Grand Prix Race Results 2018

Race 1 – Terry O’Gara 5k Race 2 – Pier to Pier Race 3 – Edinburgh Marathon Race 4 – Durham Coastal Half

Race 5 – Tynedale 10k Race 6 – Fell Em Doon 10k Race 7 – South Shields 10M Race 8 – Quayside 5k

Race 9 – Kielder half Race 10 – Castles half Race 11 – Derwentwater 10M Race 12 – Brampton 10M

Race 12 - Brampton to Carlisle 10 Mile – Sun 20th November 2016

The 65th running of the ever-popular Brampton to Carlisle 10 mile road race took place in dry and sunny but very cold conditions this year. There was also a following breeze for much of the race and these conditions were reflected in some very good times for many of the runners, although the breeze also added to the pre-race chill leading to difficult clothing choices for some!

The 21 Blyth runners included 16 Grand Prix competitors seeking points from the final race of this year’s competition (although some needed the points more than others). Brad was not only first finisher for the club but sealed his second overall Grand Prix win, following on from his triumph in 2014. More importantly still, Brad’s impressive time was a substantial PB – the first of several for Blyth runners on the day. Claire was first lady for the club and was another with a huge PB, taking over three minutes off her previous best.

Special mention should also be given to Cath who managed a top-three position in her category.

The Personal and Season’s Bests achieved on the day were too numerous to all be listed here but congratulations should be recorded to all of our finishers, especially for those completing this distance for the first time in club colours and for the Grand Prix runners finishing the season in the top three in their divisions (refer to tables for a full list of these).

The full results can be found HERE

Pos.	Race Pos.	Name	Cat	Time	Div.	Pts.	Pos.	Race Pos.	Name	Cat	Time	Div.	Pts.
1	31	Bradley Clough	M	57:19	1	10	12	393	Catherine Young	F55	81:12	-	-
2	67	Jon French	M	60:22	1	9	13	398	Julie Lemin	F40	81:40	4	9
3	110	Steven French	M40	64:38	2	9	14	415	Lisa Scorer	F35	82:37	-	-
4	146	Ian Baxter	M45	66:40	2	8	15	439	Claire Mason	F50	84:17	4	8
5	227	David Roberts	M55	70:52	2	7	16	454	Gemma Harmon	F	85:15	5	11
6	231	Richard Shillinglaw	M	71:02	3	13	17	487	Ralph Dickinson	M65	87:06	4	7
7	256	Claire Calverley	F40	72:03	3	12	18	540	Anita Brabazon	F	90:47	5	10
8	274	Steve Dobby	M40	72:56	3	11	19	585	Anne Craddock	F55	95:40	5	9
9	317	Mal Darbyshire	M60	75:15	3	10	20	595	Joanne Stobbart	F50	96:46	6	6
10	362	Terry McCabe	M65	78:38	-	-	21	638	Colin Brown	V45	1:41:54	-	-
11	380	Sandra Watson	F45	80:30	-	-
Total No. of finishers :- 677

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Race 11 – Derwentwater 10M – Sun 2nd October 2016

The Kielder Marathon Weekend is growing into one of the biggest events in northern racing calendar and this year saw the 2^nd running of the Half Marathon alongside the Marathon. So it was decided this new race should be included in this year’s BRC Grand Prix.

Many BRC members were involved in the marshalling and many opted to stay over the night before. It was a fine morning for running as the masses lined up for the start at Kielder Dam, which was the only flat section of the race as the many, many undulations around the reservoir proved to be very challenging indeed. Even so, some good performances were recorded on the day.

From the good show of 20 Blyth runners Jon French was first back and despite ‘not having a great race’ finished in the top 10 and scooped the first place points in Division 1. First lady back was Julie Lemin who ran well from Division 4. Leanne Davies is also worthy of a mention as she managed a pb on ‘that’ course.

The course is spectacular in terms of scenery but is without a doubt a tough one. One to repeat but entering the full marathon definitely requires some deep consideration.

On reflection the event had good organisation and the price, t-shirt, medal and location offers far better value and experience than the GNR. Also congratulations to David Beech who won the 10K for Blyth on the Saturday.

The full results and photos can be found HERE

Pos.	Race Pos.	Name	Cat	Time	Div.	Pts.	Pos.	Race Pos.	Name	Cat	Time	Div.	Pts.
1	9	Jon French	M	1:26:16	1	10	11	432	Anita Brabazon	F	2:11:45	5	10
2	48	Steven French	M40	1:35:09	2	9	12	505	Craig Harmon	M	2:18:36	4	7
3	112	Shaun Dodd	M40	1:44:04	2	8	13	553	Andrea Wilson	F40	2:23:36	6	6
4	141	Darren Noble	M40	1:47:42	3	13	14	559	Catherine Arries	F	2:24:54	5	9
5	160	Julie Lemin	F40	1:49:22	4	9	15	561	Joanne Stobbart	F50	2:25:32	6	5
6	230	Leanne Davis	F	1:55:48	---	---	16	572	Gemma Harmon	F	2:26:18	5	8
7	236	Scott Arries	M	1:56:06	3	12	17	671	Jen Stewart	F	2:43:22	---	---
8	252	Michael Ashby	M40	1:57:26	5	11	18	672	Lynn Munro	F60	2:43:23	6	4
9	324	John Mallon	M60	2:02:56	4	8	19	678	Alison Warnes	F50	2:45:06	6	3
10	350	Gwen Forster	F40	2:05:13	3	11	20	686	Simon Sellars	M	2:56:06	6	2
Total No. of finishers :- 705

