Despite blustery winds, there were still some excellent performances at the first round of the NECAA annual Throws Festival, which was held in conjunction with the Spring Track Relays and Open Miles, organised by the North of Tyne Athletics Network, held at Churchill Playing Fields on Saturday 30th March 2019. Event winners all received Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals respectively for their achievements, and although they had no athletes competing in Track Events, Morpeth Harriers still managed to claim no less than Six Gold Medals in the Throws Events. Four of the six Golds went to Sister and Brother siblings Jessica and Edward Gardiner, who managed two each, which clearly meant that the weekend, and Mothering Sunday alike, went without any family squabbling, or claims of bragging rights, as if. Their proud Father Alan was also there on the day to witness their respective excellent achievements, which included four new personal best performances, and a Meeting Record going to the older Jessica. Her record came in the Under 17 Women’s Hammer competition, which saw her win with a best throw of 39.81m, which was achieved in her first of four attempts, bettering her previous figures by a whole 1.53m (five feet in old money), which also now sees her ranked No 1 in the region, and eighth in the UK, a fine early season effort indeed. Jessica won by a clear four metres over Darlington’s Rosie Thompson, who produced an on the day best of 35.56m. Later in the competition, she won the Discus, also with a new personal best of 31.33m, again inflicting defeat on Thompson, on this occasion by the comfort of around 3.50m. Gardiner, bettering her previous figures by 1.38m (just over four foot in old money), now sits at No 3 in the UK, and 1st in the region as a result of her splendid efforts. Younger brother Edward, having his first full taste of competition, and the pleasure of increased implement weights, from the Under 15 Boys age group, won Gold medals in the Discus and his preferred Javelin, an event in which he was Northumberland Schools County Champion last summer.
Both respective performances of 19.72m, and 25.12m, were naturally personal best performances, efforts which see him currently ranked No 1 and No 2 in the region, and inside the top 50 in the UK. In the Javelin, Edward beat Cameron Marshall of Gateshead Harriers, who had an on the day best throw of 19.63m. Morpeth Harriers other two Gold medallists on the day were Under 20 athletes Bobby Griffiths and Ruaridh Lang, who will both feel encouraged by these early season performances. Griffiths very comfortably won the Javelin, establishing a new Meeting Record of 37.09m, which although is a little adrift of her lifetime best of 42.27m, still offers some degree of satisfaction, bearing in mind that she was also competing in some of the worse conditions of the day, after the drizzle emerged. Lang, who won his Gold in the Discus, which was held earlier in the day, had a best effort of 42.90m, which was also a Meeting Record, which would have certainly satisfied him, being an early season performance, despite being slightly adrift of his lifetime best of 43.78m, and hopefully will have also placed a hint of an expectant smile on the face of his dedicated coach Paul Reed, who indeed was on hand to witness his performance. So all in all, good things look to be in store from Morpeth Harriers, and their band of specialist talented throwing experts. Four fifths of the macdonald clan spent Sunday morning (31st March)
running the Tom Scott Memorial 10 mile road race. Consisting of 2 laps of Strathclyde Park near Motherwell, the race attracted a top field of 360 athletes. The women’s race was won by Elspeth Curran of Kilbarchan (56min). The men’s race was won by Lachlan Oates of Glasgow club Shettleston in a time of 49:15. This was around 2 minutes slower than the winning time of 47:34, recorded in 1965 when Jim Alder won the event in a new record (albeit on a different course). A mention in dispatches also goes to Doug Gunstone (son, Neil, is currently a member of Morpeth). Doug won the junior race in 1970 and was second in the senior race in 1972 (47:53). This year, first home and 8th senior woman was Catriona Macdonald (1:02:40) running for her Scottish Club Bellahouston Road Runners. Having placed 2nd at last weekend’s Dishforth Dash 10k, Lorna finished a creditable 11th Senior Woman in a time of 1:06:44. Alistair, getting back from injury and a week of excess in the Highlands clocked 1:12 (23rd M50) and was pleased to get his 2019 racing account off to a start. Margaret enjoyed her Mothers Day out returning in a time of 1:42:43 for 26th F50. Report by Alistair Macdonald Morpeth Harriers Rory Leonard and Mhairi MacLennan were both members of a team of 24 athletes that represented Great Britain with distinction at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships held at Aarhus on the Jutland peninsula of Denmark on Saturday 30th March 2019. Pre-race, much of the talk had understandably focussed not so much on the teams from 62 different nations but on the course itself, designed by Jakob Larsen, director of the Danish Athletics Federation and immediately nicknamed The Beast. ‘This course has been about turning people’s heads’ he had announced, and the 2000 metre circuit certainly did that, including as it did such eye-catching features as a water splash, a mud pit, a beer tent through which competitors had to run somewhat