Spring sunshine welcomed hundreds of runners to the Elswick Harriers Relays over the Bank Holiday, a much loved fixture of the North East running calendar for several decades and always held on the morning of Good Friday.
Now back at the Riverside Business Park on the banks of the Tyne at Newburn after last year’s one off at the old Albemarle airfield, there were once again hotly contested team races for both Women and Men, as well as three individual Junior races on offer. The U/ll combined one mile race got proceedings off promptly at 9 am, with Morpeth’s two representatives Heather Baillie and Jacob Raper both featuring. In quite a large field, Heather was 13th girl and 30th overall in 7 minutes 41 seconds, and Jacob 57th in 8:29. There were three Morpeth youngsters in the next race for U/13s over 1.6 miles, with Jacob’s older sister Lucy first back in 21st and 5th girl (10:08), Zoe Tomlinson 35th and 9th (10:27) and Heather’s older brother Lewis 57th in 11:32. The first team event, for Senior and Veteran Women, was held over three stages of 2.2 miles each, with well over a 100 complete teams turning out. North Shields Polytechnic Harriers were clear winners, with ex GB international Stacey Smith, in her first competitive outing for many a year, running the day’s fastest leg of 11:37 (the race’s only sub 12 minute run), and their team recording a winning time of 36:35. Morpeth’s A team of Holly Lawrence, in her first outing in blue and white (13:19), Poppy Buck (13:23) and Catriona Macdonald (12:44) just missed out on the medals however, finishing in 4th in 39:26 behind hosts Elswick Harriers in 2nd with Birtley Harriers 3rd. The B team of Lizzie Rank (13:17), Tabitha Robson (14:52) and Lindsey Quinn (13:50) also made top 20, finishing in 19th in 41:59 and a further C team of Lorna Macdonald (13:50), Kay Errington (16:32) and Laura McLean (15:44) coming in 40th in 46:06. Meanwhile the 40s and 50s race was unfolding at the same time, and here Morag Stead had an outstanding race to clock the day’s fastest Over 40 time of 12:48. With Jane Kirby on 2nd leg (14:50) and Anna Wright on 3rd (14:08), the team had a really good run to finish as third in their category in 41:46 and were actually 15th overall. In addition, the 50s team of Jane Briggs (15:14), Margaret Macdonald (19:34) and Shuna Rank (16:14) were fifth in the O/50 category and 69th overall in 51:02. Final event of the day was for Senior and Veteran Men, where Morpeth were looking to defend a title they had won several years in a row but up against stiff opposition from across the area, with again over 100 teams competing. Rob Balmbra (11:21) got the Morpeth challenge underway on a keenly contested first leg, with Birtley’s Adrian Bailes setting up an early lead. All was to change however on leg 2, with a flying James Young running the fastest leg of the day of 9:57 (also the only sub 10 minute time) to move Morpeth into a remarkable 1st place, with Gateshead Harriers now chasing. But with Ellis Hetherington recording the day’s 7th fastest time of 10:35 and Tom Balsdon the 8th (10:38), Morpeth were more than able to hold on for the win in a time of 42:31, despite the best efforts of a youthful Houghton Harriers in 2nd (42:42), for whom Cameron Allan ran the day’s second fastest time, and Gateshead in 3rd (43:16). The Morpeth B team featured two youngsters having their first Senior outings for the club, with sixteen year old Oliver Tomlinson on leg 1 clocking 11:41 and Ralph Robson 11:08 on leg 2. With Jake Parmley on leg 3 (12:44) and Andriy Volkov (15:11) on leg 4, the team made top thirty with a 28th placed finish (50:44). Special mention for Andriy, only drafted in with less than two hours notice and still on his way back from injury. Meanwhile strong Over 40s and 50s race were unfurling at the same time, with NSP’s O/40 outfit taking the title in 46:49 and James Anderson, a winner of the North Tyneside 10k the following Sunday, recording the day’s fastest O/40 time of 10:55. Morpeth’s team of Tony Lewis (12:58), John Butters (11:38, 4th fastest O/40), Dave Stabler (12:57) and Andrew Ball (12:14) did well to come in 23rd overall and 5th category team in an overall time of 49:47. The Over 50s of Jason Dawson (13:09), Gavin Bayne (14:01), Lee Bennett (12:38 and 4th O/50) and Rob Hancox (13:02) also had a productive morning, picking up a 3rd place category prize behind winners Crook AC. A mixed third vets team of two 40s, a 50 and a 60 also ran, with Anthony Jannetta strong on leg 1(12:36), O/60 Dave Nicholson (14:44), O/50 Mike Winter (14:24) and Dave Swinburne (14:05), the team finishing 56th. Good to have you back Dave! Veteran sprinter Trevor Hodgson powered his way to victory in the final of the Over 50 Men’s 60m, at the European Masters Indoor Championships, held in Torun in Poland on Wednesday 20 March.