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Race 10 – Castles Half Marathon – Sun 18th September 2016

The Sedgefield Serpentine race was the 10th Grand Prix race of the season and the 3rd race in the 10K to 10M category. The race was billed as a ‘UK Athletics-registered 6.5 mile multi-terrain race starting and finishing at Sedgefield Cricket Club’. All of this was true except perhaps the distance which most measured around the 6.3 mile mark. Blyth RC had 10 runners in the field of 180 and the conditions were perfect for running.

The race started out from the back of the cricket club, across a meadow and through an underpass into Hardwick Hall Country Park. Then it was over tracks, trails, fields and through trees – whoever designed the course certainly had some imagination! I would estimate .3 was on tarmac and the rest was certainly off-road – but fortunately not too hilly!

A very enjoyable race, some narrow places to overtake and plenty of branches to duck but well worthy of inclusion in future GP’s.

The full results and photos can be found HERE

Pos.	Race Pos.	Name	Cat	Time	Div.	Pts.	Pos.	Race Pos.	Name	Cat	Time	Div.	Pts.
1	21	Steven French	M40	45:04	2	9	6	120	Ralph Dickinson	M60	60:05	4	9
2	29	Martin Scott	M40	46:92	2	8	7	125	Ewa Johnson	F45	61:22	5	10
3	47	Shaun Dodd	M40	50:18	2	7	8	127	Anita Brabazon	F	61:44	5	9
4	48	Richard Shillinglaw	M	50:30	3	13	9	159	Andrea Wilson	F35	68:07	6	6
5	86	Michael Ashby	M40	54:50	5	11	10	163	Joanne Stobbart	F45	68:29	6	5
Total No. of finishers :- 180

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Race 9 - Kielder Half Marathon – Sun 21st August 2016

A total of 20 Blyth runners turned out on this warm and sunny Sunday, for a scenic yet challenging off road/trail half marathon. The route began on the beach near Marsdon rocks (although there was a little confusion around where the actual start was, as there was no marker or marshal there when the runners arrived). In the race instructions you were advised to take a copy of the route description with you as there would be no mile makers and few signs or marshals, we were instructed to follow the well-used path and the signs for the ‘Northumberland Coastal Path’. Some sections of the route were marked with yellow tape. The best advice came from Mike Ashby ‘Just keep the sea on your right on the way out and make sure it’s on the left on the way back and you can’t go wrong.’ However the lack of markers and marshals did cause a little bit of confusion amongst a few of the runners, especially if there was no one immediately in front of you to follow. There was also some confusion where some runners went the wrong way due to following the runner in front of them who appeared to know where they were going. (It has been noted that this mistake cost these runners to add approximately 5+ minutes to their time).

The race started around 5 minutes late and was headed by our very own Ash Henderson and Brad Clough. After a short section on the sand we were directed off the beach and up onto some concrete steps, at the top of these we immediately turned right past some quaint wooden holiday homes on the left. The route in some parts was only suitable for a single runner, but it did widen out and there was ample opportunity to pass any slower runners. You then followed the picturesque coastal path, passing Boulmer, turning round at Craster and then returning to Alnmouth.

The surface underfoot was varied and included, sand, rocks, grass, gravel paths, and (thanks to all the rain the previous day) a rather slippery muddy section. For those that took the time to take in the views, they were rewarded with scenery that is second to none. There was a water/marshal point at Boulmer, with water, juice and jelly babies aplenty.

The many gates were a little bit of a nuisance; though they did provide a much needed opportunity for a breather.

This was an out and back route and once you hit the marshal/water station at Craster you turned around and followed the same route back, the only exception being that the finish was 1.6 miles further down the beach from the start at Marsdon rocks. This sandy section was made all the more difficult due to a slight head wind.

This was a tough and challenging half marathon, along our dramatic coastline with beautiful scenery.

Special mentions go to Brad Clough and Ash Henderson who finished first and second overall, Ash was also a winner in his age group, Claire Calverley was first Blyth lady, first in her age group as well as second overall lady, and to Lynn Munro and Dave Roberts who were first in their age groups. Commiserations to Craig Harmon who had to pull out due to injury, hopefully it won’t keep him out of action for too long.

Small improvements to the race could be made in the form of the following: Better signage at the start of the race, more marshals/signage/yellow tape where the route is tricky to understand, and have the marshal wear something bright and visible to distinguish them from the general public, (as it proved hard to pick them out on the beaches and at the finish line).

