Alnwick Harriers

We are pleased to announce details of the last club trip of the year, the Jedburgh Half Marathon. This fast and reasonably picturesque race takes place on Sunday 27th October, starting at 11am. Full details of the route, how to enter, etc are at the races website http://www.jedburghhalfmarathon.org.uk/. There are also entry forms on the noticeboard at Willowburn. This is the penultimate 2013 Grand Prix race so excitement surrounding this race will no doubt be at fever pitch.

A poster has gone up on the noticeboard at Willowburn for those taking part to add their names to. Once you’ve entered please can you add your names if you want to take advantage of the subsidised coach. More details of costs and departure time will be announced later.

All competitors numbers and chips have been sent out to participants, so keep an eye out for the postman/woman over the next few days!

Click on the link below for all the details regarding this years Northumberland Coastal Run on Sunday 14th July. The race is once again proudly sponsored by Eclipse Translations.

The main change this year is that there will be no registration on the day. All race numbers and chips will be sent to runners well in advance. Everything else remains pretty much the same as recent years ie coaches leaving from Hipsburn First School, car parking at Alnmouth Football Club, etc.

Any queries contact Jim LILLICO at jiml.alnwickharriers@hotmail.co.uk

Northumberland Coastal Run 2013 Instructions

Look forward to seeing you in July and fingers crossed for a favourable wind this year. We are due one!

Junior Sports Report-16th June 2013

Four Alnwick young athletes treated their fathers to a day out at Churchill Playing Fields on Sunday! The Quad Kids event was held on the track at the home of the North Shields Poly Club in Whitley Bay. A beautiful warm day at an excellent and relaxed venue produced some great results. 

The BREESE family cleaned up in the Howler throwing; Millie won the U9 girls event with a pb of 16.06m and Max won the U11 boys category with a pb and club record of 33.38m! All the hours of throwing practice in their street finally paid off!!

Finlay TELFER managed to achieve personal bests in three of the four events, improving his total score by over 10% since the last meeting at Gateshead just three weeks ago! His brother Oliver ran the 75m Sprint in 12.00s to achieve a new Club record (CR) and finished second in the Long Jump with a leap of 3.30m (CR).

We had a great ‘Fathers Day’ at a superbly run competition. The next meeting is at Gateshead on 30 June, if anyone would like to ‘have a go’ let me know!

Mike TELFER

Juniors Sports Report-15th June 2013

4 Harriers travelled down to Middlesbrough to take part in the North East Schools Inter County Championships on Saturday 15th June. All performed well in blustery conditions and are a credit to the club.

Alex TAIT performed very well in the Under 15′s High Jump finishing 3rd with a leap of 1.65, whilst Owen DAVISON was 7th with 1.45. In the Girls 1500 metres Rosie MURTON ran a pb of 5.05.3 to finish 6th in a strong field, whilst Adam WEIGHTMAN was 5th in the Boys 3000 metres in 9.57.8. Well done to all!

8 Harriers took part in the Run Northumberland Bamburgh 10k on Sunday 16th June. There were some great results from those taking part including an excellent 6th place finish for Danny RICHARDSON, age category wins for Dave LOWE (male 45) and Gay EASTOE (female 55-second such prize in a week), and a pb for Shelley COATES! Results:

6-Danny RICHARDSON 37.43

10-Dave LOWE 38.52

57-Kim BRONZE 48.20

80-Phil LEE 52.29

97-Gay EASTOE 54.17

98-Richard EASTOE 54.17

112-Shelley COATES 55.57

160-Mark HUME 1.06.24

Report by Cris ATWELL on the Rosedale Trail Marathon

“Sunday 16th June saw the first running of the Rosedale Trail Marathon. This took place in Rosedale Valley in North Yorkshire, starting and finishing in the village of Hutton le Hole. Despite the fact that race was part of the Hardmoors 26.2 series it was actually 28.5 miles in length, a fact that only became known to me when I reached the final check point at 25 miles thinking that I only had a mile to go and the marshal advised me that there was still over three miles to the finish. The course was extremely tough, not so much because of the hills, although there were many, but because of the rough underfoot conditions. The scenery was probably breathtaking but the only time you could lift your head was at the drink stations. Anyway, I got through the first 21 miles OK but then the heat and the hills got to me and the last 7 miles took an hour and a half. I finally got to the slightly bizarre finishing line in 5 hours 12 minutes. I say bizarre because the finish was actually inside the village hall. This was probably the hardest race I have ever run, definitely not one for a first time marathon runner, but I did enjoy it and will consider it again next year.”

