BAY OF PLENTY AT DRURIDGE
IT WAS as though club athletes sensed that the second fixture of the Start Fitness North East Harrier League would not be returning to Druridge Bay in the immediate future due to financial restraints for they turned out in their hundreds – 1,278 to be precise, a figure 164 more which turned out at the opening round of fixtures at Thornley Hall with the two senior races the main reason for the swell in numbers. Competitors faced similar conditions as Thornley with fine weather and no sign of mud the order of the day once again making the choice of footwear a difficult decision for the picturesque East Northumberland course admirably marked out by hosts Blyth Running Club.
SENIOR MEN
THREE circuits of the undulating course which ran close to
the lake and coast faced the athletes and it was Gateshead pair Sam Punn and
Maximus Murray together with Durham University’s Rowan Curtis and Sunderland
duo Alex Seed and Craig Gunn, last weekend’s Kielder 10k winner, who led out
the huge charge from the slow pack. Two-and-half-minutes later the medium pack
faced the starter and it was under-20 athletes’, Alnwick’s Liam McDonough and
Morpeth’s Oliver Tomlinson who were quickly at the head of affairs while
another two-and-a-half minutes the fast pack set off on their way and it was
Gateshead’s Conrad Franks, not surprisingly, who led them out with Birtley’s
Adrian Bailes not far behind.
Going into the second lap their was no change in the leading order with the Gateshead due practically running shoulder-to-shoulder with the Durham student cutting out a lone furrow in third place while medium and fast pack runners continued to weave their way through the congested field. Entering the final circuit, the Gateshead pair were still locked together ahead of Curtis while McDonough had opened up a good gap over Tomlinson and was now in the leading 15. Meanwhile, Bailes, who was third quickest at Thornley, was now ahead of Franks as they moved up into the top 20.
As the final lap unfolded Punn and Murray were still neck-and-neck and it wasn’t until the final 100 yards that the result was decided when Punn pulled out that little extra to take the win by just three seconds, Punn recording 31:58 and Murray 32:01. Curtis completed the one-two-three in 32:56 while McDonough crossed the line in eighth position in an actual time of 32:09 while Bailes, with a time of 31:12, was quickest on the course after crossing the line in 20th spot. Franks finished 22nd with 31:16 while third quickest overall was Jarlath McKenna (Tyne Bridge) who finished in a time of 31:50 to finish in 29th place.
With the first two across the line
it came as no surprise that Gateshead came out on top in Division One with 56
points; Newcastle University finished second on 122pts with Tyne Bridge third
with 141pts. Elswick claimed victory in Division Two with 129pts, just two
points clear of Gosforth with Wallsend a close up third on 137pts. Durham
University topped Division Three with 108pts followed by Sedgefield (144) and
Tynedale (195).
455 Finishers
SENIOR WOMEN
WHILE the senior men’s contest was a close affair that cannot be said for the senior women’s event as Gateshead’s Elisha Tait led throughout the two-lap race. In the early stages Crook’s Bethany Iveson tracked Tait with Newcastle University’s Lily Goodwin leading the slow pack behind. Heading the medium pack from a two minute handicap was Crook’s Sarah Attwood while Houghton’s Anna Pigford was at the forefront of the fast pack from a five-minute penalty ahead of Morpeth’s Holly Lawrence and recently-crowned North East Counties half-marathon champion, Wallsend’s Jenny Berry.
Entering the second and final circuit, Birmingham-based Tait had a lead of 1 min 45 secs over Iveson with Goodwin a further 20 seconds adrift as Attwood moved through into the top 10 as Lawrence led the ‘fasts’ ahead of Berry and Pigford.
On the
run to the line Tait had extended her advantage to nearly
three-and-a-half-minutes to break the tape in 22:58, then came Iveson in second
place (26:32) followed by Goodwin with 27:03. Attwood worked her way through to
fifth place with an actual time of 25:22 while Lawrence was the pick of the
fast pack finishing 38th in a time of 24:33 for second quickest
overall behind Tait with Berry (43rd) third best with 24:39 followed
by Newcastle University’s Imogen Dee (45th) in 24:41.
In the under-20s, Gateshead’s Ellie Fellows, running from the fast pack, recorded 25:34, second fastest was Lucy Buckle (Chester-le-Street) from the medium pack with 27:04 followed by Tynedale’s Hannah Cutler from the slows with 27:47.
In the team stakes, Jesmond Joggers
finished top in a close contest of Division One totalling 47pts, North Shields
Poly finished second with 51pts while Tyne Bridge claimed third place on 53pts.
Crook topped Division Two with 22pts, followed by Washington on 65pts and Birtley
with 77pts.
411 Finishers
UNDER-17 MEN
At the completion of the small opening lap Wallsend’s Joseph Duthie-Brown and Tynedale’s Morgan Vincent were at the head of affairs with Jacob Moore (Durham City) in close attendance. Midway trough the final circuit Duthie-Brown managed to pull clear to cross the line in 15:38, 41 seconds ahead of Vincent with Moore closing all the time to complete the one-two-three a further three seconds adrift.
Fastest on the course was Gateshead’s Alfie Cook,
recording an actual time of 14:31 after working his way through to sixth place
from a 2min 35sec handicap. Joint second quickest (15:06) were Durham City’s
William Jardine and Tynedale’s Jamie Lonergan after finishing ninth and 10th
respectively. Jardine led the Durham club to team success with 25pts followed
by Morpeth on 37pts and Wallsend on 38pts.
