Three Morpeth Harriers battled their way through the extremely muddy conditions at a very soggy and wet Sefton Park, Liverpool in the Senior Men’s event at the UK Challenge Meeting on Saturday, an event which incorporated the high-profile European Trials.
Newcomer Will Cork was first home from the club, finishing 66th, posting a finishing time of 32m10s. Other Morpeth finishers in the event were Phil Winkler (93rd) 33m04s, and Daniel Melling (121st) 34m05s. There were 646 finishers in the Senior Men’s event. Earlier in the day, and well before conditions became much more difficult, James Young took part in the European Trials Short Course Relay event, posting the seventeenth fastest time of 4m53s. There were some 53 Morpeth Harriers in cross country action at the fourth fixture of the Start Fitness sponsored North Eastern Harrier League at Aykley Heads, Durham on Saturday afternoon. Run once again on the uneven land going all the way down to the East Coast mainline from the Durham Police Headquarters, and taking in also some very difficult rain-affected conditions under foot, runners would certainly say later that they had faced one of the more challenging courses that they would encounter this season. With memories of last year’s atrocious weekend still fresh in many minds – last year’s race was the night after Storm Arwen, in case you’d forgotten, meaning there were quite a few who couldn’t even get there – at least a stiff breeze was all the weather had to throw at competitors this time out, with ominous black clouds over the Pennines in the distance thankfully not developing further. Among a number of highlights for the club this time out were two individual wins and one third place, along with three team victories and one second place, a very decent haul overall. One of the day’s stand-out performances was definitely Carl Avery’s in the Senior Men’s race, whose storming run from Fast Pack saw him record the day’s fastest time over the three demanding laps of 32 minutes 55 seconds for the nominally 6 mile course. Such was the quality of his run that he made it up to a final overall position of 6th by the end despite his 5 minute handicap, and he also finished over a minute ahead of guest runner Jarlath Mckenna of Bristol and West, who had run the fastest times in all three fixtures previously. The race itself was won by Durham City Harrier Marcus Shantry with fellow Slow packer Josh Mckenny 2nd and Chris Perkins making it up to 3rd from Medium. Carl also pipped another Morpeth runner making a return to cross country action after several years away from the sport, Rob Balmbra coming home in 7th place from Slow Pack as the club’s 2nd counter. Great to have him back in action for the club. With the North East Counties Athletics Association Championships only a fortnight away, there was a strong turn out of some twenty Senior Men, with 3rd counter Sam Hancox in 15th and Alex Brown one place behind, both running from Fast. The team’s scoring count of six was completed by a returning Jordan Scott, looking strong in 27th, with Connor Marshall 28th, giving a final total of only a miserly 45 points , well over a hundred points less than nearest rivals Sunderland Harriers on 174 with Birtley in 3rd (185). Remarkably, Andy Lawrence, ran very well to make 32nd overall while not making the counters this time. Ed Hillier also had another good run to come home 84th, and was chased all the way by Richard Glennie (87th). Al Macdonald was 122nd and John Butters 141st from Fast, maintaining also his 2nd place overall in the Vets Grand Prix table. Andriy Volkov (in his first ever run in a pair of newly purchased spikes, a lesson learnt from Lambton) was 166th and Anthony Liddle 184th from Medium. Rob Hancox, also from Medium was 229th and Mark Snowball one place behind from Fast. Steve Haswell continued his comeback in 279th, Dave Nicholson was 346th and Steve Johnstone gamely battled through despite pulling a calf muscle for 355th. The count was completed by a returning Rich Kirby (395th) and John Clark, 401st in his first NEHL outing for a while. Having won three of the four fixtures now, the club’s Senior Men extend their lead at the top of the divisional table to 7 points with TBH in 2nd on 14 and Gateshead 3rd on 18. There was a similarly big turn out of some thirteen members in the preceding Senior Women’s fixture over two of the same laps as the Men’s race. This time it was Cat Macdonald and Jane Hodgson who led the charge from Fast Pack, finding the course very much to their liking and giving those watching a great spectacle of hill running to look at. Cat made it up to 9th overall in 26:34 with Jane only ten seconds and one place behind her, Cat recording the 2nd fastest time of the day behind Durham City Harrier Alice Crane (26:05) who was again the race winner, but from Medium pack. Durham Uni student Isabel Lloyd was 2nd and Vicky Gibbs, now with NSP, 3rd, both from Slow. The club’s scoring count of four was completed by Morag Stead in 22nd, also from Fast, and Jane Kirby, 32nd from Medium. Robyn Ferguson had a good run for 67th from Slow, with Lizzie Rank 98th from Fast. Robyn Bennett was 108th from Medium, Kirsty Burville 121st, Linzi Quinn 124th, Gemma Floyd 165th and Julie Vermaas 209th, all from Fast. Fran Naylor was 287th and Margaret Macdonald in 338th completed the Morpeth squad. With Amy Fuller now running for Tyne Bridge Harriers (who had two counters from Medium and one from Slow), the team narrowly lost out to TBH on the day, but like the men they remain well clear at the top of their division with only two fixtures to come in the New Year and the big numbers participating meaning they have every hope of winning back the overall title at Alnwick. Earlier on in the day there had been excellent individual wins in the Under 15 and Under 17 Boys fixtures by Oliver Calvert and Will de Vere Owen.
