Alnwick Harriers

The race is long since sold out and the bus is now booked for the Blaydon race on Saturday 9th June! Many thanks to John CUTHBERT for sorting the online booking system where Harriers can bag a seat for a measly £5 return! Non Harriers are also welcome to buy a seat. Its a 33 seater so get on board asap! All details are here:

https://www.sportsentrysolutions.com/product_page_preview.php?recordID=200799.

As always many thanks to John ROSS and John CUTHBERT for sorting the 2018 Grand Prix standings after the Sunderland City Half Marathon recently. We have a new leader in the shape of mens team captain Dominic HARRIS! Thanks to his superb showing on Wearside he is now the clear leader over Tracey SAMPLE. Mike HENRY has dropped to 3rd and David HINDMARSH is up into 4th place. Mel STEER is now into 5th followed by John CUTHBERT and Allan FOGGON. Neil HAMILTON is down to 9th, with the remaining trophy slots currently held by Laura McLEAN Jr, Dave RICHARDSON and Jason DAWSON. Here’s the latest standings:

Alnwick Harriers Grand Prix 2018 Standings After Sunderland City Half Marathon

The next races come thick and fast with a choice of 2 events next Wednesday. There’s the fast and flat Clive Cookson 10k hosted by North Shields Poly or the undulating George Ogle Memorial Race at Swalwell. Entries are here http://nspoly.org/clive-cookson-10k-2018/ and here https://derwentvalleyrunningclub.co.uk/georgeogle/. Remember that the Clive Cookson will be in the “upto 10k” category and George Ogle in the “0ff road” category.

Many thanks to all involved in making the 2018 Les Allcorn 10k and Junior Fun Run a superb success once again. Gareth BREESE did a fantastic job as race organiser and he was helped out by many committee members, Harriers, as well as their friends and family. Gareth would like to thank in particular Sue SKIRROW, Brenda MALLEN, Geoff CAMPBELL and Mark DOCTOR for their help. Also thanks to His Grace The Duke of Northumberland, Rapid Reaction and everyone else who made the race possible.

On a gorgeous night in Hulne Park an above average 152 Seniors tackled the 10k, whilst 61 Juniors most of whom were from Alnwick Harriers tackled the “Fun Run”. Congratulations to the Senior race winners who were Kurt HERON of Ashington Hirst RC and Jane HODGSON of Morpeth Harriers who won for the 2nd year running! For the Juniors the winners were both from Alnwick Harriers, Ollie TELFER and Lauren BROWN. Lauren completed a hat-trick of wins in the Junior race! There were also age category wins from Max MURRAY JOHN, Jack PRICE and Molly JOHNSTON amongst others.

Here are the results:

2018 Les Allcorn 10k Results

2018 Les Allcorn Junior Fun Run Results

In the Senior 10k race there was one of the closest battles for some time in the event with Ashington Hirst RCs Kurt HERON and Darrell HASTIE of Gala Harriers going hammer and tongs, with Kurt outsprinting Darrell at the end to win by 3 seconds in 32.47. Third home and 1st of our runners was David MILNE, one place down on last year though in a quicker time. As with last year David was backed up by 4th placed Dan LENG and 6th placed James WILLOUGHBY to win the male team prize! Age category winners were Andrew HEPPELL (male 40) of Gosforth Harriers, Andrew HUSSEY (male 50) of Cheltenham Harriers and John JAMES of Heaton Harriers (male 60). For the ladies there was a 3rd victory in the race for Jane HODGSON of Morpeth Harriers, retaining the trophy she won last year. Jane was almost a minute faster than in 2017 and was a whopping 5 minutes ahead of 2nd female Michelle BARTLETT of Banbury Harriers. 3rd finisher was Jesmond Joggers Laura CHEETHAM. Jesmond sent up a decent number of athletes which helped them to comfortably win the female team prizes courtesy of Laura, Kate ROBSON and Ella FOREMAN. Other winners were Leanne HERRON of Blyth RC (female 35), Karen KELLY of Alnwick Harriers (female 45) and Jenny FRIEND of Heaton Harriers (female 55).

Elsewhere for the host club Steve CARRAGHER was 10th overall, with Allan FOGGON and Jon ARCHER also in the top 25. For the ladies Jo POWELL impressed once again as 2nd Harrier home, whilst Eve BUDDLE was next. It was great to see youngsters Eve, Robert STEPHENSON and Sophie ENSER taking part.

