Alnwick Harriers

Alnwick Harriers are once again planning the very popular club trip to the Brampton To Carlisle 10 Mile Road Race which takes place on Sunday 18th November. As always the club will enter a block booking and lay on massively subsidised transport to Cumbria for the race. The combined race entry and bus travel will cost just £20. Please note that you must pay via the link below and also fill in a race entry form.

Pay here:https://www.sportsentrysolutions.com/product_page_preview.php?recordID=200934

Fill out this form:http://www.ukresults.net/forms/181118brampton.pdf

Once done please can you send or drop off your completed entry forms to dockie1974@hotmail.co.uk or Mark Doctor, 25 Tyelaw Meadows, Shilbottle, NE66 2JJ. The deadline is Sunday 4th November or when the 29 seat coach is full.

The coach will leave Willowburn Leisure Centre, Alnwick at 08.30 hours and call into Amble en route to pick up runners at the A1068 near the petrol station before dropping runners off at the William Howard School, Brampton in plenty of time for the 11.30am race start. It will then depart the Sands Centre, Carlisle at 3.00pm allowing everyone time to shower, change, eat and drink.

The Minors Cross Country Championship provides young runners aged 8 to 11 an opportunity to compete in a team competition against other clubs and schools in the region. Alnwick Harriers only fielded one complete team this year at the event in Jarrow on Sunday but the Year 6 girls had a good race lead home by Molly JOHNSTON. She was followed by Tess HINDMARSH, Tamsin HUTTON STOTT and Ava FINDLAY.

Harry KNOX had an excellent race finishing in 5th place in the Year 6 boys competition, an excellent effort following his success on the previous day at Alwinton Show. In the Year 5 girls race Louise SYERS and Jess WHALTON ran well together with Louise finishing just ahead after a final sprint for the finish.

The Junior Harriers competed with great enthusiasm are sure to have more success throughout the season.

Despite the heavy rain nearly 90 junior and senior runners turnout out for the annual Alwinton Show Fell Race on Saturday. Alnwick Harriers fielded 15 brave runners with the 11 of them from the Junior section.

There was a brief interval in the heavy rain for the start of the Junior race and they all set off at an enthusiastic pace. The first mile of the course is over relatively flat fields with a few gates to hurdle before the beginning of the main climb. Most competitors are reduced to a walk or crawl on the steepest section but the front runners could be seen to be still running as they entered the low cloud. A good fast path for half a mile along the top of the climb leads the runners into a steep descent back into the fields below. By this stage Junior Morpeth Harrier, Daniel Dixon had developed an impressive lead and won the junior race by nearly 2 minutes a time that would have secured him 2nd overall in the senior race!

Ollie TELFER was second home for Alnwick Harriers and then Max MURRAY JOHN in 4th followed by Millie BREESE who had an excellent race to finish in 5th as first girl. There were some exceptional performances by the Alnwick runners but those who also stood out were Finlay WILDE in 6th and Under 11 runner Harry KNOX in 11th place!

The four Senior runners raced next by which time the rain was falling hard. However this didn’t deter their enthusiasm and although not as fast as first three Juniors Mike TELFER, Rob MURRAY JOHN, Andrew WILDE and David HINDMARSH ran well to finish in the top half of the field of 63 strong field.

Last week Talia THOMPSON was invited to the North East Athletics Grand Prix Awards evening at Gateshead International Stadium. The Grand Prix is a series of athletics meetings arranged on weekday day evenings throughout the summer. Athletes are awarded points for each event they compete in and how highly they place.

Talia focused on the throwing events and had an excellent summer participating in the shot put, hammer, discus and javelin. She steadily improved during the season achieving personal bests and setting new club records. Tal won numerous events and scored highly in others, her combined score securing her overall championship victory by a comfortable margin in the U15 category.

It is not common place for throwers to achieve a victory in this type of competition as they are limited by a narrow range of events. For Talia to achieve this as a first year under fifteen competitor as an excellent achievement.

On Saturday 13th October there was double success for the club at the Druridge Bay Parkrun, thanks to victories by Steve CARRAGHER and Carole PAGE. Steve was involved in a decent battle on the first lap round the lake but pulled away nicely to win comfortably in 17.53. Dominic HARRIS was 4th finisher and male 40 winner Phil HALL was 11th home. Carole PAGE was also a fairly easy winner of the ladies race, whilst Jo POWELL was 1st female 45 home!

