​Easter Monday saw two blue and white vests on the streets of Boston, as training companions Anna Wright and Jane Kirby took to the streets of eastern Massachusetts for the world-renowned Boston Marathon.
 
Along with New York, Berlin and, of course. London, Boston is one of the Big Four city marathons and, historically, the oldest, notorious also for ‘Heartbreak Hill’ (actually the last of four hills which start at the 16-mile mark), just what you don’t need as you hit the wall at 20 miles. First run in 1897, and traditionally held on Patriots’ Day, it is also actually the oldest of the world’s annual marathons.
 
And after months of hard training under the watchful eye of coach Andrew Dippie, both Anna and Jane had fine runs, with both comfortably inside ‘good for age’ times, Anna clocking 3 hours 24 minutes and 7 seconds and Jane 3:35:56, with both justifiably elated afterwards at their performances.
 
Won by Kenyans John Corir in a time of 2:04:05 - despite a bad fall near the start - and Sharon Lokedi (2:17:22), Paula Radcliffe also made the headlines at 51 years of age, completing the course in a time of 2:53:44. Securing the Six Star Medal awarded to those who have run marathons in Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York, Radcliffe would later announce that her ‘body is done’ with road racing and that her competitive career was definitely over. 

Good Friday saw the annual running of the always popular relays down at Newburn Riverside over a slightly changed course, with some 12 Morpeth Women’s and Men’s teams turning out plus a handful of youngsters.
 
There were four running in the U/15s, all newly promoted to the category this year, with Jack Dhawar 14th in 8:39 and Jacob Thompson 27th in 9:23. Finishing just behind Jack, Heidi Wilkinson was 1st girl home in 8:41 and Zoe Tomlinson 7th in 9:04.
 
The Senior Women’s three stage race, now, like the Men’s, run over a 2.1 mile single out and back loop (from what was previously the turn around roundabout at the bottom of the course) was won by Birtley AC in a time of 34:37, with Lydia Turner recording the day’s equal fastest leg of 10:51. Houghton Harriers were 2nd in 34:43 and Elswick, for whom Sophie Pikett also ran 10:51, 3rd in 35:45.
 
Morpeth’s A team of Lizzie Rank (11:59), teenager Emma Tomlinson (13:21) and Holly Lawrence (11:55) placed 7th in 37:16, with sisters Lorna Macdonald (12:56), Lindsey Quinn (13:52) and Cat (12:03) placing 15th in 38:52.
 
The C team of Charlotte Marshall ((14:01), Kay Errington (14:55) and Sophie Ward (14:10) were 39th in 43:07, with some 113 complete teams finishing.
 
Hosts Elswick, with both Judith Nutt and Justina Heslop running, perhaps unsurprisingly took the 0/40Veterans competition in 38:25. However, Morpeth’s O/50s team of Shuna Rank (15:05), Pam Woodcock (18:34) and Sarah Mills (15:37) placed a commendable 4th in their category in a time of 49:17, with Ponteland taking the title. Heaton Harriers took the 0/60s prize.
 
Last race of the day saw a thrilling battle at the sharp end over four stages, with Morpeth, winners here for a number of years running, just losing out to Gateshead Harriers, spearheaded by a flying Calum Johnson.
 
Chris Parr ran 9:40 on 1st leg, coming in in 4th place on a keenly contested stage, but George Lowry’s 9:51 saw them moving up the standings and Josh Fiddaman’s 9: 52 had them in the lead. Thereafter, last leg runner Alex Brown was there to be shot at by Gateshead’s Johnson, in fine form after recording one of the fastest legs at the National 12 Stage with the previous week, and on this form he is an almost unstoppable act, with Alex acting as the hare for him to chase. In the end, his 9:10 clocking proved to be the second fastest of the day as he reeled in the Morpeth runner with half  mile to go, with Gateshead finishing in 39:19 and Morpeth 2nd in 39:33.
 
There was some consolation, however, with two other Morpeth teams featuring in the top ten. The B team of Elliot Kelso (9:53), Connor Marshall (9:57), Dan Melling (10:13) and Sam Hancox (10:11) were 4th in 40:15, with Sam squeezing out Tyne Bridge. The C team of Joe Close (10:08), Ethan Bond (10:45), Tom Balsdon (10:11) and Lee Cuthbertson ((10:34) were 10th in 41:40.
 