Here’s all our performances:

3-David MILNE 34.05

4-Dan LENG 35.05

9-James WILLOUGHBY 37.37

10-Steve CARRAGHER 38.19

19-Allan FOGGON 40.28

24-Jon ARCHER 41.39

26-John CUTHBERT 42.15

34-Karl McEWAN 43.17

58-Karen KELLY 46.05

59-David HENDERSON 46.16

62-Graham CROW 46.50

65-Paul ROBINSON 47.21

70-Jo POWELL 47.53

89-Ian STEPHENSON 51.25

93-Eve BUDDLE 52.09

107-Robert STEPHENSON 54.50

108-Emma McGEE 55.22

113-Sophie ENSER 56.20

114-Kim BRONZE 56.51

116-Helen PATTERSON 57.32

120-Katie BLACKBURN 58.15

121-Mary PLUMLEY 58.15

135-Alison HUTCHINGS 1.02.50

144-Lorna STEPHENSON 1.08.26

Many thanks to Cameron PRENTICE for the photos! Action shots are of Katie Lou FRIEND/Finlay TELFER in the Junior Fun Run, Allan FOGGON/Jon ARCHER and Sophie ENSER. Also pictured are our victorious mens team of MILNE, WILLOUGHBY and LENG!

The 2019 Les Allcorn 10k and Junior Fun Run is provisionally set for Tuesday, 14th May!

On Sunday 13th May 3 Harriers took part in the Sunderland City Half Marathon. First home in an amazing 12th place overall was Dominic HARRIS in a superb personal best at the distance, 1.20.43! Another Harrier to celebrate a pb at the half marathon distance was Laura McLEAN Jr in 1.55.40, whilst Jayne McKENNA was home in 2.19.15. Well done to all 3!

Further down the country another 3 of the club took part in the Leeds Half Marathon. Annabel LILLICO ran with her dad Jim and crossed the line in a splendid 1.45.48, the same time as Jim. John ROSS also ran, finishing in 2.13.27.

The day before at Druridge Bay a number of Harriers were in action in the 5k parkrun. In 5th overall in a personal best of over 40 seconds was Allan FOGGON, clocking a brilliant 19.36. Next home in 11th and winner of the male 55 category was Tim FALCONER, whilst Jason DAWSON was back in action finishing 21st and David BARNES and Harry ELLABY ran course pbs. For our ladies Alice TETLEY-PAUL was 2nd finisher just outside her course best, whilst Carole PAGE won the 55 category, Jo POWELL ran a pb and Lorna STEPHENSON knocked another huge chunk off her course best!

Results:

5-Allan FOGGON 19.36 (65.82%)

11-Tim FALCONER 20.45 (74.06%)

21-Jason DAWSON 21.40

22-David BARNES 21.42

24-Neil HAMILTON 21.46

30-Alice TETLEY-PAUL 22.17

38-Jo POWELL 23.26

45-Harry ELLABY 23.43

46-Chris FRIEND 23.44

47-Carole PAGE 23.59

52-Euan FRIEND 24.18

56-Ian STEPHENSON 24.27 (63.94%)

77-John ROSS 26.16

84-Robert STEPHENSON 26.28

101-Kim BRONZE 27.55

108-Eleanor HEELEY 28.18 (58.78%)

113-John CUTHBERT 28.33

151-Lorna STEPHENSON 31.03 (52.71%)

180-Mark HUME 34.40 (52.93%)

Also that morning Jim and Annabel LILLICO warmed up for the half marathon the following day at the Woodhouse Moor Parkrun in Leeds. They ran together with Annabel finishing 105th in 22.58. Jim was 1 place and 1 second further back.

Finally for the day Rachelle FALLOON took part in the North East Counties Athletics Association 5000m event at the Middlesbrough Sports Village. Rachelle was winner of the silver medal in a splendid 19.07!

Photos are of Dominic HARRIS after Sunderland, the LILLICOs at Leeds and Allan FOGGON en route to a huge course pb at Druridge Bay.

Four Alnwick Junior athletes competed this weekend at the North East Track and Field Championships at Middlesbrough Sports Village. The athletes are all in the first year of their age groups so were aiming for good performances rather than medals.