Results:

1-Steve CARRAGHER 17.53 (79.31%)

4-Dominic HARRIS 18.44 (69.40%)

11-Phil HALL 19.35 (71.83%)

15-Jason DAWSON 20.25

25-Carole PAGE 21.35

29-Rob ENSER 21.53 (65.27%)

30-Robert BADDELEY 21.54

44-Jo POWELL 23.02 (68.96%)

51-Ian STEPHENSON 23.39 (66.10%)

61-Justine NORMAN 24.38 (65.76%)

69-Mark LATHAM 25.25 (62.03%)

71-Phil LEE 25.42

75-Eleanor HEELEY 26.08

97-George WILLIAMS 28.17 (61.64%)

117-Lorna STEPHENSON 30.38 (54.08%)

Elsewhere Kim BRONZE clocked 28.57 at the Sheffield Hallam parkrun, Stu BRUCE celebrated his 50th parkrun at Newbiggin By The Sea where he was round in 33.21 and Mark HUME finished the Gateshead Parkrun in 34.01.

The following day Nell GAIR was in action at the Yorkshire Marathon. Nell should be over the moon with her pb time of 5.12.59. This was an improvement of over 50 minutes on last year!!!! Well done Nell!

Also that day Gay and Richard EASTOE travelled north of the border to tackle the stunning Loch Rannoch Half Marathon. The couple ran together and finished in 2.09.58 and 2.09.59 respectively. Gay was 2nd female 60 and Richard was 3rd male 60.

Photos are all at the Druridge Bay Parkrun, Steve CARRAGHER, Mark LATHAM and Jo POWELL.

On Saturday 6th October Laurence REEVES ran the fastest 5k by a Harrier at a parkrun that day, thanks to his 19.26 at Druridge Bay, where he finished 5th. Rob ENSER celebrated a course pb due to his 9th placed 20.25, whilst Robert BADDELEY was 12th home and our 3rd finisher. For the women Carole PAGE was once again 1st finisher for us, whilst Jo POWELL was 4th female and winner of the female 45 category! Results:

5-Laurence REEVES 19.26

9-Rob ENSER 20.50 (68.08%)

12-Robert BADDELEY 21.19

14-Tony JACKSON 21.33

15-Carole PAGE 21.37

16-Jason DAWSON 21.38

19-Steve COWELL 21.45

33-Jo POWELL 23.01 (69.01%)

41-Neil HAMILTON 23.59

61-Phil LEE 26.00

71-Kim BRONZE 26.13

73-Nell GAIR 26.15

97-Eleanor HEELEY 28.27

147-Mark HUME 33.19

Elsewhere Kim REDPATH aka MORALEE was 38th at Keswick Parkrun in 23.13, Alice TETLEY-PAUL was 18th home and 2nd female in 23.53 at Lyme Park, near Stockport, whilst John ROSS was 230rd in 30.49 at the Bramhall Parkrun also near Stockport.

Later that day 9 Harriers were in action at the Kielder 10k where Lisa BASTON was 1st home for us in 78th. Diana WEIGHTMAN was next, followed by Karen WOOD and Sophie APPLEBY. Results:

78-Lisa BASTON 46.59

118-Diana WEIGHTMAN 48.53

310-Karen WOOD 57.12

311-Sophie APPLEBY 57.13

375-George WILLIAMS 58.54

397-Jennifer KNIGHT 58.17

439-Justine NORMAN 1.00.01

466-Sue SKIRROW 1.01.08

543-Linda PATTERSON 1.02.56

The following day Mel STEER and Helen PATTERSON represented us in the Kielder Marathon. Mel was 155th finisher and 3rd female 50 in 4.02.36, and Helen was 462nd in 5.01.12. In the half marathon John CUTHBERT finished 84th in 1.40.26, followed by Chris STEWART in 1.52.54, Richard EASTOE in 2.15.17 and wife Gay a second later.

Photos are of Sue SKIRROW, Lisa BASTON and Diana WEIGHTMAN at the Kielder 10k, and Gay and Richard EASTOW at the Kielder Half Marathon.

