NEHL 2022-23 Fixture 3: Lambton Estate

SFNEHL FIXTURE 3. LAMBTON ESTATE 29/10/2022

Hi all, information ahead of Saturday's fixture. The course is as last year and schedule is as usual (see images below). Please ensure that you check your allocated pack at the League website ( http://www.harrierleague.com/ , click on runner info). At Druridge there were too many folks running from incorrect packs creating a lot of extra work for Paul.

Parking cost is £4 per vehicle, to cover the charge that the landowners make for use of the Estate. PLEASE HAVE YOUR CASH READY - payment point is as indicated at the end of the purple mark up adjacent to the castle at the Lambton access image. The entrance to the Estate is at the Bonemill Lane gated entrance indicated at the image with the route to parking highlighted. What3words location for the gate is drew.stews.hiding

For orientation, the castle postcode is NE38 9HA. The entrance doesn't have a postcode ..... it a set of gates!

There is a one way system in operation, indicated by the yellow mark up which indicates route to leave. Its clearly signposted. Please don't attempt to leave the way you entered the Estate.

Dogs - yes, allowed, but on a lead at all times.

Final request; please be remember to be considerate of other runners, officials and folks in general at the event. There was an incident of a runner verbally abusing an official at Druridge, also an incident involving two Junior athletes ('horseplay' that went too far) one of whom required medical attention. We're still working through the latter. As well as being unacceptable behaviour in both cases, it just adds to workload.

Big thanks to Birtley AC, Low Fell, and Washington in advance of the event for organising the course, marshals etc.

Finally, as always - enjoy!

Timetable 12.00 Under 11 Boys

12.05 Under 11 Girls

12.15 Under 17 men

12.20 U17 and U20 women

12.35 Under 15 Boys

12.40 Under 15 Girls

12:50 Under 13 boys

12:55 Under 13 girls

13.05 Senior & veteran women

13:50 Senior & veteran Men

Guests may run in the league at a cost of £5 for the whole season. This is a one off charge. They must register on the day, and let us know if they competed last season (and if they did we can check the pack).

Guests must be members of a EA or SA, or similar affiliated club.

Second Claim runners may not count for team points. They can either run for their first claim club as a guest, or if they come and register on the day they can take part as a non-counting runner in their second claim vest.

Guests & Second claim runners do not accumulate team points, but do get individual grand prix points.

Race HQ will be at the all new singing and dancing NEHL Tent next at the start area.

Reminder to ALL competitors. We do not split race packs. Your team manager needs to collect and pay for your team entries. I have a list of who owes what, we will not take individual numbers out of the packs, we are far too busy. Find out who your team manager is and make sure they have a cheque or cash with them to cover the club's entry fees.

Costs are £50 + £3 per runner for clubs

£5 for guests

If by some unknown reason you manage to lose your number on the day after you've collected it from your team tent, you can buy a new one for £5. I know it sounds daft, but it has happened before.



Quick reminder of the rules.

You must start in the pack you have been allocated. (You will be DQd for running from the wrong pack)

You must wear your club's team vest or t-shirt, and all vests must be of the same design (or you will be DQd & won't count for team points)

As per league rules you CANNOT wear headphones

Age restrictions as follows:

Under 11 - must be aged at least 9 on the day of competition
Under 13 - must be 11 on 31st August 2022.  
Under 15 - must be 13 on 31st August 2022.
Under 17 men - must be 15 on 31st August 2022.
Under 17 & 20 women - must be 15 on 31st August 2022.
Senior Men - must be 17 on 31st August 2022.
Senior Women - must be 20 on 31st August 2022.

Masters men aged 65 may (if they wish) run in the 2 lap Senior Women's race, they register as per normal in the men's race, then come to race hq for a replacement number.  Masters wishing to do this must stay in the 2 lap race all season.

Results will be available on the usual link : http://www.harrierleague.com/results/2022-23/

Northern Athletics Cross-Country Relay Championships - North East Report

 RELAY GOOD PERFORMANCES BY NE SQUADS

THE region may have been low in numbers but the clubs that did travel to Graves Park, Sheffield for the Northern Athletics Cross-Country Relay Championships certainly didn’t disappoint.

