Cross-country competition for Masters-aged athletes, categorised as competitors over 35, came to the North East on Saturday with the British Masters Athletics Federation Championships being held at the Rising Sun Country Park in Wallsend. A challenging course over the old spoil heap, which was made up of continual up and down sections giving runners little respite, was added to by the going under foot being boggy in some parts but firm and gritty in others, with at least one athlete coming a cropper. A strong showing from clubs across the North East included some nine runners from Morpeth Harriers, who picked up three Silver medals, two of these team and one individual. Two of these medals came in the first of the day’s races, for Women and Men Over 65, held over two laps of the course, some 5.8 kilometres in all. The race itself was won by a flying Juliet Potter of Charnwood AC in a time of 22:04, with her sister Jane, also an Over 40, 2nd in 23:42. The remarkable Alastair Walker of Teviotdale Harriers made his long journey South worthwhile with an O/65 Gold and a 2nd place finish (23:08). Morpeth’s first finisher was Gavin Bayne, 29th overall and 5th O/65 in 26:20. With David Nicholson 39th, and 4th O/75 Paul Bentley 102nd , the team picked up a well-deserved team O/65 Silver behind age group winners Warrington AC. NSP picked up first Over 35s, with Vicky Gibbs first finisher, with Tyne Bridge first O/45s and 65s, and Elvet first O/55s. Meanwhile Morpeth’s oldest competitor, the remarkable 86-year-old Walter Ryder, a club stalwart for several decades now, made his own journey from Wester Ross in Scotland worthwhile with a 2nd place finish in the O/85s. Extraordinary as it may seem, Walter was in fact beaten into 2nd place by the day’s oldest runner, Ian Barnes of Darlington Harriers and AC, who finished two places ahead in a time of 47:36. The day’s second race was for men between 35 and 65, with this time some three laps of 8.4kms in total to negotiate, and was won by Bristol and West AC’s Jarlath Mckenna, who has of course had a fine off-road season this Winter and never seems to tire of competing. He won with a winning time of 29:12, with Middlesbrough’s Greg Jayasuriya 1st O/35 and 2nd in 30:01 and Sunderland’s Stephen Jackson 3rd in 30:31. Andrew Lawrence, currently in the full swing of demanding London Marathon training, was first back for the club in 17th place and 8th O/35. There was, however, an unexpected but very welcome team Silver for the club’s O/45s, with Lee Bennett 48th and 5th O/50, and O/40s Richard Glennie, 65th, and Jason Dawson, 78th. Paul Brown was the club’s only representative in the O/55s, gritting his teeth to come back in 122nd place in 45:32. Gateshead Harriers, headed by Conrad Franks, were 1st team in the O/35s, with Leeds City AC travelling north to take the 45s and Cambuslang Harriers the 55s. Well done to Heaton Harriers, and especially the tireless George Routledge, who did so much of the organisation, and to all local volunteers and supporters. Clearly, one of the lessons is that there are medals to be won by clubs who get full teams out as was very clearly shown here, and we in the North East will have another chance when the BMAF 10 mile championships come North at the end of August to use the Tynedale 10. Make a note in your diary – also excellent run-out if you’re doing the GNR later. Full results are available here. KEVI student and Morpeth Harrier Oliver Calvert was Northumberland’s best individual performer at Saturday’s English Schools Cross Country Championships, held at Nottingham’s Wollaton Park.
Calvert, who also just finished outside the medals at the previous week's Inter Counties, which were held a few miles further north in Loughborough, produced an excellent run to finish seventh in the Intermediate Boys event, and was only a mere six seconds adrift of a podium place. Race winner was Essex’s Sam Plummer, with Surrey pair Alex Lennon and Jacob Pearce claiming the minor podium places, with only 19 seconds dividing them. Northumberland themselves, led by an in-form Calvert, finished in ninth team place, with fellow Morpeth Harriers Joseph Close, Elliot Kelso, and Ollie Tomlinson coming home as second, third, and fourth counters amongst the scoring six, finishing in 25th, 52nd, and 113th in a total finishing field of 327 competitors. Team Honours in the Intermediate Boys event went to Surrey, with Kent and Essex claiming second and third team places. Northumberland’s best on-the-day team performance undoubtedly belonged to the Senior Boys, who were led home by Gateshead Harrier Josh Blevins in thirteenth place. Blevins was well supported in the team challenge by no fewer than five Morpeth Harriers. Will Devere-Owen produced a strong individual run when finishing in 21st place. Eight places behind him was James Tilley, while Liam Roche, Matthew Walton, and Joe Dixon finished in 66th, 100th, and 136th places, to close Northumberland’s scoring count. Another Morpeth Harrier competing in the Senior Boys event was Ethan Phillips, who was outside the scorers in 167th place. Merseyside took the team honours, with Kent and Surrey claiming the minor podium places in the total field of 314 finishers. In her first outing in the English Schools Cross Country Championships, Emma Tomlinson, younger sister of Intermediate Boy Ollie, finished in 272nd place in the Junior Girls, emerging as the sixth and closing counter for a Northumberland squad, who finished as 34th team behind winners Surrey, with Sussex and London taking the second and third podium spots. A total of 338 finished the Junior Girls event. There were no other Morpeth Harriers in action in the remaining three events. The county’s Junior Boys finished 33rd, the Intermediate Girls finished 28th, and the Senior Girls finished an excellent ninth. Thirteen athletes from Morpeth Harriers were among the ranks who lined up to take part in the ten events at Saturday’s annual CAU Inter Counties Cross Country Championships.