A small mention also to Davina and Adele Lonsdale who completed the full marathon.

The full results can be found HERE

Pos.	Race Pos.	Name	Cat	Time	Div.	Pts.	Pos.	Race Pos.	Name	Cat	Time	Div.	Pts.
1	1	Brad Clough	M	1.29.20	1	10	11	38	Sandra Watson	F45	211.14	-	-
2	2	Andrew Henderson	M40	1.32.30	1	9	12	40	Michael Ashby	M45	2.12.50	5	11
3	8	Rob Sharratt	M35	1.50.35	-	-	13	57	Claire Mason	F50	2.25.35	4	8
4	9	Steve Dobby	M40	1.50.57	3	13	14	61	Gemma Harmon	F	2.33.15	5	10
5	13	Martin Scott	M45	1.54.08	2	9	15	64	Anne Craddock	F55	2.36.55	5	9
6	15	Claire Calverley	F40	1.55.47	3	12	16	65	Andrea Wilson	F40	2.43.30	6	6
7	17	Shaun Dodd	M45	1.57.00	2	8	17	66	Julie-Anne Jobling	F	2.44.09	-	-
8	18	Richard Shillinglaw	M35	1.57.47	3	11	18	67	Joanne Stobbart	F50	2.44.09	6	5
9	22	Dave Roberts	M55	2.00.10	2	7	19	68	Lynn Munro	F60	2.48.42	6	4
10	25	Julie Lemin	F40	2.01.14	4	9	20	DNF	Craig Harmon		DNF
Total No. of finishers :- 71

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Race 8 – Quayside 5k – Sun 31st July 2016

Well this was a properly tough one! News of a new road half marathon in Northumberland caused this race to be included in the club Grand Prix at the first time of asking. Of course, with it being based in Hexham it was never going to be flat and being in the middle of summer meant that it might be a bit warm but …

Not daunted by such considerations, 15 of our runners made the short trip to Hexham very early (for a 9 o’clock start) on a Sunday morning. The organiser had been sending out maps of the route in advance but it wasn’t easy to work out exactly what it would be due to there being a number of loops. However, it did seem clear that the route would take us up to a hamlet called Sandhoe north of the A69 a couple of times and that there would be a hill involved each time. The route became a lot clearer once we had started and could see mile markers which would clearly be for when we came off the first loop and then when we came back that way later. Forewarned is forearmed?

The race started below cloudless skies just to the east of Hexham (near where the Jelly Tea race used to start for those who have done that race) and the first part followed the start of the Jelly Tea route as it used to be. Then we turned left and went up to Sandhoe for the first time. I thought that the third mile was plenty hard enough – the hill was steep enough to bring some of us to a walk – until we went down the other side which was really steep, and realised that we were going to have to run it the other way around that loop later in the race. Oh dear (or words to that effect)!

A flattish stretch to the edge of Corbridge was followed by a nice bit of trail through woods and along by the river, providing welcome shade from what had become a seriously hot morning for a race with the sun blazing throughout. A sharp ramp up to the road removed any sense that it would be easier for the second half and then we retraced our steps to the bottom of the Sandhoe loop, this time to go clockwise rather than anti-.

After 9 miles in the blazing sun I cannot imagine that anyone welcomed the idea of the hill in the tenth mile. Some ran quite a bit more of it than I did but to give the best picture of what that hill was like, my pace slowed from an average of 7:31 per mile up to that point to 10:18 for mile 10 – and I know that plenty didn’t manage that mile as quickly as even that. Of course, the real challenge with hills can often be to get back on pace when you have got past the climb, and the next mile was all downhill, followed by two flattish miles to the finish.

All in all, a pretty tough course in very challenging conditions and there were quite a few who suffered from some combination of those two factors. On the plus side, however, it was really good to be able to run almost the entire course on closed roads, and the loops seemed to work well with good marshalling and wisely placed water stations so that we could rehydrate fairly often. It is to be hoped that this event goes from strength to strength as local races are not easy to come by.

Steven French was first back for Blyth by a convincing margin and now has a full set of counting races to make him almost uncatchable at the top of Division 2 (just three other Grand Prix competitors took this first opportunity to complete a full set of six counting races for the season). Claire Calverley was an even more convincing first lady back for Blyth, finishing inside the top ten ladies on the day.