Only four North East clubs were on duty and it was, once again, the in-form Birtley trio of Kitty Graham, Olivia Murphy and Nell Graham who made the headlines in a big way. Having already claimed the NA Road Relay gold medals, the team were quietly confident of topping the podium once again though they had to pull out all the stops this time round to see off the challenge of 28 rivals including the Rotherham threesome who had finished runners-up in Manchester behind Birtley.

And it was Rotherham who led at the first 1.8k stage by around 150 metres thanks to the overall quickest time of the day (5:38) by Maya Schofield. Kitty Graham had Birtley in second place (6:01) after holding off the challenge of the Wirral athlete by just one second. 

Esme Milbourne continued to cut out a loan furrow for Rotherham on the second leg but Birtley’s Murphy had cut back the deficit to just six seconds before passing on to Nell Graham to contest the glory leg.

Graham was quickly into her stride and well before half way round the circuit had moved into the lead which came as no surprise as her 5:54 clocking proved to be the second quickest overall behind Schofield.

Once again a superb all-round performance by the trio who were supported by their parents and were well worth their second set of NA gold medals.

While it was a happy Birtley squad who stepped down from the podium it was so close for the Allerton and Darlington trios who came agonisingly to joining them only to miss out by finishing in fourth place in their respective events.

Allerton, contesting the under-11 girls 3x1.5k contest, were in third place at the first changeover thanks to Connie Wilford whose 5:35 figures were the fifth fastest of the day. Georgia Raw slipped back to fourth on leg two and while Abigail Ferguson closed the gap slightly on the leaders it just wasn’t enough at the line. In the same event Darlington finished in eighth place with Sasha Patterson their quickest with 5:46.

In the under-11 boys 3x1.5k contest Darlington could not have come any closer to returning with medals after being run out by a matter of just one second. Liverpool A team were clear winners but the race to join them on the podium came down to a sprint finish between the Wirral, Liverpool B and Darlington with the two Merseyside outfits eventually managing to get the verdict, Wirral recording 16:42, Liverpool B 16:43 and Darlington 16:44. It was extremely tough on the Darlington trio Monty Bowden (5:42), Daniel Callaghan (5:36) and Ollie Curran (5:26) who was sixth quickest of the day.

The senior men’s 4x2-mile relay attracted a record 67 teams with Sunderland Harriers the region’s only representatives and they were rewarded with an excellent 10th place finish.

The Wearsiders’ were in 16th place at the first changeover after Stephen Jackson’s 10:51 stint. Scott Armstrong cut back the deficit on the leaders on leg two after moving through to 11th place with the quartet’s quickest time of 10:56.

Evergreen Steve Rankin was on hand for the penultimate stage and consolidated 11th place after running 11:30 before passing over to Adam Hughes, the young man of the squad. Hughes put in a superb effort and while he only managed to reel in one of the teams ahead his 11:00 was an excellent return and no doubt was well talked about on the journey home.

Well done to all the competitors from the region who took part and perhaps next year we will see a much stronger representation to build on the excellent performances by those who ran at the weekend!

 

Report By BILL McGUIRK

Photos By David Greenwood (Northern Athletics FB Page)

NECAA XC Relays 2022

COUNTY ASSOCIATION FARMS OUT THE AWARDS

AFTER some sleepless nights for organiser Archie Jenkins the North Eastern Counties Cross-Country Relay Championships eventually got the green light after a flood of entries were received on deadline day which came as a huge relief to Jenkins whose thoughts were that the fixture would have to be cancelled for a second time. Jenkins, who was one of the last people to leave Thornley Hall Farm last weekend just as the heavens opened, was a happy man knowing that a successful Championship event had taken place when it seemed that would not be the case a few days before entries closed.

Jenkins, who now has his work cut out in preparation for the NECAA Cross-Country Championships – hosted by Newcastle clubs Elswick and Heaton Harriers – at Temple Park, South Shields on Saturday, December 10, confessed that it was touch-and-go whether the Relay Championships would go ahead.

“One of the Association’s remits is to provide championship events for our athletes and at the same time try to break even without over-charging those who want to take part. Like everything else at the moment prices are going up and while we are indebted to Jon Taylor for letting us have the use of his land for free, the costs for the team of first aiders and the hiring of portable toilets and a minimum allowance for the officials digs heavily into what we receive in entry fees.

