Alnwick Harriers

For the first time in many a year Alnwick Harriers participated in the first of the summer relays on Friday 19th April, the Elswick Good Friday Relays. The races are held on a fast and flat course on the Newburn Riverside Park with the Senior/Veteran races consisting of a 2.2 mile lap to be run once by each member of the team. For the Men teams of 4 are entered whilst for the Ladies there are teams of 3. The event proved to be a big hit with the members of the club who took part and hopefully we’ll enter a decent number of teams at the next relay on Wednesday 14th May, the Wallsend Harriers organised Gordon Smith Memorial Relays.

The highlight for the club was a superb 4th placed finish for the Veteran Ladies A team of Jo GASCOIGNE-OWENS, Ella BROWN and Diana WEIGHTMAN. In this race Jo ran the 2nd fastest 2.2 mile leg of the day by a Veteran and was beaten only by probable Commonwealth Games athlete Alyson DIXON of Sunderland Strollers! Ella BROWN was our 2nd quickest Veteran Lady, followed by Pauline AITCHISON. Our B team was 10th and C team was 16th of the 21 teams.

In the Senior Ladies event a lack of under 35′s meant that we had to add a few slightly older runners into the 2 teams we entered. However they still performed well and this was a good experience for the 6 Harriers who took part. Sarah GRAY, one of only 2 true Seniors, was fastest Harrier and was followed by Jacquie PROUSE and Lesley MILLER.

In the Senior Mens event we entered 2 teams of 4 runners, with Dave KIRKLAND easily running the quickest leg by a Harrier on the day. Dave helped the Senior A team to a 19th placed finish of the 49 teams, and was backed up by youngsters Adam SHAFIQ and Dan LENG, as well as by a great run from Ian SIMON. The B team was 24th overall with Richard AGAN running the quickest leg, marginally faster than John HORSLEY.

Finally the Veteran Men had 1 team out, finishing a decent enough 28th overall. First leg runner Adam SPILLER was quickest of the 4 in the team, though Stuart MORRIS also ran well and was not too far behind.

Results:

Veteran Ladies:

4-”A” Team Diana WEIGHTMAN 15.09, Ella BROWN 13.18 and Jo GASCOIGNE-OWENS 12.37

10-”B” Team Lisa WILLIAMS 16.04, Tracey SAMPLE 15.35 and Pauline AITCHISON 14.39

16-”C” Team Sue BOLAM 16.23, Denise DRUMMOND 16.45 and Sarah CROSS 16.28

Senior Ladies:

23-”A” Team Jacquie PROUSE 14.48, Lesley MILLER 16.01 and Sarah GRAY 14.34

48-”B” Team Gay EASTOE 19.28, Kate LAWSON 22.11 and Sheona DUFFY 20.46

Veteran Mens:

28-”A” Team Adam SPILLER 12.56, Micky AISTON 14.35, Richard EASTOE 15.52 and Stuart MORRIS 13.26

Senior Mens:

19-”A” Team Dave KIRKLAND 11.17, Adam SHAFIQ 12.32, Ian SIMON 12.28 and Dan LENG 12.12

24-”B” Team Steve PATTERSON 12.38, John HORSLEY 12.21, Hesus KIDD 12.57 and Richard AGAN 12.17

Well done to team captains Jo GASCOIGNE-OWENS and Bruce CROMBIE who did a great job in helping the club to enter Relays for the first time in years; a magnificent pair. A special mention also goes to Gay and Richard EASTOE who left west Cumbria at 4.30am, I repeat 4.30am, to get to the event on time! That’s dedication to the Alnwick cause. Hopefully we can carry this momentum onto the next event in May!

Photos courtesy of George ROUTLEDGE and our very own David Bailey, Hesus KIDD.

We are in the early stages of organising a subsidised club trip to the Lake District in November to take part in the “Dirty Double”. This is two trail races organised by Lakeland Trails, the Helvellyn Trail Race on Saturday 1st November and the Ullswater Trail Race on Sunday 2nd November. We have negotiated a block booking at the recently refurbished YHA Keswick for the Saturday night, as well as a 10% reduction in the cost of entering the races!

Costs are a ridiculously cheap £50 for 1 race, accommodation and transport or £60 for 2 races, accommodation and travel. Wow!!!!

