three silvers for morpeth masters

Cross-country competition for Masters-aged athletes, categorised as competitors over 35, came to the North East on Saturday with the British Masters Athletics Federation Championships being held at the Rising Sun Country Park in Wallsend.
 
A challenging  course over the old spoil heap, which was made up of continual up and down sections giving runners little respite, was added to by the going under foot being boggy in some parts but firm and gritty in others, with at least one athlete coming a cropper.
 
A strong showing from clubs across the North East included some nine runners from Morpeth Harriers, who picked up three Silver medals, two of these team and one individual.
 
Two of these medals came in the first of the day’s races, for Women and Men Over 65, held over two laps of the course, some 5.8 kilometres in all.
 
The race itself was won by a flying Juliet Potter of Charnwood AC in a time of 22:04, with her sister Jane, also an Over 40, 2nd in 23:42. The remarkable Alastair Walker of Teviotdale Harriers made his long journey South worthwhile with an O/65 Gold and a 2nd place finish (23:08).
 
Morpeth’s first finisher was Gavin Bayne, 29th overall and 5th O/65 in 26:20. With David Nicholson 39th, and 4th O/75 Paul Bentley 102nd , the team picked up a well-deserved team O/65 Silver behind age group winners Warrington AC.
 
NSP picked up first Over 35s, with Vicky Gibbs first finisher, with Tyne Bridge first O/45s and 65s, and Elvet first O/55s.
 
Meanwhile Morpeth’s oldest competitor, the remarkable 86-year-old Walter Ryder, a club stalwart for several decades now, made his own journey from Wester Ross in Scotland worthwhile with a 2nd place finish in the O/85s.
 
Extraordinary as it may seem, Walter was in fact beaten into 2nd place by the day’s oldest runner, Ian Barnes of Darlington Harriers and AC, who finished two places ahead in a time of 47:36.
 
The day’s second race was for men between 35 and 65, with this time some three laps of 8.4kms in total to negotiate, and was won by Bristol and West AC’s Jarlath Mckenna, who has of course had a fine off-road season this Winter and never seems to tire of competing. He won with a winning time of 29:12, with Middlesbrough’s Greg Jayasuriya 1st O/35 and 2nd in 30:01 and Sunderland’s Stephen Jackson 3rd in 30:31.
 
Andrew Lawrence, currently in the full swing of demanding London Marathon training, was first back for the club in 17th place and 8th O/35.
 
There was, however, an unexpected but  very welcome team Silver for the club’s O/45s, with Lee Bennett 48th and 5th O/50, and O/40s Richard Glennie,  65th,  and Jason Dawson, 78th.
 
Paul Brown was the club’s only representative in the O/55s, gritting his teeth to come back in 122nd place in 45:32.
 
Gateshead Harriers, headed by Conrad Franks, were 1st team in the O/35s, with Leeds City AC travelling north to take the 45s and Cambuslang Harriers the 55s.
 
Well done to Heaton Harriers, and especially the tireless George Routledge, who did so much of the organisation, and to all local volunteers and supporters.
 
Clearly, one of the lessons is that there are medals to be won by clubs who get full teams out as was very clearly shown here, and we in the North East will have another chance when the BMAF 10 mile championships come North at the end of August to use the Tynedale 10. Make a note in your diary – also excellent run-out if you’re doing the GNR later.

Full results are available here.