Intercounties XC Report

LOUGHBOROUGH

HALL THE HARD WORK PAYS OFF HANDSOMELY FOR STEWY AND LYNN AT PRESTWOLD

ANOTHER muddy marvellous day for the region’s athletes competing in the British Athletics Inter-Counties Cross-Country Championships at Prestwold Hall, Loughborough. 

And, capping a fine overall performance, on the final event of the 10-race programme the North Eastern Counties senior men’s squad claimed an unexpected gold medal after team manager Stewy Bell had to bring in three athletes due to late withdrawals from the original line-up.

While topping the podium came as a huge surprise it was equally so for the senior women who claimed third-place earlier in the day led home by bronze-medallist Philippa Williams. 

That came about despite team manager Lynn Cooper losing both Sonia Samuels and Philippa Stone, first and second in the North Eastern XC Championships!

In the age group races Middlesbrough Mandale’s Josh Cowperthwaite finished runner-up in the under-20 men’s contest while Birtley’s Chris Perkins did likewise in the under-15 boys event.

As well as the medal winners there were many other fine performances throughout the day which augurs well for cross-country running here in the North East.

UNDER-20 MEN (8km)

THE first event of the day saw junior international Josh Cowperthwaite (Middlesbrough Mandale) set the standard for the region by finishing runner-up behind Kent’s Matthew Stonier. Josh, who finished in third place last year, was always in contention at the head of affairs forcing the pace along, not afraid of taking up the running. However, going into the final kilometre the South of England champion managed to ease ahead to claim victory by seven seconds. Josh finished a clear second a similar distance ahead of Henry McLuckie (Hampshire).

Next home for the NE was Morpeth’s Ross Charlton, a recipient of a recent Sport Newcastle Award for his tri-athlete exploits, who had a superb run to finish in 20^th place out of a near 200-strong field. Ross’ Morpeth team-mates Daniel Melling and Daniel Dixon made up the team’s scoring four in 31^st and 38^th place respectively, Daniel Melling getting his pace right on this occasion. 

u20 men - Josh Coweperthwaite

Unfortunately, the team finished just outside the medals in fourth spot just nine points off a podium place. The team’s non-scorers were: 77 Daniel Currie (Middlesbrough Mandale); 81 Josh Fiddaman (Blyth); 129 Daniel Buffham (Morpeth).

UNDER-13 GIRLS (3km)

OVER 300 athletes faced the starter with Middlesbrough Mandale’s Eden Creasey the pick of the North East team. The Teessider, runner-up in the Northern XC Championships and seventh in the National, finished in 15^th place. NE Counties champion, Darlington’s Zara Jones, was next home for the region finishing in 31^st position, five places ahead of Durham City’s Charlotte Dillon. Billingham Marsh House’s Sophie Quinn, one of the youngest in the race, completed the scoring quartet in 36^th place. Once again, the total of 139 points was only good enough for fourth place in the team section out of the 40 counties who closed in. The team’s non-scorers were: 147 Annabel Milburn (Gateshead); 174 Annie Hutchinson (Gosforth); 178 Poppy Wilde (Elswick); 208 Poppy Old (Elswick).

U13 girls - Eden Creasey

SENIOR WOMEN (10km)

THE 300-strong field faced 10 kilometres for the first time bringing the distance in line with the men and it was the North East’s Philippa Williams who led the charge in the early stages with two-time European XC Championship runner-up Kate Avery (Shildon) also in contention in the leading group. Philippa, a former Elswick athlete and making her county debut as a senior, now competes for Sheffield RC but has NE qualification due to birth, kept pushing the pace on until she slipped back in the closing stages to finish in third place. 

It was an excellent performance by Philippa who has gained numerous representative honours as a fell runner as well as winning the Sunderland Half-Marathon (76:41) last year, was suited by the tough Loughborough conditions. Kate, meanwhile, one of the pre-race favourites, was quick to congratulate her NE team-mate after crossing the line in fifth position exactly a minute behind the bronze medallist. While disappointed with her performance Kate still came out on top of the British Cross Challenge earning a nice cheque for her outings over the season.

