NEHL 2018-19 Individual Grand Prix

As we head towards the final fixture of the 2018-19 Season at Alnwick next month, positions at the top of the individual grand prix are hotting up.

Grand Prix points are awarded for fastest finishing time (taking off the runners handicap to get their actual time).  1st place gets 1000 points, 2nd place 999 points etc. and the best four placings from the six fixtures are used.

This means that although runners at the top of each category at the moment may look in strong positions, they have to check out the folks who have only ran three fixtures and may be waiting in the wings, ready to fly round the Alnwick Pastures course.

All of the GP points for every league runner may be found on the harrier league website, but here are your highlights:

Senior Men
1 Dan Jenkins, Durham City - 3988
2 Adrian Bailes, Birtley - 3985
3 Jordan Bell, Blackhill - 3979
4 Andrew Lawrence, Morpeth - 3978

Contenders:
Jordan Scott, Morpeth - 2996
Conrad Franks, Gateshead - 2988

Masters Men (40+)
1 Carl Chapman, Crook - 3996
2 Kevin Connolly, Gateshead - 3987
3 Chris Auld, Crook - 3985
4 Al Johnson, Gosforth - 3983

Contenders:
Ian Dixon, Sunderland Harriers - 3000
Darren Purvis, Birtley - 2998

Senior Women
1 Emma Holt, Morpeth - 3998
2 Fiona Brannan, Elvet - 3986
3 Rachelle Falloon, Morpeth - 3977

Contenders:
Danielle Hodgkinson, Wallsend - 3000
Catriona McDonald, Morpeth - 2995
Danielle Smythe, Heaton - 2993

Masters Women (35+)
1 Alice Smith, Sunderland Harriers - 3998 (now cannot be caught)
2 Gemma Bradley, Saltwell - 3991
3 Jane Giles, Gateshead - 3985

Contenders:
Joanne Lee, Tynebridge - 2990

U17&20 Women
1 Holly Peck, Morpeth - 3999 (now cannot be caught)
2 Eva Hardie, Houghton - 3993
3 Anna Pigford, Houghton - 3982

Contenders:
Rhian Purves, Gosforth - 2998
Lydia James, Houghton - 2988

U17 Men
1 Daniel Melling, Morpeth - 3995
2 Rowan Bennett, Morpeth - 3989
3 Samuel Gibson, Houghton - 3977
4 Lewis McConnell, Birtley - 3975

Contenders:
Will Bellamy, Houghton - 2996
Josh Fiddaman, Blyth - 2994
Tom Basildon, Morpeth - 2992
Charlie McMillan, Gateshead - 2991

U15 Girls
1 Ines Curran, Gateshead - 3999 (now cannot be caught)
2 Millie Breese, Alnwick - 3992
3 Amy Leonard, Houghton - 3990
4 Katie Francis, Birtley - 3986

Contenders:
Emily Chong, Chester le Street - 2995

U15 Boys
1 Charlie Daley, Tynedale - 3996
2 Euan Duffin, Morpeth - 3992
3 Will Collinson, Blaydon - 3988

Contenders:
Chris Perkins, Birtley - 3000
Josh Blevins, North Shields Poly - 2996

U13 Girls
1 Charlotte Dillon, Durham City - 3996
2 Freya Clarkson, Chester le Street - 3995
3 Alice Lewis, Gosforth - 3993
4 Freya Gibson, Durham - 3991

U13 Boys
1 Tom Slane, Blackhill - 4000 (now cannot be caught)
2 Brandon Pye, Houghton - 3995
3 Bertie Marr, Morpeth - 3992
4 Ryan Davies, Morpeth - 3991

So aside from four runners who cannot be caught now, across all ten categories, it's all to play for at the final fixture.  Look forward to seeing you all at Alnwick Castle!

