BLAYDON RACE
The 2026 Edition of the Blaydon Race has become a quest for many Morpeth Harriers over the years. First held in 1981, the race is traditionally run over a 5.9 mile course on the 9th of June. The start was recently moved from the centre of Newcastle to the Quayside.
With a generous prize list, the road race attracts 5000 runners including athletes and novices alike. Morpeth have traditionally supported the race and previous winners for the blue and white vests have included Jonny Taylor (2015) and Peter Newton (2016, 2017).
In recent years Carl Avery has never been very far from the top, and this year was no exception. Carl, Chris Coulson, Lawrence McCourt and Finn Brodie fought hard at the front to shake off last year’s winner Calum Johnson of Gateshead. After a deluge just before the start, the group were still together in fresh conditions at Scotswood Bridge, with George Lowry prominent in the second group. Johnson, however, powered his way in the latter stages of the race to take a 10 second overall victory from Avery (1st M35), with Coulson finishing strongly for 3rd place. McCourt was 4th and Brodie 5th. George Lowry finished 11th.
The third group on the road containing Sam Hancox and Andrew Swinburne fragmented toward the end, but Swinburne managed to take a creditable first M40 (17th) with Sam Hancox finishing in 23rd place. Andrew Lawrence finished 61st (11th M40) and not far behind rising talent James Higgin was 95th. David Stabler was 4th M45 (112th) and Ian Armstrong was 7th M50 (155th). Rob Hancox was 8th M60. William Clark, Anthony Jannetta, Richard Glennie, Neil Gunstone and Normal Clark all improved on their 2025 times despite a nagging headwind.
In the women’s race, the field was strung out from the start. Birtley’s Lydia Turner won in a time of 31.39. Morpeth’s Holly Lawrence worked hard to secure 8th place and Lizzie Rank, recovered from her run at the Edinburgh Marathon finishing well-up for 11th place. Catriona MacDonald finished in 14th place. Poppy Buck looked determined along Scotswood Road and finished 24th. Lindsey Quinn and Jane Kirkby improved on their 2025 times. Thirty members of Morpeth Harriers completed the race.
Report by Alistair MacDonald