Ollie TELFER raced first in the U17 men’s 800m finishing 5th in a personal best time of 2min 15s, a new club record. Lauren BROWN competed next in the 1500m running an excellent race finishing strongly in 6th place. This improved on her own club record with an excellent time of 5min 0s. Later in the day Lauren also ran a personal best time of 46.95s in the 300m

Finlay TELFER had a slow start in the hammer with two no throws, however, he held his composure and managed a super personal best of 16m 93cm in round six to win the bronze medal. A fantastic achievement.

Talia THOMPSON continued her excellent season by throwing 8.35m in the shot put just short of her own club record. Talia finished in 4th place. The Junior Harriers had an excellent day competing at the highest level, they are sure to continue to improve through the season.

On Wednesday 9th May 9 Harriers travelled down to the Silverlink to take part in the Wallsend Harriers organised Gordon Smith Memorial Relays. We sent out 2 mens and 1 ladies team with each runner tackling a very fast 2 mile course. Well done to all the runners and a massive thank you to Jocelyn BOLAM who was a late replacement!

The ladies race was first up with Bev BLYTHE going out on the first leg. She handed over to Jocelyn BOLAM, with Angie EMBLETON on the final leg. The team performed admirably finishing 40th of the 70 teams:

40-Ladies “A” Team-Bev BLYTHE 15.18, Jocelyn BOLAM 16.55 and Angie EMBLETON 13.53. Overall 46.06.

For the mens teams the first leg runners were Jon DUFFY and Denis KERR, with the B teamer Denis finishing his leg ahead of Jon. However Shaun LAND quickly overtook Mark DOCTOR on the 2nd leg meaning that the A team were quite rightly ahead. The final leggers were Dominic HARRIS and Jon ARCHER, both running well to give our teams decent final positions on the night out of the 83 teams:

34-Mens “A” Team-Jon DUFFY 13.00, Shaun LAND 11.55 and Dominic HARRIS 11.09. Overall 36.04.

47-Mens “B” Team-Denis KERR 12.31, Mark DOCTOR 13.22 and Jon ARCHER 11.58. Overall 37.51.

There is 1 relay to go, the Weetslade Relay organised by Claremont Road Runners. More details will be announced soon……..

Photos are of Jocelyn in action as well as Mark, Jocelyn, Angie, Jon D, Dominic, Jon A and Shaun after the race.

A big number of Harriers were in action on Saturday 5th May at the Druridge Bay Parkrun, where almost 250 runners turned out no doubt partly due to the glorious weather. First Harrier home in 21.00 and 1st in the male 50 category was Tim FALCONER. He was 30 seconds ahead of Neil HAMILTON who was a minute ahead of John CUTHBERT. Also for the lads there were course personal bests for Chris STEWART and Junior Harrier Harry ELLABY.  For the ladies Jo POWELL continues to get faster as she bagged another pb as well as the 3rd placed female slot.

Results:

13-Tim FALCONER 21.00 (72.54%)

17-Neil HAMILTON 21.30 (63.95%)

27-John CUTHBERT 22.37 (57.33%)

39-Andy SQUIRES 23.23

43-Jo POWELL 23.35

48-Chris STEWART 24.00 (56.46%)

60-Cris ATWELL 24.41 (63.34%)

63-Harry ELLABY 24.47 (55.28%)

65-Chris FRIEND 24.59

75-Hannah TAYLOR 25.54

116-David HINDMARSH 28.39

120-Eleanor HEELEY 28.49 (57.72%)

126-Colin McLEAN 29.04

137-Alison HUTCHINGS 29.54

144-Nell GAIR 30.23

153-Linda PATTERSON 30.50

201-Mark HUME 36.01

In other events that morning Ian and Lorna STEPHENSON were in action at the Rising Sun Parkrun, where Ian clocked 24.51 and Lorna 32.35. Finally over the 5k distance Kim BRONZE and John ROSS were at the Sheffield Hallam Parkrun, with Kim finishing in 26.17 and John 29.01.

Also that day Adam SPILLER took part in the latest of the superb Lakeland Trails races, the 17k Staveley Trail Race. Adam was 97th finisher in 1.42.43.

The following day Mel STEER was also over in the Lakes tackling the tough Keswick Half Marathon. Mel put in her usual good shift to finish 141st in 1.49.55.

Photos are of Harry ELLABY and Eleanor HEELEY at Druridge Bay, and Adam SPILLER at Staveley.