Cross Country News by Bill McGuirk - NEHL Thornley

NO THORNS IN THE SIDE OF HARDY 1,000 AT THE HALL

HURRICANE Eric just failed to make an appearance but over 1,000 hardy souls did manage to take up the challenge of tackling the region's toughest cross-country course.

After a mud-bath of a venue was forecast it was surprisingly better than expected as the Start Fitness North Eastern Harrier League action returned after a mid-term break for the penultimate fixture of the season.  Thornley Hall Farm was the 'attraction' for the fourth time of asking and while the tough inclines have always brought outbursts of objectives, many of them unprintable, the hardy North East cross-country enthusiasts still returned in their hundreds for another go.

While the junior age group entries were slightly down on previous fixtures at the County Durham location, there was a record turnout of senior men which shows the appetite club athletes' have for a formidable contest.

The senior men's race was the final event on the 10-race programme which was over a 10k distance covering three undulating circuits which included a number of 'slightly' muddy patches.

Once again it was the Division One leaders Morpeth Harriers who had much to celebrate after new recruit Adam Pratt led them home to a comfortable team victory leaving them uncatchable at the head of the table with only the Alnwick Pastures fixture to come early next month.

Adam Pratt

It was Pratt's Morpeth team-mate Phil Winkler who led at the completion of the first circuit having a 50-metre lead with North Shields Poly's David Green a similar distance back in third place with the trio enjoying a two-and-a-half and five-minutes start respectively over the medium and fast pack.

The lead changed midway through the second lap as Pratt, having his first outing in Morpeth's colours since leaving Tynedale Harriers, took over in first place with Winkler relegated into second spot and Green continuing to occupy third place.

All the while the near 500-strong field was concerting up with Marc Fenwick (Tyne Bridge Harriers) moving through menacingly from the mediums and Bristol and West visitor Jarlath McKenna and Jordan Middlesmist (Wallsend Harriers) cutting back their five-minute handicap with every stride.  However, Pratt had no difficulty in keeping his rivals at bay as he came home to a comfortable victory in 35min 21sec, a time which equated to the ninth fastest time of the day.

Winkler came home 35 seconds behind to claim the silver medal with Green taking the third-place honours around a minute further back.  Fenwick just missed out on medal spot finishing in fourth place after recording the fifth fastest time of the day with best figures going to McKenna who moved through superbly to finish fifth with an actual time of 33:01.  Middlemist, meanwhile, with arguably his best-ever performance, finished two places behind McKenna (33:43) and ahead of Inter-Counties representatives Dan Jenkin (Durham City Harriers) and Conrad Franks (Gateshead Harriers).

While the Division One title looks to be in safe hands with Morpeth the battle at the other end of the table could not be tighter with Wallsend, Gosforth and Jarrow and Hebburn on 39, 41 and 42 points respectively battling to finish clear of the two relegation places.
North Shields Poly are home and dry at the top of Division Two after another victory, their fourth of the campaign, with the second promotion spot going to either Birtley, Blaydon or South Shields while four clubs are battling to stave off relegation, Alnwick have 38 points, Sedgefield (40), Low Fell (41) and Saltwell (42).

Crook and Ponteland Runners are already promoted to Division Two for next season.
The senior women's contest over a distance of 6.6k saw 296 finishers which was just a handfull short of the record 302 finishers in 2017 which shows that even our hardy women relish a challenge.

Stephanie Lawrie

Guest runner Stephanie Lawrie of the Victoria Park Glasgow club led throughout the two laps to win by exactly two minutes from Claremont's Hannah Mainprize with Durham City's Amy Etherington, back in action after a lean couple of years, finishing third.
It was Lawrie's, a Newcastle-based doctor, second North East outing having finished fifth in the Davison Shield fixture at Temple Park earlier in the year.

Despite a runaway victory, Lawrie's winning time of 27:42 was only the fourth fastest of the day with county representatives Emma Holt (Morpeth), Danielle Smyth (Heaton) and Catriona MacDonald all posting quicker times from a handicap of four minutes.