On Sunday 7th October the 2nd of the North East Harrier League cross country fixtures took place at Druridge Bay, hosted jointly by Blyth RC and Ashington Hirst RC. A huge number of Harriers took part, with some superb individual and team performances being achieved. From a team point of view the Senior Men finished 2nd narrowly missing out on the win on the day, whilst the Boys Under 17s won their division on the day. Here is a link to the full results http://www.harrierleague.com/results/2018-19/Druridge/.

4 of our Senior Men have been promoted into higher packs thanks to superb runs on the day. Dave RICHARDSON was our 1st finisher in 32nd overall from the Medium Pack and is now in the Fast Pack for the remainder of the season. Former Chevy Chase hero Bruce CROMBIE was 2nd counter for us in 41st and is promoted into the Medium Pack, whilst Graham SIMPSON is also back into the Fast Pack after finishing 44th from the Medium Pack. Steve PATTERSON is up from the Slow Pack into the Mediums after finishing 47th, whilst our other 2 counters were Jon ARCHER and Phil HALL. Just behind Phil were two Medium Pack runners in Adam FLETCHER and Paul WHITE, whilst there were also some good runs from the likes of Laurence REEVES, Allan FOGGON and Peter GREY. Our 2nd place finish on the day means we are now 3rd overall after 2 events.

Results:

32-Dave RICHARDSON 38.15 (M)

41-Bruce CROMBIE 38.36 (S)

44-Graham SIMPSON 38.50 (M)

47-Steve PATTERSON 38.56 (S)

62-Jon ARCHER 39.12 (S)

158-Phil HALL 40.52 (S)

159-Adam FLETCHER 40.52 (M)

177-Paul WHITE 41.04 (M)

188-Laurence REEVES 41.12 (S)

222-Allan FOGGON 41.43 (S)

237-Jason DAWSON 42.04 (S)

247-Peter GREY 42.13 (S)

320-Ian SIMON 43.37 (M)

328-Dominic HARRIS 43.51 (F)

347-Mike TELFER 44.31 (S)

415-Kevin McGEE 46.43 (S)

425-David HENDERSON 47.09 (S)

442-Graham SKIRROW 47.39 (S)

458-Ian STEPHENSON 48.17 (S)

501-Chris CALVERT 50.38 (S)

For our Senior Women Jo POWELL had a superb race on her Harrier League debut by finishing 34th of well over 350 runners from the Slow Pack. As a result Jo is now promoted to the Medium Pack. Next home was Medium Pack runner Lisa BASTON, just edging out Frances WILDE. Last of the 4 counters for us was Medium Pack runner Karen KELLY. Well done to Justine NORMAN who was 10 seconds behind Karen, and to the likes of Emma McGEE, Karen LEESON and Grazia CALVERT!

Results:

34-Jo POWELL 31.20 (S)

84-Lisa BASTON 32.37 (M)

87-Frances WILDE 32.41 (S)

126-Karen KELLY 33.29 (M)

136-Justine NORMAN 33.39 (S)

201-Louise CALLAGHAN 35.43 (S)

238-Emma McGEE 36.44 (S)

258-Tania CONWAY 37.36 (S)

273-Jennifer KNIGHT 38.18 (S)

309-Karen LEESON 40.15 (S)

337-Lorna STEPHENSON 43.25 (S)

349-Mark HUME 45.23 (S)

357-Grazia CALVERT 52.01 (S)

For our Juniors there were loads of great runs, though standout performances came from Tess HINDMARSH, Ellie PRICE, Max MURRAY JOHN, Millie BREESE, Gregor BATLEY and Ben MURRAY JOHN. In terms of team performances our Under 13 Girls were 3rd in their division on the day, whilst our Boys Under 17s had a brilliant performance and won on the day thanks to counters Ben MURRAY JOHN, Barnabus HARVEY and Max BREESE. Results:

Girls Under 11s:

12-Tess HINDMARSH 6.44

22-Xara PURVIS 6.56

33-Louise SYERS 7.29

35-Rebecca HEELEY 7.33

48-Ava FINDLAY 8.08

50-Erin GIVENS 8.14

Boys Under 11s:

27-Liam McDONOUGH 6.42

28-Ruaridh BATLEY 6.43

Girls Under 13s:

