Morpeth’s Jason Dawson travelled to Amsterdam to take part in the annual half marathonon Sunday 20th Octoner 2019. Run on the same day as the full marathon, the two events have certainly gained in popularity with athletes from Britain, Europe and further afield, both for the flat courses and the opportunity to relax in the welcoming Dutch city afterwards.
The full marathon is run over the 1926 Olympic marathon course, starting and finishing in the stadium, while the half takes in much of the full route and also culminates in a stadium finish. They even find time to squeeze in an 8.5k run through the Vondel Park between the two events! In a race won in near perfect 12 degree conditions with no wind by a Swede, Marcus Aberg, in 1:06:35 with a Frenchman second and a Spaniard third, Dawson’s trip was certainly worth the journey as he had a fine run and a personal best, finishing the 13.1 miles in a time of 1:22:18 for 137th place. The full marathon incidentally was won by Vincent Kipchumba in 2:05:09 and the women’s race by Degitu Azimeraw in 02:19:26. With no competitive fixtures on the North East calendar at the weekend,
many runners took the chance to participate in one of the growing number of local park runs. There were winning performances by Andy Lawrence at Blyth in 16 minutes 53 seconds and Colin Archer, home from the North Sea oil rigs, at Newbiggin in 18:28. Pick of the crop was perhaps Rachelle Falloon’s on Newcastle Town Moor, however, where she was first woman home in 17:39 and finished in an overall fifth place. Morpeth Harrier Rory Leonard took part in the British Athletics Cross Challenge at Cardiff on the weekend of the 12th October 2019, the event the opening fixture of the 2019/20 British Athletics Cross Challenge series.
Enjoying his first competitive run out for a while, Leonard confessed to being a little race rusty, only managing to get in a couple of weeks training beforehand, but still managed to finish as third Under 20 in a time of 20 minutes 5 seconds, some ten seconds behind race winner Matt Willis and second place Zakariya Mahamed. Leonard had in fact led for much of the race with little between the top three, with Wrexham AC’s Willis enjoying local Welsh support and gaining the lead in the final kilometre. Two Morpeth Harriers travelled to the North West at the weekend to take part
in the Wiggle Manchester half-marathon on Sunday 13th October 2019. A comparatively new event, but one growing in popularity largely due to the flat course and surroundings, the race starts and finishes by Old Trafford and attracts an entry of over 13,000. In a men’s race won by Ben Connor in 1 hour 3 minutes 12 seconds, Karl Taylor – who had taken in the chance to watch the Super League Grand Final on the Saturday – finished in 65th place in a time of 1:16:04. Michelle Thompson, meanwhile, set a new personal best for the distance by running 1:26:48, finishing in an overall 366th but 6th Over 35 female. Lily Partridge was 1st female finisher in 1:13:44. aturday 12th October 2019, saw the 153rd Alwinton Show take place, the last show of the year in Northumberland, and the junior and senior fell races were, as ever, keenly contested.
There was a Morpeth one, two, three in the 16 and under boys’ race, with Ryan Davies taking a lead on the early climb only to be pegged back by Joe Dixon on the descent, with Dixon winning by only a few metres at the finish. Bertie Marr came in second with James Tilley also in the top ten. Abi Leiper was second in the girls’ race. |
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