Once again Holt, who managed to reel in all her rivals over the same course 12 months ago, posted the fastest time of 25:36 after cutting through the field to finish in fifth place and was quickly followed home one place behind by Smythe (25:42) with MacDonald crossing the line in eighth position in an actual time of 26:35.

Fifth fastest on the on the course was 'super vet' Jane Giles (Gateshead) who finished 11th overall in 27:43.

On the day Elvet Striders won the Division One team race to shake off any signs of relegation while Gateshead, who last won the title in the 2013-14 season, finished in second place and look as though they will claim the title baring a huge mishap.

JUNIOR CONTESTS

AS usual the day opened with the enthusiastic under-11 events and the testing terrain didn't deter 49 boys and 43 girls turning out.

Once again the boys, racing over a distance of a mile, was won by Zac Brannon (North Shields Poly) which kept up his unbeaten sequence having come out on top in all of the previous contests starting at Wrekenton in September followed by successes at Druridge Bay, Gosforth Park, Aykley Heads and Temple Park.

Young Zac, whose winning time was 5:30, was followed home by Morpeth's Oliver Tomlinson (5:42) with Tynedale's Jem Henderson completing in the one-two-three in 5:54.

The girls event was also over a distance of one mile with victory going to Elswick's Poppy Old whose winning time of 6:13 would have placed her 10th in the boys race.

Under 11s start

North Shields Poly had the next three finishers across the line with Catherine Atkinson claiming the silver medal (6:19), Katy Otterson finishing third (6:21) and Jocelyn Black recording the same time in fourth spot.

The under-13s and under-15s all contested one big circuit of 3.3k  with Gateshead's William Wells claiming victory in the under-13 boys contest.  William, receiving a one minute 40 seconds start ahead of the fast pack, held on well keep the chasers at bay to win by 10 seconds.

Morpeth came out top on the team stakes finishing on 22 points with Durham City second (31pts), and Gateshead third with 49.

The 1:40 penalty proved to be no handicap to the top three finishers in the under-13 girls contest who also faced one large circuit.

First across the line was Blackhill's Hanah Bowyer whose actual time was 13:50. Hannah was followed home by Durham City duo Freya Gibson and Charlotte Gibson who recorded 14:01 and 14:11 respectively.

Durham City won the team race finishing with 13 points with Chester-le-Street second on 24 and Gateshead third with 32.

The 1:40 handicap also proved no problem in the under-15 boys event with the top nine finishers all coming from the fast pack.

Birtley's Chris Perkins continued his unbeaten run to win in an actual time of 11:04 with Tynedale's Charlie Daley finishing runner-up in 11:43 and Will Collinson (Blaydon) completing the podium places in 11:59.

Durham City were comfortable winners of the team stakes finishing on 23 points with Morpeth second on 44 and Gosforth third on 48.

The first two home in the under-15 girls 3.3k contest also defied 1:40 penalty with the in-form Millie Breeze (Alnwick) first home in 13:00. Nine seconds behind came Gateshead's Ines Curran with Chester-le-Street's Eve Whitley holding off the rest of the chasing fast pack to finish in third place.

Eve had the distinction of leading Chester-le-Street to team honours after totalling 28 points with Birtley finishing second on 32 and Morpeth a further one point adrift in third place.

The Sun City Tri club were celebrating after Luke Pye came home in pole position in the under-17 men's event.

Receiving a generous 2:30 start for the 5k contest, Luke led throughout to come home in 17:14 followed six seconds later by Blaydon's Callum Trainer with Morpeth's Daniel Melling defying the handicap to work his way through to finish in 17:34 (actual 15:05).

Only two clubs managed to close in the three-to-score team contest with victory going to Blaydon with 22 points and Houghton finishing second on 50 points.