It’s not about making a profit it’s all about not making a loss and that’s the way it looked a few days before entries closed. Happily, I can report that, after all my concerns, we didn’t make a loss and, by all accounts and the feedback we have received, it turned out to be an enjoyable event all round so, while I would have liked to have seen a few more clubs on the start line, I would like to say a huge thank you to those who did enter teams and I now look forward to a bumper entry for our main championships in December.”

SENIOR MEN (4x3.2k)

Houghton got off to a flying start thanks to Chris Coulson whose 10min 40sec proved to be the fastest overall time of the day. That was just the springboard Houghton needed as Johnny Evans, Lee Dover and Luke Pickering kept the black and golds in pole position throughout.

At the first changeover Tyne Bridge (Tom Charlton) were in second place followed by Sunderland and Elvet Striders. Sunderland moved into second place on leg two thanks to Craig Gunn with Gateshead (Jack Douglas) moving through to third after being fifth on the opening stage. On the penultimate leg, Sunderland were still in second place behind Houghton with Tyne Bridge (Marc Fenwick) now back up to third. On the run to the line Pickering came home to give Houghton a winning time of 44:50 with Sunderland claiming the silver medals just 13 seconds adrift as Gateshead, with Dan Alexander posting the third fastest time of the day, completing the podium placings ahead of Elvet Striders and Tyne Bridge.

MASTERS MEN (3x3.2k)

South Shields led at the first changeover thanks to the second quickest time of the day by Ross Jarman. Sunderland (Stephen Potts) were in second place followed by Elvet Striders (Michael Mason) and Wallsend (Mark Covell). Tyne Bridge moved into the lead on the second stage thanks to Kevin Richardson with Elvet Striders (David Milligan) moving into second place ahead of Sunderland (Steven Gordon). South Shields had slipped to fourth followed by Wallsend and Ponteland Runners. Paul Turnbull extended Tyne Bridge’s advantage on the run to the line with Michael Littlewood and Chris Jackson consolidating Elvet’s and Sunderland’s second and third-place finish respectively. Fastest on the course was Richard Bateson who brought Blyth through from 11th to fourth on the final leg in recording 10:51.

SENIOR WOMEN (3x3.2k)

Shona Haston had Gateshead in the lead at the first changeover after posting the fastest time of the day of 11:52. Houghton (Eva Hardy) were in second followed by Sunderland (Jessica Fox) then came South Shields, Wallsend and Aycliffe. Houghton moved into the lead on stage two thanks to Danielle Coulson with Gateshead (Lydia James) now in second followed by South Shields (Fay Carter) with Sunderland fourth, Gosforth fifth and Wallsend sixth. Approaching the tape the leading positions remained the same with Anna Pigford bringing Houghton home in pole position followed by Gateshead (Gillian Manford) and South Shields (Michelle Douglas). Sunderland finished fourth followed by Wallsend and Gosforth.

MASTERS WOMEN (3x3.2k)

At the first changeover North Shields led through Becky Coleman who was followed by Felicity Smith (Elswick) and Morpeth’s Jane Kirby. South Shields were in fourth place followed by Sunderland. Remarkably the top five places remained the same all the way to the finish with Alison Smith and Claire Harlow, whose 12:35 was the fastest of the day, bringing the Poly home in first place. Andrea Banner and Joanne Brown did likewise for silver medalists Elswick as did Julie Vermass and Gemma Floyd for Morpeth. South Shields finished in fourth place followed by Sunderland.

JUNIOR MEN (3x3.2k)

Only two teams faced the starter and it was a gun to tape victory for Morpeth trio Ralph Robson, Matthew Walton and Peter Smallcombe, Walton posting the fastest overall time of 10:17. The Durham City trio of Joshua Wraith, Callum Wilkinson and Thomas Wraith were awarded the runners-up medals.

