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 |
Mistakes/corrections etc.,
please contact Steve Walker by clicking on the link.