The combined under-17/20 women also raced over 5k and victory went to Morpeth's Holly Peck who defied the same 2:30 handicap to come home in first place after overhauling team-mate Kirsty Duffin and Sunderland's Grace Mackie in the closing stages of the race.  It was a fine run by the winner whose actual time of 17:16 was most impressive.

Second fastest on the course was another Morpeth athlete, Robyn Bennett, who worked her way through the field to finish in fifth place.

Again, only two clubs managed to finish a team with Morpeth coming out on top with just eight points followed by Houghton who totalled 33.

Once again grateful thanks go the accomplished Blackhill Bounders team for hosting the event and especially for erecting and then dismantling the course in the record time; to the marshalls who endured 'strong' winds throughout the afternoon and to the technical officials who helped the event run smoothly and keep to timetable and the admin and results team who once again did a superb job.

Alnwick Pastures is next up for the final fixture of the season, what a venue to bring the curtain down on what has been superb campaign and the league's administrators once again look forward to another huge turnout.


All results may be found at: http://harrierleague.com/results/2018-19/

NEHL - Thornley Hall Farm

North Eastern Harrier League 2018-19 Fixture #5 - Thornley Hall Farm

Getting there

The farm is situated near Wheatley Hill on the A181

Postcode for the farm is: DH6 3LY

ABSOLUTELY NO RIGHT TURN COMING FROM DURHAM A181 you must go down to the roundabout and come back up TO THE SECOND ENTRANCE.

Parking

Important information about parking at Thornley 

PRICE is £2 per car. Please have this ready to ease traffic queues.


Tents MAY be dropped off at the first entrance if the traffic is not to busy otherwise you’ll have to carry them from where you are parked. 

Parking will firstly be on the road within the farm and then on the field.

Course

See course map and race schedule for Saturday at Thornley Hall Farm. Big think you to the landowner John and also Blackhill Bounders for organisation. I believe the forecast is rain, so traditional Thornley conditions look to be in order! 

Refreshments

Hot Hog Heaven will be there again this year serving amazing pulled pork sandwiches £4
Bacon sandwiches £3
Sausage sandwiches £3
Leek n potato soup with a roll £2:50, also tea and coffee £1
We now take card payments 

Race Numbers

As per usual, use your 2018-19 race number, if you have lost it you may buy a replacement at race HQ for £5

Under 11s who have had a birthday may move up to the U13s, but they need a new number (free transfer),  M65s may also transfer to the Ladies 2 lap race, but they also require a new number (also free).

Cross Country News by Bill McGuirk - Northern XC Champs

THE region's athletes were in excellent form at the Northern Athletics Cross-Country Championships were four individual gold and one silver medal together with two sets of gold, one set of silver and two sets of bronze team awards were the order of the day which topped the results of any of the other competing counties.

The championships returned to Pontefract Racecourse after an absence of four years and conditions couldn't have been better which was a bonus for the 300 plus competitors who traveled down the A1 to the Yorkshire venue.

The North East got off to a blistering start with Darlington's India Pentland, the North Eastern Counties champion, winning the under-17 women's 5k, the opening event on the 10-race programme.  

After the initial charge India only had Yorkshire champion Esther Rowe-Towle for company entering the final kilometre but the NE champion proved the stronger before encountering a stiff, short hill leading into the long finishing straight by which point she had opened up a sizeable lead which she extended to eight seconds by the finishing line.

Rowe-Towle (City of Sheffield and Dearne) came home a comfortable second with Vale Royal's Holly Smith completing the one-two-three.
It was a smiling India who commented after receiving her gold medal that she was thoroughly pleased with her performance and that she really enjoyed the course.

In a quick turnaround India was back in the presentation area this time to receive a team silver medal together with team-mates Catherine Roberts (16th), Elena Phillips (50th) Megan Noble who finished 82nd.

Following the Darlington quartet onto the podium was the Houghton foursome of Eva Hardie (24th), Lydia James (27th), Anna Pigford (30th) and Lara Greggs (73rd) who received the bronze medals after totaling 154 points, just five points more than Darlington.