The North East, and UK Champion, who prior to the competition was ranked No 1 in the UK, and No 4 in the World, as following finishing second in his opening heat on Monday in 7.50s, he went on to also finish second in his semi final in 7.54s. He was beaten only in both of those events by Spaniard Xavi Bosch-Ortiz, who posted winning times of 7.49s, and 7.51s, respectively. However, it was a totally different story in the final, where Ortiz could only get third in 7.49s for the Bronze medal. Meanwhile, France’s Bouziane Belghorzi took Silver in 7.48s, whilst Hodgson saved his best for last, as he triumphed in an excellent 7.44s, his second-best time of the season for the distance. Hodgson, who admitted more than an hour after his gold-medal success that he was struggling to take it all in, now looks forward to his upcoming summer season in his club’s colours having won three major titles, and of course those very shiny gold medals. Hodgson’s winning performance was viewed at close quarters by his coach Dave Thomas, who also made the trip to Poland. After over three hours of racing, Morpeth’s Senior Men’s squad picked up a hard-won team Bronze in the Northern Athletics 12 Stage Relays, held at a breezy Wythenshaw Park in Manchester on Saturday afternoon.
With over fifty teams in a Senior Men’s race, which included strong squads from local teams across the North West as well as those who’d made journey over the Pennines from Yorkshire and the North East, it was always going to be a tall order for Morpeth to retain a title they took at Redcar last year, but the team can certainly hold their heads up after putting in an excellent showing that saw them within only thirty seconds of a Silver medal and a minute and twenty seconds off Gold. Once again Finn Brodie got the team off to a good start, tracking Team GB triathlete Jonny Brownlee, representing Bingley Harriers here, with Brodie recording 23 minutes 40 seconds for the 8 kilometre leg. In his first team outing for Morpeth after transfer from Blyth, Josh Fiddaman showed his potential with 13:37 for the first short leg of 4.5k, with Connor Marshall taking the second long next to record 24:43. Tom Prentice clocked 14:01 on leg 4 before passing on to Carl Avery, whose long leg of 23:10 was the club’s fastest time for the distance. Ellis Hetherington, like Fiddaman in his first team outing for the club, clocked 13:46 on leg six, and with Alex Brown’s 23:55 for the day’s final long leg, the team were comfortably in a third place that they never looked like losing. Morpeth’s remaining short legs were run by Tom Balsdon (14:07), a late Friday night addition, George Lowry (13:50), Alistair Douglas (14:14), Lawrence McCourt (13:25, the team’s fastest short leg) and Will Cork (13:31), for a net time of 3 hours 26 minutes 5 seconds, well over a minute ahead of Liverpool Harriers and AC in 4th (3:27:38). Unsurprisingly, Leeds City were winners, clocking 3:24:46 with local outfit Salford Harriers and AC second in 3:25:35. There was a decent team out from NE teams, with Gateshead just outside the top ten in 11th (3:44:14), Sunderland Harriers 18th (3:47:24) and Tyne Bridge also making the top twenty in 19th (3:47:48). The Women’s Six stage was won by Sale Harriers in 1:57:12, only 11 seconds ahead of Leeds City in 2nd with Vale Royal a distant 3rd (2:00:26). The only NE representation was by South Shields Harriers and AC, who to their credit turned out not just one but two teams, the A team making top twenty in 2:10:48 and a B 45th in 2:18:52. With the track season fast approaching, the club is hosting its annual Try it/Trials night at the KEVI track on Monday 8 April. This is both to help prospective participants and team managers for the NEYDL team. Registration opens at 6pm and events will start around 6.30pm.
