​This weekend saw the first running of the new Ashington Community Woodland parkrun. With over 200 finishers this time, the event looks set to be a popular one, joining other local parkruns at Morpeth, Druridge Bay, Newbiggin and Blyth.
 
Special mention in dispatches to our own Andrew Dippie, who has worked tirelessly over the last few months to get the event on – and then had the misfortune to miss out on the first running of the event with illness. Commiserations.
 
Ponteland Harrier Robert Holt was first back over the 5k distance in 17:11 with Morpeth Harrier Anna Wright 1st female finisher in 20:52.
 
For more information visit the website.

Triathlete Dan Dixon took the Northern Athletics 5k Road title in emphatic fashion at the Sunderland 5k last week, with his Morpeth Harriers also proving to be an irresistible force in the Men’s race.
 
Held once again at the Silksworth Sports Complex over a course which has always produced some fast times, this year’s two races featured quality fields made up of the much of the best of the North East’s running community.
 
Dan looked in excellent shape as he ran away from the chasing group to record a pb time of 14 minutes 35 seconds and a winning margin of some 17 seconds over KEVI sixth former Will De Vere Owen, who looked very much at home as he took 2nd place in a sprint finish over Houghton Harrier Chris Coulson in 3rd, both athletes being given the same time of 14:52.
 
Club colleague Sam Hancox missed out on a medal by a two-second margin, having to settle for 4th in 14:54 but taking a share of the team prize, and being happy once again to feature ahead of Jarlath Mckenna, 1st O/40.
 
Behind these three were no less than nine other Morpeth Harriers, with a dominant club performance reflected in figures of six home in the top ten and eight in the top 20.
 
7th and 8th respectively, Peter Smallcombe and Will Cork made it back in under 15 minutes (14:56 and 14:58), with Alistair Douglas 16th (15:22) and Liam Roche 17th (15:24) also making the top 20. Also featuring were: Tom Prentice 27th (15:42), Elliot Kelso 38th (16:02), John Butters 54th and 2nd O/45, James Dixon, 89th and Lee Cuthbertson, 102nd in 17:34.
 
The earlier Race 1, for Women and Men Over 50, had been won by Elswick Harrier Sophie Pikett in a time of 16 minutes 41 seconds, some twenty seconds ahead of her second and third placed rivals Esme Davies of Border Harriers (17:02) and Shona Haston of Gateshead (17:21).
 
On a flat course and in sunny conditions, both of which must have seemed a world away from her ascent and descent of Snowdon last weekend, in which she had been part of a medal-winning Scotland team, Cat Macdonald was first back for Morpeth, 11th overall and also 5th woman home in 17:43.
 
Cat was followed by team mates Robyn Bennett, 27th Senior in 19:40 and 28th Lindsey Quinn, in 19:49.
 
Also running in the race were Rob Hancox, who was 26th and 2nd Over 55 in 18:33, and Over 65s Gavin Bayne and David Nicholson, whose 19:32 and 20:39 were the two fastest O/65 times of the night.
 
Full results: Senior Men
​Senior Women and Over 50s Men.

A total of 23 athletes from Morpeth Harriers competed at the fourth North East Grand Prix Meeting of the season, held at Jarrow’s Monkton Stadium, on 12 July.
Whilst no-one from the club competed in the Field events, there was certainly some good performances from those competing in the Track events, with seven new personal bests being achieved amongst them.
One of those personal best performers was Under 23 GB Triathlon specialist Daniel Dixon, who was running what was his fifth ever 3000m, and his first since 2021.
It was at the same venue in June of that year, that Daniel finished fourth in the Grand Prix event, posting a new personal best of 8m23.58s.
On this occasion however, Dixon sensed possible victory with 800m remaining and he took off at fairly lightning speed. Meanwhile, Morpeth club colleague Carl Avery felt otherwise, and began a relentless chase.
Dixon was still leading slightly as the pair went through the bell, and it was around 250 metres remaining that Avery grabbed the lead, which he managed to hold all the way to the finish line, where he posted a winning time of 8m21.30s.
Meanwhile Dixon held onto second place and posted a new marginal personal best of 8m23.09s.
It became an excellent Morpeth 1-2-3, when Finn Brodie clinched second place in 8m28.20s, just ahead of Richmond and Zetland’s Charlie Stephenson (8m30.92s).
Other Morpeth Harriers competing in the fastest 3000m event were Daniel Dixon’s younger brother Joe, who finished eighth in 8m48.42s, and Oliver Tomlinson, who produced new figures, when finishing fourteenth in 9m29.10s.
Two Morpeth Harriers competed in the third fastest 3000m.
Morag Stead finished third in 10m49.69s, and Kate Kennedy in her very first attempt at the distance, finished ninth in 11m33.34s.
Three Morpeth Harriers competed in the series of thirteen 200m events.
In the second fastest of these, Under 20 Man Charlie Lane finished third, posting a new personal best time of 24.16s.
Ellie Wickens, also an Under 20 athlete, finished fourth in the seventh heat, in a time of 28.75s.
In the eighth fastest 200m, Under 17 athlete Jasmine Emolaga finished eighth in 29.67s, this was a very close race, where the sixth and seventh athletes were only a fraction ahead of her.
On to the very hotly contested 800m events, where no fewer than seven Morpeth athletes were on the start line in the fastest race.
In a very tough race, Under 17 Man Joseph Close was just pipped to victory by Gateshead’s Matt Linsley, who had competed at Trafford in Manchester the previous evening in the 1500m.
Close was forced to settle for second place in 1m55.72s, only a fraction adrift of his personal best.
Club colleague Ethan Phillips, an Under 20 athlete, finished third in 1m56.03s.
Other Morpeth Harrier results in this race were Liam Roche (5th) 1m58.27s, Bertie Marr (7th) 1m59.25s, Matthew Waterfield (8th) 1m59.47s, Elliot Kelso (9th) 1m59.49s, and Mark Banks (11th) 2m02.00s.
In the second fastest 800m event, Morpeth Harriers had two athletes in the line-up.
Connor Marshall finished second in 2m03.40s, and Under 17 athlete Elliot Mavir finished seventh in 2m07.76s.
Veteran Man Jason Dawson had an excellent run in the third fastest race, when he worked his way through to second place in a new personal best time of 2m11.94s.
In the fourth fastest race, Under 20 Woman Caitlin Flanagan finished seventh in 2m24.05s.
The smiles said it all at the end of the sixth fastest race, when Morpeth Under 15 Boy Thomas Roche achieved his first ever individual win, and the icing was placed firmly on the cake, as he did it by posting a new personal best of 2m30.50s.
In the eighth and final 800m event, Morpeth Under 13 Girl Zoe Tomlinson finished fourth in 2m59.77s.
The next North East Grand Prix meeting will take place on Wednesday 26 July, again at Monkton Stadium.