As well as the medalists there were numerous other eye-catching performances including Morpeth's Holly Peck, who finished 12th; Gosforth's Rebecca Wren who was 19th and Chloe Wellings (Gateshead) who was 28th.

Next up was the junior women's 5.7k event and Birtley's Kate Waugh came perilously close to making it to the presentation ceremony. Unfortunately, Kate, who now is one the UK's leading tri-athletes, just missed out after finishing in fourth place.

Kate, who has a remarkable record in the Northern having won the under-13 in 2012; under-15 in 2014 and the under-17 in 2017, was having her first outing over the country since 2017 but despite that it was a gutsy performance after being in a medal position up until the half-way point.

Gosforth's Rhian Purves, Eli Barnbrook (New Marske) and Darlington's Jade Hutchinson also finished inside the top 30 in 15th, 24th and 28th place respectively.

The under-13 girls contest over an extended 3k had a line-up of over 200 with 25 competitors representing North East clubs.  And while individual medals were hard to come by Middlesbrough Mandale had plenty to cheer about as they came out on top in the team section.

The Teessiders were led home by Eden Creasey in fifth place with Zoe Hill (10th), Isabel Herbert (13th) and Emma McNeil backing her up to a gold medal total 50 points, well clear of Rotherham on 103 and Stockport on 129. Blackhill Bounders, led by Hannah Bowyer in 26th place, were the only other NE club to close in, finishing in 19th place.

The under-17 men's 6.37k championship was next to get underway and it proved profitable for the region with Wallsend's Sam Charlton taking the title and Morpeth winning the team section.  Charlton, the NE champion, was always in control as he tracked the leaders in the early stages before making his bid for glory midway through the second of two undulating circuits of the racecourse.

Rossendale's Matthew Mackay finished in bronze medal position, seven seconds adrift of Dickinson.

Gateshead's Charlie McMillan continued his run of improved form to finish in 11th spot with Ross Charlton next athlete from the region in 14th place leading Morpeth to receive the team honours.

Charlton was joined on the podium by team-mates Daniel Melling (21st), Rowan Bennett (24th) and 34th-placed Tom Balsdon.                
                    
Others who figured in the top 50 were Houghton's Henry Johnson, who was 17th, Middlesbrough Mandale's Jake Creasey and Archie Lowe who were 20th and 36th respectively; Tynedale's England 800 metres champion Dan Joyce (44th) and Darlington's Daniel Boyer, who was 45th.

The under-13 boys contest over 3k took the programme to the half-way stage and while the NE missed out on medals there were still plenty to be pleased with.  In a field over over 200 competitors, the region had nine finishers inside the top 40 with Houghton's Brandon Pye leading them home in sixth place followed closely by Gosforth's Ethan Bond one place behind.

Morpeth's Ryan Davies was next home in 10th place quickly followed by Darlington's Alex Boyer (14th) and 15th-placed Tom Slane (Blackhill Bounders).

Darlington's Daniel Richardson finished 21st; Joe Dixon (Morpeth) was 30th; Nathaniel Henderson (Tynedale) was 37th and John Max Murray (Alnwick) finished 40th.

In the team stakes Darlington finished 10th with 237 points and New Marske 15th with 354 points.

Over 200 competitors lined up for the under-15 girls 4k championship with the region well represented by around 40 competitors.

Unfortunately, no one managed to make it onto the podium but, nevertheless, there were still many impressive performances to savour.

Alnwick's Millie Breeze excelled to finish in sixth position, just 10 seconds outside a medal place. Millie was quickly followed across the line by Gateshead's Ines Curran, who was eighth; Birtley's katie Francis in 11th spot and Chester-le-Street's Emily Chong, who was 13th.

