men narrowly miss out at xc nationals

There was cruel disappointment for Morpeth’s Senior Men on Saturday when they missed out on a top three finish by a matter of seconds at the English Cross Country Association Relays.
 
Contested for the 38th time in total, and held once again at the traditional venue of Berry Park, Mansfield, where it has made its home since 1989, the competition pits many of the best cross-country specialists in the country against each other over three or four stages in a twisty, turny and challenging technical course that winds its way round the lake in the park before taking an uneven path through hills and a field.
 
Morpeth’s men were headed by Alex Brown on the hell for leather first lap, with Brown clocking 16:01 for the 5 kilometre stage and coming home in 42nd place.
 
They moved up the field significantly on leg 2 however, with Scott Beattie running one of the day’s fastest times of 14:47 to take them into the top 20 in 15th.
 
Phil Winkler moved them up a further six places on leg three to get them into the top ten with his clocking of 15:31 for 9th place.
 
A barnstorming last leg of 14:30 followed, with GB international and European Under 23 Gold medallist Rory Leonard knocking on the door of a medal, and losing out by a matter of less than six seconds to 3rd place Cambridge and Coleridge AC.
 
Rory did at least have the consolation however of running the day’s fastest leg, and also of setting what looks like a new course record for the venue.
 
Clubs from the south dominated the proceedings once again, with Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers the winner in a cumulative time of 1 hour and 10 seconds, Bedford and County AC 2nd in 1:00:29 and Cambridge and Coleridge 3rd in 1:00:50. Morpeth did have the pleasure of beating an under-par Leeds City AC - who could only manage 15th here - and also of being the first club from the whole of the North of England, with Hallamshire Harriers in 8th.
 
Gateshead Harriers, helped out by a strong leg by Calum Johnson, made the top 20 in 19th, with some 153 teams complete teams in total taking part.
 
The club’s Junior Men were also represented in the three stage, 9 km race, won by Radley AC in 26:38.
 
Morpeth’s team of Elliot Kelso, in his first outing as an Under 20, clocked the team’s fastest time of the day of 9:31, with Ethan Bond recording 9:49 and Bertie Marr 9:36.
 
The team finished in a very respectable 30th of 83 complete teams.
 
The Senior Women’s 9km race over three stages was won by Belgrave Harriers in 29:39, with Aldershot Farnham and District’s A and B teams in 2nd and 3rd.
 
It has to be said however that representation from across the North East was pretty disappointing across all the age ranges, with North Shields Poly’s Under 13 Boys the best placed outfit, coming home in 3rd place overall.