The 9th of June saw the return after a two-year Covid-enforced absence of the Blaydon Race, celebrating its 40th Anniversary in 2022.
This year’s event had faced numerous obstacles to even get on, and it is to the great credit of host club Blaydon Harriers and all those involved with its organisation that their determination to ensure it took place meant it could again be staged despite the many difficulties in so doing. There had to be changes, however, and notably to the start, which for the first time ever was not on Collingwood Street, near to Balmbra’s, where of course Geordie Ridley’s Tyneside anthem had its earliest airing. With runners unable to congregate on Grey Street, partly due to changes in the layout there, and with a bottleneck on the course after only a few hundred yards in front of the new Vita student flats, the organisers accepted they needed to find a different start and moved down to the Quayside. Now starting pretty much where August’s Quayside 5k is held, this meant a much less congested area for runners and a flattish long run of nearly two miles along the road under the Tyne Bridges by the side of the river, even if the route doesn’t any more follow completely that laid out in the original song. Thereafter, runners climbed out through Newcastle Business Park up a steady incline to ‘gan along the Scottswood Road’ once more, although further course changes took the out and back dogleg after the Chain Bridge further than in previous years and increased the distance to just short of 10k. A leading group of some seven or eight soon formed at the head of the race, with Carl Avery, Finn Brodie and Sam Hancox very much to the fore in the first few miles. Thereafter, a break away by Avery saw him joined by 2019 winner Graham Rush of Leeds City and Gateshead Harrier Calum Johnson as these three battled for the final medals. In the end, it was Johnson who was able to take a decisive lead, winning for the first time in 29 minutes 19 seconds. Rush was 2nd in 29:28 and Carl had to settle for a gutsy 3rd (29:35). With Finn 4th (29:46) and Sam 7th (29:54), the club did have three finishers in the top ten however, and when Ali Douglas placed 21st (32:17), Morpeth were once again confirmed as the winning team, thus enabling race commentator (one George Patterson, of this parish) to again take the trophy home… Wallsend Harrier Danielle Hodgkinson (who’d taken part in the Stan Long Mile only 24 hours previously) was 1st Female finisher in 33:58 with Sunderland Stroller and leading vet Ally Dixon 2nd in 35:08. Cat Macdonald continued her fine year by coming in in 3rd place (35:44), although she was also credited as 1st Senior Female, with Rachelle Falloon in 10th (37:39). With veterans not counting for the team prize, the club’s Senior Women (with Lindsey and Tayla making up the count) were unfortunate to miss out Tyne Bridge Harriers by a margin of only six places. Morpeth’s other finishers, many of whom had only realised they had an entry, going back to 2019, when it dropped in the letter-box (and some of whom were still listed as running for other clubs) included: Andy Lawrence, 22nd in 32:24; Ian Harding, 4th Over 40, 31st in 32:40; Mark Snowball, 35th in 33:12; Mark Banks, feeling the previous night’s mile race, 81st in 35:24; Jake Parmley, 132nd in 36:41; Shaun Land, 139th in 36:53; Rob Hancox, 201st in 38:30; Jamie Johnson, 211th in 38:42; Neil Gunstone, 231st in 39:14; Mike Winter, 361st in 41:34; Julie Vermaas, 469th in 43:20; Lindsey Quinn, 487th in 41:39; Pieter Vermaas, 516th in 43:30; Richard Kirby, 555th in 43:48; Tayla Murdy, 599th in 43:02 and being paced round with Jason Dawson, 600th in 43:03; Jim Alder ‘the younger’, in an old Morpeth t-shirt salvaged from the depths of Pam’s cupboard, 713th in 46:03; Peter Scaife (‘didn’t know I’d even entered’), 888th in 48:11; Mike Stevens, 923rd in 48:00; Laura Mclean, 1262nd in 49:21; Claire Calverley, 1342nd in 50:20; Laura Shaw, 1611st in 51:42; Nobby Clark, 1822nd in 52: 53 and Damian Foster, 2356th in 57:24. The weekend saw the British Masters Track and Field Championships taking place at Moorways Athletics Stadium in Derby with the best of the country’s older veterans involved, with four Golds and one Bronze won by the three Morpeth Harriers who had travelled to take part.
One of the performances of the weekend was undoubtedly that by our own Gavin Bayne. Competing in the Over 65 category on a gusty afternoon, he took charge of the 1500m and made an early break for home on the last lap to try and draw out the sprint finish of his nearest rival. Managing to keeping well ahead of all challengers, he finished in a tremendous time of 5 minutes 27.95 seconds. With little time to celebrate, he was back in action only a couple of hours later in the 800m and once again overawed all his rivals with a gun-to-tape victory in a time of 2.46:84. A tremendous pair of results for Gav - his first British Masters Golds - there will be no let up in his training, with his next target the World Half Marathon Championships in Finland next month. The following day Nisha Desai was in action over the 400m hurdles, winning the Over 35s in a time of 61.20 seconds, a season’s best and a very strong run. Scotland based thrower Claire Reid was the busiest of the three, however, taking part in Discus, Javelin and Shot Putt, with her best performance in the Discus of 29.94 metres meaning she took the O/45 title. She picked up a Bronze in the Shot with 8.96m and was also 5th in the Javelin with 13.67m. Four super Golds and a lesson to us all about what’s possible despite the advancing years with the right motivation and training. Congratulations to all three. Morpeth Harrier Andrew Hebden is joining a dad’s ultramarathon fundraising effort in memory of his son who died last year from a rare brain tumour aged just eight.