Morpeth Harriers Over 50 Veteran Man Trevor Hodgson firmly cemented his No 1 status in the UK, when he won the Scottish Masters 100m in a time of 11.74s, into a minus 1.2 wind.
His time of 11.73s, recorded at Jarrow in June, currently sees him sitting in fifth place in Europe, which means he will be one of the most feared of competitors booked to appear in the European Masters Championships in Italy at the end of September.
At the event on 8 July at Grangemouth Stadium,  he was second fastest overall in the whole competition, only surpassed by Motherwell Over 45 Veteran Alan Robertson, who posted a time of 11.71s in a separate heat.

Morpeth Harriers Senior Men and Women’s Track and Field squad finished an excellent third of six competing teams in their third round Northern Athletics North East Premier League match, held at Middlesbrough Sports Village on Sunday 9 July.
In a very tightly contested match, just 37 points divided the first four teams, and again in was Gateshead Harriers who came out on top, with Darlington Harriers only 11 points adrift in second place.
In finishing third on the day, Morpeth remain in third place cumulatively, however they still have New Marske breathing down their necks in fourth spot, only one point adrift in terms of league points, and thirteen in terms of match points, going into the fourth and final match at Whitley Bay on Saturday 19 August.
A final placing of third for Morpeth would prove very respectable, very similar to 2022, getting second place from Darlington, looks very much a tall order, but not entirely unachievable,
On to the third-round match itself, and results from both sides of the Morpeth camp were good, as were the team spirited efforts on the day.
In the Men’s events, Will Cork on his Northern League debut for the club, Ady Whitwam, who had made the long journey up from his Guildford home, and Mark Snowball all enjoyed A Race victories.
Cork won the 1500m in 3m59.0s, the only competitor in the event to drop below the four-minute mark, and Mark Banks backed him up well in the B Race, finishing second in 4m05.7s.
Banks also finished fourth in the B Race of the 5000m in 20m55.9s, supporting Whitwam’s excellent A Race victory in 16m12.1s.
In a last gasp effort to the finish line, Mark Snowball snatched a superb win in the 3000m Steeplechase, posting a time of 11m40s.
Snowball also finished fourth in the 400m Hurdles in a time of 76.4s.
Sean O’Hara and Anthony Liddle shared duties for Morpeth in the 100m and 200m events.
O’Hara finished fourth in the 100m A Race (11.6s) and was second in the A Race of the 200m in 23.0s.
Liddle meanwhile placed third in both 100m and 200m B Races, posting respective times of 12.3s and 25.8s.
In the 400m A Race, Liddle placed fourth in 56.2s, and Veteran athlete Jason Dawson had a good B Race, finishing second in 58.4s.
Morpeth squad members in the Men’s events were mainly track specialists, however there was a good all-round effort to cover as much as possible in the Field events.
Jason Dawson threw 24.45m, to finish fourth in the A String Javelin, and Tom Innes finished fourth in the B String with 16.84m.
Dawson also placed fourth in the A String of the Triple Jump, with a best of 9.52m, and Mark Banks managed a best of 9.19m, to finish third in the B String as support.
Innes, who as one of the Men’s Assistant Team Manager’s, along with Mark Snowball and George Patterson, was certainly no shirker when it came to effort in the Field Events, in competing in no fewer than four events, including the earlier referred to Javelin.
He finished sixth in the A String Discus, producing a best throw of 13.29m, and Snowball finished sixth in the B String with 10.85m.
In the Shot Putt B event, Innes finished sixth with a best of 5.15m, with sprinter Sean O’Hara finishing sixth in the A String with 7.49m.
Innes also finished fifth in the B String Long Jump with a best of 3.56m, and again it was a dual Team Manager effort, as Snowball finished as sixth in the A String, producing a best of 4.02m.
Anthony Liddle, Sean O’Hara, Mark Snowball, and Mark Banks, combined to bring Morpeth Men’s 4 x 100m Relay squad home in fourth place in a time of 52.1s.
In the closing Men’s track event, the 4 x 400m Relay, Liddle, O’Hara, Dawson, and Banks, combined to finish second in 3m47.8s.