The full results can be found HERE

Pos.	Race Pos.	Name	Cat	Time	Div.	Pts.	Pos.	Race Pos.	Name	Cat	Time	Div.	Pts.
1	28	Steven French	M	1:36:05	2	9	9	179	Anne Craddock	F	2:05:55	5	10
2	45	David Roberts	M	1:40:34	2	8	10	193	Gemma Harmon	F	2:09:16	5	9
3	50	Richard Shillinglaw	M	1:41:47	3	13	11	196	Anita Brabazon	F	2:09:49	5	8
4	55	Claire Calverley	F	1:43:24	3	12	12	202	Ewa Johnson	F	2:10:49	5	7
5	137	Julie Lemin	F	1:58:15	4	9	13	210	Stephen Nendick	M	2:12:52	-	-
6	138	Davina Lonsdale	F	1:58:16	-	-	14	255	Joanne Stobbart	F	2:24:56	6	6
7	171	Claire Mason	F	2:03:45	4	8	15	277	Simon Sellars	M	2:48:17	6	5
8	173	Michael Ashby	M	2:04:04	5	11
Total No. of finishers :- 290

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Race 7 – South Shields 10M – Tue 12th July 2016

This race only seems to have been on the calendar for three or four years, and was included in this year’s club Grand Prix partly to introduce members to a new event, partly to support a local club race and partly because it is a bit different, being run entirely off road.

In fact, the course turned out to be mostly trail path covered in loose stones, which was pretty easy to run on if not as quick a surface as the tarmac that most of us are used to. It was also decidedly not flat, with a proper (if short) hill in the second kilometre and another more gradual one in the fourth. The pre-race briefing included warnings about hurdling the railway sleeper (twice), being careful at the stile and watching out for the lake at the bottom of the hill, although the latter would have taken a particularly dozy runner to go straight on into it!

With 26 competitors on the night, Blyth made up just over a quarter of the field. There were more of us than there were of even the host club, although Jarrow & Hebburn still easily won both team prizes. Our runners did well though, with our leading man (Brad) and lady (Claire) both taking second prize. Jon, Dave and Anne all won their categories as well, so the prize giving at the Cock Crow Inn (with free food provided – you get good hospitality at this race too) was well attended.

The full results can be found HERE

Pos.	Race Pos.	Name	Cat	Time	Div.	Pts.	Pos.	Race Pos.	Name	Cat	Time	Div.	Pts.
1	2	Bradley Clough	M	17:10	1	10	14	62	Trevor Wakenshaw	M50	23:35	3	9
2	4	Jon French	M35	18:03	1	9	15	66	Michael Ashby	M45	24:32	5	11
3	25	Martin Scott	M45	20:25	2	9	16	71	Michael McKenna	M	24:45	4	7
4	34	Andrew Grieves	M40	21:16	2	8	17	76	Gemma Harmon	F	25:14	5	10
5	37	Richard Shillinglaw	M35	21:22	3	13	18	78	Paul Blackett	M40	25:28	5	9
6	40	Mark Ponton	M45	21:31	3	12	19	80	Ralph Dickinson	M60	25:34	4	6
7	44	David Roberts	M55	21:38	2	7	20	82	Steven Walker	M55	25:46	4	5
8	45	Shaun Dodd	M45	21:45	2	6	21	83	Anita Brabazon	F	26:03	5	8
9	47	Craig Harmon	M	22:11	4	9	22	85	Anne Craddock	F55	27:01	5	7
10	48	Claire Calverley	F40	22:18	3	11	23	87	Colin Brown	M45	27:48	-	-
11	53	John Mallon	M60	22:58	4	8	24	89	Ewa Johnson	F45	27:50	5	6
12	56	Darren Noble	M45	23:04	3	10	25	90	Louise Rawlinson	F40	29:00	5	5
13	57	Billy Shaw	M45	23:09	-	-	26	94	Joanne Stobbart	F50	29:45	6	6
Total No. of finishers :- 98

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Race 6 – Fell Em Doon 10k – Tue 5th July 2016

A warm and breezy evening greeted another great turnout of Blyth runners for the ‘fast and flat’ (as long as you didn’t spend too much time avoiding the very large puddles left over from the heavy showers earlier in the week) race west along the north bank of the river and then back again.

With a number of impressive performances throughout the field, the club came away with a lot of credit, and Claire Calverley and Anne Craddock both picked up category prizes as well. Brad was first Blyth finisher, holding off Jake all the way to the line, and Claire was also first Blyth lady.

It is easy to see why this race is extremely popular – on-line entries sold out in less than an hour – and it will probably continue to appear in the club Grand Prix list every two or three years. It is definitely one for a PB under the right conditions, is easy to get to and has plenty of opportunity for post-race refreshment, for those that way inclined.

