 The start of the A race as the Morpeth 10k returns with a new town centre course 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  Comments are closed.
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