9-Ellie PRICE 15.21 (S)

13-Lilia PURVIS 15.33 (S)

21-Beth CARRAGHER 15.51 (S)

51-Eleanor HEELEY 17.07 (S)

Boys Under 13s:

19-Max MURRAY JOHN 14.33 (F)

21-Cooper WILDE 14.38 (S)

22-Harris HALL 14.43 (S)

66-Alex KNIGHT 17.52 (S)

Girls Under 15s:

12-Millie BREESE 14.40 (F)

19-Sam POTTS 14.52 (S)

24-Hannah JOHNSTON 15.11 (F)

26-Lydia SMITH 15.15 (S)

40-Ailsa BATLEY 15.55 (S)

43-Maddy HALL 16.03 (S)

54-Anna Grace HARVEY 17.18 (S)

Boys Under 15s:

10-Gregor BATLEY 13.07 (S)

22-Thomas DAVISON 13.36 (S)

23-Finlay WILDE 13.38 (S)

26-James CARRAGHER 13.34 (S)

43-Owen DOUGLAS 14.46 (S)

52-Joseph GODDEN 15.17 (F)

Girls Under 17:

23-Anna McQUEEN 23.04 (S)

Boys Under 17s:

3-Ben MURRAY JOHN 17.57 (S)

9-Barnabus HARVEY 18.46 (S)

10-Max BREESE 18.49 (S)

21-Ollie TELFER 20.19 (F)

The next race is at Gosforth Racecourse on Saturday 27th October!

Above photos are of Bruce CROMBIE, Mike TELFER, Jo POWELL, Louise CALLAGHAN, our Girls Under 13s and the Boys Under 17s.

The 2018/19 Start Fitness North East Harrier League season got under way on Saturday 29th September at a windswept Wrekenton. Both the Senior teams turned up in decent enough numbers and there were some top class individual performances, though we are towards the bottom of their respective tables as a result of this fixture. However the season is long and with the Druridge Bay cross country fixture up next we hope to shoot up the tables. The Juniors too had some excellent performances, in particular from the Girls Under 15s.

The outstanding performance of the day came from the Girls Under 15s in their first appearance in the age group, after dominating the Girls Under 13s last season. Lauren BROWN and Millie BREESE had a good battle and finished 1st and 2nd in the race, a superb performance! They were backed up by Hannah JOHNSTON who finished 8th, Sam POTTS who was 20th and Maddy HALL in 39th. They comfortably won the league on the day. Other good Junior runs came from the likes of Molly JOHNSTON and Jack PRICE in the Under 11s, and Ollie TELFER in the under 17s. Results:

Girls Under 11s:

10-Molly JOHNSTON 6.59

30-Xara PURVIS 7.33

37-Louise SYERS 7.49

53-Tamsin HUTTON-STOTT 8.40

Boys Under 11s:

9-Jack PRICE 6.22

25-Liam McDONOUGH 6.46

Girls Under 13s:

23-Beth CARRAGHER 11.41 (S)

25-Lilia PURVIS 11.43 (S)

Boys Under 13s:

35-Harris HALL 10.20 (S)

36-Max MURRAY JOHN 10.20 (F)

58-Cooper WILDE 10.57 (S)

79-Alex KNIGHT 12.39 (S)

Girls Under 15s:

1-Lauren BROWN 9.13 (S)

2-Millie BREESE 9.16 (S)

8-Hannah JOHNSTON 10.04 (S)

20-Sam POTTS 11.07 (S)

39-Maddy HALL 11.50 (S)

Boys Under 15s:

21-Finlay WILDE 10.03 (S)

26-James CARRAGHER 10.13 (S)

57-Joseph GODDEN 11.39 (F)

59-Finlay TELFER 13.21 (S)

Boys Under 17s:

6-Ollie TELFER 18.24 (S)

8-Ben MURRAY JOHN 19.09 (S)

16-Max BREESE 20.03 (S)

For the Seniors the men are 8th in Division 2 after the race, with Dave RICHARDSON making his Harrier League debut for us, finishing a superb 6th from the Slow Pack. He’s promoted to the Medium Pack as is Graham SIMPSON, returning to us after a season away, who finished in 13th. There was an emotional return for 2014 Chevy Chase winner Bruce CROMBIE who rolled back the years to finish 60th, whilst Adam FLETCHER was 4th counter from the Medium Pack. Our other 2 counters were Jason DAWSON and Jon DUFFY. Here’s the results:

