Alnwick Harriers

Going into the 4th and final North East Youth Development League athletics meeting on Sunday 15th July Alnwick Harriers were placed 3rd overall. They were just one place behind Tynedale Harriers who were 2nd to Gateshead Harriers. The combined team of Alnwick Harriers and Blyth Running Club were well represented with a turnout of nearly 40 athletes. It was a hot day with a light breeze so although not ideal for the middle distance runners, conditions were excellent for sprinting, throwing and jumping.

Talia THOMPSON (U15) had another excellent days throwing managing personal best throws in all her events. Talia won the discus with a new club record (CR) throw of 19.47m and team mate Maddy HALL was runner up with a good 15.22m. Maddy threw further in the hammer with an excellent personal best of 18.55m (CR) to finish 2nd overall and Talia was 3rd with 18.07m. Finally in the Shot Put Talia was runner up (8.84m) and Maddy 6th with 6.08m. An excellent days throwing by the girls.

Finlay TELFER (U15) threw an excellent personal best and club record of 18.41m in the boys hammer (4kg) to come 3rd. Finlay was also 3rd in his Shot Put and Javelin competitions. In the U13 throwing events Ellie PRICE showed exceptional promise finishing in 2nd place in only her second shot put competition throwing 5.79m. In the Javelin Billy CLAYTON managed a long throw of 22.12m and Harris HALL 18.59m.

The high jump provided much excitement with Ollie TELFER surprising himself by jumping a fantastic 1.60m setting a new club record to win the U17 boys competition. Joseph GODDEN jumped 1.35m, Millie BREESE 1.28m, Ellie PRICE 1.20m and Beth CARRAGHER 1.15m. An excellent day for the high jumpers who have been practising hard recently with Sue SKIRROW.

In the long jump Joseph GODDEN (U15) jumped furthest on the day of the Alnwick athletes with 4.55m. Sam POTTS and Hannah JOHNSTON both managed 3.86m jumping furthest for the girls. Jess MOSES managed a good 3.48m and in the U13’s Evie GODDEN jumped 2.79m.

On the track the fastest Alnwick Sprinter was Sam POTTS completing the 100m in 14.0s. Eleanor HEELEY was the quickest U13 girl in 16.6s.

In the 800m the fastest times were recorded by Millie BREESE and Hannah JOHNSTON only being separated by 0.1s. Hannah ran a well-paced race finishing strongly over the last 100m but wasn’t quite quick enough to beat Millie to the line who finished in 2nd overall place in an excellent personal best of 2.32s. James CARRAGHER and Joseph GODDEN ran the U15 boys race and Ellie PRICE ran a good 3.01s in the U13 race.

The exceptionally warm conditions seemed to discourage the 1500m runners and as a result of the low numbers the U17 and U15 boys and girls were combined for their race. Lauren BROWN, Ollie TELFER and Ben MURRAY JOHN all lined up together for their race. Ollie was second home overall in a personal best time of 4.41s, Ben next Alnwick runner with 4.54 then Lauren winning the girls race in a good time of 5.05s. Max MURRAY JOHN (U13) ran an excellent race finishing 2nd in a good time of 5.10s. In the girls race Beth CARRAGHER was first Alnwick girl home in 6.14s with Evie GODDEN and Eleanor HEELEY not far behind.

It was an excellent day for the Alnwick and Blyth team and a fantastic conclusion to the league. All of the athletes performed superbly and made excellent progress, dozens of personal best performances were achieved and several Club records broken.

Well done to Dan TURNBULL who on Wednesday 12th July smashed David KIRKLANDs previous 5k club record of just over 16 minutes, by clocking a quite outstanding 15.43 at the Sunderland 5k. Superb! He finished 21st in a high class field, whilst Peter McEWAN was 147th Senior male in 20.43. Mark HUME also took part and finished 32.39.

On Saturday 14th July Carole PAGE was 1st finisher at the Druridge Bay Parkrun for the 44th time! She was 12th overall and was 1st Harrier home in 21.41. David BARNES was one place further back, whilst Alice TETLEY-PAUL was our 3rd athlete home. Also of note Junior Harrier Louise SYERS knocked almost 2 minutes off her previous 5k pb as she finished in 26.47! Results:

12-Carole PAGE 21.41 (85.78%)

13-David BARNES 21.46

31-Alice TETLEY-PAUL 24.08

65-Louise SYERS 26.47

66-Graham SYERS 26.47

90-David COOPER 28.32 (61.80%)

91-Peter EMBLETON 28.33 (59.84%)

99-John CUTHBERT 28.53 (44.89%)

100-Laura McLEAN Jr 28.54

103-Eleanor HEELEY 28.59

140-Mark HUME 32.53

144-Rebecca HEELEY 33.25

At the Fountains Abbey Parkrun Harris HALL was 50th in 21.52, 1 place and 1 second ahead of dad Phil. Mum Justine NORMAN was in 107th in 24.21 and Maddy HALL was 137th in 25.12. John ROSS was 55th at the Vogrie Parkrun near Edinburgh in 28.07, George WILLIAMS was 306th at Basingstoke in 28.45, Kim BRONZE was at the Sheffield Hallam Parkrun where he was home in 30.22 and Alison HUTCHINGS was at Whitley Bay where she was 388th in 31.58.

