Race 1 – Run Northumberland Half Marathon – Sun 19th March 2017

The first race of the 2017 Grand Prix took place out of Kirkley Hall on a wild morning in March, the weekend before the clocks would go forward.  Temperatures were quite pleasant when you got shelter from the wind but that didn’t happen very much between the 3- and 10-mile marks.  Add to that a heavy cloudburst on the road west out of Whalton and conditions were quite a challenge at times!

30 of our runners were amongst over 360 starters and with several Blyth runners either new to the club or to the Grand Prix – plus some returning to action after a break of a few years – it was a chance to put down a marker for the season for those whose training had been going well.  Given the conditions and that the course was distinctly undulating, it was remarkable that several of our runners recorded PBs and great credit is due to all who did so.

There was some good competition going on in some parts of the field as well, with places changing hands in both of the top two divisions quite close to the finish.  Brad ran another excellent race to be first Blyth finisher in 7th and with Paul and Ash both in the top 15 as well, our men won the team prize.  Paul was also first in his age category, so he has already made a big impact on his return to the Grand Prix and this bodes well for some good racing over the rest of the year.

Claire was first Blyth lady in a fantastic 5th place and with great results for Sandra and Lisa as well the ladies finished second team behind Elswick.  We also managed to finish runners up in no less than four age categories, but alas there were no prizes for second in these competitions either!

All things considered this was a fairly well run event – the main complaint was about the lack of sufficient toilet facilities before the start – and the organisers can hardly be blamed for the weather.  As the race has the distinct advantage of being very local it will no doubt reappear in the Grand Prix before too long.  Hopefully the weather will be better next time, although the hills will definitely still be there!

The full results can be found HERE

 

Pos.

Race Pos.

Name

Cat

Time

Div.

Pts.

 

Pos.

Race Pos.

Name

Cat

Time

Div.

Pts.

1

7

Bradley CLOUGH

M

1:20:00

1

10

16

169

Julie LEMIN

V40

1:51:14

3

8

2

13

Paul WHALLEY

MV40

1:26:10

1

9

17

174

Billy SHAW

V45

1:52:10

3

7

3

15

Andrew HENDERSON

MV40

1:26:58

1

8

18

199

Claire MASON

V50

1:55:58

4

5

4

32

Graham WOOD

MV45

1:32:41

2

10

19

202

Paul BLACKETT

V40

1:56:40

4

4

5

53

Paul KNIGHT

MV45

1:36:15

2

9

20

215

Julie-Anne JOBLING

SEN

1:58:17

-

-

6

57

Martin SCOTT

MV45

1:37:01

1

7

21

231

Anne CRADDOCK

V55

2:01:02

5

8

7

59

Richard SHILLINGLAW

M

1:37:11

2

8

22

248

Lesley FALKOUS

V35

2:03:57

5

7

8

60

Steven FRENCH

MV40

1:37:19

1

6

23

253

Heather BARRASS

V40

2:04:37

-

-

9

61

Shaun DODD

MV45

1:37:17

2

7

24

256

Natalie HENDERSON

SEN

2:05:01

3

6

10

68

Claire CALVERLEY

FV40

1:38:45

2

6

25

265

Anita BRABAZON

SEN

2:07:23

5

6

11

77

David ROBERTS

MV55

1:40:10

2

5

26

294

John MALLON

V60

2:11:44

3

5

12

90

Steve DOBBY

MV40

1:42:10

2

4

27

295

Kathryn ANGUS

SEN

2:11:30

5

5

13

149

Sandra WATSON

FV45

1:48:34

4

6

28

335

Joanne STOBBART

V50

2:22:34

5

4

14

153

Lisa SCORER

FV35

1:49:11

-

-

29

345

Elaine GILLIE

V40

2:30:13

6

5

15

157

Darren NOBLE

MV45

1:49:57

2

3

30

360

Simon SELLARS

V40

3:08:13

6

4

Total No. of finishers :-  362

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