Morpeth’s Catriona McDonald, opting to represent the NE rather than her native Scottish region, was next home in 41^st place – 106^th last year - with Darlington’s Hannah Plaschkes next in 55^th. Gateshead’s Gillian Manford, like Hannah, making her senior debut in the Inter-counties, was next home in 68^th place with Jarrow and Hebburn’s Georgia Campbell closing in the six-to-score team race in 74^th spot. It was time for celebration when the team realised they had totalled 246 points which earned them third place on the podium. The team’s non-scorers were: 103 Amy Fuller (Elswick). Unfortunately, Heaton’s Danielle Smythe pulled out injured when going well.

(The distance ran turned out to be well over 11k)

Senior Women individual winners

North East Senior Women @ the finish

North East Senior Women - Team Bronze 

UNDER-15 BOYS (4km)

BIRTLEY’S Chris Perkins completed a full set of medals with a superb second place behind big rival, Suffolk’s Lewis Sullivan. Having won the Northern and finished third in the National Chris added a silver medal to his collection with a determined effort that saw him come home just eight seconds behind the winner. 

It was a great effort by the youngster making up for the disappointment of two years ago when he just missed out on a podium place in the under-13 age group after crossing the line in fourth position. 

Next home for the region was Morpeth’s Ryan Davies in 29^th place followed by Blaydon’s Will Collinson (45^th) with Josh Blevins (North Shields Poly) completing the scoring four a further two places back. Totalling 123 points it was another fourth place finish for the NE! The team’s non-scorers were: 59 Joe Dixon (Morpeth); 86 Tom Slane (Blackhill); 100 Oliver Douglas (North Shields Poly); 199 Zak Old (North Shields Poly).

North East U15 - Chris Perkins

Chris Perkins - individual Silver

UNDER-17 WOMEN (5km)

GATESHEAD’S Ines Curran was first home for the NE finishing in 44^th place. Houghton’s Anna Pigford was second counter for the team in 52^nd position with Emily Chong (Chester-le-Street) 84^th and Tess Graham (Birtley) 98^th completing the scoring quartet for 12^th place in the team section. The team’s non-scorers were: 132 Kate Salthouse (Tynedale); 151 Amy Leonard (Houghton); 179 Rebecca Wren (Tynedale); 245 Amy Ellis (Gosforth). Middlesbrough Mandale’s Betty Bergstrand finished 46^th.

North East U17 women's team

UNDER-17 MEN (6km)

ARCHIE LOWE (Middlesbrough Mandale) made a brave effort to make it onto the podium but missed out by a matter of just 11 seconds. The Teessider was in contention throughout but at the end of a grueling encounter Archie had to be content with fourth place, a disappointing position to finish after working so hard. Gateshead’s Ethan McGlen showed a good return to form to finish next counter in 21^st place with team-mate Charlie Daley next home for the NE in 53^rd place followed by recently-crowned 3,000m indoor champion, Henry Johnson (Houghton) in 61^st place. The team total of 139 points slotted the NE into seventh place. The team’s non-scorers were: 66 Rowan Bennett (Morpeth); 91 Dylan Gooding (Morpeth); 96 Will Bellamy (Houghton); 102 John Russell (Darlington). Gateshead’s David Race finished 67^th.

U17 men - Archie Lowe

UNDER-13 BOYS (3k)

IT certainly was a baptism of fire for the region’s youngest, most of whom were competing on the biggest cross-country stage ever. Perhaps many of the team were overcome by the occasion as North East and Northern champion Alex Bowyer (Darlington) could only finish in 51^st place. Second counter for the NE was Gateshead’s Theo Dragoi in 95^th position. Gateshead’s Matthew Das and Harry Lyons (Darlington) closed in the scoring four in 132^nd and 141st places respectively. The team finished 24^th. The team’s non-scorers were: 163 Oliver Tomlinson (Morpeth); 214 Matthew Downs (New Marske); 219 Ethan Marron (Middlesbrough Mandale); 249 Zac Brannon (North Shields Poly).