If you are interested in taking part in this club trip please add your names asap to the poster at Willowburn or let Mark know at dockie1974@hotmail.co.uk. The deadline is the end of April!

For more info on the events click on the icon below

As always we are laying on a heavily subsidised coach for the annual trip to the Blaydon Race on Monday 9th June. There is a poster on the noticeboard at Willowburn to add your names to if you’d like a place on the coach. Please can you do this by Wednesday 28th May so we can confirm the correct sized coach.

The coach will leave Willowburn at 5.15pm and travel to Newcastle via Felton. The return will leave Blaydon at 9.15pm, thus giving everyone time to enjoy some post race refreshments in The Black Bull! The cost will be £5 for Harriers and £10 for non Harriers (one way is half price).

Saturday 7th June sees the annual Alnwick Harriers Golf Day once again being held at Alnwick Castle Golf Course! Last year was a great success with 13 Harriers of varying abilities taking part in a keenly contested competition (from the sublime to the completely ridiculous!). This year we have 16 places up for grabs for our members, first come first served. However if more than 16 wish to take part the event organiser and last years winner Geoff “Bubba” CAMPBELL will try to work his magic to secure more tee times.

First tee time is 9am, though we’ll be meeting up earlier for coffee and bacon sandwiches in the clubhouse. The cost will be approximately £25 which also includes a slap up meal in the clubhouse afterwards! If there are any dietary requirements let us know asap and Geoff will sort it. There is a poster up on the noticeboard at Willowburn for those interested to add their names to. If you can’t get to Willowburn to add your name let Mark DOCTOR know at dockie1974@hotmail.co.uk asap.

Anne Marie Readshaw Open Track and Field Meeting -13 April 2014

Twenty three Alnwick Harrier Juniors travelled to Shildon to compete in the Anne Marie Readshaw athletics meeting on Sunday 13th April. This excellent turn out enabled us to compete in every junior age category (U11 to U17) for both the girls and boys! The athletes represented the club in sprints (60m, 100m, 150m &200m), long jump, middle distance running (800m and 3000m) and throwing events (Shot and cricket ball).

The cold windy conditions were ‘challenging’ for both the athletes and the superb parent supporters that had turned out in huge numbers to encourage the competitors. Athletes from Northumberland, Tyne & Wear, County Durham and Yorkshire gathered for this well attended and very fiercely contested athletics meeting.

This was the first opportunity for several of our athletes to compete in this type of competition but they all rose to the challenge. There was a lot of uncertainty and ‘nerves’ but good humour prevailed and they all survived!! All of the juniors excelled and there were notable medal winning performances by three athletes.

On the track Rosie MURTON (U17) ran strongly in the 3000m to win convincingly in 10min 46.1s. Ollie TELFER (U11) managed third place in the 600m with a strong run and a personal best time of 2:03.01.

In the Field events Hannah TAYLOR (U11) threw 18.59m in the Cricket ball throw to win the silver medal. An excellent achievement on such a windy day!!

Well done to all athletes, parents and coaches who took part; we put in an excellent performance! Full results are available at www.shildonrunning.co.uk.

6 Harriers donned our famous vest in the most famous of all races on Sunday 13th April, the London Marathon. First home for us was Graham SYERS in a splendid 3.02.49. Next up was Club Secretary Jim LILLICO who dipped under 3.30, followed by a veteran of many hundreds of marathons Cris ATWELL. The only female to complete was Mel STEER, one of the lucky ones to get the club ballot places. Mel ran superbly to clock 3.47.46, the fastest time by a female Harrier in a marathon for nearly 2 years. Last but by no means least was Charlie GILLON. Bad luck to Pauline AITCHISON, who’s been having bad luck with injuries this year, after she had to pull out with a troublesome hip at about halfway. Results:

1611-Graham SYERS 3.02.49

4850-Jim LILLICO 3.29.04

7948-Andy SQUIRES 3.45.30 (ran for Longframlington today)

8196-Cris ATWELL 3.46.33

8470-Mel STEER 3.47.46

9374-Charlie GILLON 3.51.34

Also in marathon action was Hertfordshire Harrier Melanie BUCHANAN. Mel took part in the Vienna Marathon clocking a very respectable 4.30.46.