Next came Blaydon's Cecilia Reid (23rd); Houghton's Amy Leonard was 25th; Lucy Scothern (Chester-le-Street) was 29th; Lois Creasey (Middlesbrough Mandale) finished 34th; Houghton's Nicole Phillips was 40th and Holly Waugh (North Shields Poly) was 46th. Morpeth's Abigail Leiper and Tynedale's Kate Salthouse also finished inside the top 50 in 48th and 49th place respectively.

Chester-le-Street finished in 10th place in the team section with North Shields Poly 14th and Gosforth 19th.

The under-15 boys championship was also over a distance of 4k and once again, despite some impressive performances, there were no podium placings.

Birtley's Chris Perkins finished nine seconds outside a medal position in fifth place closely followed by Joshua Blevins (North Shields Poly) who was seventh.  Tynedale's Charlie Daley finished 13th and Gateshead's David Race overhauled four or five in the finishing straight to cross the line in 15th position.

Middlesbrough Mandale's Max Creasey finished 20th; Adam Russell (Darlington) was 35th; Ben walker (Morpeth) was 44th with North Shields Poly's Oliver Douglas one place further back.

The under-20 men's championship was next up and it proved a superb triumph for Morpeth's European Championship representative Rory Leonard.

Rory went into the contest as one of the youngest having won the under-17 title 12 months previously. However, it was an old head on a young body that came through strongly to win the 8k championship.

The Northumbrian settled into the leading pack before stamping his authority on the race midway through the second of two circuits.

At the finish 10 seconds was the winning margin with Yorkshire champion Euan Brennan (Ilkley) finishing in second place and Preston's Nathan Dunn completing the medallists.

After crossing the line Rory confessed that it was the most comfortable he had ever felt in a race.

Rory's Morpeth team-mate Alex Brown was next home for the North East finishing seventh, one place ahead of Houghton's Cameron Allen and four places ahead of fellow Morpeth Harrier Kieran Hedley.  Durham City's Luke Pickering was next home in 28th place.

Unfortunately, in the team stakes Morpeth missed out on a medal by the virtue of only having three runners in the four-to-score contest which left Preston, the only club with four athletes, to claim the gold medals.

The penultimate race on the programme was the senior women's championship over the same 8k distance as the junior men and Morpeth were hopeful that Mhairi Maclennan could retain her title that she won 2 months earlier.
It turned out to be a thriller worthy of a championship with a gusty performance if ever there was one by Edinburgh-based Maclennan.

The Scotland-born athlete knew she had been in a battle as she managed to get away from her main rivals in the final 500 metres to come home four seconds clear of Leigh's Lauren Heyes (formerly Howarth) with Blackburn's Jessica Judd, making her debut in the Northern Championships, finishing third a further eight seconds back.
A tired, but jubilant Mhairi confessed after crossing the line it was much tougher race than she had encounter the previous year at Harewood House, Leeds.

Mhairi's Morpeth team-mate Emma Holt was next NE finisher in 24th place followed by county champion Georgia Campbell (31st); former Gosforth athlete Rachel Lundgren was 38th, Catriona Macdonald (Morpeth) 39th; Heaton's Danielle Smythe 40th; Sunderland's Alice Smith 45th and Jarrow and Hebburn's Steph Pattinson 48th.

Morpeth, with 61st laced Gemma Floyd backing up Maclennan, Holt and Macdonald, finished in bronze medal position in the team section behind Leeds City and Rotherham.

With dark clouds overhead the final event of the day, the senior men's 12k contest got underway and again another Morpeth athlete went into the contest as the defending champion.

Carl Avery was determined not to let his title go without a fight and he did his utmost to hang onto his crown.
However, he found one athlete just as determined to claim the gold medal on this occasion and try as he may he just could see off the challenge of Leeds City's Emile Cairess who was having his first taste of senior competition after winning the under-20 championship 12 months earlier.