ironically named ‘Runner’s Valhalla’ , and perhaps the piece de resistance, a lung and leg sapping ascent of the 10% grade grass roof of the host venue’s Moesgaard Museum. Variously described in BBC commentary by twice world cross-country silver medallist Tim Hutchins as ‘unrelenting’, ‘a rollercoaster’ and ‘almost too tough’, it certainly made for captivating viewing on a day of near perfect conditions. Having tweeted only a few days before ‘time to get it right in the GB vest’, KEVI sixth former Rory Leonard took place in the third of the day’s five events, the Junior Men’s (Under 20) race which followed the mixed relay and Junior Women’s races, and was one of six athletes representing GB, with four to count for the team. Billed beforehand as very much a showdown between Norwegian tyro and rising star of world athletics, Jakob Ingerbrigtsen - who had completed a stunning 1500m and 3000m double on the track at the 2018 European Championships - and the collective strength of a host of fine African talent from the traditionally strong nations of Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda, the race was started by Danish royalty in the form of Crown Prince Fredrick and included four circuits of the 2k course. While in the early stages the race very much went to form, as the event went on the gruelling course saw the Norwegian drop off the leading pack after half way and he had finally to settle for 12th place, the race itself won by Milkesa Mengesha of Ethiopia in a time of 23 minutes 52 seconds from his compatriot Tadese Worku in 2nd and Ugandan Oscar Chelimo in 3rd. Leonard meanwhile, who had struggled with a cold in the week beforehand, ran a very consistent and sensible race, finding no doubt that the local circuit of Rothbury hills over which he trains stood him in good stead and showing that he was in no way out of place in the very tough company. He finally finished in 37th place in a time of 26m 33s and was 2nd GB counter for the team, who while finishing in 8th place had the satisfaction of being 1st European outfit. Edinburgh University student Mhairi MacLennan was to follow Leonard in the Senior Women’s race; like Leonard, she too had shared her justifiable pride in selection in the weeks beforehand, tweeting ‘so excited for this amazing opportunity’, and then, at the sight of herself in a GB vest, ‘just pinch me’.
In an exhausting race over five laps and just over 10,000m (that saw some slower runners from the 41 countries competing actually lapped), MacLennan, twice a winner of Northern Cross Country titles, applied herself with huge determination over the five laps and more than justified her selection, coming home like Leonard as 2nd GB counter in 32nd place only 10 seconds behind Shildon’s Kate Avery in a time of 39m 5s. At the front of the race, a titanic tussle between Kenya’s Helen Obiri and Ethiopian’s Dera Dida and Letesenbet Gidey saw Obiri finally triumph in 36 14s. While the team prizes for the event went to Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda, GB’s women, for whom Jennifer Nesbitt and Jess Piasecki were 3rd and 4th counters, did carry off a tremendous team performance by finishing in 4th place. While both Leonard and MacLennan will certainly feel Denmark in their legs as they return to school and university respectively, they can take enormous pride in their splendid achievements. Four young sprint talents from Morpeth Harriers were in action at the annual
Northumberland Minor Schools Indoor Athletics Championships, held at Gateshead College on Wednesday 27th March 2019. Hannah Lott (St Benet Biscop CA), and Kaitlyn Waddell (Dukes Secondary Campus) both qualified for the Final of the Year 7 Girls 60m Hurdles, by winning their respective heats in 10.8s and 10.5s. In the later run Final, Lott won in an improved 10.3s, with Waddell a close second, producing an identical time to that of her heat. Waddell’s performance was a new lifetime personal best. Both athletes also competed in the Year 7 Girls High Jump, where Waddell placed second with her best clearance of 1.30m, and Lott finished fourth with 1.25m. In both instances the athletes equalled their lifetime bests. Lott and Waddell also competed in the 60m Sprint events, where Lott qualified for a B Final (8.98s), and the latter finished second in her heat in 9.26s, subsequently missing out on a Final place. Another Morpeth Harrier to make it to the B Final was Freya Caygill (Chantry Middle School), who won her heat in 9.03s. Caygill went on to win the B Final, with Lott placing second. For Caygill it was indeed encouraging, as this was her very first Indoor experience, and for Lott, her 8.98s was a new lifetime best. The fourth Morpeth Harrier of the quartet was Year 7 Boy Sam Dent (Chantry Middle School), who won his heat of the 60m Sprint in 8.74s, and in the later run final, Sam finished fifth in 9.1s. Sam had much better fortune in the Long Jump, where he finished second with a best of 4.23m. This was also Sam’s first experience of Indoor competition. Morpeth’s Laura Weightman, recent winner of the Trafford 10k, continued her
excellent form over the distance on Sunday 24th March 2019, when she produced a new personal best of 31m39s, in finishing as third Woman in the annual high profile Parelloop 10k in Brunssum in the Netherlands. This performance has elevated Laura to No 1 in the UK Rankings, ahead of fellow International Eilish McColgan. |
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