The full results can be found HERE

Pos.	Race Pos.	Name	Cat	Time	Div.	Pts.	Pos.	Race Pos.	Name	Cat	Time	Div.	Pts.
1	11	Bradley Clough	M	27:39	1	10	21	201	Sandra Watson	F	39:45	-	-
2	13	Jake Masterman	MU20	27:45	-	-	22	202	Claire Mason	F50	39:55	4	7
3	28	Gary Jones	M	29:27	-	-	23	220	Michael McKenna	M	40:59	4	6
4	32	Andrew Henderson	M40	30:04	1	9	24	223	David McGarry	M40	41:07	-	-
5	50	Steven French	M40	31:31	2	9	25	228	Anita Brabazon	F	41:26	5	10
6	73	Martin Scott	M45	33:19	2	8	26	233	Paul Blackett	M40	41:42	5	9
7	93	Andrew Grieves	M40	34:35	2	7	27	240	Alan Jobling	M40	41:54	5	8
8	100	Richard Shillinglaw	M	34:47	3	13	28	245	Dawn Martin	F45	42:03	-	-
9	101	Mark Nicholson	MU20	34:59	2	6	29	246	Ralph Dickinson	M60	42:03	4	5
10	104	Mark Ponton	M45	35:02	3	12	30	247	Steve Walker	M55	42:14	4	4
11	114	David Roberts	M55	35:26	2	5	31	267	Anne Craddock	F55	43:19	5	7
12	123	Shaun Dodd	M45	35:46	2	4	32	268	Mark Martin	M50	43:19	-	-
13	133	Claire Calverley	F40	36:27	3	11	33	291	Hayley Raithby	F40	44:43	4	3
14	155	John Mallon	M60	37:30	4	9	34	292	Julie Lemin	F40	44:43	4	2
15	156	Billy Shaw	M45	37:31	-	-	35	295	Ewa Johnson	F45	44:41	5	6
16	182	Craig Harmon	M	38:46	4	8	36	305	Peter Maylia	M60	45:48	5	5
17	184	Gwen Forster	F40	38:53	3	10	37	319	Andrea Wilson	F40	46:54	6	6
18	187	Trevor Wakenshaw	M50	38:50	3	9	38	322	Joanne Stobbart	F50	47:08	6	5
19	188	Ian Baxter	M45	39:03	2	3	39	339	Alison Warnes	F50	49:45	6	4
20	199	Michael Ashby	M45	39:47	5	11	40
Total No. of finishers :- 376

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Race 5 – Tynedale 10k – Sun 22nd May 2016

On a gloriously sunny morning, 44 of our runners (35 Grand Prix entries and 9 who needed no more incentive than the race itself) assembled on South Shields beach, together with well over a thousand others, for this perennial favourite race. The course starts with about three quarters of a mile on sand and finishes with another quarter of a mile on the beach at Roker but everything in between is trail – either grass or path.

I always think that hardest part of this race is getting off the first beach, which can wreck your legs for the rest of the race if you go at it too hard, but after that it can still be quite tough going if you do nearly all of your running on roads (like me), as the softer and ever-changing surface creates a different challenge. Bearing that in mind, some of our runners produced excellent performances, with Ash narrowly beating Jon for the honour (and points) of first Blyth male and Rachelle having another good run to be first Blyth female.

As usual, the organisation by Sunderland Strollers – both efficient and informal at the same time – complemented the race well and I am sure that many of us will be back in future years, and it probably won’t be too long before this event is next in the Grand Prix again either.

The full results can be found at HERE

Pos.	Race Pos.	Name	Cat	Time	Div.	Pts.	Pos.	Race Pos.	Name	Cat	Time	Div.	Pts.
1	19	Ash Henderson	M40	42:28	1	10	23	504	Michael Ashby	M40	61:05	5	10
2	20	Jon French	M	42:45	1	9	24	506	Craig Harmon	M	61:06	4	8
3	45	Graeme Stewart	M	45:44	1	8	25	541	Hayley Raithby	F40	61:59	4	7
4	65	Ian Baxter	M40	47:06	2	9	26	552	Catherine Young	F50	62:14	-	-
5	84	Steven French	M40	48:10	2	8	27	568	Julie Lemin	F40	63:05	4	6
6	103	Andrew Grieves	M40	49:36	2	7	28	577	Claire Mason	F50	63:15	4	5
7	106	Martin Scott	M40	49:45	2	6	29	598	Alan Jobling	M40	63:46	5	9
8	108	Shaun Dodd	M40	49:49	2	5	30	601	Davina Lonsdale	F50	63:57	-	-
9	134	Rachelle Falloon	F	50:31	3	13	31	605	Adele Lonsdale	F40	63:59	-	-
10	147	Ryan Shiel	M	51:05	-	-	32	609	Dave Cox	M60	64:08	-	-
11	163	Mark Nicholson	M	51:35	2	4	33	622	Ralph Dickinson	M60	64:28	4	4
12	202	Richard Shillinglaw	M	52:48	3	12	34	673	Leanne Davies	F	65:49	-	-
13	208	Rob Sharratt	M	52:57	-	-	35	698	Gemma Harmon	F	66:36	5	8
14	215	David Roberts	M50	53:14	2	3	36	742	Lesley Falkous	F	67:57	-	-
15	246	John Mallon	M60	54:13	4	9	37	743	Ewa Johnson	F40	67:59	5	7
16	284	Mark Ponton	M40	55:17	3	11	38	758	David Falkous	M50	68:22	-	-
17	302	David Potts	M40	55:50	3	10	39	764	Anita Brabazon	F	68:35	5	6
18	306	Brian Shiel	M50	55:55	-	-	40	829	Andrea Wilson	F40	70:30	6	6
19	358	David Bradley	M60	57:40	-	-	41	863	Louise Rawlinson	F40	72:04	5	5
20	367	Terry McCabe	M60	57:49	-	-	42	954	Joanne Stobbart	F50	75:16	6	5
21	379	Paul Blackett	M40	58:10	5	11	43	978	Lynn Munro	F60	76:26	6	4
22	442	Gwen Forster	F40	59:35	3	9	44	1053	Simon Sellars	M	82:14	6	3
Total No. of finishers :- 1128