After the initial charge which saw over 700 face the starter, Carl was quickly in contention and as the race unfolded he and the Yorkshireman were battling it out at the head of affairs.  However, it was the younger Cairess who proved the stronger in the closing stages getting away with the finish line in sight to come home nine seconds clear of the the Northumbrian.

It was a superb contest but on this occasion Avery had to give way to a better athlete on the day but despite that he was still upbeat after moving through to collect his medal.

"There's no doubt he is a talented athlete,'' said Carl before adding, "but I'm still happy with my run though slightly disappointed not to retain my title.''

County champion Greg Jayasuriya (Middlesbrough and Cleveland)  was next home for the region in 23rd place closely followed by fit again Carl Smith of Tyne Bridge.

Birtley's Adrian Bailes finished 35th with Middlesbrough Mandale's Kieran Walker a further two places behind. Gateshead's Conrad Franks and Finn Brodie (Tyne Bridge) both finished inside the top 50 in 42nd and 48th place respectively.

Morpeth were the leading NE team to close in in fifth place (409pts) followed by Gateshead (11th) 703pts; Tyne Bridge (12th) 919pts; Sunderland Strollers (24th) 1,643pts; Gosforth (27th) 1,716pts; Houghton (32nd) 2106pts; Blackhill Bounders (35th) 2,171pts; Sunderland (36th) 2,201pts; Heaton (39th) 2,438pts; South Shields (42nd) 2,555pts; Low Fell (44th) 2,658pts; and Blyth (50th) 2,971.


Congratulations to all the region's athletes who made the trip, whether a medalist or not, taking part in the regional championships is something to be proud of. Well done and good luck to those who will be heading back to Yorkshire in three weeks time to take in the National Championships!


ROLL OF HONOUR

Individual gold
Senior Women: Mhari Maclennan (Morpeth)
Under-17 Women: India Pentland (Darlington)
Under-20 Men: Rory Leonard (Morpeth)
Under-17 Men: Sam Charlton (Wallsend)

Individual silver
Senior Men: Carl Avery (Morpeth)

Team gold
Under-13 Girls: Middlesbrough Mandale
Under-17 Men: Morpeth

Team silver
Under-17 Women: Darlington

Team bronze
Senior Women: Morpeth

Under-17 Women: Houghton

Photos: Adrian Royle & Tony Wood (woodentops.org.uk)

Sherman Cup & Davison Shield Results

Hi Folks,

Results for the weekends first NEHL Fixture of the new year, held at Temple Park on Saturday 5th January may be found on the harrier league website.  Many congrats to all who took part.

Individual winners as follows:

U11 Girls - Poppy Wilde, Elswick Harriers
U11 Boys - Zac Brannon, Morth Shields Poly
U13 Girls - Charlotte Dillon, Durham City
U13 Boys - Tom Slane, Blackhill Bounders
U15 Girls - Katie Francis, Birtley
U15 Boys - Christopher Perkins, Birtley
U17&20 Women - Holly Peck, Morpeth
U17 Men - Will Bellamy, Houghton
Senior Women - Laura Weightman, Morpeth
Senior Men - Carl Smith, Tyne Bridge
Masters Women (35+) - Gemma Floyd, Morpeth
Masters Men (40+) - Robert Walker, Sunderland Harriers

In the team events Morpeth dominated both the cup and the shield finishing with only 10 points in the cup, and 18 points in the shield.

Laura Weightman led from the outset in the senior womens race, comfortably winning in 20:49 ahead of team mate Emma Holt 22:28 across the 3.8 mile course.  With four Morpeth senior women in the top ten, and 3 more masters 35+ women in the top twenty, it was a clear victory in both categories.  Their weakest category was the under 13 girls, finishing 11th overall, but they made up for it in the under 15s (3rd) and under 17&20s (2nd) with Holly Peck recording the individual gold.

The Sherman Cup was an easier victory that the Shield, with Morpeth claiming victory in the first three races, then second in the senior men (behind Tynebridge), and 5th in the masters men, to finish with a 10 point total.