UNDER-20 WOMEN (6km)

IN her first year as an under-20 Gateshead’s Chloe Wellings ran superbly to finish 17^th and first counter for the NE which reflects a huge improvement on last year’s run as an under-17 where she finished 93^rd and out of the team’s scoring four. Houghton’s Eva Hardie was next home for the NE in 55^th place followed by Amy Baker (Gateshead) in 63^rd position. Birtley’s Eve Southern closed in the scoring quartet in 87^th spot to give the team a total points score of 222 for ninth place. The team’s non-scorers were: 97 Laura Havis (Middlesbrough Mandale); 104 Eve Quinn (Sunderland); 120 Kirsty Duffin (Morpeth).

UNDER-15 GIRLS (4km)

THE course had cut up badly with long muddy patches in evidence for the penultimate race of the day and it was Alnwick’s Millie Breese who led the region’s charge to finish in 32^nd place exactly a minute adrift of a podium place. Houghton’s Erin Keeler-Clarke was next home in 48^th position followed by Birtley’s Katie Francis in 57^th place with Darlington’s Marissa Boon closing in the team in 70^th position to give the team a total of 207 points for 11^th place. The team’s non-scorers were: 79 Abigail Leiper (Morpeth); 91 Jessica Milburn (Gateshead); 125 Lucy Scothern (Chester-le-Street); 200 Holly Waugh (North Shields Poly).

SENIOR MEN (10km)

IT’S always nice to end the day on a high and that certainly was the way it turned out for the team and the many supporters who had stayed behind to give the athletes their support. The squad’s chances of making it onto the podium were badly hit by three withdrawals from the original nine. However, the rookies who came in did a superb job in backing up the regulars in the team. With newly-crowned National champion Callum Johnson (Gateshead) in the team anything could happen and it certainly did. Callum had been under the weather leading up to the race and it wasn’t until 48 hours before the off that he gave the team management the nod that he would definitely be on the start line. 

Once the race got underway Callum could be seen just off the leading bunch of five or six. It was always going to be a big ask for a repeat of his Nottingham performance but the Geordie boy is made of strong stuff and while at times he looked to be struggling he managed to keep focused to cross the finish line in pain in a remarkable fifth place. It was a position he accepted as OK at the finish after admitting that he was never comfortable throughout the contest. It was a great performance considering he had had an overnight stay in hospital just six days prior to the race. While finishing fifth may be a disappointment after his National victory Callum managed to stay upbeat especially after hearing that the team had won the team title.

Backing up Callum for a memorable victory were five athletes from five different clubs around the region. After a lean time through injury Carl Smith (Tyne Bridge) showed a return to form after moving steadily through the field to finish in 30^th place. Following him across the line two places behind was the find-of-the-season Liam Aldridge of Billingham Marsh House who was making his first appearance in the county team. It was also a first senior appearance for Houghton’s Cameron Allen and he certainly didn’t disappoint with a 34^th place finish. While the team lined up with a number of new members, Middlesbrough and Cleveland’s Greg Jayasuriya has been a regular in the squad for a number of years and by finishing in 42^nd place and fifth counter he was to mount the top of the podium for a third time. I was nervously counting the runners home waiting for the last scorer to come into view and I hadn’t to wait long for David Green (North Shields Poly) to come into view and while he was outsprinted by a couple of athletes in the run to the line he eventually crossed the mat in an excellent 60^th place. 

A quick calculation saw the North East close in with a total of 203 points. Was it going to be enough to give the team a medal chance? It certainly was. For within minutes it was announced that in third place was Sussex with 256 points. Second was Yorkshire on 221 points with the NE claiming the title once again after missing out in the previous two years. 

While the scoring six did a magnificent job so did the back-up trio of Michael Hedley (Tyne Bridge), Alex Brown (Morpeth) and Gateshead’s Conrad Franks. Michael, in his county debut, finished 97^th, Alex, on his senior debut was 122^nd while county regular Conrad finished 137^th. Just to show how strong the region is at present Houghton’s Luke Pickering, in his first year as a senior, finished in 49^th place.