UNDER-17/UNDER-20 WOMEN (3x2.2k)

In-form Charlotte Dillon brought Durham City to the changeover in first place by posting the fastest overall time of the day of 8:36. Darlington (Macy Kelly) were in second spot followed by Gosforth (Emma Ashman). Darlington moved into the lead on leg two thanks to Marissa Boon who was followed by Gosforth’s Hannah Wightman and North Shields Poly’s Zoe Atkinson. Things changed dramatically on the final stage with Amelie Sillence bringing North Shields Poly home in first place with Alice Lewis consolidating Gosforth’s second place as Millie Newham brought Durham City through to complete the one-two-three, Darlington finished in fourth place followed by Jarrow and Hebburn and Gosforth.

UNDER-17 MEN (3x2.2k)

English Schools’ international Brandon Pye gave Houghton a sizeable lead on the first leg by posting the overall fastest time of 7:15 but it was to no avail as Morpeth proved once again how strong they are at this age group by finishing the three stages in first and second place.

The Morpeth A team of Joe Close, Elliot Kelso and Bertie Marr led their second string of Liam Roche, Elliot Mavir and Ryan Davies home to win by 41 seconds despite being five seconds adrift at the first changeover. Durham City came from fourth to third on the final leg thanks to Ethan Stokes. With the rules stating that a club can only win one set of medals it meant that the tangerines moved up into silver medal position and fourth-placed Houghton received the bronze awards. Elswick finished fifth followed home by Gosforth.

UNDER-15 BOYS (3x2.2k)

Morpeth came from seventh to first thanks to the top two times by Oliver Calvert and Oliver Tomlinson. North Shields Poly (Dan Watson) led at the first changeover followed by Durham City (William Jardine) with Blaydon (Robert Atkinson) in third place followed by Darlington, Gosforth and Houghton with Steven Craske keeping Morpeth in touch in seventh place. On leg two North Shields Poly (Elijah Farley) were still ahead as Tomlinson moved the Northumbrians into second place ahead of Darlington (Daniel I’Anson). Calvert quickly set about closing down on the leader and midway through the circuit he edged in front to post the day’s quickest time and bring the Northumbrians home by a clear margin. Oscar Makepeace brought the Poly home in second place with Willoughby Croslegh celebrating third place for Darlington. Durham City headed Blaydon by just one second to claim fourth spot.

 

UNDER-15 GIRLS (3x2.2k)

Darlington were in pole position from the off after Zara Jones posted the day’s fastest time of 9:01. North Shields Poly held second place (Darcey Tullis) with Jess Donnelly bringing Elswick through to third. Freya Talman extended Darlington’s advantage on leg two as Izzy Yates kept the Poly in second as Molly Roche brought Morpeth through to third ahead of Elswick and the Poly B team. Savannah Tarn extended Darlington’s lead even further on the run to the line as Hannah Atkinson brought the Poly home in silver medal position followed by Morpeth’s Charlotte Marshall. Elswick finished fourth followed by the Poly B team.

UNDER-13 GIRLS (3x2.2k)

Kathryn Pye had Houghton in the lead at the first changeover followed by North Shields Poly (Lily McColl) and Gosforth’s Maggie Handyside. Elswick were in fourth place followed by Darlington and Morpeth. Houghton (Holly Robison) had a slight advantage going into the final stage with Emma Tomlinson bringing Morpeth up to second only to have no one to pass on to. The Poly (Annie Murphy) were in third place followed by Gosforth and Elswick. Thanks to Poppy Coleman’s efforts, the Poly moved into the lead while Martha Taylor, the daughter of landowner Jon Taylor, came home in second place ahead of Gosforth’s Nina Gumbrill. Elswick finished fourth and Darlington fifth.

UNDER-13 BOYS (3x2.2k)

Darlington were never headed after Rowan Steel’s fastest time of the day on the opening stage. Elswick (Nicholas Surtees-Brown) were in second place followed by Gosforth’s George Ponton and North Shields Poly’s James Sturman. James I’Anson extended Darlington’s lead on stage two with Gosforth (William Handyside) moving into second place ahead of the Poly’s Charlie Johnstone. Matthew Foster had the honour of bringing Darlington home in first place though Gosforth’s Charlie Adlam made a brave effort to catch him but, despite the second fastest time of the day, he had to settle for a reward of second place. North Shields Poly (Luke Cummings) finished in third place followed by Elswick and Blyth.