Well done to both teams!

Team medals and the trophies will be presented at NEHL Thornley at the next fixture.

NEHL Temple Park - Sherman Cup & Davison Shield

Hi all.

Happy New Year!

Here is the course map for this weekend's Sherman Cup fixture at Temple Park. Please note parking details as posted by Ashleigh (below). Start times are as usual (see http://www.harrierleague.com/ ), although it may be possible to get Men's event underway at 1345. Look forward to seeing everyone on Saturday. 

GENTLE REMINDER; This is the only event in the Start Fitness North Eastern Harrier League Calendar that is run off scratch - ie NO PACKS, Everyone goes off together in each race.

Make sure that you have on this season's race number, under 11s are yellow, juniors are orange, men are purple, and women are blue.  It will have 2018/19 written on the front, and will have a chip on the back.

Parking is limited so please car share where possible. You will need your change handy as parking is not free inside Temple Park. I think it is 70p but it could have gone up since last year. It is council owned so they will be taking payment, or you can pay at the machine.

Race headquarters is in the foyer of the leisure centre and numbers will be available for collection from 10:30, then on the course from 12:45.  Please arrive in enough time to get parked and collect your number (if you don't have one already).

Postcode for the event is NE34 8QN

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


Are you attending the Start Fitness NEHL race at Temple Park this weekend? If so, post your event photos to Instagram 📸 with #NEHL and TAG our Instagram page @StartFitnessuk in your post to be in with a chance of winning vouchers to spend in store and online!

Cathedral Relays

34th CATHEDRAL CROSS COUNTRY RELAYS

HOSTED BY BIRTLEY AC

INCORPORATING THE NORTH EAST MASTERS ATHLETICS

ASSOCIATION OPEN CROSS COUNTRY RELAYS

(UNDER UKA RULES, permit applied for)

SUNDAY 13th JANUARY 2019 AT LORD LAWSON OF BEAMISH ACADEMY, BIRTLEY, DH3 2LP

TEAMS of 3, 2 laps of 1500m      

ENTRY FEE £15.00 per team

RACE 1 10.00 MASTERS M35-44, M45-54, M55-65, M65+

• All masters must be first claim members of NECAA clubs

RACE 2 11.00 SENIOR WOMEN/MASTERS WOMEN

W35-44, W45-54, W55-64, W65+

RACE 3 11.50 SENIOR MEN

PRIZES: Note only team awards will be presented on the day, full results/individuals later 

Race 1 Winning teams, NEMAA medals to 1st 3 age category teams, Fastest leg awards in 5 year categories, M35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65,70+

Age must be declared on the team declaration form

Race 2 1st 3 Senior Women`s teams, winning masters teams, fastest legs as above + SW

Race 3 1st 3 teams and fastest leg

RACE CONDITIONS: Teams must be declared at least 20 minutes before the start time

Age group prizes will only be awarded in declared master`s teams

Age category must be specified on declaration sheet

First claim runners only

Strict colours rule UKA 143 S1 (3)

Seniors must be 16 years or over on January 13th

The promoters will accept no liability for any loss or damage to equipment and clothing or for any injuries while competing

NB IN GATESHEAD SCHOOLS THERE IS A STRICT NO DOGS POLICY WITHIN SCHOOL GROUNDS.

ONLINE ENTRIES WILL OPEN VIA THE BIRTLEY AC WEBSITE ON MONDAY DECEMBER 17th  birtleyac.co.uk 

CLOSING DATE TO BE CONFIRMED (online entry form) WEEK BEGINNING JANUARY 7th 2019.

PLEASE NOTE IT IS MUCH APPRECIATED THAT BIRTLEY AC HAVE STEPPED IN TO ORGANISE THIS EVENT AT VERY SHORT NOTICE. 

TEAM AWARDS ONLY ON THE DAY.