 Carl Avery in action on the second leg for the Senior Men at Mansfield. Photo: David Hewitson, Sport for All Conditions that were amongst the worst in living memory greeted teams from across the country who had travelled to Berry Park, Mansfield, for the English Cross Country Association National Relays on Saturday. Described by the organisers as ‘a true cross country test’ but by many runners as the toughest conditions they had ever known, the quick succession of storms that the country had faced in October meant that the ground was saturated from the off and the course in many places still covered with standing water. With not many teams from the North East travelling, Morpeth Harriers were one of the few clubs to fly the flag once again for the region, with the club’s Senior Men in particular putting in an outstanding top-ten performance in the day’s final event, the four-stage, two-lap relay run over some 5 kilometres per leg. Won by Cambridge and Coleridge AC in a time of 1 hour 2 minutes and 4 seconds, Morpeth finished 6th overall in a time of 1:03:30, with Aldershot Farnham and District 2nd (1:02:06) and Highgate Harriers 3rd (1:02:36), some 177 teams finishing. Carl Avery had moved the club up to 10th with a clocking of 15:25 on leg two after Will Cork had come home on the as ever keenly-contested leg one in 15:54, with Lawrence McCourt gaining a further two places on leg three (16:44) and Scott Beattie matching Avery’s time exactly on the final leg. With teams from the South dominating the event, Morpeth did have the distinction of being first club from the North of England to finish, ahead of the very successful Leeds City AC, who were 7th. Fastest leg of the day was by City of York’s Angus McMillan of 14:55. It wasn’t such a successful day for the club’s Junior Men, however, as the curse of the relays struck once again for one of the two teams entered in the earlier 3k event which was contested by 81 teams. A strong run by Joe Dixon on leg 1 for the A team saw him back in 24th place (9:17) but in the melee at the changeover, 2nd leg runner Will de Vere Owen missed his return and went out over two minutes late. His 11:24, not an accurate reflection of his ability by any means, meant the team unfortunately dropping to 57th, with last leg runner James Tilley (9:44) pulling back over ten places on leg three for the team, who had been looking for a top ten place, to finish half way down the field in 44th in 30:27, with Aldershot Farnham and District race winners (26:43). The club’s B team of Liam Roche (9:27), Bertie Marr (9:33) and Matthew Walton (9:56) had a better afternoon, consistent runs by all securing 29th in 28:58. Morpeth’s Under 15 Girls also battled through their 6k of mud, finishing in 64th place out of some 93 teams, with legs by Molly Roche (9:35), Megan Potrac (9:40) and Emma Tomlinson (8:59), Aldershot Farnham and District again the winners.  Morpeth's Under 15 Girls team - Emma Tomlinson, Megan Potrac and Molly Roche Comments are closed.
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