The following day John ROSS was in action again when he finished the Kelso 10k in 1.01.57 to finish 144th.

Photos are of Dan TURNBULL at Sunderland and David COOPER/Peter EMBLETON at Druridge Bay.

Many, many thanks to John CUTHBERT for sorting the online booking for the Great North Run bus. The race is on Sunday 9th September and this year there is an extra pick-up point, in Amble. All the details regarding pick-up points, times and costs are on the link below. This massively subsidised coach is available for Harriers and non Harriers. There are 53 seats and these will go quickly, so grab a seat asap………

https://www.sportsentrysolutions.com/product_page_preview.php?recordID=200895

The Northumberland Coastal Run is on Sunday 29th July and we now need marshals to help out on the day. If you’d like to help out please add your names to the board at Willowburn, along with your contact details and preferred marshal point. Alternatively you can contact Tracey SAMPLE (tracey.sample@mail.com 0r 07854787844) or Jocelyn BOLAM (alpinilover@btinternet.com 0r 07877125365). If anyone has any queries please contact Tracey or Jocelyn.

On Saturday 7th July 3 Harriers took part in the tough 20 mile Chevy Chase Fell race in scorching heat! Adam FLETCHER was our 1st runner home in 29th pace overall in 3.52.04. Our other 2 finishers were Karen KELLY and Lisa BASTON who finished within seconds of each other in 5.11.37 and 5.11.42. Well done to all 3 for completing this race in such tough conditions.

Earlier in the day 11 Harriers took part in the Druridge Bay Parkrun. 1st home for us and in a course pb was new member Laurence REEVES. He was 7th home in 19.48. Also of note Diana WEIGHTMAN was 1st in the female 55 category, whilst Junior Harrier Eleanor HEELEY scored a huge pb and Sue SKIRROW also notched a course best. Results:

7-Laurence REEVES 19.48 (65.15%)

23-David BARNES 22.17

51-Diana WEIGHTMAN 24.54

58-Eleanor HEELEY 25.37 (64.93%)

75-Laura McLEAN Jr 27.33

81-Justine NORMAN 27.46

87-George WILLIAMS 28.12

103-Phil HALL 29.19

106-Sue SKIRROW 29.31

136-Alice TETLEY-PAUL 31.35

158-Mark HUME 34.47

In other parkruns elsewhere round the country there were some more decent performances, including age category wins! Just down the coast Peter GREY once again won the male 60 age category at South Shields clocking 20.27 to finish 11th overall. David HINDMARSH finished a splendid 8th and 1st in the male 55 category at Newbiggin By The Sea in 22.28. Further away Kim BRONZE was 55th at the Bakewell parkrun in Derbyshire in 25.20 and John ROSS was home in 29.21 at the Frimley Lodge Parkrun in Surrey.

The following day 2 Harriers were in action in the Great North 10k. Adam STOTT was across the line in 46.49 and Jo POWELL finished in 48.14.

Back on Wednesday 4th July 2 Harriers travelled down to take part in the Tynedale 10k. Both put in decent performances with Angie EMBLETON finishing 128th in 47.00, whilst Denise DRUMMOND was 183rd in 50.52.

Annabel LILLICO took her second trophy in 2 successive road races by winning the first lady trophy in the Tweed Striders organised Berwick Curfew Run on Wednesday 4th July, a 1.3mile dash, single circuit around the town’s Elizabethan Walls, on a circular route to beat the sound of the Curfew bells with a challenging steep hill included. Annabel completed the circuit in 8.56 to take the first senior lady trophy following winning the First Under 40 Female trophy at the Peterhead half marathon in June. Annabel and dad Jim marked their 4th half marathon in 2 months by completing the recent Peterhead Half Marathon. The challenge over the 4 runs, was to run together at all times, carry out a European Run (Berlin Half Marathon), Large City Run ( Leeds Half Marathon), a half marathon trail (the challenging, some say brutal Durham Coastal Marathon) and a running club arranged run at Peterhead.