Sadly, the D team were incomplete after a late early morning withdrawal, although Oliver Tomlinson (10:21), Jake Parmley (11:45) and Shaun Land (11:36) all had good runs.
 
There were also four Men’s Veterans teams out, with two 2nds and a 1st in an excellent set of performances.
 
The Over 40s, headed by a flying Andrew Swinburne (10:10), were 2nd behind Sunderland Harriers (43:32), although they might have won had second stage runner Andy Ball been given notice of Andrew coming in. As it was, he lost at least thirty seconds in the pell-mell changeover (11:48), with James Deathe recording 11:03 and Dave Stabler 11:07 for 44:10.
 
The O/50s of Rob Hancox (12:5), John Butters (11:18), Jason Dawson (12:06) and Lee Bennett (11:57) clocked 47:28, also 2nd in their category, this time behind Elvet Stiriders (45:37).
 
Morpeth’s sole team win came courtesy of their most seasoned campaigners, their O/60s team of Stephen Land (14:35), Gavin Bayne (13:13), Tony Horsley (13:26) and Alistair Macdonald (12:48) clocking 54:03 ahead of Jarrow and Hebburn.
 
A mixed team of 0/50 Richard Glennie (12:25), 0/60 Neil McAnany (13:42), 0/40 Andriy Volkov (12:38) and 0/70 Richard Sill (15:42) clocked 54:28, with the team 78th of 113 teams overall.
 
Well done all who ran. Full results can be found here: Good Friday Relays
​

The annual spring 12 and 6-stage relays were held once again in the grounds of Sutton Park, Sutton Coldfield - a big national fixture but one requiring, as ever, a big journey south and a full day’s commitment.
 
This year’s fixture had one difference, however, in that, due to ongoing work in the park and the Streetly Gate remaining open to traffic, the longer 10k stages, had all been stripped out and all stages were now 5.08k for the first time since the event’s inaugural running in 1967.
 
With the team shaping up very nicely midweek, team manager David Swinburne was unfortunately hit by a double whammy on Friday teatime necessitating some special pleading to make sure Morpeth even had a full team.
 
Cometh the hour, cometh the men, and Rob Hancox (who was travelling down anyway with Sam) and then Tom Straughan stepped into the breach to make sure the team would be complete – a big thank you to them from not just the team but the whole club.
 
As it was, the club were still able to make a top 20 place, and were indeed right up to 4th at the end of leg five and still in the top ten two thirds of the way in, finishing in a respectable 19th overall in a combined time of 3 hours 16 minutes and 30 seconds.
 
The race was won by Bristol and West in 3:02:35, with Highgate Harriers 2nd and only 22 seconds behind, and in fact actually in the lead after stage 11.
 
Cambridge and Coleridge AC were 3rd in 3:04:27, with Tonbridge AC 4th and Leeds City, missing some of their big hitters, 5th .
 
Peter Smallcombe got Morpeth’s challenge off to a good start with an excellent 15:11, with Carl Avery clocking 15:15 on leg 2 and George Lowry 15:29 and the club steadily moving up the standings.
 
Finn Brodie’s 15:25 got the team up to 4th and Phil Winkler kept them there with 15:22. Joe Dixon, already no stranger to these big relays despite his young age, ran 15:56 on leg 6, Sam Hancox 16:12 on leg 7, and Connor Marshall 16:09 on leg 8, with the club still in a top ten place.
 
In their first outings at this level, Ethan Bond clocked 17:23 and Dan Melling 16:34. Thereafter, Tom Straughan’s 17:35 and Rob Hancox’s 19:59 saw them finish in 19th overall and 4th team from the North of England behind Leeds, Salford and Liverpool, but 1st from the North East, ahead of Gateshead in 43rd (for whom Calum Johnson ran one of the day’s fastest legs of 14:34), Birtley (48th) and Tyne Bridge (51st).
 