The day before 4 Harriers were running in the Newcastle Parkrun, with the headline being grabbed by Diana WEIGHTMAN who knocked over 80 seconds off her 5k pb, whilst winning the female 45 category! Results:

10-Daniel LENG 18.14 (75.14%)

86-Diana WEIGHTMAN 22.02 (75.19%)

108-Phil BASTON 22.40 (62.57%)

123-Charlotte BASTON 23.08 (67.00%)

Photos courtesy of Lee NIXON and Kim BRONZE.

Many thanks to Geoff CAMPBELL for organising the inaugural Alnwick Harriers Golf Day at Alnwick Castle Golf Club on Saturday 15th June. A great day was had by all!

The day started with Bacon sandwiches and coffee in the clubhouse, then it was out to the 1st tee to watch the 13 players set off in 4 groups. Much mirth was encountered on the 1st tee as many of those present had never picked up a golf stick before. Plenty of air shots and massive divots was the result. 18 amusing holes followed, then it was back to the clubhouse for a meal and lots of drinks. Star man was Geoff followed closely by Danny RICHARDSON. Adam SPILLER seems to have got a tad confused, thinking that the highest score wins, shooting a 178! In the post golf drink fuelled chat it emerged that Harry PORTEOUS is actually Bruce CROMBIE’s dad! Well i never.

Clockwise (l to r) Stu CARTER, Bruce CROMBIE, Danny RICHARDSON and Adam SPILLER.

Hopefully the golf day will be an annual event!

Junior Sports Report-8th June 2013

On Saturday 8th June 4 members of the Junior section were taking part in the Northumberland Schools County Championships at Gateshead Stadium, with good performances from all of them. In the Boys Under 17′s 3000 metres Adam WEIGHTMAN ran 9.43.82 to win the race comfortably. Meanwhile Rosie MURTON was 2nd of 8 in the Girls Under 17 1500 metres, finishing in 5.08.14. Finally our athletes took 1st and 2nd in the Boys Under 15′s High Jump. Alex TAIT won the competition jumping 1.56, whilst Owen DAVISON was not far behind with a leap of 1.53.

As a result of their performances all 4 now progress to the regional finals which is this Saturday at Clairville Stadium, Middlesbrough. Good luck to all of them!

We are now over half way through the 2013 Grand Prix races, with Sunday’s Blaydon Race being the 8th of the 14 counting events. There were some excellent WAVA scores from the race with Jo GASCOIGNE-OWENS scoring a superb 82.85%, whilst Bruce CROMBIE, Phil HEMSLEY and Jim LILLICO all scored in the high 70′s. The next race is the sold out Bridges of the Tyne 5 Mile Road Race on 9th July, which again will no doubt see some very high scores from the Harriers entered.

Sue BOLAM still leads the way, but only just! Bruce CROMBIE is stalking her like a Mountain Lion stalking a cute deer, being only about 9% behind her having taken part in one event less. Bruce has elbowed Dave HINDMARSH (see note below re Dave) into 3rd place, whilst a big gap has opened up to Lisa WILLIAMS in 4th and Peter GREY in 5th. Andy SQUIRES is quietly sneaking up the leaderboard being 6th and its a-welcome to the top 12 for the first time to Phil BASTON!

2013 Grand Prix After Blaydon Race

Details of a few Grand Prix events taking entries are below:

Tuesday 6th August-MORPETH 10k. Forms for this race are on the noticeboard at Willowburn or are here http://morpethharriers.freeservers.com/entryfrom2013v2.pdf.

Sunday 21st September-SIMONSIDE FELL RACE. No pre entries just turn up and run! This is a lovely 6.25 mile introduction (?) to fell running starting and finishing in Rothbury. A map of the route is here http://www.northumberlandfellrunners.co.uk/html/maps/ThroptonSimonside_2.html.

Sunday 20th October-GIBSIDE FRUIT BOWL TRAIL RACE. This race replaces the Berwick Harriers Rod Rutherford 10k, which may not be going ahead this year. Several Harriers took part in this very scenic, undulating 6 mile race last year and all agreed that this is one of the highlights of the local racing calendar. This baby sells out well in advance so enter asap here http://www.runbritain.com/RaceDetail.aspx?eventid=b80dc955e4&raceid=be0acd55eb or pick up an entry form from the noticeboard at Willowburn.

Sunday 27th October-JEDBURGH HALF MARATHON. This is one of our club trips, more details of which will appear nearer the time. There are entry forms on the noticeboard at Willowburn or you can enter here http://www.jedburghhalfmarathon.org.uk/entry.html.