6-Dave RICHARDSON 34.43 (S)

13-Graham SIMPSON 35.36 (S)

60-Bruce CROMBIE 37.54 (S)

195-Adam FLETCHER 40.36 (M)

241-Jason DAWSON 41.28 (S)

296-Jon DUFFY 42.44 (S)

336-Dominic HARRIS 43.40 (F)

390-Tony JACKSON 45.15 (S)

408-Chris CALVERT 46.00 (S)

473-Graham SKIRROW 48.50 (S)

491-Chris STEWART 49.47 (S)

In the ladies and mens over 65 race Alice TETLEY-PAUL was 1st home from the Medium Pack, just pipping Slow Pack runner Frances WILDE. Karen KELLY was back down in the Medium Pack and was 3rd counter for us, whilst Diana WEIGHTMAN was 4th. Also well done to Jennifer KNIGHT and Grazia CALVERT who made their Harrier League debuts. Unfortunately the good efforts couldn’t stop us from slipping to the bottom of Division 1. Results:

104-Alice TETLEY-PAUL 31.40 (M)

109-Frances WILDE 31.50 (S)

139-Karen KELLY 32.40 (M)

167-Diana WEIGHTMAN 33.11 (M)

300-Jennifer KNIGHT 36.44 (S)

361-Sue SKIRROW 38.42 (S)

430-Mark HUME 43.58

449-Grazia CALVERT 50.54 (S)

Earlier in the day Laurence REEVES was 3rd finisher at the Druridge Bay Parkrun in 19.29, whilst David HINDMARSH was 12th and winner of the male 55 category. Also of note Junior Harriers Euan FRIEND and Eleanor HEELEY both notched course pbs! Results:

3-Laurence REEVES 19.29

12-David HINDMARSH 21.22

32-Euan FRIEND 23.53

46-Mark LATHAM 25.15 (62.44%)

50-Eleanor HEELEY 25.33

62-Phil LEE 26.18

79-Alice TETLEY-PAUL 28.04

Elsewhere Kim BRONZE completed the Sheffield Hallam Parkrun in 26.36, John ROSS was round the Victoria Parkrun in Glasgow in 27.26 and George WILLIAMS completed the Frimley Lodge Parkrun in Surrey in 27.10.

Photos are of Dave RICHARDSON and Diana WEIGHTMAN at Wrekenton, and Mark LATHAM at Druridge Bay.

On Saturday 22nd September mens cross country team captain Dominic HARRIS warmed up for Harrier League season with a very pleasing 5k blast at the Newbiggin By The Sea Parkrun. Dom was 3rd across the line in 18.37!

Slightly closer to Alnwick a large number of Harriers were in action at the Druridge Bay Parkrun, where Peter GREY rolled back the years to clock 20.22, win the male 60 age group and finish 1st Harrier in 12th place. Next up was Carole PAGE who was 2nd female in 16th place, followed by Phil HALL one place further rback. Also of note Alice TETLEY-PAUL was 3rd female finisher, whilst good runs came from Tony JACKSON and Junior Louise SYERS amongst others. Results:

12-Peter GREY 20.22 (79.46%)

16-Carole PAGE 21.05

17-Phil HALL 21.20 (65.94%)

20-Robert BADDELEY 21.30

25-Alice TETLEY-PAUL 21.53

26-Tony JACKSON 21.54

34-Angie EMBLETON 22.50 (69.56%)

35-Steve COWELL 22.57

41-Ian STEPHENSON 23.43 (65.92%)

49-Neil HAMILTON 24.47

81-Phil LEE 26.44

96-Louise SYERS 27.23

98-Graham SYERS 27.28

103-George WILLIAMS 27.40 (63.01%)

110-Eleanor HEELEY 28.08

147-Lorna STEPHENSON 31.31 (52.56%)

149-Alex KNIGHT 31.48

163-Mark HUME 33.20

180-Jennifer KNIGHT 35.57

181-Christine HARDY 35.59

Finally Kim BRONZE was down at the Sheffield Hallam Parkrun where he clocked 27.21.

