Race 4 - Pier to Pier – Sun 11th May 2014
The fourth race in this year’s Grand
Prix saw the inclusion for the first time this century of Sunderland Strollers’
Pier to Pier race as one of the ‘middle distance’ events. The race is billed
as being of about 7.5 miles but most of us found that it was actually just less
than seven in practice. 33 Blyth runners, including 10 who are not
participating in this year’s Grand Prix, made the trip to South Shields on a
bright and breezy Sunday morning for a race that is always sold out and this
year had 740 finishers.
As
many of us found to our surprise when we made it off South Shields beach, there
is no fixed route for the race. In at least two places, we were faced
with a choice of left (nearer the sea) or right (where firmer surfaces could
eventually be found). The only thing that most people were convinced of
by the time that they finished was that it was definitely shorter ‘the other
way’ – no matter which choice had been made!
The
race is largely on trails, with the first mile and last few hundred yards on
beach and a very small amount on pavement if you chose that option.
Combined with a couple of short, sharp uphill sections, all of this made for
quite challenging conditions for those used to road running but we were
grateful for the wind being behind us and there was good support all the way,
especially toward the finish at Roker.
There
were some good results for Blyth, with Brad and Ash in the first ten home and
Heather being second in her category. A good time was had by all, and a
new race for many was added to the list of ones to do again.
Dave
R
On Sunday 11th May the 4th Grand Prix race of the season
got underway in South Shields. The Pier to Pier race hosted by Sunderland Strollers
is a popular, multi-terrain race which begins on the sand adjacent to South
Shields pier and finishes, again on the sand just before Sunderland pier. As
the route is point-to-point, a couple of intersections leave the runner to
decide which path to take before the routes merge again. This eased the
congestion on the coastal tracks and led to some ‘interesting’ debates both
during and after the race.
This race was a good result for the club as two Div 1
runners finished in the top 10 - Brad Clough (9) and Andrew Henderson (10). Div
2 runner Graeme Stewart (30) split the Div 1 pack finishing ahead of Jake Janson (33) and Jon French (41). The good turnout means
there are too many other good BRC performances to mention.
The run measured just under 7 miles by most people’s
reckoning, yet the official results categorise the distance as 7.5 miles. All
finishers were treated to a decent goodie bag at the end of the race.
Steve
F
The
full results can be found HERE.
|
Pos. |
Race Pos. |
Name |
Cat |
Time |
Div. |
Pts. |
|
Pos. |
Race Pos. |
Name |
Cat |
Time |
Div. |
Pts. |
|
1 |
9 |
Bradley Clough |
M |
41:42 |
1 |
7 |
18 |
268 |
Terry McCabe |
M50 |
54:59 |
- |
- |
|
|
2 |
10 |
Andrew Henderson |
M |
42:08 |
2 |
6 |
19 |
307 |
Claire Calverley |
F35 |
56:17 |
4 |
7 |
|
|
3 |
30 |
Graeme Stewart |
M |
44:13 |
2 |
7 |
20 |
332 |
Ralph Dickinson |
M50 |
57:04 |
4 |
6 |
|
|
4 |
33 |
Jake Jansen |
M |
44:51 |
1 |
5 |
21 |
354 |
Gareth Hope |
M |
57:54 |
- |
- |
|
|
5 |
41 |
Jon French |
M |
45:14 |
1 |
4 |
22 |
367 |
Julie Lemin |
F35 |
58:27 |
4 |
5 |
|
|
6 |
87 |
Steven French |
M |
48:19 |
2 |
6 |
23 |
376 |
Cath Young |
F45 |
58:35 |
- |
- |
|
|
7 |
118 |
Calum Storey |
M |
49:39 |
2 |
5 |
24 |
399 |
Lauren Barrett |
F |
59:20 |
4 |
4 |
|
|
8 |
130 |
Martin Scott |
M40 |
49:58 |
3 |
6 |
25 |
439 |
Davina Lonsdale |
F45 |
60:56 |
- |
- |
|
|
9 |
135 |
Shaun Dodd |
M40 |
50:09 |
2 |
4 |
26 |
440 |
David Cox |
M50 |
60:59 |
- |
- |
|
|
10 |
138 |
David Bradley |
M50 |
50:22 |
- |
- |
27 |
454 |
Claire Mason |
F45 |
61:21 |
5 |
6 |
|
|
11 |
148 |
Steve Dobby |
M40 |
50:43 |
3 |
5 |
28 |
460 |
Peter Maylia |
M50 |
61:45 |
- |
- |
|
|
12 |
179 |
David Potts |
M40 |
51:40 |
3 |
4 |
29 |
528 |
Louise Rawlinson |
F35 |
64:51 |
5 |
5 |
|
|
13 |
192 |
Heather Christopher |
F35 |
52:06 |
3 |
3 |
30 |
613 |
Simon Sellars |
M |
68:59 |
5 |
4 |
|
|
14 |
215 |
Mark Ponton |
M40 |
52:52 |
3 |
2 |
31 |
639 |
Anne Craddock |
F50 |
71:00 |
5 |
3 |
|
|
15 |
218 |
Mark Nicholson |
M |
52:56 |
- |
- |
32 |
650 |
Lynn Munro |
F45 |
71:40 |
- |
- |
|
|
16 |
228 |
Ian Baxter |
M40 |
53:18 |
2 |
3 |
33 |
720 |
Alison Lowes |
F35 |
79:47 |
- |
- |
|
|
17 |
259 |
David Roberts |
M50 |
54:44 |
4 |
8 |
34 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
No. of finishers :- 740 |
||||||||||||||
Before anyone complains about the
categories; they are as in the results.
Mistakes/corrections etc.,
please contact Steve Walker by clicking on the link.