**Thanks go to Jon Taylor for the free use of his land; to Start Fitness for their continued support; to the first aiders and to event organiser Archie Jenkins and all the technical officials and marshals without whom the event would not have taken place. Finally, to all the competitors, who made it all worthwhile, a big thank you.

**The next cross-country meeting in the region is the Start Fitness NEHL fixture at Lambton on October 29.

Report by Bill McGuirk

Photos by Stuart Whitman

NEHL 2022-23 - Druridge Bay Report

DRURIDGE BAY HL, 2022 MARVELOUS TURN OUT DESPITE THE LACK OF MUD! 

THE Start Fitness North East Harrier League caravan parked up at Druridge Bay and once again huge fields were the order of the day even though the fixture, the league’s only Sunday competition, clashed with numerous other events up and down the country. 

Despite the tough terrain and the blustery conditions, the senior women’s turn-out was the best ever at the Northumberland country park which saw 450 finishers with, once again, another Durham City athlete taking the major honours to follow on from team-mate Katie Iliffe who triumphed in the season-opener at Wrekenton three weeks earlier. 

This time round it was Alice Crane who spreadeagled the field, the former Derby AC athlete taking full advantage of the generous start over her ‘quicker’ rivals. Going into the second of two laps of the rolling countryside Crane had opened up a gap of around two minutes over North Shields Poly’s Hannah Williams who was having her first HL contest since Blaydon in 2011, with Kirsty Burville (Morpeth) in third place followed by Cambridge and Coleridge’s Rachel Smith. 

Desperately trying to make inroads into the leader’s huge lead were Houghton’s Eva Hardie and Morpeth’s Catriona MacDonald who had the task of trying to charge the leader down from their respective 2min 30sec and five minutes handicap. 

However, that proved to be a difficult task for Crane continued to surge on and at the finish line was nearly four minutes clear or runner-up Williams with Burville consolidating third place ahead of Smith. Hardie moved through to finish in fifth place while MacDonald, who was quickest at Wrekenton, crossed the line in seventh place. Amazingly, Crane, a Durham University student, finished with an actual time of 23:43 against MacDonald’s 24:32 which shows the tangerines have acquired another talented performer. 

After two fixtures Morpeth head Division One after two victories with Heaton in second place with nine points followed by Jesmond Joggers and Tynedale both of whom are on 10pts. Durham City top Division Two on five points with South Shields in second place on the same number of points with Washington, winners at Wrekenton, in third place on seven points. Gosforth are clear leaders of Division Three on three points followed by four clubs on seven points: Blaydon, Blyth, Sunderland Strollers and Stockfield Striders. 

Just like the senior women’s contest the senior men’s three-lap version produced a gun-to-tape winner for an athlete making his NEHL debut. Teesside-based Kieran Walker, a regular NE Counties team-member at the Inter-Counties Cross-Country Championships, was having his first outing since having to drop out of the recent London Marathon and he showed he had pushed his problems behind him with a clearcut win over Newcastle University duo Luke Davis and Edward Pettitt. 

The trio quickly into their stride at the head of the near 600- strong field and it was Walker (NE Project) who finally came home a minute-and--a-half clear of Davis with Pettitt completing the one two-three a similar margin adrift in third place. 

Host Club’s Michael Stott was the first vet to finish in fourth place after overhauling North Shield’s Poly’s Andrew Heide on the final lap. Walker’s winning time of 31:35 was the overall best of the day with Michael Hedley, who had finished amongst the awards on the Quayside on Friday night in the Great North 5k, the pick of the fast pack and second quickest overall in 32:48 after moving through the field to finish in 16th place. 

In Division One Morpeth lead with five points with Tyne Bridge in second place on the same number of points. Gateshead, who were victorious on the day, have seven points with Elvet Striders also on seven. Houghton head Division Two with three points; Low Fell are second with five points; Jesmond Joggers next with six followed by Durham City on seven. Alnwick top Division Three with five points followed by Tynedale (6), Derwent Valley Trail (7) and Blyth on nine. 

Numbers were slightly down in the younger age group contests mainly due to the re-arranged Junior and Mini Great North Run which were held 24 hours earlier. However, that didn’t deter from some excellent competition throughout the day. 