Above photo is of Dom HARRIS at Newbiggin.

Ollie and Fin TELFER competed in the North East Open Pentathlon on Saturday 22nd September. The event tests athletes over five different disciplines and points are awarded for each, the highest cumulative score wins the competition. The boys were competing for the first time in the Under 15 and Under 17 age categories.

The events contested are sprint hurdles, shot put, long jump, high jump and 800m. Fin had a great day achieving personal best performances in four of the five events.

Ollie’s day didn’t start well in the hurdles and high jump but a massive personal best in the shot put pushed moved him closer but still a long way off the 2nd and 3rd placed athletes. Going into the last event Ollie was 200 points away from a medal but a convincing win in the 800m by over 15 seconds boosted him up the table to take the bronze medal! An excellent performance.

The pentathlon was an excellent event to round off a successful outdoor season.

The 2018 Grand Prix season is coming to a close with just 2 events left, the Hexham 10k and the Brampton to Carlisle 10 Miler. Details of these are below. At the weekend a small number of Harriers took part in the Thropton Show Fell Race, though none of those involved are anywhere near the top 12 trophy winning slots. However thanks to his course pb performance at Druridge Bay on Saturday Jon ARCHER has zoomed into the top 12 and is in 8th place, pushing Bev BLYTHE out of the top 12! Here’s the latest standings thanks to John ROSS:

Alnwick Harriers Grand Prix 2018 Standings After Thropton

Entry details for the remaining races are here:

Sunday 28th October-Run Northumberland Hexham 10k. Entries are being taken for the final 10k in the 2018 Grand Prix series. https://runnation.co.uk/r/run-northumberland-hexham-10k-2018

Sunday 18th November-Brampton to Carlisle 10 Miler. We will be laying on a bus for this event and will be entering a block booking. So there is no need to enter this race yet. More info will be on this website in a couple of days. http://borderharriers.co.uk/home.

On Sunday 16th September John CUTHBERT and Laura McLEAN Jr travelled to Germany and competed in the Berlin Marathon. Laura has been struggling with various injuries of late so just to finish and in a time of 5.10.15 was a very good achievement. Partner John smashed his previous marathon pb to clock a brilliant 3.29.37!

The previous day 5 Harriers lined up for the latest of the 2018 Grand Prix races, the Thropton Show Fell Race up Simonside. First to complete the 6.8 mile course for us was Alice TETLEY-PAUL in 1.11.11. Not far behind were Annabel and Jim LILLICO in 1.11.48.and 1.11.49 respectively. Steve COWELL was home in 1.14.23 and Kim BRONZE in 1.25.31. Latest Grand Prix results will be out asap.

Also that day there were some great results at the Druridge Bay Parkrun. Adam FLETCHER was first Harrier to complete the 5k and won the male 50 category in 18.39. Jon ARCHER was one place further back and notched a course pb of 18.49. Junior Harrier Joseph GODDEN was 3rd back for us in 14th. Also of note Rob ENSER broke his course pb, whilst Nell GAIR obliterated her 5k pb by knocking well over a minute off!

Results:

4-Adam FLETCHER 18.39 (81.05%)

5-Jon ARCHER 18.49 (68.91%)

14-Joseph GODDEN 20.43 (68.46%)

15-Phil HALL 20.44 (67.85%)

18-Robert BADDELEY 21.17

20-Rob ENSER 21.22 (66.38%)

63-Nell GAIR 26.07

72-Phil LEE 26.21

80-David HINDMARSH 26.51

82-Paul WILKIE 26.56

95-Jennifer KNIGHT 27.58

102-George WILLIAMS 28.35 (60.99%)

118-Eleanor HEELEY 29.49

124-Rebecca HEELEY 30.13

171-Christine HARDY 36.35

Finally for the weekend our ultra running legend Andy STEPHENSON took part in the Hardmoors 60 for the 4th time. Despite a recent DNF in the Ultra Trail Mont Blanc Andy was back on song and smashed his previous best in this race. He completed the race from Guisborough to Filey in 15.45.56. Great work Andy!!

Photos are of Laura and John in Berlin and Jon ARCHER/Rob ENSER at Druridge Bay.