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Race 4 – Durham Coastal Half – Tue 3rd May 2016

The Les Allcorn 10K was the 4th Race in the BRC 2016 Grand Prix and was the 2nd race in the ‘Up to 10K’ category. Many will be familiar with this race as this year saw the 20th running of the event and many will remember it certainly isn’t the easiest of courses. In recent years the start and finish have swapped places, gone is the uphill start but now the uphill struggle takes place over the last mile or so. Rather encouragingly Blyth counted for 40 finishers of the field of 138, there wasn’t too much representation from south of Blyth as the remainder of the pack consisted mostly of runners from Alnwick, Wooler, Ashington Hirst and Morpeth - this gave the evening a truly Northumbrian feel.

Too many there to mention everyone individually but the highlights included Jon French coming home in 6th place overall. Not far behind finishing just outside the top 10 were Tony Holland and Graeme Stewart (all Division 1).

Division 2 had a great turnout of 7 runners from a possible 9. Steven French and Martin Scott finished closely before Rachelle Falloon finished strongly as first Division 3 runner - and more importantly 1st lady overall on the night. Well done Rachelle, another trophy for the collection! Richard Shillinglaw also ran well to finish as the 2nd place Division 3 runner, one minute behind Richard was Claire Calverley who collected a veteran’s prize.

John Mallon ran a stormer to finish 1st in Division 4 taking a few Division 3 scalps on the way. Craig Harmon and Julie Lemin were next to finish in Division 4. Michael Ashby ran another great race to finish ahead in Division 5, Paul Blackett also ran well to start his GP campaign with the 2nd place points and Anne Craddock did well to hold off Alan Jobling for 3rd in Div 5.

No chance in the men’s team prize as Morpeth finished with a 1-2-3, the BRC ladies were initially awarded the team prize but some form of mix-up occurred so I’m not sure whether this was still the case at the end of the night. Well done everyone and also a mention for BRC newcomer Ron Forster who also ran – welcome to the club!

The full results can be found at HERE

Pos.	Race Pos.	Name	Cat	Time	Div.	Pts.	Pos.	Race Pos.	Name	Cat	Time	Div.	Pts.
1	6	Jon French	M	37:08	1	10	21	83	Trevor Wakenshaw	M40	50:46	3	6
2	11	Tony Holland	M40	38:49	1	9	22	89	Paul Blackett	M40	52:00	5	10
3	13	Graeme Stewart	M	39:24	1	8	23	95	Gwen Forster	F35	52:54	3	5
4	22	Steven French	M40	41:16	2	9	24	96	Julie Lemin	F35	52:56	4	7
5	25	Martin Scott	M40	42:04	2	8	25	100	Anne Craddock	F55	53:37	5	9
6	28	Rachelle Falloon	F	42:33	3	13	26	101	Alan Jobling	M40	53:48	5	8
7	34	Andrew Grieves	M40	43:04	2	7	27	104	Hayley Raithby	F35	54:19	4	6
8	35	Ian Baxter	M40	43:16	2	6	28	107	Davina Lonsdale	F45	54:45	-	-
9	44	Shaun Dodd	M40	44:24	2	5	29	108	Adele Lonsdale	F45	54:46	-	-
10	48	Richard Shillinglaw	M	44:44	3	12	30	109	Ralph Dickinson	M60	54:55	4	5
11	51	Paul Knight	M40	45:06	2	4	31	110	Catherine Arries	F35	54:58	5	7
12	56	Claire Calverley	F35	45:44	3	11	32	120	Ewa Johnson	F45	57:12	5	6
13	60	John Mallon	M60	46:11	4	9	33	121	Gemma Harmon	F	58:00	5	5
14	63	Darren Noble	M40	46:55	3	10	34	122	Ron Forster	M60	58:18	-	-
15	66	Scott Arries	M	47:01	3	9	35	123	Anita Brabazon	F	58:34	5	4
16	68	David Potts	M40	47:26	3	8	36	128	Andrea Wilson	F35	58:49	6	6
17	69	David Roberts	M50	47:45	2	3	37	132	Louise Rawlinson	F35	61:25	5	3
18	72	Mark Ponton	M40	48:24	3	7	38	133	Joanne Stobbart	F45	62:08	6	5
19	78	Craig Harmon	M	49:42	4	8	39	135	Lynn Munro	F55	64:06	6	4
20	80	Michael Ashby	M40	50:24	5	11	40	137	Alison Warnes	F45	66:47	6	3
Total No. of finishers :- 139

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Race 3 – Edinburgh Marathon – Sun 27th March 2016

Spring had officially sprung – or at least the clocks had gone forward the previous night, leading to some bleary-eyed runners beforehand – for the North Tyneside 10K, the third race in the 2106 club Grand Prix. It was accompanied by a very strong south-westerly wind which, while mostly behind and a boost to times, was occasionally across the runners and very prone to buffeting us all. It also made conditions before and after seem very cold!