On to the Morpeth Women’s events, where the club were able to mastermind for A String victories, and five B String wins, one of these being a double victory, plus winning both relays, as an added bonus.
Despite a niggling injury, Nisha Desai was once again on top form, and the Women’s Team Managers Daughter demonstrated this with two A Race wins in both the 400m and 400m Hurdles, posting respective times of 59.2s, and 63.5s.
The 400m was an excellent result, being a double win, with Mia Belton taking the B Race in 65.6s.
In the 400m Hurdles, Desai was partnered by young Victoria Hodgson in the B Race, and she produced an excellent run to finish second in 69.4s, this being only her second attempt at the longer race.
Hodgson also finished second in the 100m B Race in 13.3s, backing up Mia Belton’s third in the A Race in 12.7s.
Nisha Desai added a B Race track win to her performance, this being in the 200m, where she posted a time of 26.8s, backing up Ellie Wickens fourth in the A Race in 28.2s.
Wickens had warmed up for this by finishing fourth in the earlier non scoring 100m in 13.4s.
There were good points to come into the growing Morpeth tally, courtesy of Caitlin Flanagan and Lizzie Rank in the Women’s 1500m.
Flanagan finished second in the A Race in 5m09.5s, and Rank won the B Race in 5m22.2s.
In the 3000m, Julie Vermaas finished second in the A Race, ad Claire Calverley won the B Race in 13m17.7s.
Eight years on, it was good to see Amber Cormack back in action in the 800m.
With a powerful final lap surge, she finished as third in the A Race in 2m37.2s, and Veteran Woman Pam Woodcock finished second in the B Race in 3m46.7s.
Charlotte Earl was very much a star performer in the Field Events, winning both A String competitions in the Long Jump and Triple Jump, with efforts of 5.12m and 10.97m.
The Triple Jump proved to be a double victory, courtesy of Olivia Gent winning the B String, with a best effort of 9.55m
Gent also partnered Earl in the Long Jump, finishing as second in the B String with a best of 4.13m.
Claire Reid was Morpeth’s leading athlete in the Shot Putt, Discus and Hammer events.
Her best result came in the A String Discus, where she finished second, throwing a best of 30.40m, which was only a mere 34m adrift of winner Catherine Cotterill of North Shields Poly.
Ellie Wickens finished third in the B String Discus with 18.50m.
In the Hammer competition Reid finished third in the A String, managing a best throw of 26.66m, and Women’s Team Manager Vina Desai finished third inn the B String with a best throw of 14.76m.
Reid putted a best of 9.28m in the A String Shot Putt for fourth place, and Olivia Gent was fourth in the B String with 6.09m.
Nisha Desai and Olivia Gent competed for Morpeth in the Javelin, with Desai finishing fourth in the A String with a best throw of 20.49m, and Gent threw 13.19m in the B String, which earned her third place.
Morpeth Women rounded their competitive day off in superb style by carving out victories in both the 4 x 100m and 4 x 400m Relays.
In the 4 x 100m Relay, Mia Belton, Ellie Wickens, Olivia Gent, and Victoria Hodgson got round in 53.1s, ahead of Darlington and Chester Le Street/Durham.
Victoria Hodgson, Lizzie Rank, Nisha Desai, and Mia Belton brought Morpeth home in the 4 x 400m Relay in 4m22.5s, ahead of the same opposition.

MATCH RESULT
1st Gateshead Harriers 6pts (371pts), 2nd Darlington Harriers 5pts (360pts), 3rd Morpeth Harriers 4pts (350pts), 4th New Marske Harriers 3pts (334pts), 5th North Shields Poly 2pts (213pts), 6th Chester Le Street/Durham City 1pt (208pts).
CUMULATIVE RESULTS (After 3 Matches)
1st Gateshead Harriers 18pts (1147.5pts), 2nd Darlington Harrier 15pts (1085pts), 3rd Morpeth Harriers 11pts (957pts), 4th New Marske Harriers 10pts (944pts), 5th Chester Le Street/Durham City 5pts (754.5pts), 6th North Shields Poly 4pts (612 pts).
Many thanks go to all the clubs’ competing athletes, and band of officials for their attendance on the day, to ensure another good result was achieved.
It is now all down to the final match on Saturday 19th August at Whitley Bay, to hopefully consolidate all the season’s efforts, in the hopes of a successful finale.