morpeth fly for region at cross-country relays

Four teams from Morpeth made an early start on Saturday to travel down to Mansfield for the English Cross Country Relays.
 
The well-attended competition for both Young Athletes and Seniors usually features some of the best runners in the country, and Saturday was certainly no exception with big fields in all ages and keenly contested races.
 
Despite overnight rain and overcast conditions, the going underfoot in Berry Hill Park was largely still firm with one of the main difficulties the stygian gloom in the wooded sections, particularly in the last fixture of the day, the Senior Men’s, as the light began to fail.
 
Morpeth’s Under 17 team were first up, with Elliot Kelso going out on first leg and completing the 3 kilometre course in 9 minutes 37 seconds for 26th place. Liam Roche moved the team up ten places on leg 2 with his clocking of 9:50, with Will de Vere Owen’s 9:20, the team’s fastest split, getting the team into a highly respectable 10th of 81 teams in a total time of 28:48. They were also 2nd team from the North of England, behind winners Rotherham (27:49).
 
The club’s U/15s were unfortunately hit by the late withdrawal of Oli Tomlinson from illness on the Friday night, with Steven Craske commendably stepping into the breach at very short notice.
 
In a keenly fought 95 team race, the boys finished in 57th place overall (22:57) with legs by Harry Armstrong (7:57), Oliver Calvert (6:30), who gained over 50 places on his leg, and late replacement Craske (8:29), and will certainly have benefitted from  the advanced competition.
 
A youthful team of the club’s Senior Women were next up, making a first appearance in the fixture for a number of years, and the day’s second largest field of some 139 teams was led home by Loughborough based club Charnwood AC, for whom seasoned team GB athlete Gemma Steel ran a scorching anchor leg, with Lincoln Wellington 2nd and Aldershot Farnham and District 3rd.
 
Lizzie Rank went out first for Morpeth, completing the 3km stage in 12 minutes dead and coming back in 78th place. Robyn Bennett moved the team up some six places with her 12:52, while Rachelle Falloon, whose determined efforts had been very responsible in getting the team there, ran the day’s fastest time for the club of 11:25 for a final position of 59th. The team did have the distinction of being first back from the North East, with only Elswick Harriers also making the 340-mile round trip. Well done to all three for making the long journey to represent the club.
 
Final event of the day was the four stage Men’s race with longer, 5km stages, where, as expected, Leeds City AC were once again a dominant force with GB internationals Phil Sesemann and Emile Cairess both running. Despite not leading throughout, the Yorkshire outfit finally won in a time of 1 hour 1 minutes 29 seconds, with Cambridge and Coleridge 2nd and Aldershot 3rd. 
 
Will Cork headed Morpeth’s challenge, with an excellent clocking of 15:50, which was also the team’s fastest, to come home in 17th place.
 
Subsequent legs by Phil Winkler (16:30 for 22nd), Matthew Briggs (16:55 for 25th) and Connor Marshall (17:19) saw the team unfortunately slip out of the top twenty, but their 27th of 198 teams was another consistent  performance that represented  the club well. They too had the distinction of being first North East club, with only Sunderland and Gateshead represented in 38th and 40th, and were also the fourth from the North of England.
 
Well done all who travelled down on what’s always a long but interesting day out. It’s always good to see North East success, so definitely worth mentioning that Birtley’s flying Under 13 Girls beat off all competition to win their fixture.