Andrew will join Ross Peckham as he tackles a 53-mile run from his home at Marske-by-the-Sea near Redcar to the Great North Children’s Hospital in Newcastle where his son Lochlan was cared for. Andrew's fiancee Dr Rebecca Hill, who was Lochlan's consultant, will join the for the last 10 miles of the run on 24 June. They are raising funds for two charities which support brain tumour research – Children’s Cancer North and Brain Tumour Research. Lochlan was diagnosed with a rare form of brain tumour, a high-grade glioma, in the summer of 2019. For almost two years he endured surgery, endless hospital visits and months of gruelling treatments. Lochlan, who died in May 2021, was a real life superhero who never failed to stop smiling and making people laugh throughout his treatment. Ross, 43, said he hoped the fundraising effort would ensure that something positive came as a result of Lochlan’s passing, and that it would support much-needed research into brain tumours. He said: “It is a year since Lochlan passed away and the pain remains very raw for all of us. There is nothing we can do to bring Lochlan back. But we can try to raise money for, and awareness of, the research that is so desperately needed into this devastating illness. “While there is a great deal of awareness about cancer generally, that is frequently not the case with certain types of brain tumours. While rare, these can be devastating forms of cancer that often, as in Lochlan’s case, prove fatal. It is essential that more is done to fund research in this area and to support the vital work of the teams at hospitals such as the Great North Children’s Hospital.” Rebecca, MRC Clinical Scientist at Newcastle University and Honorary Consultant in Paediatric Oncology at the Great North Children’s Hospital, said: “It was a true privilege meeting Lochlan and being part of the team who cared for him. He was a joy to look after, and I will always miss his infectious smile and the jokes he used play on our medical students!” Andrew, 43, will be tackling an ultra distance for the first time. His marathon PB is 2hrs 47mins which he achieved at London in 2016. But he is expecting to break any records on the long trek to Newcastle! He said: “It has been great to get to know Ross and start training with him. I am keen to do my bit and help with the fundraising effort, as well as providing Ross with some support as we undertake this challenge together. “Although we’ve both run marathons before, this is a run on a different scale. It’s going to be really tough and we are going to be taking it at a very steady pace but we’re both determined to complete it for such a great cause.” Andrew and Ross would really appreciate any support. You can read more about their story and donate on their Just Giving page at https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/runforlochlan With the sight of many local runners focussed once again on the forthcoming Blaydon Race, it was a quieter weekend for Morpeth Harriers on the competition front.
There were a number of strong Parkrun performances on Saturday, with John Butters first home at Druridge Bay in a time of 17 minutes 28 seconds and Lindsey Quinn second female in 21:24. At Blyth, Richard Johnson came in over a minute and a half of the rest of the field in 16:24 with Anthony Liddle third in 18:25 and Rachelle Falloon first female finisher and 7th back in 18:52. Closer to home, veteran Alistair Macdonald was 2nd over the tough Carlisle Park course in a time of 20:45. The following day Lindsey Quinn was in action again, completing the 5 mile Ingram Hill Forts trail race where she was 2nd female finisher in 44 minutes 1 second, beaten by only seven seconds by Claire Fairburn with Gary Wales winning overall in 33:57. Younger sister Catriona Macdonald meanwhile took part in the Yetholm Hill Race over an 8 mile course which incorporated 2500 feet of climbs and six hills in the Cheviots, including a punishing ascent of The Curr. Not only 1st female finisher, Macdonald was also remarkably 4th overall in a time of 1 hour 22 minutes with father Alistair 11th in 1:35, the race itself won by Andrew Cox of Moorfoot in 1:17. Morpeth Harrier and Northumberland Fell Runner member Richie Hughes placed 2nd in 1:20. Morpeth Harriers filled the first two places at Sunday’s Druridge Bay 10k, the ever-popular charity fundraiser first run in 2007 and now held in support of Hospice Care Northumberland.
A chilly morning with a stiff northerly breeze made for some unseasonably difficult conditions however, especially so since changes to the course meant this year, for the first time, a beach start and two sections on the sand into the wind, plus an additional loop round the lake. Making short work of these was Alistair Douglas, first home and stepping up in distance from the 800m he had won at the NECAA Championships a fortnight ago to finish in a time of 36 minutes and 14 seconds. He was followed home by club colleague and local Amble lad Jordan Scott, a regular fixture over the years and a past winner going right back to 2008, who was just under a minute behind in 37m 4s. It was also a successful day for organising club Alnwick Harriers, with 3rd place going to Steve Carragher (38:22) and the first three female finishers all wearing the club’s colours. Caroline Paige was 1st Senior Female in 46:46, with Rosie Davison 2nd (47:52) and Lisa Baston 3rd (48:28). Morpeth’s Under 16 Harry Armstrong was 2nd U/16 in 47:34. In County Durham the same morning Morpeth stalwart Ian Harding, now an Over 40 veteran, made an impressive return to competition when finishing 2nd in the Raby Castle 10k. Clocking a time of 34 minutes and 45 seconds, Harding only lost out to Liviu Ionita of Darlington Harriers, who won in a time of 34:34. |
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