Oli Calvert made light of his Fast Pack start to come home nearly two minutes ahead of his nearest challenger, Birtley’s Callum Bailey, with Oliver Tomlinson 3rd, also from Fast. The scoring count was completed by Harry Armstrong, 8th from Slow with Stephen Craske 30th. The team maintain a healthy lead at the top of their division ahead of Durham City and NSP. One of the day’s best finishes was provided by Will de Vere Owen in the U/17s race, who just pipped Darlington Harrier Alex Boyer, also from Fast pack, in a sprint finish. Will was backed up by an apparently unstoppable squad who have won every single fixture this season so far, with Bertie Marr getting closer to his best in 6th, Elliot Kelso 8th and Elliot Mavir 31st, all from Fast. Most of the team head to the English Schools Cross Country Championships in Leeds at the weekend, with high hopes of doing even better than last year’s 3rd place. The club wish them all the best. There was also a return to cross country action for triathlete Millie Breese in the U/17/20 fixture, where she ran 9th from Fast Pack and the day’s 3rd fastest time, with Tabby Robson 12th from Medium. The lack of a 3rd counter cost the team once again sadly, although only five clubs fielded full squads. A delighted Megan Potrac’s made 3rd place in the U/15 Girls race for another highlight of the day, as she continues to make strong progress. Charlotte Marshall was 24th, although an unusually incomplete team meant they dropped to 9th in a tight divisional table. There was a strong showing in the U/13 Boys, however, with Daniel Vermaas, now from Fast Pack, coming back in 33rd ahead of Evan Laude, also from Fast, in 39th place, William Hawkins 51st and William Mcbryde 54th, both from Slow Pack. Finishing 10th on the day, the team move up to 7th overall. Emma Tomlinson had another good run in the matching U/13 Girls race, coming back in 6th place from Fast with Faye Heatley, also from Fast, in 24th. An incomplete team cost again and saw them slip to 5th, but within touching distance of at least 3rd with full squads in the remaining two fixtures. The Under 11 races had kicked off the day’s action, with good runs by both the Morpeth Harriers taking part, with Jacob Thompson 5th in the Boys race and Lucy Raper 6th in the Girls. Another great day’s work by all who ran, who would certainly know they’d been in a race that evening. Full results here and also see team and individual divisions. See Stuart Whitman's gallery of images here. The next NEHL fixture is at our old friend Thornley Hall Farm on the 11th February - when we can almost guarantee the WW1 battlefield conditions that seem to prevail there. Also note that the North Eastern Cross Country Championships take place on the weekend of 11 December, for which entries are now closed (please check with the club if you are unsure of your entry status), at Temple Park, South Shields. These are, of course, races run without a handicap, unlike the NEHL and are Championship races. In 2023, the next XC fixture is the Sherman Cup/Davison Shield, again south of the river in Shields, on 7 January. Although this is not part of the NEHL programme, winning either competition is absolutely dependent on fielding full teams (not necessarily winning teams, just complete ones) in every age category – so please, put it in your new diary, on the calendar on your wall, on the back of your hand or in your smart phone now. A reminder to all that the next round of the North East Harrier League takes place this Saturday at Aykley Heads, Durham, with the usual timings applying.
Further information on the dedicated NEHL web page here. Many will remember that last year’s fixture took place the day after the night before, the night that was, of course, Storm Arwen…it was hard enough getting the tent up let alone running. Hopefully, there will be no such traumas this time round although conditions are bound to be muddy underfoot after all the recent rain, adding to what is already a proper xc challenge. Morpeth teams are shaping up nicely in the team divisions, so let’s have another good showing and look to build on what we’ve achieved so far. Also, can we flag up the North East Counties Cross Country Championships at Temple Park, South Shields (not, as originally advertised, on the Town Moor, sadly) on Saturday, 10 December. Entries for the above close this Friday, and if you have not already put your name down, please can you either do so or let the club know via email or phone so you can be added to the list. A link to the NECAA prospectus and further details is here. There were over 700 finishers at the 70th annual Brampton to Carlisle race on Sunday morning, with some twelve Morpeth runners well to the fore.