Details of other Grand Prix events will appear here soon………………………………

(Regulars to the website will know that Dave HINDMARSH is loved and revered by all who know him. But did you know that in a recent book Yoko Ono states “John was really struggling for inspiration, big time. His head was done in, battered. Then he met Dave for a chat and a jam. The result was John’s great hit “Imagine”. John took all the credit, but i think Dave actually wrote it. Dave’s just so modest and great that he let John take all the credit.”).

Following on from last years very successful Wooler and Blyth Blind Handicap we have decided to invite both clubs and do it all over again! This years event is on Wednesday 26th June and will again be the same 5 mile route through Hulne Park. You will need to estimate your time for the route, but remember no watches are allowed!

Meet at Willowburn at 18.45 hours for a slow jog to Hulne Park, then the fun will begin. The plan is to form a trio of an Alnwick, Wooler and Blyth runners, all with roughly the same estimated time. This year can all Harriers wear their club vests, just like Wooler and Blyth did last year. If you haven’t got a club vest contact Club Kit Liasion Officer Mary PLUMLEY at alnwickharrierskit@gmail.com. After the run there will be a free post run buffet at The Oaks Hotel, South Road, Alnwick, NE66 2PN. 

Please can all those interested add their names and estimated times for the route to the notice on the board at Willowburn. Remember you can run from jog to race pace, the emphasis is on social rather than competitive!

The great news is that Adam SPILLER has already started preparing the famous wooden spoons!!! Any questions contact Adam on 0794 1171151 or speak to any committee member at Wednesday night training.

The usual large number of Harriers took part in Blaydon Race on Sunday 9th June. The race was held in hot conditions, a far cry from last years monsoon! First Harrier home was, once again, Bruce CROMBIE who was a very good 74th overall just 24 hours after a very good performance in the Alwinton Fell Race. Next came Jo GASCOIGNE-OWENS who was a superb 9th overall female, just over a minute behind Bruce. James BOLAM was 3rd Harrier, followed by Phil HEMSLEY who has been suffering from injuries of late, then Jim LILLICO. Provisional Harriers results are below (please note runners are positioned in finishing position rather than finishing time):

74-Bruce CROMBIE 32.55

106-Jo GASCOIGNE-OWENS 33.58

224-James BOLAM 36.41

225-Phil HEMSLEY 35.49

274-Jim LILLICO 37.17

389-Adam SPILLER 38.15

438-Stuart MORRIS 39.18

456-Andy SQUIRES 39.41

511-Stuart CARTER 40.16

599-Dave HINDMARSH 41.17

638-Charlie GILLON 41.23

639-Phil BASTON 41.02

695-Sarah GRAY (was FAIRBAIRN) 41.44

798-Lisa WILLIAMS 42.38

808-John CALLAGHAN 42.42

845-Sue BOLAM 42.46

1025-Charlotte BASTON 44.06

1047-John ROSS 44.30

1129-Antony BUDD 44.15

1154-Ami COOK 45.09

1276-Sarah CROSS 45.58

1330-Dave BARTRUM 45.35

1454-Maureen BARTRUM 46.35

1493-Phil LEE 47.17

1654-Ruth DOCTOR 47.38

1664-Rachel HEELEY 47.43

1694-Morag DONOGHUE 48.16

1707-Carol DAVISON 48.20

2429-Ron McCORMACK 53.37

3130-Mark HUME 1.01.51

3323-Timothy SHEPHERD 1.05.50

The day before Bruce CROMBIE was in great form once again, finishing 3rd in the Alwinton Fell Race. Bruce won the male 40 category, completing this 14 mile race in 1.44.07.

Also on Saturday there were some very good performances from 4 Harriers in various Parkruns. Phil BASTON knocked 1 second off his 5k pb at Newcastle, Danny RICHARDSON was 4th at Whitley Bay and Mark JEFFERIES was just outside his pb at Northampton. Results:

Newcastle:

80-Phil BASTON 21.31 (65.92%)

151-Charlotte BASTON 23.33 (65.82%)

Whitley Bay:

4-Danny RICHARDSON 18.28 (71.03%)

Northampton:

18-Mark JEFFERIES 19.54 (65.91%)

Later that day the EASTOE’s were competing once again for the club across the Pennines, this time in the Bendrigg 10k, near Kendal. A hot day and a hilly course did not stop Gay winning the female 55 category by finishing 64th in 58.43! Husband Richard was one place further back on the same time.

Finally back on Wednesday 5th June Gay and Richard EASTOE were taking part in the Carlisle Tri 10k. The pair were 115th and 116th in 56.41 and 56.42, with Gay just finishing ahead.

Photos courtesy of Dave KITCHING, Lee NIXON, Alan CURRIE and Newcastle Parkrun. Loads more Blaydon Race photos on our Flickr site!