Lavaredo Dolomites Ultra John Butters recently travelled to the Dolomites in Northern Italy to take part in the Lavaredo Ultra race. Attracting many of the European fell racing elite, the 80 kilometre (48 mile) trail race also incorporates some 14, 000 feet of climbing with hair-raising trails that wend over precipitous drops and vertiginous gorges. JB had a fine run to finish 122nd out of the 900 finishers in a time of 12 hours 4 minutes and 46 seconds. He was also 12th in his age category, with the Frenchman Remi Loubet the overall winner, 1st home in 9 hours 16 minutes and 34 seconds. World Masters Championships Half Marathon Meanwhile Loansdean resident and leading national Over 65 Gavin Bayne made the journey in the opposite direction to John, going North to Tampere in Finland to compete in the World Masters Half Marathon Championships. His journey was not without its difficulties, however, with his luggage – including all his running kit, bar an old pair of Nike Pegasus trainers - getting lost in transit and Gavin having to pull in favours from GB and Northern Ireland team manager, fellow Morpeth Harrier Archie Jenkins to have the correct vest and shorts without which he couldn’t have run. ‘I wouldn’t have got to the starting line without him,’ he notes. In breezy but warm conditions of some 22 degrees over a course comprising three long and one short loops, Gavin got off to a decent start but struggled a little on the 2nd lap. 7th after lap 1, he did however start to pick off some of those in front, including the Dutch world Over 65 10k champion. Finishing strongly, Gavin was 4th Over 65 in a time of 1 hour 27 minutes 40 seconds, with the race won by fellow GB and NI runner Paul Hughes, now based in the States, in a time of 1:22:32. Missing out on an individual medal by just over a minute, his travails were made worthwhile when he picked up a share of a team Silver behind the USA, with the 3rd GB and NI runner clocking 1:55: 26. Chevy Chase
There were 162 finishers at the 65th running of the annual Chevy Chase Fell Race on 2 July, with a blustery day and spells of rain adding to the challenge of the 20-mile course, which takes in ascents of the summits of both Cheviot and Hedgehope from Wooler. Once again Morpeth Harrier and Northumberland Fell Runner Matthew Briggs, recently graduated from the University of Lancaster, narrowly missed out on the win, coming home just as last year in 2nd place, with a time of 2 hours 49 minutes and 44 seconds, though surely one year his day will come. The race was won by Bristol and West AC runner and North East resident Jarlath Mckenna, whose remarkable performances continue to belie his veteran status. Having broken the record for the recent 70 mile Hadrian’s Wall run some weeks ago, this time he came home in a time of 2:44:22, only four minutes off the course record of 2 hours 40 minutes set by Richard Hackett back in 1992. Russell Watson of Cheviot Trail Runners was 3rd in 2:58:05, with Victorian Broadbent 27th overall and 1st female finisher in 3:40:56. Over 50 veterans Karen Robertson and Katherine Davis were 2nd and 3rd women home with time of 3:50:44 and 3:54:38 respectively. Five other Morpeth Harriers and NFRA members completed the course, with Richard Kirby 54th (5th Over 50) and Steve Haswell 58th, both just beating the four hour mark with times of 3:58:32 and 3:58:51. Lee Bennett was 62nd in 4:07:24, Mike Steven 118th in 4: 48: 10 and Claire Calverley 141st and 6th Female Over 40 in 5:28: 08. Windy Gyle There were some 65 finishers two weeks previously at the shorter Windy Gyle Fell Race which starts and finishes at the head of the Coquet Valley at Barrowburn. Won by Kris Akon of NFRA in a time of 1 hour 4 minutes and 40 seconds, the race saw a new women’s course record set by Morpeth’s Cat Macdonald, who also placed 6th overall, with a clocking of 1:09:17. Club colleague Richie Hughes was 4th in 1:07:40 and Lee Bennett just behind Cat in 9th (1:09:16). It was a family day out in the hills for the Macdonalds, with Alistair 23rd in 1:16:23 and daughter Linzi running with mother Margaret to come home in 63rd and 64th respectively. Also using the race as a warm up for the Chevy Chase were Richard Kirby (29th in 1:20:21), Kevin Bray (42nd in 1:31:39), Mike Steven (1:32:50), Jane Kirby (1:37:03) and Claire Calverley (57th in 1:44:50). Twenty-one athletes from the ranks of Morpeth Harriers were in action at the fourth NEGP Meeting, held at Jarrow’s Monkton Stadium on Wednesday 29 June.
