an early 7.30 am start), but especially to the indefatigable Kevin Bray, who didn’t just put his hand up to coordinate marshals, but personally hand delivered over 1,000 letters in advance to homes and businesses affected by the race. RunThrough Results - Running Results Morpeth 10k- June 2024 (RunThrough) Event photo gallery nor
Road racing returns to Morpeth town centre on Sunday morning - with the new Morpeth 10k being contested for the first time. Organised by running events company RunThrough, the 10k is being delivered in partnership with Morpeth Harriers. The race offers participants a road-closed, out-and-back, route with the start and finish lines positioned prominently in front of the town hall clock tower. Race Director Chris Parr said: "We are delighted to join forces with Morpeth Harriers and Athletic Club for the inaugural Morpeth 10k. This partnership signifies our collective dedication to promoting fitness, well-being, and a love for running within the community." The event will be raising funds for the Percy Hedley Foundation charity. David Swinburne, Chairman of Morpeth Harriers, said: “Morpeth Harriers are delighted to be working with RunThrough to bring road racing back to Morpeth town centre on what is bound to be a grandstand morning of action. "We hope the race will attract runners of all abilities from our town and surrounding areas, whether they are elite or club runners, those who like to take on a local parkrun, or perhaps those just wanting to take part in a well organised local event on what is a new course. "This should be a good one for spectators, families and supporters wanting to watch, and the club and RunThrough are of course grateful for the support of the local authority to enable the race to go ahead.” Registration for the Morpeth 10k is open here, inviting runners of all abilities to participate in a day of fitness, fun, and community support. There will be an A race for runners expecting to finish in under 40 minutes and a B race for those expecting to take longer than 40 minutes. They start at 9am and 9.25am respectively. RunThrough will organise and deliver 240 events in 2024 including the Tatton Park 5k and 10k, as well as other prominent events such as the Run Media City 5k and 10k and the Northwich 10k. Morpeth Harriers is providing marshals for the event. If you are able to assist please see here for more details. Rory Leonard has been selected to represent GB and Northern Ireland in the 1,500m at the European Championships in Rome next month.
It will be Rory's first major games and first time in the GB senior team. The news follows Rory's success at the Night of the 10,000 PBs event in London last weekend when he set a new PB of 27:38 over the distance - a new Morpeth Harriers record. Rory is part of a 70-strong GB squad who will take part in the European Championships in Rome from 7-12 June. |
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