Norman Woodcock Memorial 5M Race

[Mon 26th Nov]

The Norman Woodcock Memorial  5 mile race took place on Saturday 24th November 2012 at Newcastle Gosforth Park race Course. Despite the locality only 3 Blyth Runners took part, however many of the 217 finishers had travelled from far-a-field clubs looking to clock up a PB on a course which was described as ‘fast and flat’.

The course follows 3 laps of the service road which runs inside perimeter of the race track – not entirely flat and a few pot holes to watch out for, but on a clear day the conditions were as perfect as you’ll get.

First back for Blyth was Jon French with an impressive PB time of 30:01, unlucky to be just outside the twenties, but subject to verification, is a new club record for the rarely contested 5 mile distance.

Second back was Steven French with a PB time of 33:57. New member Lee Simpson’s game plan of entering every race possible also looks to be paying off as he too achieved a PB with a time of 44:43.

One of my favourite races so far - as the course forces you to go all out. Already looking forward to next year and definitely worth considering for future GP’s – especially so as there is a Pub 200m from the finish!

Steve