Finally for Sunday 6 Harriers were in action at South Shields in the Sand Dancer 10k. The race is on a multi terrain course which starts at the promenade and ends in Gypsies Green Stadium. Despite a keen wind Dave BARTRUM was first Harrier home doing well to complete in 48.03. Further back were Ron McCormack and Mark HUME. Ruth DOCTOR was the second Harrier to finish and was first of the 3 female Harriers taking part. She was followed by Morag DONOGHUE and Carol DAVISON.

Results:

116-Dave BARTRUM 48.03

161-Ruth DOCTOR 52.25

181-Morag DONOGHUE 54.04

198-Carol DAVISON 55.46

224-Ron McCORMACK 57.52

264-Mark HUME 1.03.50

The day before 13 Harriers were in Rothbury for the Run Northumberland Cragside 10k. Highlights for us on this tough course were top 20 finishes for Steve PATTERSON and Adam SPILLER, age category victories in the female 50 and 60 sections for Diana WEIGHTMAN and Gay EASTOE, and a Harrier debut for Chris GRAHAM.

Results:

12-Steve PATTERSON 40.12

17-Adam SPILLER 40.52

46-Mark DOUGLAS 45.31

55-Diana WEIGHTMAN 47.05

56-Chris GRAHAM 47.12

69-Kim BRONZE 48.40

83-Phil LEE 50.14

86-Colin McLEAN 50.33

101-Sarah CROSS 52.00

119-Shelley COATES 53.42

122-Laura McLEAN 53.52

175-Gay EASTOE 58.28

176-Richard EASTOE 58.28

Earlier that morning 3 Harriers were in Parkrun action. Best WAVA score of the trio was Mike HENRY’s who was taking part in the 2nd running of the Keswick Parkrun. However the fastest Parkrun was by Phil BASTON at Whitley Bay. Phil is in very good form at the moment and is still improving despite winning the 2013 Most Improved Award!

Results:

Keswick:

24-Mike HENRY 24.35 (66.98%)

Whitley Bay:

34-Phil BASTON 21.25 (66.23%)

67-Charlotte BASTON 23.13 (65.90%)

Photos courtesy of West8Promotions and Hippie Nixon Photography.

We are currently finalising the arrangements for the new format Les Allcorn races in Hulne Park on Tuesday 6th May and as usual require marshals.

The race starts at the gates of Hulne Park this year due to new restrictions from the Castle; however, the route is largely unchanged. We require a limited number of marshals from 5.00pm to help with set up, Junior race and car parking; and a greater number from 6.00pm onwards for the main race itself which starts at 7.00.

Please volunteer – we cannot host such events without you. No experience is necessary and you will be provided with full instructions on the day.

A sign up sheet is now on the Harriers notice board, or e-mail Mark DOCTOR (dockie1974@hotmail.co.uk) or Sue BOLAM (sue-bolam1@hotmail.co.uk). It’s really important that we fill these positions in advance of the night so we can be sure we have enough people.

If you can help, but also plan to race, please make this clear so we can allocate you a suitable task.

Many Thanks
The Committee

The season has started with athletes from school years 3-6 competing at the first NOTAN (North of Tyne Athletic Network) grand prix event on Sunday 6th April. The 5 Alnwick athletes got their usual ‘don’t expect too much’ speech, emphasising that it’s ‘early in the season just try your best’! However they all ignored that and went on to win several events, set plenty of PB’s and break a few club records!!

We once again demonstrated our great ability to throw things! In the ‘howler’ they won the Y4 boys (Finlay TELFER), Y6 boys (Max BREESE) categories and Lauren BROWN and Millie BREESE managed 1st and 2nd place in the Y4 competition!

On the track Lauren BROWN (Y4) won both the 600m and 75m sprint setting a new club record for her middle distance race.

Oliver TELFER won the boys (Y6) long jump with a new U11’s club record of 3.56m

Lauren and Millie excelled again and finished first and second in their category.

All the athletes have moved up a category this year where distances have increased and points are harder to score. They all adapted well and are looking forward to another successful season!

NOTAN once again organised an excellent friendly event where they not only encourage children of all abilities to participate but also manage to offer help and guidance on how to compete to the best of your ability.

For details on the rest of 2014′s Junior events, including track, fell and road races, click on the link below.