The plan at Peterhead, the last of the quartet, was to gain a PB for Annabel and best in age group for Jim. Success for Annabel as she came first in the under 40 women class and Jim finished 2nd in the male 60 category. Both received their awards in a podium presentation and represented Alnwick Harriers in team colours. Well done to Annabel as through hard work, training and commitment it all paid just rewards!

Above photos are of Lisa BASTON/Karen KELLY at the Chevy Chase, Laurence REEVES at Druridge Bay and Annabel LILLICO at Berwick.

On Sunday 1st July Lauren BROWN headed down to Whitley Bay to take part in their weekly 2k Junior parkrun. Lauren ran superbly to win the race! She was 1st of 251 runners in a brilliant 7.03. This was not only the 4th fastest overall time in the events history, but is now a female course record! Great work Lauren!

Also that day there was another race win courtesy of Carole PAGE at the Run Nation Coquet Valley 10k! Carole was 1st female and 9th overall in a very good 44.42 on a testing course. Meanwhile in the Half Marathon Mel STEER was 2nd female home in 1.47.03 and was 2nd in the female 50 category!

The previous day a decent number of Harriers took part in the Druridge Bay parkrun, with Steve PATTERSON finishing a very good 3rd overall in 17.58. Not far behind in 5th place was Ian SIMON in 18.28. Next home for us was Carole PAGE who finished 2nd female in 17th overall. Also of note Junior Harriers Rebecca HEELEY and Louise SYERS ran huge 5k pbs!

Results:

3-Steve PATTERSON 17.58

5-Ian SIMON 18.28 (78.61%)

17-Carole PAGE 21.12 (87.67%)

22-Robert BADDELEY 21.34

111-George WILLIAMS 28.10

113-Rebecca HELLEY 28.16

115-Linda PATTERSON 28.34

120-Louise SYERS 28.44

121-Graham SYERS 28.46

122-John ROSS 28.49

131-Jennifer KNIGHT 29.30

160-Stuart BRUCE 32.19

200-Jason DAWSON 40.38

Just down the coast Dominic HARRIS put in a great run to finish 2nd of 118 runners in a brilliant 18.44 at the Newbiggin Parkrun. Finally for the 5k distance Mark HUME took part in the Riverside Parkrun at Chester le Street and finished 351st in 32.53.

Finally, back on Wednesday 27th June 2 Harriers were in action in the Kirkley 10k. Mel STEER was brilliant once again, finishing 38th overall and 2nd in her age category in 47.23. Meanwhile George WILLIAMS was 84th and 2nd in the male 65 category in 58.15.

Photos are of Lauren BROWN at Whitley Bay and Ian SIMON/Carole PAGE at Druridge Bay.

Many thanks to our Grand Prix statisticians John ROSS and John CUTHBERT for working their magic once again after last weekends Hadrians Wall Half Marathon. We have a new leader at the top of the standings in Allan FOGGON! After his great run last Sunday he now is just ahead of previous leader Ian SIMON. Elsewhere its pretty much as we were with the rest of the top 12 from the last standings still in the top 12 this time.

Grand Prix Standings After Hadrians Wall Half Marathon

Entries for the next Grand Prix event, the Morpeth 10k on Tuesday 7th August are open. Enter here http://morpethharriers.weebly.com/morpeth-10k.html.

4 Harriers were in action in the Hadrians Wall Half Marathon on Sunday 24th June, with Allan FOGGON the pick of the runners. Allan finished a brilliant 5th overall in this tough race in 1.37.22. Other Harriers in action were Emma McGee who was round in 2.16.43, Linda PATTERSON in 2.43.17 and Jennifer KNIGHT in 2.50.42.

At the Druridge Bay Parkrun the day before there were some excellent results by members of the club. Jason DAWSON was our first finisher in 20.25, just over a minute ahead of David BARNES who ran a course pb. David HINDMARSH, fresh from his South African ultra marathon adventure, was winner of the male 55 category and Ian STEPHENSON celebrated a course pb. Highlights for our women were courtesy of Jo POWELL and Mel STREER who finished 2nd and 3rd!

Results:

10-Jason DAWSON 20.25 (70.53%)

19-David BARNES 21.27

20-David HINDMARSH 21.31 (72.04%)

31-Jo POWELL 22.53 (69.41%)

33-Mel STEER 23.22

34-Ian STEPHENSON 23.27 (66.67%)

48-Robert STEPHENSON 24.52 (55.09%)

53-Cris ATWELL 25.39

65-Laura McLEAN 26.41

77-George WILLIAMS 27.33

136-Mark HUME 32.51 (55.86%)

Elsewhere Peter GREY had a decent run at South Shields where he finished 10th in 20.29, to win the male 60 category. Also Stuart BRUCE was in action at Gateshead where he was home in 32.50.