It was the first time that this race had been in the club Grand Prix in the twelve years that it has been running. The course runs from Wallsend Sports Centre down to the river – a very fast first mile – and then along to the river mouth and up past Tynemouth Priory – a nasty hill from the end of mile 2 and well into mile 3 - and then along the sea front to finish on the road to St Mary’s Lighthouse. The course has its moments but will tend to be the sort that you either love (and keep coming back for) or don’t (and won’t!).

With the following wind for much of the race, it was no surprise to see a number of PBs – some of them substantial – from amongst our 30 runners, and it was good to see several making their Grand Prix debuts, as well as some new members completing their first race in Blyth colours. Ash had a strong run to be first home for Blyth and Rachelle produced another impressive performance to be first Blyth lady.

The full results can be found at HERE

Pos.	Race Pos.	Name	Cat	Time	Div.	Pts.	Pos.	Race Pos.	Name	Cat	Time	Div.	Pts.
1	32	Ash Henderson	MV40	36:45	1	10	16	472	Richard Mcsloy	MV50	48:17	-	-
2	53	Graeme Stewart	MV35	38:18	1	9	17	492	Michael Ashby	MV45	48:49	5	11
3	79	Steven French	MV40	39:20	2	9	18	504	David Potts	MV45	48:30	3	8
4	148	Rachelle Falloon	F	41:28	3	13	19	582	Billy Shaw	MV40	49:42	-	-
5	166	Martin Gaughan	MV55	42:11	-	-	20	617	Claire Mason	FV50	50:32	4	7
6	219	Richard Shillinglaw	MV35	43:21	3	12	21	750	Anne Craddock	FV55	52:35	5	10
7	224	Shaun Dodd	MV45	43:32	2	8	22	774	Gemma Harmon	F	52:44	5	9
8	267	David Roberts	MV55	44:26	2	7	23	831	Anita Brabazon	F	53:29	5	8
9	276	Steve Dobby	MV40	44:39	3	11	24	843	Michael Mckenna	M	53:54	4	6
10	298	Claire Calverley	FV35	45:08	3	10	25	879	Ewa Johnson	FV45	54:43	5	7
11	305	John Mallon	MV60	45:13	4	9	26	983	Peter Maylia	MV60	56:11	5	6
12	401	Mark Ponton	MV45	47:14	3	9	27	1123	Colin Brown	MV45	58:08	-	-
13	420	Andrew Grieves	MV40	47:30	2	6	28	1304	Julie Lemin	FV40	61:00	4	5
14	430	Craig Harmon	M	47:14	4	8	29	1342	Joanne Stobbart	FV50	62:07	6	6
15	452	Kerstin Heckelsmuller	FV40	48:03	-	-	30	1419	Lynn Munro	FV60	63:04	6	5
Total No. of finishers :- 1779

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Race 2 – Pier to Pier – Sat 19th march 2016

The Coniston 14 was only included in this year’s Grand Prix as an emergency replacement race, due to a date clash involving a much more local race. This race has been in the Grand Prix before but that was several years ago and a quick poll beforehand suggested that only 3 of this year’s Blyth contingent had done it before.

However, the long trip to the far corner of the Lake District had not deterred 17 of our runners from turning up, although there was a wide disparity in approach as to how to deal with the long time it would take to get to Coniston (about 3 hours). We had driven all the way over the day before, some were staying elsewhere in the Lake District and many came all the way on the day, although one or two of the latter seemed to be in rather poor shape due to travel sickness with not long to go to race time.

The route is basically a full circuit of Coniston Water, entirely on road and staying as close to the lake as possible throughout, such that most of it was on very minor roads with almost no traffic. The race started and finished in Coniston village and I was very impressed with both the level of support on the streets and the overall organisation. We went for a sneaky drive round the course at dusk the previous day and found that all of the signs for mile markers, water stations, traffic warning and even ‘half marathon distance here’ were already in place.

As you might expect of a Lake District race, it was not flat. Having said that, I would say that it was significantly less undulating than, for example, the Haweswater Half – and much less than the Keswick Half (both races were in last year’s GP). There were a couple of properly hilly miles (1 & 12) and a couple of very quick ones (4 & 13) to compensate.

Conditions on the day were pretty close to ideal for distance racing with only a light breeze, some sunshine at times and temperatures around 9-10°C for most of the race. Brad took full advantage with a very strong run to feature in the prizes, Claire finished first Blyth lady and our Men’s team did really well to get third prize in a race that attracted teams from far and wide.