Coaches and parents are being encouraged to get as many of our younger members along to this event which will run until around 8pm. The programme will include sprints, throws, jumps and middle distance (800). The club’s 11–17 year olds will again compete in the North East Youth Development League along with clubs from across the region. The season begins on Sunday 21 April with a fixture at Jarrow. Alnwick Trail Races There were over 500 runners taking part in Sunday morning’s Alnwick Trail Races, organised by Wild Deer Events, with both half marathon and 10k races on offer over what the organisers themselves describe as ‘testing trail runs’. Rob Balmbra recorded a remarkable four-minute winning margin in the half marathon, clocking 1 hour 22 minutes and 34 seconds ahead of second placed Hedley Fletcher (1:26:41). Club colleagues Anna Wright and Jane Kirby both also had excellent runs, Wright 3rd overall and 2nd Over 40 in 1:44:16 behind local race winner Alnwick Harrier Elizabeth Joyce (1:37:37) and Kirby 62nd and 2nd O/50 in 1:54:18. The 10k race was won by another Alnwick runner, Kieran Lowe, recording 38:28. Ian Armstrong, whose teenage son Harry had placed second in Saturday’s Druridge Bay parkrun in a new personal best of 18:38, was third overall and also first O/50 in 39:44. Club colleague Dave Stabler was one place behind in fourth but first O/45 in 41:44. Brough Law Fell Race
The annual Brough Law Fell Race took place on the same morning over a five-mile route in the Ingram Valley that takes in a number of the area’s hillforts, with nearly 100 finishers. Won by Northumberland Fell Runner Chris Larkin in 37 minutes 40 seconds, John Butters was 6th overall and 2nd O/40 in a time of 42:35. Mike Winter was 26th in 48:55, Steve Haswell 28th in 49:31, Gary Mason 43rd in 53:08l, Lee Bennett 49th in 53:56. Nicola Duggan was first female finisher in 47:39 with Morpeth’s Robyn Bennett fifth in 53:54 and Gwenda Cavill 14th in 61:34. English Schools Cross Country Championships Five athletes from Morpeth Harriers were on representative duties for Northumberland at the annual English Schools Cross Country Championships held at a windy Pontefract Racecourse on Saturday. The overall result over the six events was disappointing from Northumberland’s point of view, with best performances being achieved by their Junior Boys and Senior Girls, who both finished as 18th in their respective events. Three Morpeth Harriers took part in the Senior Boys event, where the Northumberland squad finished 25th, led home by Bertie Marr, who finished 73rd. The other two Morpeth Harriers in the event were Elliot Kelso and Joseph Close, 81st and 149th respectively and second and third team counters. Northumberland’s Intermediate Boys finished 26th, with Morpeth’s Ollie Tomlinson their fourth counter in 202nd place. Having her first ever English Schools Cross Country outing, Morpeth’s youngest competitor Faye Heatley finished as fourth counter for Northumberland in the Junior Girls event in 254th place. Podium Festival Alex Brown, George Lowry and Tom Prentice all ran in 5k races at the Podium Festival at New College, Leicester, also on Saturday, with Alex recording 14:44, George 14:56 and Tom a big new pb of 15:16. Also involved was James Young, who won the time-trial event, in which athletes ran a lap (approximately 980m) having set off in one-minute intervals. Times in the men’s race were particularly close, with the top five separated by three seconds, James recording 2:20.42. 10 Meeting Perhaps the most remarkable performance of the weekend however was at the high-profile 10 Meeting in San Juan Capistrano, California on Saturday evening where, in a very competitive field, Rory Leonard ran a time of 28m 4.83s when finishing 10th overall in his heat of the 10,000m, a time that takes a remarkable 17 seconds off his previous best time for the distance. |
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