First up, as usual, was the under-11 events and it was good to see Ovingham Middle School well represented in both the boys and girls contests. 

The U11 boys were first in action with 48 facing the starter for the near one-mile challenge and it was Elswick’s Kallen O’Neil who proved victorious crossing the line in 5min 26sec, five seconds clear of Morpeth’s Jacob Thompson with Joseph Hutchinson (Gosforth) a further four seconds adrift in third place. 

In the U11 girls’ race, it was a one-two repeat of the Wrekenton result with Birtley duo Poppie Phillipson and Izzie Hall filling the first two places. Phillipson coming home in in 5:29, nine seconds clear of her team-mate. Isla Coker (Phoenix Flyers), who was fifth finisher at Wrekenton, improved to third, six seconds behind Hall. 

The under-13 and under-15 competitors faced a distance of two mile and it was Alnwick’s Alistair Johnston who took the honours in the younger U13 boys’ race. The Northumbrian came home in 12:41, 12 seconds ahead of Tynedale’s Arthur Darling with William Handyside (Gosforth) another five seconds back in third place. Unfortunately, the Newcastle athlete was disqualified for running from the wrong pack which moved Tynedale’s Wilfred Pugh up into third place. 

Fastest on the course once again was Noah Williamson (NE Project) who finished with an actual time of 11:57 after moving through the field to finish in seventh place from a 1min 40sec handicap. Tynedale, with their three scorers finishing inside the top 10, were comfortable winners of the team race with Alnwick in second place just ahead of Tyne ridge. 

It was another celebration for the Alnwick club as Emilia Waugh strolled to victory in the under-13 girls contest to break the tape (13:48) well clear of North Shields Poly’s Eilidh Dotchin with Derwentside’s Sophie Cheetham holding off fast-finishing Niamh Phillipson (Birtley) to claim the bronze award. However, the Birtley athlete was the overall quickest on the course posting an actual time of 13:13 after giving away a 1:40 start to the leading trio. Tyne Bridge, led home by seventh-placed Anna Carr, won the team section ahead of Gateshead and Elswick. 

The under-15 Boys event was won by Durham City’s William Jardine, who held off Alnwick’s Harry Knox by 15 seconds to claim the gold medal. Jack Hendry (Gateshead) finished in third place just ahead of North Shields Poly’s Charlie Furness. Morpeth’s Oliver Calvert, who was a Junior GNR winner the previous day, posted the fastest overall time of the day of 10:41 on his way to finishing in fifth position. Jardine led the tangerines to team victory with Morpeth finishing second and Gateshead third. 

An exciting contest developed in the under-15 girls race with North Shields Poly’s Anna Johnson (13:29) getting the verdict by five seconds over Esme Pugh (Tynedale) with Blyth’s Niamh Adams just three seconds further adrift in third place. Chasing them home all the way to the line were fast pack runners Zara Jones (Darlington) and Gosforth’s Annie Hutchinson who finished in fourth and fifth places respectively after recording the two quickest times of the day of 12:29 and 12:33. Johnson led the Poly to team success by just two points over Tynedale with Durham City finishing in third place. 

The under-17 men’s near-three-mile contest went the way of Blaydon’s James Grey (16:54) who was always in the driving seat from the gun. Wallsend’s Hugh Fenwick finished runner-up 11 seconds behind with Durham City’s Sam Mason completing the podium placings. William De Vere-Owen, a member of Morpeth’s bronze-winning trio at the ERRA National Road Relay Championships at Sutton Park 48 hours earlier, showed no signs of weariness to weave his way through to finish in fourth place with the fastest time of the day of 15:22 from a handicap of 2min 30secs. De Vere-Owen led Morpeth to team victory ahead of Gosforth and Durham City. 