A special mention should also go to Anita and Ewa for choosing this challenging race for their Grand Prix debuts, and to Richard Shillinglaw who continued his rapid improvement in form by completing the race (official distance: 13.83 miles) in a time faster than his half marathon PB!

The full results can be found at HERE

Pos.	Race Pos.	Name	Cat	Time	Div.	Pts.	Pos.	Race Pos.	Name	Cat	Time	Div.	Pts.
1	12	Brad Clough	M	1:24:30	1	10	10	324	Steve Dobby	MV40	1:51:38	3	11
2	29	Jon French	M	1:28:24	1	9	11	361	John Mallon	MV60	1:54:15	4	9
3	51	Rob Macdonald	M	1:32:22	1	8	12	435	Mal Darbyshire	MV55	1:57:55	3	10
4	62	Graeme Stewart	MV40	1:33:56	DQ*	0	13	625	Anita Brabazon	F	2:05:13	5	11
5	108	Steven French	MV40	1:37:54	2	9	14	842	Peter Maylia	MV60	2:17:17	5	10
6	195	Martin Scott	MV45	1:44:19	2	8	15	900	Ewa Johnson	FV45	2:20:47	5	9
7	209	Dave Roberts	MV55	1:44:47	2	7	16	989	Joanne Stobbart	FV50	2:30:12	6	6
8	222	Richard Shillinglaw	M	1:45:08	3	13	17	1029	Lynn Munro	FV60	2:37:22	6	5
9	255	Claire Calverley	FV35	1:47:10	3	12
Total No. of finishers :- 1097

*Ran in someone else’s number

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Race 1 – Terry O’Gara 5k – Sun 21st February 2016

The first Grand Prix race of the new season saw a very healthy turnout of 32 Blyth runners for the 25th running of the Snake Lane 10-mile race, based in Pocklington, East Yorkshire. For several of our runners, this was not only their first Grand Prix race but also their first in club colours, and there seemed to be an all-round satisfaction afterwards, helped greatly by the usual splendid organisation and hospitality from the locals.

The showers mercifully held off for most of the race but it was most definitely windy, and many of us found that our times for the third quarter of the race were suffering. Miles 7 and 8 seemed to be particularly challenging. Despite that, there were a number of PBs recorded by our contingent, some of them by several minutes, which shows that we have a healthy number of improving runners at the moment.

Brad Clough was first Blyth finisher on his return to the club, and Rachelle Falloon was first lady in a very impressive first Grand Prix race for her. Most of the divisions saw convincing wins, although Division 2 was a battle all the way between the front three, and Division 6 was very close as well.

The times recorded in the table below are chip times. The more observant amongst the readers will notice several examples of runners with a faster time finishing behind a fellow competitor. This is because runners are listed in finishing order and – in line with the rules of the Grand Prix - it is the order in which runners cross the finish line that counts and not the chip time.

The full results can be found HERE

Pos.	Race Pos.	Name	Cat	Time	Div.	Pts.	Pos.	Race Pos.	Name	Cat	Time	Div.	Pts.
1	14	Bradley Clough	M	0:58:54	1	10	17	297	Richard Shillinglaw	M	1:15:06	3	10
2	60	Rob Macdonald	M	1:03:23	1	9	18	345	Steve Dobby	M40	1:17:19	3	9
3	75	Tony Holland	M40	1:04:11	1	8	19	376	Mark Nicholson	M	1:18:24	2	1
4	117	Graeme Stewart	M	1:07:03	1	7	20	378	John Mallon	M60	1:18:29	4	9
5	132	Andrew Grieves	M40	1:07:56	2	9	21	405	Terry McCabe	M65	1:19:16	-	-
6	140	Steven French	M40	1:08:29	2	8	22	455	Phillippa Moore	F35	1:21:37	3	8
7	155	Ian Baxter	M45	1:08:54	2	7	23	459	Mal Darbyshire	M55	1:21:35	3	7
8	181	Robby Barkley	M40	1:10:04	1	6	24	537	Claire Mason	F50	1:24:53	4	8
9	191	Rachelle Falloon	F	1:10:19	3	13	25	548	Kelly Vorster	F	1:24:51	4	7
10	227	Martin Scott	M45	1:12:12	2	6	26	557	Michael Ashby	M45	1:25:24	5	11
11	228	Darren Noble	M40	1:11:56	3	12	27	654	Anne Craddock	F55	1:29:29	5	10
12	236	Ben Cuthbertson	M	1:12:41	2	5	28	722	Catherine Arries	F35	1:33:54	5	9
13	239	Shaun Dodd	M45	1:12:57	2	4	29	723	Scott Arries	M	1:33:53	3	6
14	276	Paul Knight	M45	1:14:12	2	3	30	759	Peter Maylia	M60	1:36:45	5	8
15	287	David Roberts	M55	1:14:51	2	2	31	858	Joanne Stobbart	F50	1:45:36	6	6
16	294	Claire Calverley	F35	1:15:12	3	11	32	867	Lynn Munro	F60	1:45:51	6	5
Total No. of finishers :- 936

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