NEHL-XC – Thornley Hall Farm, Durham 8th January 2022 Race Report

It was a fine day for the first cross country event of the New Year; conditions were extremely muddy making it a ‘proper’ cross country course. As if that wasn’t enough, they also added a fence hurdle for us to negotiate.

The first Alnwick Harrier to compete was Farren Henderson in the U13 girls’, who had an excellent race, finishing 5th overall. Next up in the U15 category were Lilia Purvis and Catherine Purvis, who finished in a very creditable 19th and 20th places, respectively. Finally for the juniors, Euan Friend was the only Alnwick Harrier to race in the U17 boys’ race. He had a superb race to finish 16th overall.

The senior women managed to field a full team, which included Tess Allan, who was running at a cross country event for the first time. First to come in for Alnwick was Ann Tetley-Paul with a time of 36:43, followed by Jennifer Knight in 44:37; Linda Patterson in 52:20 and close behind was Tess Allan with a time of 52:55. Also in the mix was the legendary Mike Henry, with a time of 38:17.

Unfortunately, the senior men couldn’t put out a full team but were still well represented by four Harriers, including two who were carrying injuries, one first timer and one who claimed that he hates cross country. First Alnwick man home was Jim Allan who finished with a time of 45:08; an fantastic result, especially considering it was his first cross country event. He was followed by first of the lame ducks – Tony Jackson in 53:21, followed by the second lame duck – Andy Squires in 56:40 and finally, bringing up the rear was the man that loves to hate cross country, Dave Hindmarsh in 64:10.

Thanks to all those that turned out to wallow in the mud – you made it an unforgettable day.

Andy Squires – Senior Mens’ Team Captain

May be an image of 5 people, people standing and outdoors
May be an image of 7 people, people standing and outdoors
May be an image of 6 people, people standing and outdoors
This entry was posted in News. Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *