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Good Friday saw the annual running of the always popular relays down at Newburn Riverside over a slightly changed course, with some 12 Morpeth Women’s and Men’s teams turning out plus a handful of youngsters.
There were four running in the U/15s, all newly promoted to the category this year, with Jack Dhawar 14th in 8:39 and Jacob Thompson 27th in 9:23. Finishing just behind Jack, Heidi Wilkinson was 1st girl home in 8:41 and Zoe Tomlinson 7th in 9:04. The Senior Women’s three stage race, now, like the Men’s, run over a 2.1 mile single out and back loop (from what was previously the turn around roundabout at the bottom of the course) was won by Birtley AC in a time of 34:37, with Lydia Turner recording the day’s equal fastest leg of 10:51. Houghton Harriers were 2nd in 34:43 and Elswick, for whom Sophie Pikett also ran 10:51, 3rd in 35:45. Morpeth’s A team of Lizzie Rank (11:59), teenager Emma Tomlinson (13:21) and Holly Lawrence (11:55) placed 7th in 37:16, with sisters Lorna Macdonald (12:56), Lindsey Quinn (13:52) and Cat (12:03) placing 15th in 38:52. The C team of Charlotte Marshall ((14:01), Kay Errington (14:55) and Sophie Ward (14:10) were 39th in 43:07, with some 113 complete teams finishing. Hosts Elswick, with both Judith Nutt and Justina Heslop running, perhaps unsurprisingly took the 0/40Veterans competition in 38:25. However, Morpeth’s O/50s team of Shuna Rank (15:05), Pam Woodcock (18:34) and Sarah Mills (15:37) placed a commendable 4th in their category in a time of 49:17, with Ponteland taking the title. Heaton Harriers took the 0/60s prize. Last race of the day saw a thrilling battle at the sharp end over four stages, with Morpeth, winners here for a number of years running, just losing out to Gateshead Harriers, spearheaded by a flying Calum Johnson. Chris Parr ran 9:40 on 1st leg, coming in in 4th place on a keenly contested stage, but George Lowry’s 9:51 saw them moving up the standings and Josh Fiddaman’s 9: 52 had them in the lead. Thereafter, last leg runner Alex Brown was there to be shot at by Gateshead’s Johnson, in fine form after recording one of the fastest legs at the National 12 Stage with the previous week, and on this form he is an almost unstoppable act, with Alex acting as the hare for him to chase. In the end, his 9:10 clocking proved to be the second fastest of the day as he reeled in the Morpeth runner with half mile to go, with Gateshead finishing in 39:19 and Morpeth 2nd in 39:33. There was some consolation, however, with two other Morpeth teams featuring in the top ten. The B team of Elliot Kelso (9:53), Connor Marshall (9:57), Dan Melling (10:13) and Sam Hancox (10:11) were 4th in 40:15, with Sam squeezing out Tyne Bridge. The C team of Joe Close (10:08), Ethan Bond (10:45), Tom Balsdon (10:11) and Lee Cuthbertson ((10:34) were 10th in 41:40. Sadly, the D team were incomplete after a late early morning withdrawal, although Oliver Tomlinson (10:21), Jake Parmley (11:45) and Shaun Land (11:36) all had good runs. There were also four Men’s Veterans teams out, with two 2nds and a 1st in an excellent set of performances. The Over 40s, headed by a flying Andrew Swinburne (10:10), were 2nd behind Sunderland Harriers (43:32), although they might have won had second stage runner Andy Ball been given notice of Andrew coming in. As it was, he lost at least thirty seconds in the pell-mell changeover (11:48), with James Deathe recording 11:03 and Dave Stabler 11:07 for 44:10. The O/50s of Rob Hancox (12:5), John Butters (11:18), Jason Dawson (12:06) and Lee Bennett (11:57) clocked 47:28, also 2nd in their category, this time behind Elvet Stiriders (45:37). Morpeth’s sole team win came courtesy of their most seasoned campaigners, their O/60s team of Stephen Land (14:35), Gavin Bayne (13:13), Tony Horsley (13:26) and Alistair Macdonald (12:48) clocking 54:03 ahead of Jarrow and Hebburn. A mixed team of 0/50 Richard Glennie (12:25), 0/60 Neil McAnany (13:42), 0/40 Andriy Volkov (12:38) and 0/70 Richard Sill (15:42) clocked 54:28, with the team 78th of 113 teams overall. Well done all who ran. Full results can be found here: Good Friday Relays Comments are closed.
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