Jake Smith of Pontypridd ran the day’s fastest time of 14:28. Some 65 teams in all finished (although remarkably a big club like Birchfield Harriers could only field seven).
 
Full results here
 
The Women’s Six Stage was won by Aldershot, Farnham and District in a time of 1:46:01, ahead of Leeds City AC (1:47:10) and Herne Hill Harriers (1:47:47).
 
Neither Tyne Bridge nor NSP, 2nd and 3rd in the Northern Relays, travelled. In fact, only Birtley AC and Elvet Striders turned out from the NE, with Birtley A finishing 26th in 2:05:27 and their B 42nd in 2:27:49. Elvet were 37th in 2:19:28, with some 43 complete teams finishing.
 
Lucy James of Herne Hill ran the fastest time of the day, 16:48.
 
Full results here
​

Blyth 10k
 
On a bright and breezy Sunday morning, Morpeth’s Sam Hancox was first of just under 600 runners home at the annual Blyth 10k race.
 
The popular event, held over an out and back course from Blyth Quayside to Seaton Sluice, was once again sold out well in advance and attracted a good local field drawn by the fast and flat course offering runners a good chance of personal best times.
 
A winner in 2016 and 2018, Sam took charge at the sharp end from the off, with a small group comprising Blackhill Bounder’s Jordan Bell, a winner for the previous two years, and Gateshead and Sunderland veterans Conrad Franks and Liam Taylor trying to go with him.
 
But Hancox had shaken them off well before the turn around at Seaton Sluice, and extended his lead steadily on the long road home along the pavement and cycle paths back to Blyth, finishing in a winning time of 31 minutes 58 seconds.
 
Franks managed to get ahead of Bell for second place, some 30 seconds back in 32:28, with Bell seven seconds behind.
 
Wallsend’s Jennifer Berry took the women’s race in 37:08, with Elswick’s Imogen Bungay 2nd (38:52) and Sunderland Stroller Wendy Chapman 3rd (39:10).
 
With four in the top ten and six in the top 20, Morpeth were clear winners of the team prize, with Rob Balmbra back in 7th (33:48), training partner Mark Banks 8th (33:55) and evergreen Ian Harding 10th (34:06). Ian was 2nd Over 40.
 
Also running in blue and white were: Lee Cuthbertson, 14th in 34:37; Dave Stabler 19th and 2nd O/45 in 35:21; Tom Innes 29th in 36:07; Dean Lonsdale 67th in 38:58; Rob Hancox 74th and 2nd O/55 in 39:13; Mike Winter 157th in 43:25, and Norman Clark 389th and 7th O/70 in 56:16. Good to see both Tom and Dean back in 10k action here for the club.
 
Some 599 finished.
 
Results here: Blyth2
 
Allendale Challenge Marathon
 
Saturday saw the 34th Allendale Challenge Marathon for walkers and runners, organised as an invaluable fundraiser by North of Tyne Mountain Rescue Team.
 
William Barnes was 1st back over the challenging route in a time of three hours thirty- six minutes and thirty seconds, with Morpeth’s Nicola McCoy first woman home and 26th overall in 4:55:02.
 
Fellow club member Richard Kirby was 45th in 5:18:11.
 
Results here: Home - Allendale Challenge
 
Forest of Dean Spring Trails Half Marathon
 
Cat Macdonald and Lindsey Quinn travelled to the Forest of Dean Spring Trails Half towards the end of March to take part in an event which also included the British Trail Running Championships (Short Distance) and was a selection race for British Masters.
 
Won by Rugeley Runner Lee Gratton in 1:44:05, Cat was 4th Female and 2nd Senior finisher in 1:23:42.
 
Lindsey was 58th but 9th Female finisher in 1:44:05.
 
Full results here: Forest of Dean Spring Trails Half Marathon 2025, 23/03/2025 : : my.race|result

Runners from across the North of England converged on the seafront at Redcar to take part in the Northern Athletics Relays, with Morpeth’s Senior Men once again prominent and claiming, after over four hours of very competitive racing, a hard-fought team Bronze.
 
