MORPETH STARS KICK OFF SEASON IN STYLE

Rory Leonard takes third place at the Comeback 5k at Belgrave

The return to competitive action saw two of Morpeth's brightest prospects start their 2021 track seasons in top form with PB performances over 5,000 and 10,000m.
Loughborough student Rory Leonard clocked 13:50 to finish 3rd over 5,000m at the Comeback 5k at Belgrave last week. The time sliced over 20 seconds off  his previous track PB and means he has already qualified for the European U23 championships.
Over in the USA, Scott Beattie also produced a top class performance, running 28:41 for 10,000m.
Competing for Tulsa University, Beattie finished 6th in the Hayward Premiere at Eugene in a race won by Wesley Kiptoo in 27:58.
Meanwhile on Easter Monday Laura Weightman picked up where she had left off in 2020 with an imperious victory at the Fast 5k run on the Three Sisters  Road Circuit in Wigan.
Battling some very cold and gusty conditions, Laura ran the first part of the race with Leeds-based training partner Mary Ngugi with Jip Vastenburg battling to keep up before Laura broke away with some ease to finish in a time of 15 minutes 30 seconds.
Fellow North Easterner Kate Waugh ran a PB of 16:15 in 4th with Wallsend's Danielle Hodgkinson, now an Over 35 Vet, clocking 16:45 in 6th. 
In the Men's A race, won by Aldershot's Richard Allen in 14:05, Morpeth's George Lowry paid the price for leading the second group for much of the race,  finishing in 16th place with a time of 15:10. National Cross Country Champion Calum Johnson of Gateshead finished 4th in 14:21.