Alex Brown, who won the Stan Long Trophy at the previous meeting in the Mile, was in action again, however on this occasion, tackling the seven and a half laps of the longer 3000m. Whilst he very much dominated throughout, he very nearly lost out to Birtley birthday boy Adrian Bailes. Only eight hundredths of a second divided them, as Brown crossed the finish line in a new personal best time of 8m14.32s to gain a narrow win. Brown had bettered his old figures by seven seconds. Third place went to Brown’s fellow club colleague and training partner Finn Brodie, who improved on his previous figures by three seconds, when he clocked 8m21.07s. Other Morpeth Harriers in action in the fastest heat of the 3000m were, Kieran Reay (7th) 8m38.27s, new personal best by three seconds, William DeVere-Owen (10th) 8m44.46s, an improvement of sixteen seconds, Alistair Douglass (14th) 8m54.38s, and Bertie Marr (16th) 9m18.36s. In the second fastest 3000m, Morpeth’s Matthew Walton was always up with the leading pacesetters, doing well to eventually finish third in 8m57.45s, taking fifty-six seconds off his previous figures. Other Morpeth Harriers also featuring here were James Tilley (7th) 9m17.5s, an improvement of seventy-six seconds, and Liam Roche (11th) 9m32.90s, doing the distance for the first time. Ten athletes from Morpeth Harriers opted to run in the shorter 800m events also on the programme. In the fastest of these Joseph Close, Joe Anderson and Connor Marshall all finished closely together in fifth, sixth, and seventh places, posting respective times of 2m00.13s, 2m00.86s, and 2m01.14s. For Close, it represented a 2.50s improvement, and Anderson was fractionally adrift of his personal best. Four athletes from Morpeth Harriers lined up in the second fastest 800m heat. Ralph Robson improved on his previous figures by nine seconds, when finishing second in 2m05.54s. Ollie Calvert took a whole eighteen seconds off his previous figures, when finishing fifth in 2m08.15s. Morpeth’s other two competitors in this heat were Elliot Mavir, who finished sixth in 2m10.11s, and Oliver Tomlinson, who was ninth in 2m12.06s, each improving on previous figures by seven seconds. In the fifth fastest race, Morpeth’s Caitlin Flanagan improved her previous figures by 1.30 seconds, when finishing seventh in 2m24.39s. Other Morpeth Harriers in action in the 800m were Neil McAnany, who finished fourth in the sixth fastest race in 2m26.67s, and Under 13 Girl Emma Tomlinson, improved on her previous best by three seconds, when finishing sixth in the seventh fastest race in 2m36.31s. Two Morpeth Harriers took their marks in the 200m events. In the fourth fastest of these, Under 17 Woman Victoria Hodgson managed to take a second off her previous best, when posting a time of 27.28s when finishing fourth. Neil McAnany, who later ran the 800m, warmed up by running in the eighth fastest 200m, finishing second in 29.27s. Alexandria Hodgson, younger sister of Victoria, had a highly successful night on the Field, taking a whole metre off her best, when throwing 27.49m to win the Under 15 Girls Hammer competition. Morpeth Harriers Young Athletes face life in the second tier of the NEYDL, as they once again finished fifth in their third round Division 1 fixture.
