Harrier League Race 5 – Alnwick
[3rd-Mar-2012] Cross Country athletics action
returned to The Pastures in the grounds of Alnwick Castle for the first time in
several years on Saturday 3rd March, with the holding of the penultimate and
fifth Start Fitness North Eastern Harrier League meeting.
Against the spectacular backdrop of Alnwick Castle,
teams from across the North East battled it out on a long and challenging cross
country course which included fields, woodland and plenty of hills (and
molehills!). Despite terrain that was often difficult underfoot, the pace was
fast in all of the age categories due to the relatively dry conditions. The
event proved to be a success on the organisational front for the local club Alnwick
Harriers, who were heaped with praise for their skills in selecting a scenic,
yet tough course for all, which provoked acclaim despite its testing terrain.
As usual, once the Blyth tent/flag had been erected the runners from
Blyth mysteriously appeared and we had runners in nearly every age category.
The first race was the under 11’s and Connor Marshall finished in seventh
position with Jessica Locker finishing as sixth girl, despite falling and
twisting her ankle. Elliot Taylor was the sole Blyth runner in the U13 boys and
finished in the top half of the field. Erin Scott and Alice Dungworth both had
strong runs to finish in the top 30 in the U13 girls race. In the U15 boys race
all the boys finished in the top 30 with Joseph Dungworth first back, followed
by James Young, Joseph Woods, Karl McClean (making his debut), Chris Sheffer
and Mark Nicholson. In the U15 girls, running from the fast pack Charlie
finished in 12th position. The U17 boys had the best result as they finished as
first team on the day and are now in second place in the league, with James
Brown in 7th and Jake and Scott having their own personal race, with Jake
finishing one second in front of Scott, while Calum finished in 14th.
In the men’s race, Peter Holmback was first back
for Blyth in 102nd position out of 350 finishers , with Robbie next back (the
only Blyth man running from the medium pack), with Graeme one second behind
Robbie. Ricky Davidson was having a good strong run as part of his marathon
training, followed in by Steve Cairns, with Dave Bradley next as the sixth
counter. Ignoring jibes that Phillippa was just in front of him, Ian ran each
lap quicker and finished in front of Kevin Freeman and Martin Scott finishing
in the top 300, while newcomer Brian Singleton just beat club secretary Ralph
Dickinson. All the men were grateful for the loud, raucous support of the
junior girls who gave them very vocal encouragement
The ladies just managed a team, as Phillippa
continued her good recent form to finish as first Blyth lady home in 36th
position out of 130 finishers. Helen was net followed by newcomer Karen
Singleton who I believed had cycled to Alnwick from Newbiggin.
The women now lie third in their division behind
Gateshead and Tynebridge as do the men behind Tynebridge and Houghton.
I think only Charlie and Phillippa from the ladies
can now qualify for the free T-shirt, not sure about men/boys.
Blyth
Results
|
Senior
Men |
|
|
|
43:32 |
102nd |
Peter
Holmback |
|
44:53
(42:23) |
145th |
Robbie
Barkley |
|
44:54 |
146th |
Graeme
Stewart |
|
45:43 |
173rd |
Ricky
Davidson |
|
46:23 |
191st |
Steve
Cairns |
|
48:27 |
2236th |
Dave
Bradley |
|
49:43 |
262nd |
Ian
Baxter |
|
50:31 |
273rd |
Kevin
Freeman |
|
51:55 |
294th |
Martin
Scott |
|
53:11 |
314th |
Brian
Singleton |
|
54:01 |
318th |
Ralph
Dickinson |
|
|
|
|
|
U17
Men |
|
|
|
28:54 |
7th |
James
Brown |
|
29:17
(26:37) |
9th |
Jake
Jansen |
|
29:18
(26:38) |
10th |
Scott
Povey |
|
30:38 |
14th |
Calum
Storey |
|
|
|
|
|
U15
Boys |
|
|
|
14:44 |
19th |
Joseph
Dungworth |
|
15:10
(13:40) |
24th |
James
Young |
|
15:30 |
31st |
Karl
McClean |
|
15:35
(14:05) |
33rd |
Joseph
Woods |
|
15:49
(14:19) |
34th |
Chris
Sheffer |
|
15:50
(14:20) |
35th |
Mark
Nicholson |
|
|
|
|
|
U13
Boys |
|
|
|
15:47 |
24th |
Eliot
Taylor |
|
|
|
|
|
Senior
Women |
|
|
|
32:58 |
36th |
Phillippa
Baxter |
|
34:34 |
64th |
Helen
Morris |
|
36:58 |
92nd |
Karen
Singleton |
|
|
|
|
|
U15
Girls |
|
|
|
16:25
(14:55) |
12th |
Charlie
Hedley |
|
|
|
|
|
U13
Girls |
|
|
|
18:03 |
25th |
Erin
Scott |
|
18:32 |
29th |
Alice
Dungworth |
|
|
|
|
|
U11's |
|
|
|
5:27 |
7th |
Connor
Marshal |
|
6:02 |
22nd |
Jessica
Locker |
Full results on Alnwick Harriers web site.