North East Cross Country Team Managers Stewy Bell (Male) and Lynn Cooper (Female) were forced into having to make several last-minute changes to their respective squads taking part in the event, which was also the final leg of the UK Cross Challenge, held at Prestwold Hall, near Loughborough in Leicestershire. Thankfully the ongoing threat of wintry showers throughout the previous couple of days had abated, and runners generally ran in sunny, dry conditions from the beginning, although there was evidence of a perhaps not unexpected slight chill in the air. Throughout the course of the afternoon however the ground did begin to cut up rapidly, and by the time the final event was underway parts of the course became extremely tricky underfoot. First up from the Morpeth contingent were the Under 20 Men, who no doubt had the best conditions for their 8k event. Two club members were in the North East squad, who eventually finished just outside the medals in fourth team place behind winners Kent, with Berkshire second, and Yorkshire in third place. James Tilley, and Matthew Walton, both having their first Inter Counties outings, were second and fourth counters, in a squad led home by Gateshead Harrier Josh Blevins, who was tenth. For their part, Tilley and Walton finished thirty fourth and forty fourth respectively, excellent runs in a field of 159 finishers, who were all led home by Berkshire’s Luke Birdseye, who took the Individual Gold Medal, added to by a team Silver when team scores became known. Next age group to face the Starter were the Under 13 Girls in their 3k event. In this event, the North East Counties claimed their only medals on the day, those being Bronze, behind winners Essex, and second placed Surrey. Unfortunately there were no Morpeth Harriers in the area squad, who were led home by Birtley's Olivia Murphy, who finished seventh. Fellow Birtley athlete sisters Nell and Kitty Graham also had a share of the spoils, finishing twenty fourth and twenty seventh, along with Houghton’s Kathryn Pye (59th). Catriona MacDonald was the only Morpeth Harrier in the Senior Women’s 8k event, finishing as second counter for a tenth-placed North East squad in 41st place. The squad were led home by North Shields Poly’s Charlotte Penfold, who finished 23rd. Winners of the Senior Women’s event were Surrey, with Leicester and Rutland second, and Yorkshire third. Ollie Calvert was undoubtedly Morpeth Harriers and the region's best performer on the day, when he finished fourth in the Under 15 Boys 4k event, leading the North East to seventh team place, with club colleague Ollie Tomlinson also coming home as third counter in 49th place. Scotland West were winners of the Under 15 Boys Championship, with Yorkshire and Scotland East having a close battle for the Minor spoils. The North East were well served by athletes from Morpeth Harriers in the Under 17 Men’s 6k event, with no fewer than five facing the starter. Houghton’s Brandon Pye ran well to lead the squad home in seventh place, to fifth team place, with Will Devere-Owen, Liam Roche, and Joe Dixon completing the scoring counts in twelfth, 45th, and 50th places respectively. Other Morpeth Harriers competing in the Under 17 Men’s event were Bertie Marr, and Elliot Kelso, who finished in 74th and 123rd places. Winners of the Under 17 Men’s Championship were Essex, just ahead of Scotland East, with Scotland West third. The North East Under 20 Women finished just outside the medals in their 6k event, with Morpeth’s Millie Breese being the second counter home in 37th place. Yorkshire were clear winners of the Under 20 Women’s event, with Sussex and Greater Manchester on level points in second and third places, with the latter losing out on countback. North East Men’s Team Manager Bell, was very much forced to restructure his Senior Men’s squad for their 10k event, and will be a little disappointed by his squad finishing as ninth team. Sam Hancox was the only Morpeth Harrier in his final line-up. Hancox was fourth counter, finishing 86th. Team winners of the Senior Men’s event were Leicester and Rutland, with Hampshire and Lancashire fighting a close battle for the Minor placings. Ewan Line of Morpeth Harriers had his first taste of Inter Counties Cross Country in the Under 13 Boys 3k event, finishing in 122nd place, but only a few seconds outside a scoring count to a team which finished eighth behind winners Hertfordshire, second placed Derbyshire, and third placed Surrey. The North East Under 15 Girls and Under 17 Women’s squads who finished 24th and 10th respectively did not feature any Morpeth Harriers in their line-ups. Winners of the Under 15 Girls team title were Yorkshire, with the minor placings going to Scotland West and Merseyside. The Under 17 Women’s team title went to Yorkshire, with Berkshire finishing second, just ahead of Greater Manchester. The region has certainly had better