The country’s oldest 10 mile race – and now one of the oldest and most well-established races in the UK – the record books boast a prestigious list of past winners, including Ron Hill, Steve Cram and, of course, Jim Alder, a four time winner (64, 69, 70 and 71) and for a long time also a course record holder. Despite a slight south-westerly headwind, conditions proved to be surprisingly good on the day as the large field headed out on the B6264 towards Carlisle with high-flying Leeds City athlete Phil Sesemann, Project NE’s Kieran Walker and Morpeth’s Sam Hancox making the early running. Unsurprisingly, Sesemann proved too strong for the opposition and pulled away to win in a time of 48 minutes 48 seconds with Maguire in 2nd place in 49:27. Sam paid the price rather for the early pace and saw Birtley’s Adrian Bailes, a winner on the Town Moor last weekend, move through for 3rd (49:42), with Hancox having to settle in the end for a fine 7th place in a new personal best of 50:30. Matthew Briggs was 12th in 51:51, and with Ali Douglas 22nd in 54:50 the team picked up a well-deserved 3nd place team prize behind Chorlton Runners and host club Border Harriers. The women’s race was won by another Leeds City athlete, Steph Pennycook in 56:33 with Annabel Simpson of Fife AC 2nd in 56:42 and Border Harrier Camilla Mcknespiey 3rd (57:39). Rachelle Falloon was 8th and 5th Senior Female in 1:00:58, like Sam a new personal best time. Also running were Andy Lawrence, 25th in 54:55; John Butters, 35th and 4th 0/45 in 55:20; Lee Bennett, 51st and 3rd 0/50 in 57:00; Richie Hughes, 67th in 58:29; Gavin Bayne, 2nd 0/65 and 155th in 1:03:53; Rob Hancox, 160th and 6th 0/55 in 1:04:10; Andriy Volkov, 169th in 1:05:18 and Norman Clark, 588th and 4th 0/70 in 1:29:18. The Men’s Veteran team also collected a 3rd place prize, although perhaps the most remarkable feature of the day was a new world best time for an Over 65 year old of 55 minutes 23 seconds run by Teviotdale Harrier Alastair Walker, an extraordinary performance in anybody’s books. ***** There were four Morpeth finishers in the Slaley Half Marathon at the weekend, an off-road fixture around Slaley Forest that also included a 10k run. Ed Hillier was 8th back in 1 hour 42 minutes 11 seconds, with Julie Vermaas 5th Female finisher and 3rd 0/40 in 1:44:18. Anna Wright was just over a minute behind in 1:45:38, 5th 0/40 and 7th Female runner. Stephen Johnstone was 36th in 1:47: and also 3rd 0/50. There were some 130 finishers overall, the winner Kieron Day recording 1:26:29 and Amy Fuller, now a Tyne Bridge Harrier, 1st Female finisher in 1:32:37 and also 6th overall. Gateshead’s Conrad Franks won the 10k in 42:24 with NSP’s Michelle Thomson 1st Female back in 51:38. In what was his first ever 10k Road Race, Connor Marshall proved himself to be no novice when he figured amongst the leading protagonists, finishing finally an excellent 3rd in the Senior race at the Heaton Memorial Road Race on Newcastle Town Moor on Sunday.
Following a minute’s silence to observe Remembrance Sunday, 387 finishers set off in cold and damp conditions and were led home by Birtley’s in-form Adrian Bailes. He posted a winning time of 30m42s, with Bristol and West’s O/45 Jarlath McKenna finishing 2nd in 30m45s, both ahead of a jubilant Marshall, who posted a personal time of 31m50s. Next man home for Morpeth was Andrew Lawrence, who was marking a continued comeback from injury, and finished 10th in 33m 29s. Morpeth’s third finisher was Over 45 David Stabler, also 3rd in his category and placing 55th in 36m 36s. Rachelle Falloon, who has currently hit a run of fine form, finished 67th in 37m 09s. The Kielder 10k winner was 4th Woman in the event behind the visiting Kate Maltby of Bristol and West, who won in 35m28 with Elswick’s Amy Fuller 2nd and the Poly’s Jacqui Penn 3rd. Marshall and Falloon are the respective 2022 Men’s and Women’s Road Champions for Morpeth Harriers as a result of the club’s championships being incorporated into the event as advertised. Other club finishers were: Anthony Liddle (71st) 37m 36s, Andre Volkov (116th) 40m 05s, Bobby Hagan - who ran in Morpeth colours for the first time following his 2021 transfer from Border Harriers, 122nd in 40m 02s, Lorna MacDonald (123rd) 40m20s and 13th Woman, Lindsey Quinn (146th) 41m00s and 20th Woman, Kirsty Burville (185th) 43m05s and 32nd Woman, and David Nicholson (213th) 44m32s and 5th O/65 Man. In the Younger athlete events, Elliot Kelso was second Under 17 Man in the 5k for combined Under 17/Under 20 athletes, and Charlotte Marshall finished sixth in the Under 15 Girls event. |
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