The club had another superb night down on the banks of the Tyne at the Wallsend Harriers organised Gordon Smith Memorial Relay on Wednesday 14th May! The big news was that the Alnwick trio of Pauline AITCHISON, Ella BROWN and Jo GASCOIGNE-OWENS took 2nd place in the ladies race! A phenomenal effort by them.
9 teams of 3 Harriers took part in the event with each runner doing a route which was a fraction under 2 miles in length. We fielded 4 mens teams and 4 ladies teams, with 1 composite team, due in part to a number of last minute cry-offs. As well as the Ladies A teams superb 2nd placed finish, about a minute behind the victorious Tyne Bridge Harriers, Ella BROWN once again proved what a top runner she is. Ella ran her leg in a superb 11.35, making her the 2nd fastest female on the night. Jo was 4th fastest, which is not bad for someone who shouldn’t be doing any speedwork at present! For the men the A team of Dan LENG, Bruce CROMBIE and Graham SIMPSON were 13th overall of the 142 teams taking part, again a great effort.
Many thanks to captains CROMBIE and GASCOIGNE-OWENS (is there no end to her talents?) for sorting the teams, which ended up being pretty stressful due to a few last minute withdrawals! Thanks to Dan LENG for agreeing to race 2 hours before the start and Dean AVERY for agreeing to take part 2 minutes before the race! Special mention to new Harrier Laura RICE who was having her first ever race. Not just first race as a Harrier, first actual race. To make a debut in a hard 2 mile Relay event is amazing! But well done to everyone for making the effort to come all the way from the Alnwick/Wooler areas to Wallsend for this race!
Results:
13-Mens “A” Team-Dan LENG 10.30, Bruce CROMBIE 10.24 and Graham SIMPSON 10.42. Overall 31.36.
28-Mens “B” Team-Steve PATTERSON 11.12, Geoff CAMPBELL 11.19 and John HORSLEY 11.04. Overall 33.35.
52-Ladies “A” Team-Pauline AITCHISON 13.09, Ella BROWN 11.35 and Jo GASCOIGNE-OWENS 11.41. Overall 36.25.
55-Mens “C” Team-Stu MORRIS 12.10, Andy SQUIRES 12.10 and Dean AVERY 12.27. Overall 36.47.
93-Mens “D” Team-Cris ATWELL 13.24, Micky AISTON 12.45 and Dave BARTRUM 13.43. Overall 39.52.
96-Ladies “B” Team-Diana WEIGHTMAN 13.22, Jackie PROUSE 13.20 and Tracey SAMPLE 13.22. Overall 40.04.
107-Ladies “C” Team-Lisa WILLIAMS 13.45, Denise DRUMMOND 14.25 and Lesley MILLER 13.34. Overall 41.44.
131-Composite Team-Sue BOLAM 14.31, Laura RICE 18.48 and Mark DOCTOR 12.45. Overall 46.04.
135-Ladies “D” Team-Mary PLUMLEY 13.58, Kate LAWSON 19.19 and Ruth DOCTOR 14.46. Overall 48.03.
The final Relay is the Claremont Road Runners organised Weetslade Relay on Wednesday 25th June in Wideopen. See the separate post for more details.