Finally a group of Harriers took part in the Heaton Harriers organised Anita Nott Womens Only Jesmond Dene 5k on Monday night. In hot conditions and on a tough course all performed admirably with Ruth DOCTOR just holding off Mary PLUMLEY to finish 1st of our 9 athletes. Results:

162-Ruth DOCTOR 27.31

172-Mary PLUMLEY 27.52

317-Helen THOMPSON 32.43

318-Brenda MALLEN 32.44

323-Sue SKIRROW 32.53

324-Eileen GUTHRIE 32.54

364-Una McCAIG 34.23

365-Helen PATTERSON 34.23

366-Carol WALL 34.24

Photos are of Emma McGEE at Hadrians Wall, Jason Dawson at Druridge Bay, Peter GREY at South Shields and our ladies at Jesmond.

It was another busy weekend for the Alnwick Junior Harriers with two trips to Hexham for both the County Championship (Y6 to Y8) and the 3rd match in the North East Youth Development League.

Saturday was the annual Championship where athletes from schools across Northumberland and Tyneside competed, following successful qualification from their area competitions. The Duchess High School contributed a significant proportion of the North Northumberland team with over thirty children from years 7 and 8 taking part.

There were excellent performances by Talia THOMPSON and Lauren BROWN who were both successful in becoming County Champions. Talia threw a personal best of 8.57m to win the Shot Put, and Lauren defending her title for a second time led her race from the start to win by a convincing 30m. Outstanding performances by both the girls.

Finlay TELFER was runner up in the hammer throw with a personal best of 21.86m and Millie BREESE had an excellent days running, finishing 3rd in both the 300m and 800m races.

The Schools Championship is an excellent opportunity for both inexperienced and club athletes to compete at a high level. The event was superbly organised and supported well by parents, teachers and event officials.

A busy sporting weekend reduced the Alnwick & Blyth combined team by half on the Sunday. However, a warm day with only a light breeze gave the twenty five athletes an excellent opportunity to produce some personal best performances.

The team were most grateful to Noah HALL and Jess MOSES who were representing Alnwick for the first time. Noah focused on the sprint events and Jess the long jump. The team has been short of U17 girls & U13 boys in recent months so it was great to have them along.

The throwers enjoyed the warm weather with Finlay TELFER throwing a personal best of 17.59m in the hammer (4.0kg). Talia THOMPSON (U15) threw 8.37m in the Shot and in the U13’s Olivia TEMPLE managed a good 6.08m. Billy CLAYTON threw 19.45m in the javelin to come 4th and Ben CARTER competed in both discus and shot where he too managed a personal best.

The warm conditions didn’t really suit the middle distance runners but Ollie TELFER (U17) finished second in 2.13s and Ellie PRICE (U13) ran a tough 1500m in 6.06. Sam POTTS was Alnwick’s fastest sprinter on the day completing the 100m in 14.6s.

There were good long jumps by Antje HALL, Lilia PURVIS & Evie GODDEN and in the high jump Lauren BROWN (U15) jumped 1.30m. Ellie PRICE and Sophie BURN (U13) also had a good high jump competition finishing in joint 2nd place.

The U13 girls were the only age group who managed to field a relay team but were led home well by Lilia PURVIS. The team finally finished in fourth place narrowly beaten by Wallsend/Gosforth but quite a way behind Tyndale and Gateshead. However, the athletes and coaches enjoyed their day and are looking forward to the final fixture in July.

On Wednesday 20th June Alnwick Harriers fielded 3 teams in the Claremont Road Runners organised Weetslade Relay at Lockey Park, Wideopen. Highlight of the night for us was Dan TURNBULLs immense run, the 4th fastest overall leg of the night! It was also great to see ultra runners Andy STEPHENSON and David HINDMARSH taking part in this event, a mere 2 or so miles.

Results:

25-“A” Team Peter McEWAN 17.40, Angie EMBLETON 18.32 and Dan TURNBULL 13.44. Overall 49.56.

66-“B Team” Diana WEIGHTMAN 19.39, Alice TETLEY-PAUL 19.11 and David HINDMARSH 18.03. Overall 56.53.

89-“C Team” Andy STEPHENSON 19.30, Ruth DOCTOR 22.10 and Mary PLUMLEY 22.16. Overall 1.03.56.

Also that night Shaun LAND and Jo POWELL took part in the Stamfordham 10k, a tough undulating race. Shaun was a very good 10th overall in 40.47 and Jo was 8th female in 37th place, clocking 47.23.