While it was great for spectators, the closed route along the Esplanade towards the south of the town was battered by some very gusty winds which made life even more challenging for all taking part however, especially those on long stages who had to run into it twice,  as over a thousand runners competed across the four fixtures for both Young Athletes and Seniors.
 
The opening Under 15 and Under 17 races saw good runs by the five Morpeth Harriers taking part, with Emma Tomlinson 12th in the U/15 Girls in 20 minutes 58 seconds and Faye Heatley 15th in 21:21. Local athlete Gabrielle Pinder, of organising club New Marske Harriers, was the winner in 17:25. 
 
There was a complete squad in the U/17 Men, with Emma’s older brother Oliver coming in 14th (16:38), Harry Armstrong one place behind (16:49) and Ben Moll 38th (18:27), with the race won by North Shields Polytechnic Harrier Daniel Watson in 15:48. The team finished a creditable 5th.
 
Forty eight teams from across the whole of the North of England lined up for the Senior Men’s fixture, run over four long stages of 9.5 kilometres and eight short ones of 5k, with the North West prominently represented by outfits from both Salford and Sale Harriers, Bury and Liverpool, and Yorkshire by Leeds City and Rotherham (although for some strange reason Hallamshire Harriers didn’t show at all) although most North East clubs also took the opportunity of a fixture close to him to measure themselves against some of the best talent in the North.
 
Early runs by young Joe Dixon, drafted in to run the first long leg (31:16), George Lowry (15:38), Finn Brodie (30:12) and Chris Parr (15:46) saw Morpeth well in contention behind early leaders Salford Harriers, with Leeds City ominously also moving up the standings and Sale also well placed.
 
Lawrence McCourt on the day’s third long leg (30:05), Alex Brown on leg six (15:12, the club’s fastest short leg) and Carl Avery (29:07, the club’s fastest long leg) saw Morpeth comfortably into third place, with Leeds City moving into second behind a very strong-looking Salford.
 
Thereafter runs by Connor Marshall (15:31), Sam Hancox (15:47), teenager Elliot Kelso (16:18), Tom Prentice (15:54)  and Josh Fiddaman (15:17) saw Morpeth finish in a total cumulative time of 4 hours 6 minutes 49 seconds, 3rd  behind Leeds City, 2nd in 4:03:54, and winners Salford Harriers (4:02:52).
 
Salford’s Harry Wakefield was the day’s fastest over 5k in 14:48 and Leeds City’s Richard Allen fastest over the longer leg in 28:19.
 
Teams from Sunderland Harriers and Tyne Bridge also made top ten placings, with Sunderland 9th in 4:20:56 and Tyne Bridge 10th (4:23:14). Interestingly, this year’s NEHL winners, Durham City, like Hallamshire didn’t run.
 
Morpeth’s B team also had a remarkably successful afternoon, coming in seventeenth of some forty eight teams in 4:34:36, although not without some frantic last minute work by team manager Dave Swinburne to juggle A and B teams after some late withdrawals.
 
Andrew Swinburne, in his firs`0p;/t outing in blue and white, clocked their fastest long stage of 31:55 to open proceedings with Alistair Douglas 17:14. Andrew Lawrence  ran 33:55 on leg 3, Jason Dawson 19:38 on leg 4, Dan Melling 16:21 on leg 5 and Matthew Briggs 31:38 for the final long leg. On the remaining short legs Jake Parmley ran 18:01, Dave Marshall 20:01, both commendably turning out at very short notice, Tom Balsdon 16:16, the team’s fastest short leg, Tom Straughan 17:02 and Rob Hancox, a few weeks off his 60th, 18:48 on the last leg.
 
Despite the difficulties, the team were also the day’s second fastest B team with a remarkable top twenty place, with Salford’s B finishing in no less than 5th place (4:17:15).
 
Earlier, the Women’s Six Stage Relays, with two long and four short stages run over the same course and at the same time as the Men, saw Leeds City show dominant form as they finished nearly six minutes ahead of nearest rivals in a time of 2:21:44.
 
There was further North East success however, with Tyne Bridge 2nd (2:27:30) and North Shields finishing 3rd (2:29:33), although on this occasion Morpeth Harriers were, perhaps disappointingly, not represented.