2014 Junior Events

12 Harriers took part in what is generally considered one of the fastest 10k races in the north east, the Blyth Valley 10k, on Sunday 6th April. Thanks to some hard work during the winter there were some great performances by our runners, including a number of 10k pb’s. First Harrier to finish in a pb was Graham SIMPSON, who was followed by Stuart MORRIS. Next to finish and 1st female Harrier on her debut was Laura STUBBINGS in a superb 43.25. There were also pb’s for Phil BASTON, Micky AISTON (despite an eventful race) and Shelley COATES. If anyone else ran a pb please let us know!

Results:

55-Graham SIMPSON 38.04

141-Stuart MORRIS 41.59

171-Laura STUBBINGS 43.25

191-Phil BASTON 43.56

211-Andy SQUIRES 44.48

227-Micky AISTON 45.38

245-Cris ATWELL 46.17

277-Charlotte BASTON 47.37

382-Shelley COATES 53.08

458-John ROSS 57.04

499-Tim SHEPHERD 1.02.13

509-Mark HUME 1.04.44

Also that day Mark and Ruth DOCTOR took part in the Great Grisedale Trail Race in the Lake District. Mark finished the undulating 10 mile run held on decent paths around Grisedale Forest in 1.21.31 to finish 41st of the 145 finishers. Ruth was 116th in 1.40.44.

The day before there were 2 age category wins by Harriers when Mike HENRY won the male 60 category at Glasgow and Gay EASTOE the female 60 at Workington. Results:

Newcastle Parkrun:

45-Mark DOUGLAS 20.47 (62.55%)

184-Dave HINDMARSH 25.03 (59.81%)

Glasgow Parkrun:

84-Mike HENRY 22.53 (71.96%)

Workington Parkrun:

22-Gay EASTOE 26.22 (72.57%)

23-Richard EASTOE 26.24 (60.23%)

Well done to Jackie PROUSE who was flying the Harriers flag overseas on Sunday 30th March in a warm Berlin Half Marathon. Jackie, who was running for the Stephen Carey Fund, finished the flat course, a favourite of Jackie’s, in 1.45.16. A good run considering recent injury issues.

At the slightly less scenic or historic Hartlepool, 3 Harriers were taking part in the Hartlepool Marina 5 Mile Road Race. Run in the mist and murk which has been gripping the north east this weekend Mark DOCTOR was 1st of the 3 Harriers home in this very flat race, just outside his 5 mile pb. Lisa WILLIAMS, however, was in her first Harriers action for ages due to injury and managed to shave just over a minute off her previous 5 mile best! Sue BOLAM, with a very strong finish, was the 3rd Harrier to finish.

138-Mark DOCTOR 34.33

218-Lisa WILLIAMS 37.43

256-Sue BOLAM 38.56

Over in the Lake District Shelley COATES and Alex REED were taking part in the tough 10 mile Buttermere Trail Race, a race held in lovely warm conditions. Results:

85-Alex REED 1.43.50

129-Shelley COATES 1.52.56

Also on Sunday Mark HUME was the sole Harrier in the Wallsend Harrier Terry O’Gara 5k. Mark finished the race in 184th place in 30.24.

The day before it was a good day for 2 Harriers on the Town Moor at the Newcastle Parkrun. Dan LENG stormed home in 8th place knocking over half a minute off his previous pb, clocking 17.34 (76.85%). There was also a pb in his 101st Parkrun for Phil BASTON. Phil finished in 87th place in 21.12 (66.90%), whilst daughter Charlotte was 144th of the 454 runners in 22.48 (67.11%).

Elsewhere Andy SQUIRES was taking part in a sunny Bournemouth Parkrun where he clocked 21.55 (67.83%) to finish 24th of the 183 finishers.

Dave HINDMARSH was at the Gibside Parkrun where he finished the undulating 5k in 22.34 (66.40%) winning the male 50 category in 14th place in the process.

And finally Gay EASTOE was once again an age category winner at the Workington Parkrun that morning. Gay ran another Parkrun pb finishing in 25.51 (74.02%) to take 41st place, with husband Richard in 42nd in 26.01 (61.11%). Gay still easily holds the female 60 record at Workington.

Hartlepool photos courtesy of Dave ASPIN.