The Morpeth youngsters ended the competition at Churchill Playing Fields, Whitley Bay, nineteen and a half points adrift of fourth-placed Gateshead Harriers. The match on Sunday 26 June was very clearly dominated by Harrogate, who have now won all three matches and can be confirmed as champions, who on the day, seemed to have athletes emerging from every tree in the arena, with North Shields, and the combined Darlington/Allerton squad, finishing third. Blyth/Alnwick were again finishers behind Morpeth and are also doomed for the drop. Despite the efforts by Morpeth Team Managers David Swinburne (Boys), and Julie Roche and Judith Nutt (Girls), to get more athletes out, there were still large gaps unfilled, which in the end, cost them a great deal of ground in the mix. Having only two Under 17 Women on duty, was a big headache for the club, as no Field Events could be given cover in this age group. Posting a time of 13.5s, Victoria Hodgson finished third in the A race of the 100m, and B race runner Freya Caygill finished second in 13.7s. Caygill finished second in the A race of the 200m, and Hodgson finished second in the A race of the 300m in 44.7s. David Swinburne had better luck with his nine Under 17 Men, however. Will DeVere-Owen enjoyed victories in the 400m and 800m, posting times of 55.1s and 2m09.7s. Liam Roche (56.9s) and Elliot Mavir (2m21.6s) of Morpeth, won the respective B races. Another Morpeth runner in the 400m was Bertie Marr, who posted a time of 58.7s. Morpeth also dominated the Under 17 Men’s 1500m, Bertie Marr taking the A race in 4m24.8s, and Joseph Close winning the B race in 4m29.7s. Also running this event in Morpeth colours was Ryan Davies, who is returning from injury. Ryan posted a time of 4m35.9s. Jack Dinning and Owen Omoigui competed for Morpeth in the 100m and 200m events. Dinning finished second in the 100m A race in 12.4s, and third in the 200m A race in 25.8s. Omoigui won both of the B races, in 12.7s and 26.1s, possibly two of the best results for the club on the day. It was good to see Morpeth’s Ben Hope win the 400m Hurdles in 68.0s, after earlier finishing second in the 100m Hurdles in 16.8s. There was also success for Morpeth in the Under 17Men’s 4 x100m, where they won in 47.5s. In the Under 17 Men’s Field Events, Owen Omoigui added to his personal success on the day, when he finished third in the A String Long Jump, performing a best of 5.29m. Bertie Marr won the B String with 4.12m. Another Morpeth athlete in the Under 17 Men’s Long Jump was Ryan Davies, who jumped 3.68m. Jack Dinning finished second in the Discus when he threw 22.41m, and Liam Roche was fourth in the Shot Putt with 6.50m. There was some good representation from the clubs Under 15 age group, both in the Male and Female events. Morpeth found two A String winners on the track, courtesy of Under 15 Boys Conner Phillips, and Ollie Tomlinson Phillips won the 300m in 41.0s, and Steven Craske finished third in the B race in 48.4s. Tomlinson enjoyed a fairly comprehensive win in the 1500m in 4m39.0s, with Harry Armstrong taking third in the B race in 5m16.1s. Harrison Scott finished third in the A race 100m in 13.1s, and just lost out for a win in the 200m to Gateshead’s Matthew Inman, posting a time of 26.7s. Morpeth’s B String performances saw Conner Phillips just lose out for victory to Gateshead’s Danny Clements, as he posted 13.5s in the 100m, and Steven Craske finished fourth in the B string 200m in 30.5s. In the Under 15 Boys 800m, Morpeth’s Ben Moll finished fourth in 2m36.8s. On to the Under 15 Boys Field Events, where the share of duty fell between Ollie Tomlinson, Harrison Scott, and Steven Craske. Tomlinson did the Javelin and Discus events, finishing third in both disciplines. In the Javelin his best throw was 15.86m, and in the Discus, he managed a best of 15.57m. Meanwhile Scott finished second in the A String Long Jump with his best being 4.68m. Craske finished third in the B String with 3.93m. Morpeth’s Under 15 Girls best performance came in the 300m, where NECAA Champion Amelia Hamlin managed to fractionally win from Blyth/Alnwick’s Holly-Anne Sudder in 45.2s. Rosie Heaton finished sixth in the B Race in 52.3s. Another Morpeth Harrier in this race was Isobel Saunders, who posted a time of 52.6s. Meanwhile Hamlin also enjoyed a B Race victory in the 100m, posting a time of 13.5s, almost equal to Amy Longstaff’s 13.4s in the A Race, where she finished second. Rose Ho also competed for Morpeth in the 100m, posting a time of 16.5s. Longstaff finished fourth in the A Race of the 200m in 29.4s, and Iris Dungait finished fourth in the B Race in a time of 30.6s. Abigail Kahn also