days in this competition, but the athletes who turned out worked hard to give of their best, and those girls from Birtley AC could certainly return with smiles on their faces. There were some 88 finishers at Sunday’s Brough Law Fell Race, run from Bulby’s Wood Car Park in the Ingram Valley over a challenging circular route that takes in over 1200 feet of climbing, with the difficulties added to by some very windy conditions. The race was won by Northumberland Fell Runner Craig Jones in a time of 39 minutes and 59 seconds with Mick Jones 2nd in 40:09 and Jonathan Graham 3rd (40:50), with Jones’s fellow NFR runner Richie Hughes 4th in 42:56 and also the first member of Morpeth Harriers home. Cat Macdonald made light of her previous day’s exertions at Loughborough to finish in 15th place and 1st female in 47:36, with father Alistair not too far behind in 23rd (49:28). Running in his NFR vest, Morpeth Harrier Lee Bennett was one place ahead of Cat in 14th in 47:31 and was also 1st Over 50 finisher. Club colleague Jamie Johnson was 30th in 50:31, Mike Winter 39th in 53:21, and Richard and Jane Kirby 47th and 48th in 56:01 and 56:08. Congratulations to Mike Steven, late of this parish, for his organisational efforts, and also to Jane Briggs. Also to the many members of the club who helped out on the day. The curtain came down for the NEHL cross country season at Alnwick on Saturday, but not before Morpeth Harriers had wrapped the season up in style with two individual and two team wins.
Once again organised with loving care by local hosts Alnwick Harriers and held in the splendid setting of The Pastures, with its panoramic views across to the castle (draped this year in scaffolding), a chilly afternoon’s action was kicked off by the Under 11 racers. Numbers for Morpeth have grown for this over the season, so this time it was good to see no less than five boys and four girls turning out, with three debutants running for the first time in blue and white. Jacob Thompson was first back in 4th place for the boys, with Lewis Baillie in 27th and Jack Dhawar 33rd having their first taste of cross country action for the club. George Moll was 30th and Eli Mcsparron 34th. Ever present Lucy Raper, who to her credit has run every fixture this season, was 5th in the matching girls race, with Lewis’s sister Heather, like her brother running for the first time, coming home in 31st . Zoe Tomlinson was 13th and Emily Hodgson 22nd. The first individual Gold came from another debutant, with James Rothwell in the U/13 boys first home, while there were no less than seven other team mates running in a squad that has grown in confidence and success as the season has gone on, and whose future looks promising. Ewan Line was 5th, Michael Leeson 29th, Daniel Vermaas 33rd and Evan Laude 42nd, all out of Fast Pack, with William Hawkins 47th, Edward Roff, another debutant, 49th and William Mcbryde 50th, all from Slow. The team were 2nd on the day and finish 5th overall, largely due to a disappointing showing at Aykley Heads. Emma Tomlinson was 11th from Fast Pack in the U/13 girls and Faye Heatley 16th, with Emma finishing 3rd overall in the season’s individual Grand Prix tables and Faye 6th. The squad finish 8th overall, but would undoubtedly have placed much higher with complete teams in all races. There were team and individual Golds in the U/15 boys race, where Oli Calvert once more showed a clean pair of heels to the opposition, and in the process cemented the individual title. With support from Oliver Tomlinson, 2nd in the Grand Prix standings, and and 6th on the day, and Ben Moll 13th, the team were winners over nearest rivals NSP and also take the overall title for the season. Dan Burrow was also 35th and Stephen Craske 40th, both now out of Fast. Megan Potrac was 27th and Charlotte Marshall 35th in the U/15 girls race, and, although sadly short of a third team counter, credit must go to Charlotte who battled on gamely to finish despite falling over an exposed tree root, the injury requiring treatment at the end. Like the U/13s, the team finish 8th overall but, once again, have been one short too often. Megan secured 15th in the final GP tables and Charlotte 26th. The second team win went to the club’s all-conquering U/17 boys squad, whose win on the day meant that they completed the remarkable achievement of winning the team title at all six of the fixtures. They were led home by Will de Vere Owen, 2nd to a Slow Pack runner but recording the day’s fastest time and also, like Calvert, top of the final Grand Prix standings. Bertie Marr in 4th, Elliot Kelso in 5th and Joe Close in 11th have also finished well up the final GP tables, in 5th, 4th and 6th respectively, with Elliot Mavir 28th on Saturday also. Local team GB triathlete Millie Breese was the club’s only runner in the U17 and 20 women’s race, finishing 4th but recording the day’s second fastest time