30 Finishers
UNDER-17 WOMEN
PRUDHOE’S Phoebe Mulligan was the early leader entering the first small lap but by the completion she was joined by Durham City’s Grace Carter followed by North Shields Poly’s Freya Beckingsale around 50 metres back.
Midway through the final circuit the orange-vested Carter pulled away
from her main rival to cross the line in 18:45, 44 seconds ahead of Mulligan
with Beckingsale finishing a clear third in 19:32. Durham City were the only
team to close in a three-to-score contest finishing with 22pts thanks to Poppy
Gill (5th) and Grace Walker (16th) backing up Carter.
20 Finishers
UNDER-15 BOYS
IT WAS a one-two for North Shields Poly with Edward Watson
(10:56) getting the verdict over Peter Davies (11:05) with Gosforth’s Jack
McManus claiming third place in 11:11. Fastest on the course was Wallsend’s
Kasper Pearson recording an actual time of 9:48 after working his way through
to finish in sixth position from a 1min 45sec handicap. Joint second quickest
were George Hunter (Tynedale) and Blyth’s Alastair Johnston after clocking
10:12. Kallen O’Neil (5th) led Elswick to team success with 20pts,
followed by Tynedale on 31pts with Gosforth in third place place on 39pts, the
same number as North Shields Poly, but getting the verdict on countback.
46 Finishers
UNDER-15 GIRLS
BIRTLEY athletes claimed all three podium places as the trio
of Olivia Murphy. Poppie Phillipson and Izzy Hall were always at the head of
affairs. At the line it was Murphy who broke the tape in 11:27, followed by
Phillipson (12:00) and Hall (12:09). Durham City’s Evie Kleiser was the pick of
the fast pack, working her way through the field from a 1:45 penalty to cross
the line in 16th position in 12:21, the fourth fastest time on the
course behind the Birtley threesome. No doubt about the team winners with
minimum points, the blue and gold vests of Birtley with six points followed by
Elswick on 28pts and Durham City with 48pts.
43 Finishers
UNDER-13 BOYS
MORPETH’S Joseph Fawcett was a clear winner crossing the line in 12:11 as a battle for the minor honours panned out right to the finish. The judges placed Chester-le-Street’s Max Pearson second, North Shield’s Poly’s Noah Penfold third and Oliver Dugdale (Sunderland) fourth with the trio all clocking 12:20 though Penfold got up on the line to claim the bronze award from a 1min 55sec handicap.
Second quickest on the course was Jarrow and Hebburn’s
Jacob Hopper who finished 10th in 11:16 followed by Darlington’s
Rhys Price in 11:24. Fawcett led Morpeth to team victory with 24pts followed by
Phoenix Flyers on 34pts and North Shields Poly on 58pts, the Poly relegating
Chester-le-Street into fourth place on countback.
63 Finishers
UNDER-13 GIRLS
NORTH Shields Poly’s Ada Penfold made her under-13 debut a
winning one after surging to the front from the off. At the line (11:37) she
was well clear of Gosforth sisters Robyn and Charlotte Bain who recorded 13:11
and 13:22 respectively. Penfold’s time was the overall quickest on the course
with Elodie Stoker next best with 12:15 after working her through to eighth
place from a 1:55 handicap. Gosforth’s Ruby Collins was next best with 12:20.
Charlotte Bain led Gosforth to team success – fifth-placed Lucia Kyle backed up
the Bain sisters – with 10pts, followed by Elswick with 27pts edging out North
Shields Poly who also had 27pts on countback.
66 FINISHERS
UNDER-11 BOYS
IT WAS a scramble for the medals with just one second
separating the leading four finishers. Victory went to Sunderland’s Oscar
Paxton – he was also first home at Thornley – in 4min 32secs with Blaydon’s
Sebastian Sharpe (Blaydon) given the judges verdict in 4:33, the same time as
North Shields Poly pair Edward Duff (3rd) and Alex Coulson (4th).
68 Finishers
UNDER-11 GIRLS
EMILY MANN (North Shields Poly) led the field home, crossing
the line in 4:48with Laila Oulaid (Tyne Bridge) finishing in second place
followed by Sunderland’s Anna Butler (4:59). An interesting point to note is
this age group – boys and girls – had representatives from 27 of the region’s
clubs which augurs well for cross-country running here in the North East.
57 Finishers
OVER-65 MEN
DURHAM City’s Paul Tomaney posted the day’s fastest time (29:58) on his way to victory, crossing the line nearly two minutes clear of former Commonwealth Games representative Ieuen Ellis (Ponteland) who recorded 31:59 with Robert Hewitson, also of Durham City, finishing in third place in 32:15.
Second quickest on the course, giving away 2min 27secs start, was
Ponteland’s Mick Meaney who worked his way through the field to finish in
fourth place with an actual time of 30:01. Third quickest was Crook’s Geoff
Hewitson (5th) with a time of 30:10. Ellis led Ponteland to team
victory with a total of 12pts, Robert Sewell (6th) being their third
counter. Crook finished in second place with 28pts.
22 Finishers
*** A VOTE of thanks to Ralph and his Blyth team of
marshalls and car park attendants; all the UKA technical officials; the first
aid team who had a number of incidents to deal with and to Start Fitness for
their continuing support of the NEHL. Action quickly turns around with the next
fixture scheduled for Saturday, October 25 at Lambton Estate hosted by the Birtley,
Low Fell and Washington clubs. Will there be mud? I wouldn’t bet on it!
BILL McGUIRK
Photos: Keith Willshire
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