competed for Morpeth in this event, posting a time of 31.0s. Dungait showed her versatility by finishing fourth in the 75m Hurdles in 16.6s. In the Under 15 Girls 800m, Molly Roche finished fifth in the A race in 2m47.6s, and Charlotte Marshall finished fourth in the B Race in 2m55.0s. Completing the Under 15 Girls track events, Megan Potrac finished fifth in the 1500m in 5m49.7s. The best result in the Under 15 Girls Field Events, came from specialist Hammer Thrower Alexandria Hodgson, younger sister of sprinter Victoria. She finished second to a strong Ella McIntosh of Harrogate, with a best throw of 21.31m. Hodgson also finished fourth in the Javelin with 17.62m. In the Shot Putt, Charlotte Marshall putted 5.24m for fifth in the A String, and Molly Roche finished as fifth B String with 4.70m. Iris Dungait completed a very industrious day by finishing fourth in the Discus, with a best of 12.16m. Three Morpeth athletes took part in the Under 15 Girls Long Jump. Abigail Kahn finished fifth in the A String with a best of 4.08m, Megan Potrac finished fourth in the B String with 3.24m, and Isobel Saunders produced 2.90m as an additional performer. Morpeth’s best result from their Under 13 age groups, came from their Girls, when Emma Tomlinson, younger sister of Ollie, finished second in the 800m in 2m40.1s. In the 70m Hurdles, Maia Annis finished fourth in the A String in 15.3s, and Cecily Findlay was fourth in the B Race in 16.7s. In the 100m, Mya May Ferguson finished sixth in the A Race in 15.7s, and Maia Annis finished fifth in the B Race in 16.3s. Another Morpeth athlete in the 100m was Hannah Foggon, who posted a time of 18.4s. In the 200m, Abbie Potrac, younger sister of Megan, finished fifth in the A Race, and Cecily Findlay finished fifth in the B Race in 40.7s. Morpeth had three athletes lined up in the Under 13 Girls 1500m. Grace Cunningham finished fifth in the A Race (5m54.0s), Faye Heatley finished fifth in the B Race (6m08.2s), and Anna Archibald posted an additional performance of 6m54.0s. In addition to making the best Under 13 track performance, Emma Tomlinson also produced the clubs best Field performance, when finishing third in the Javelin A String with a best throw of 11.83m. Grace Cunningham finished fourth in the B String with 6.63m. Tomlinson also finished fourth in the Discus with 9.60m. Abbie Potrac finished fourth in the A String High Jump, with her clearance of 1.10m. Potrac also led a quartet of Morpeth Harriers in the Long Jump. She produced a best of 3.51m for sixth in the A String and was backed up in the B String by Maia Annis, who finished sixth with 3.10m. Other Morpeth performances in this event came from Faye Heatley (3.04m), and Esme Thomas Harrison (2.32m). In the Under 13 Girls Shot Putt, Cecily Findlay finished sixth with 3.38m. Nine Under 13 Boys took part on the day for Morpeth Harriers. In the 100m, Kyle Phillips, younger brother of Conner, finished fifth in the A Race in 16.2s, and James Ellis finished fourth in the B Race in 16.5s. Additional Morpeth athletes in the 100m were Kayden Wilson (16.8s), Ewan Line (16.8s), and Freddie Banfield (17.0s). In the 200m, Kayden Wilson finished fourth in the A Race in 33.8s, and Kyle Phillips finished third in the B Race in 34.4s. An additional performance of 35.5s, came from James Ellis. In the 800m, Thomas Roche was fourth in the A Race in 2m55.0s, and William McBryde finished fourth in the B Race in 3m26.8s. The 1500m, saw Morpeth’s Ewan Line finish fifth in the A Race in 5m21.9s, and Evan Laude was third in the B Race in 5m42.7s. On to the Under 13 Boys Field Events, and Thomas Roche was very industrious in the Throws, finishing fourth in the Shot Putt (5.45m), and fourth in the A String Discus (11.11m). James Ellis finished third in the B String Discus (9.88m). Additional competitor for Morpeth in the Discus was William McBryde, who threw a best of 8.86m. Daniel Vermass cleared 1.15m, to finish fourth in the High Jump, and he also finished fifth in the Javelin with 15.61m. Ewan Line and Freddie Banfield teamed up for Morpeth in the Long Jump. Line finished fifth in the A String, with a best of 3.46m. Banfield meanwhile was not far behind Line in terms of performance when he placed third in the B String with 3.45m. MATCH RESULT 1st Harrogate 810.5pts, 2nd North Shields Poly 674.5pts, 3rd Darlington/Allerton 611.5pts, 4th Gateshead Harriers 490pts, 5th Morpeth Harriers 470.5pts, 6th Blyth/Alnwick 163pts. The annual Weetslade Relays at Lockey Park, Wideopen, saw Morpeth retain their mixed relay title for the 5th consecutive year by the narrowest of five second margins in one of the event’s closest finishes.