In the combined under-17/20 women’s race over the same distance as the men proved to be a success for Charlotte Dillon which gave Durham City their fourth individual title of the day. Dillon, who missed out on lining up in the Junior GNR in preference of the GNR 5k where she finished in second place, quickly reeled in her rivals from 1min 15 secs handicap and proceeded to go on and win in 18:46 – actual time 17:31 – with Newcastle University’s Marianne Doherty finishing in second place ahead of Gosforth’s Emma Ashman. North Shields Poly’s Holly Waugh was quickest from the fast pack moving through to finish in 10th place with an actual time of 17:46. Ashman led Gosforth to team victory with North Shields Poly finishing in second place relegating Gateshead into third spot on countback. 

**THANKS once again go to Blyth Running Club for hosting another well-drilled harrier league fixture at Druridge Bay. Always a testing course which was made a bit easier by the enthusiastic marshalls throughout the day. Thanks also go to the technical officials, the first aiders and, of course, to the chuck waggon personnel! 

The HL bandwagon moves on to the Lambton Estate for the next fixture at the end of the month - will there be any mud? - but before that the next cross-country event is the NECAA’s Cross-Country Relay Championships at Thornley Hall Farm this coming Saturday. Good luck to all those taking part.

Report by Bill McGuirk

Photos: Stuart Whitman Phtography

Full Results: http://www.harrierleague.com/results/2022-23/

NEHL 2022-23 Fixture 2: Druridge Bay

 NEHL 2022-23 Fixture 2: Druridge Bay

Hi all, the 2nd Start Fitness North Eastern Harrier League 2022/23 fixture is this SUNDAY, at DRURIDGE BAY COUNTRY PARK. Start times are usual:

12.00 Under 11 Boys

12.05 Under 11 Girls

12.15 Under 17 men

12.20 U17 and U20 women

12.35 Under 15 Boys

12.40 Under 15 Girls

12:50 Under 13 boys

12:55 Under 13 girls

13.05 Senior & veteran women

13:50 Senior & veteran Men

TRAVEL & PARKING

Post code is NE61 5BX, access via the A1068. The host club have managed to get the approach road closed via traffic management so there should hopefully be no congestion on the A1068.

PARKING FEE IS £2. PLEASE HAVE CASH READY. YOU WILL BE DIRECTED TO PARKING ONCE IN THE COUNTRY PARK AND THERE WILL BE A ONE WAY SYSTEM IN OPERATION.

Many thanks to Blyth Running Club for organising and hosting the fixture.

Wishing all an enjoyable and successful event.

Cheers

Guests may run in the league at a cost of £5 for the whole season. This is a one off charge. They must register on the day, and let us know if they competed last season (and if they did we can check the pack).

Guests must be members of a EA or SA, or similar affiliated club.

Second Claim runners may not count for team points. They can either run for their first claim club as a guest, or if they come and register on the day they can take part as a non-counting runner in their second claim vest.

Guests & Second claim runners do not accumulate team points, but do get individual grand prix points.

Race HQ will be at the all new singing and dancing NEHL Tent next at the start area.

Reminder to ALL competitors. We do not split race packs. Your team manager needs to collect and pay for your team entries. I have a list of who owes what, we will not take individual numbers out of the packs, we are far too busy. Find out who your team manager is and make sure they have a cheque or cash with them to cover the club's entry fees.

Costs are £50 + £3 per runner for clubs

£5 for guests

If by some unknown reason you manage to lose your number on the day after you've collected it from your team tent, you can buy a new one for £5. I know it sounds daft, but it has happened before.



Quick reminder of the rules.

You must start in the pack you have been allocated. (You will be DQd for running from the wrong pack)

You must wear your club's team vest or t-shirt, and all vests must be of the same design (or you will be DQd & won't count for team points)

As per league rules you CANNOT wear headphones

Age restrictions as follows:

Under 11 - must be aged at least 9 on the day of competition
Under 13 - must be 11 on 31st August 2022.  
Under 15 - must be 13 on 31st August 2022.
Under 17 men - must be 15 on 31st August 2022.
Under 17 & 20 women - must be 15 on 31st August 2022.
Senior Men - must be 17 on 31st August 2022.
Senior Women - must be 20 on 31st August 2022.

Masters men aged 65 may (if they wish) run in the 2 lap Senior Women's race, they register as per normal in the men's race, then come to race hq for a replacement number.  Masters wishing to do this must stay in the 2 lap race all season.

Results will be available on the usual link : http://www.harrierleague.com/results/2022-23/