Alnwick Harriers has to ensure we are General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliant by 25th May 2018. Whilst we do feel that we are already complying with the spirit of the regulations we have updated our membership forms, but we also need to inform all our members as to how we protect their data. To this end, below is a number of statements of what we collect and what we would and wouldn’t share.

In becoming a member of Alnwick Harriers, the club will collect certain information about you which will include your name, date of birth, gender, URN number, email address, address and telephone number. When you become a first claim member of Alnwick Harriers, the club will automatically affiliate you to England Athletics (EA).

In becoming a member of EA, EA will collect certain information about you which will include your name, date of birth, gender, URN number, email address, address, telephone number, names of the EA affiliated clubs that you are a member of and details of any coaching or officiating licenses you hold.

There are certain other times when the club may use your data which you have provided as set out below but currently you have to sign up separately to get the newsletter, and the membership secretary does not provide the committee with any data not already publicly available on the membership website. Any communications sent out to the club would be sent out through the membership secretary.

Training and competition entry

On Thursday 31st May a new race is coming to Alnwick and is part of the Northumberland Pride weekend. The race is being organised in conjunction with Alnwick Harriers and entries are now open here https://www.sientries.co.uk/event.php?event_id=4569. Further info regarding the weekends Pride activities are here http://northumberlandpride.org.uk/events/.

On Saturday a healthy contingent of Harriers descended on Druridge Bay to take part in the weekly 5k parkrun there. First home for us in 2nd overall was new Harrier Dave RICHARDSON in a splendid 17.07, a course pb for him. Another course pb came courtesy of James WILLOUGHBY who was 5th in 18.29, whilst Denis KERR was 8th home. For the women there was age category success for Laura McLEAN Sr in the female 55 category, whilst Lorna STEPHENSON was over the moon with her 5k pb, knocking over 30 seconds off her previous best. Also of note Colin McLEAN was taking part in his 1st parkrun, whilst David MILNE raced round the course pushing a buggy in a scary 20.59!

Results:

2-Dave RICHARDSON 17.07

5-James WILLOUGHBY 18.29 (70.60%)

8-Denis KERR 20.15

12-David MILNE 20.59

31-Graham SKIRROW 22.45

36-Neil HAMILTON 23.28

44-Jo POWELL 23.52

47-John CUTHBERT 24.12

83-Laura McLEAN Sr 26.59 (66.21%)

86-Colin McLEAN 27.30

94-Laura McLEAN Jr 27.58

119-Nell GAIR 29.58

133-Eleanor HEELEY 31.07

142-Lorna STEPHENSON 31.59 (51.17%)

In other parkruns that morning Tim FALCONER was 21st home at Folkestone in 20.57, winning the male 50 category in the process, whilst Bev BLYTHE won the female 40 category at the tough Gibside Parkrun in 25.37. Finally for the morning Gay and Richard EASTOE took part in the Plean Parkrun as a warm up for the Stirling Half Marathon the following day. They ran together and finished in 32.50, with Gay winning the female 60 age group.

The following day Lorna STEPHENSON notched her 2nd pb in 2 days at the Sand Dancer 10k in South Shields. Lorna was 345th finisher in 1.08.56 to round off a superb weekend. Fellow Harrier Mark HUME was 5 places further back in 1.11.53.

Also in 10k action was Chris STEWART at the Chase The Kite 10k on the banks of the River Derwent near Swalwell. Chris was home in 58.17 and was glowing about the race and its cracking scenery.

North of the border Gay and Richard EASTOE ran the Stirling Half Marathon together, finishing in 2.04.32.

Andy STEPHENSON was in action at the Wainstones Trail Marathon in the Cleveland Hills. This was just a short jog for Andy as he prepares for the 160 mile (yep, 160 miles) Hardmoors Ultra in 4 weeks time. No times are out as yet but Andy was home in about 5 hours 27 minutes to finish 28th. What a guy.

A number of Harriers were in action in the Kirk Yetholm to Wooler Trail Race also on Sunday. Dave BARTRUM was first home for us in 44th in 2.25.35, followed by Ian STEPHENSON in 2.29.22. Maureen BARTRUM was our sole female competitor and finished in 2.43.09.

Photos are of Laura McLEAN Sr and Denis KERR at Druridge Bay, Lorna STEPHENSON overjoyed at South Shields and Ian STEPHENSON/Dave BARTRUM/Maureen BARTRUM at Kirk Yetholm.