Balmy conditions on a still sunny evening last Wednesday made the 2.65 mile ascent of the old Weetslade spoil heap, now a country park, even more challenging than normal, although it was certainly a great evening’s racing for those only having to spectate. The unique format of the race has the sole requirement that each team of three must involve a man, a woman and an over 35 veteran of either sex, with clubs free to apply permutations of this in any combination. Outfits from South of the River Tyne, Jarrow and Hebburn AC and Sunderland Harriers, came home challenging for the lead after the first leg, with Sunderland’s Stephen Jackson running what proved to be the day’s fastest overall time of 13 minutes 20 seconds ahead of Jarrow’s Peter Smallcombe (13m 36s). Over 35 Adam Pratt, meanwhile, ran a sensible 13m 58s for 7th to keep Morpeth firmly in contention. With most clubs choosing to send out their female runner on leg 2, all changed quickly. A flying Cat Macdonald quickly ate up the gaps to those ahead of her, her time of 15m 18s proving to be the fastest female time of the evening with Cat one of only two women to break the 16 minute barrier. At the end of leg 2, the club was now in 1st place by a narrow 5 second margin over Jarrow and Hebburn, for whom Alexis Dodd’s 15m 45s was the fastest female veteran time of the night, with Sunderland now some twenty seconds behind in 3rd. In his first Weetslade Relay, it was a challenging position for Ponteland High School sixth former Joe Anderson to find himself in then, but he proved to be in no way overawed by the task as he extended the lead over his immediate rival, Jarrow’s Jack Brown. Certainly the maturity of his run impressed club president, the watching Jim Alder MBE. The main challenge was to come from experienced Over 35 Sunderland veteran Nathan Reed, who was steadily eating away at the 20 second lead. However, Joe always looked to have enough in the tank and finished looking comfortable enough with a clocking of 13m 52s. Reed’s 13m 33s was the evening’s fastest male veteran time. Morpeth’s final time of 43:08 put them some 5 seconds of Sunderland in 2nd place with Jarrow some 49 seconds behind in 3rd ( 43:57). The club’s B team of Graeme Cook (14m 34s), Linzi Quinn (17m 21s ) and Richard Johnson ( 13m 57s) placed a strong 6th also with a cumulative time of 45:52. The club put out a further 4 teams, with the C of Lee Bennett (15m 23s), Sarah Lawson (17m 40s) and Shaun Land (16m 32s) placing next in 20th (49:53). The F team (53:13) of Paul Brown (17m 37s), Gemma Floyd (17m 46s) and Gary Hall (17m 50s) stole a march on the D and E teams, largely thanks to a fine run by Gemma in her first outing for several months. For the D team, Andy Leeson ran 17m 31s, Robyn Ferguson 20m 4s and Jamie Johnson 16m 44s for 48th, just managing to stay ahead of the E in 50th, for whom Mike Winter ran 17m 44s, Jane Kirby 19m 54s and Phil Walker 17m 14s (54:19 and 54:50). |
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