over the distance to Anna Pigford of Houghton AC. Once again the largest field of nearly 500 runners was in the day’s Senior Men’s race, with the club fielding nineteen finishers in total. Most prominent amongst these was Matty Briggs, who had originally turned up to support his Mum in the Senior Women, but whose late decision to run was very nearly rewarded with a victory. With last week’s National Cross Country no doubt still in his legs, and having led for over two of the three laps, he was slowly reeled in by Durham City’s U/20 Morgan Kendall, whose final winning margin was a mere eight seconds. At least team manager Scaife’s borrowed vest recorded its highest placed finish. There was excellent team support from cross country stalwart Andy Lawrence, 19th from Fast Pack and 9th in the end of season GP tables also, James Tilley, 25th in his first outing since his promotion to Fast Pack, Richie Hughes, 38th from Medium and Rob Balmbra, also newly promoted in 51st, and final counter Alistair Douglas, 93rd, the last two both from Fast. Andriy Volkov just missed out on the counters in 94th, but certainly deserves a mention as he has completed five out of the six races. Other finishers included: Jason Dawson, 101st from Slow; Andrew Hebden, 112th from Medium; Richard Glennie, 127th from Medium; Mark Snowball, 200th from Fast; Shaun Land, 228th from Medium; Lee Bennett, 261st from Fast; Al Macdonald, 265th from Slow; Dave Nicholson, 305th from Slow; Andy Leeson, 310th from Slow; Richard Kirby, 320th from Slow; Neil MacAnany, 325th from Slow and Steve Johnstone, 341st from Slow. The club finished 3rd on the day behind rivals Tyne Bridge Harriers by only 8 points, with North Shields Polytechnic Harriers turning out a strong team and finishing in 1st on 53. However, with four out of six team wins and a 4th place (at Druridge, the nearest fixture ironically) to add to Saturday’s 3rd, the squad retained the coveted Senior Men’s title won last year by a big margin of eight points ahead of TBH with Gateshead in 3rd. Durham City look to be on a comeback, and will provide some stiff opposition next year after promotion. Congrats also to Matt Walton, 4th in the Senior GP in his first season, Kieran Walker of NE Project winning ahead of Conrad Franks (of the wide-spread arms) and TBH’s Michael Hedley, and also to JB, 4th in the Vets table, won by the redoubtable Mr. Mckenna. Lee was also 12th. Fastest time on Saturday was by Houghton’s Chris Coulson with 36:21, by the way. The day’s only real disappointment was seeing the club’s Senior Women miss out on the women’s overall title by a frustrating margin of only one point to rivals Tyne Bridge after such a good season. With so many of Morpeth’s runners promoted to Fast Pack as the rounds have unfurled, the squad’s been a victim of its own success in a way, while the Newcastle outfit were in contrast again able to call on a debutant from Slow Pack and two from Medium for three of their four counters to help secure their win. Jane Hodgson capped a remarkable season, however, with 7th place and the day’s second fastest time behind NSP’s flying Charlotte Penfold, who won from Slow Pack with a margin of nearly two minutes, recording the day’s fastest time, from Elswick’s Justina Heslop, herself no slouch of course and TBH’s first finisher in 3rd from Slow. Jane was followed by fellow veteran Morag Stead in 16th from Fast and Anna Wright 34th from Medium. The final team counter was Gwenda Cavill, 86th from Slow, with the team 5th on the day. Another big turn out saw another eight finishers. Robyn Bennett was 109th from Medium, Jane Briggs 120th from Slow, Linzi Quinn 132nd from Fast, Claire Calverley 153rd from Medium, Jane Kirby 168th and Julie Vermaas 181st, both from Fast, Mhairi Line 189th from Medium and Fran Robson 381st from Slow. For Jane and Morag there was at least the consolation of finishing 1st and 2nd in the final GP veteran tables, with Cat also heading the Seniors table, with Lizzie Rank 13th and Linzi 16th. Perhaps worth noting that the vagaries of the NEHL are such that there wasn’t actually one TBH runner in the top ten of either the Senior or Veteran Women’s tables. 2nd overall last year also, on that occasion to Elswick Harriers, the Morpeth squad will certainly be hoping that next year it will be a case of third time lucky. So three out of eight team Golds at the end of the season, and one Silver. Also four individual Golds, one Silver and two Bronzes to boot. Not a bad haul at the end of a long and hard fought season. Thanks from the club to all who turned up and ran, wherever you finished. Hope you enjoyed it. See you at Wrekenton in September. Final league positions are available here. Pictures courtesy of Stuart Whitman - see here for full gallery of images. |
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July 2024
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