avery stars as over 50 harriers brave XC

Carl Avery and Sam Hancox in action at Aykley Heads. Picture: Stuart Whitman

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.

William De Vere-Owen on his way to victory in the U17s race. Picture: Stuart Whitman

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.