North East Senior Men @ the finish

North East Senior Men - Team Gold

The superb day overall could not have happened if it were not for the tiresome work of the backroom team. Men’s team manager Stewy Bell and his new assistant Albert James were naturally delighted with the day’s results as were women’s team manager Lynn Cooper and her new assistant Bernadette Caygill. Well done to them all and to all the parents and supporters who got behind every NE competitor whether at the sharp end or not. The journey home was a joy after all that and just to add a sprinkling of gold dust to the day Newcastle managed to hammer Southampton for a badly-needed three points!

Bill McGuirk
NEHL Reporter

Photos - Vicki Thompson, Dave Woodhead
Video - Mark Hookway

Full results here

NEHL Alnwick Castle - Report

MAGICAL DAY FOR THE WIZARDS OF WALLSEND

AFTER a number of false starts the Start Fitness North East Harrier League eventually got back on track with the annual fixture hosted by Alnwick Harriers under the beautiful backdrop of Alnwick Castle.

And it turned out to be welcome return to action for around 1,000 eager competitors relishing the challenge of the Northumberland hills, strong winds, an occasional heavy shower and, of course, the inevitable mud patches though they were no way near the conditions for those who lined up in the National the previous weekend in Nottingham.

While there was plenty to smile about at the end of the day – plenty celebration cakes as well - for Wallsend Harriers it was exceptional for first home in the senior women’s race was Alex Hemsley while Sam Charlton showed a clean pair of heels to his rivals to come out on top in the senior men’s contest which meant a double celebration at the end of the day for the green and golds.

SENIOR WOMEN

Alex Hemsley defied logic by leading throughout the five-mile contest in what was her Harrier League debut. At one stage the Wallsend athlete resembled a scared rabbit as she took an early lead which she extended with every stride and by the midway stage was nearly a minute clear of Heaton’s Rachel Barnes with Alnwick’s Lisa Baston following behind just ahead of Ponteland’s Ray Smedley. Going out into the country for the final time Alex showed no signs of giving up the advantage though the leading medium and fast pack runners were making inroads into her lead. However, the advantage was too great for her to be caught and at the finish she had extended her lead to nearly a minute-and-a-half over Rachel as Alex’s team-mate Jennifer Berry had worked her way into third place running from the medium pack as fast-pack runner Danielle Smythe (Heaton) followed her home in fourth place from the fast pack to post the quickest time of the day.

Morpeth, led by Jane Hodgson in fifth place, won the Division One team race ahead of Heaton and Tyne Bridge while Wallsend, bidding to reclaim a top division place for next season, topped the Division Two scorings ahead of Durham City and Jesmond Joggers. Newcastle University won the Division Three team race followed by Ponteland Runners and Claremont.

SENIOR MEN

Three 2.8-mile laps faced the 350-strong field and it was Newcastle University’s Jack Douglas who quickly opened up a significant advantage on the first circuit and when he crossed the starting point to go out for a second time he had a 12-second cushion over Sunderland pair Nathan Reed and Michael Edwards who were determined to keep the Wearsiders’ title challenge on track. Birtley’s Andrew Beevers was next followed by Durham City’s Will Lindsey, all five taking advantage of the two-and-a-half and five minutes start respectively over the chasing medium and fast packs.

Things changed slightly as the athletes came into view for a second time before setting off on the final lap. Wallsend’s Sam Charlton, running from the medium pack, had eased into the lead by a few metres with Douglas in a comfortable second place ahead of the Sunderland duo who were still running shoulder-to-shoulder in third and fourth, Beevers was fifth and Lindsay sixth as Newcastle University’s Chris Larkin was cutting through the handicap from the fast pack just outside the top 20.

On the final lap Charlton, who was having his first cross-country race – his first as a senior athlete - since the North Eastern Counties Championships upped the tempo all the way to the finish to ease across the line over a minute-and-a-half ahead of Douglas as Reed eventually got the better of team-mate Edwards to claim the third-place award. Claremont’s Kris Axon, running from the medium pack, finished fifth with Charlton’s university team-mate Larkin, winner at Aykley Heads before Christmas, completing the top six. Charlton proved to be the fastest on the course with Larkin second quickest with Gateshead’s Conrad Franks next fastest after working his way through the field to finish in 10^th place.

Charlton, who last year swept the board both locally and nationally, at under-17 level was pleased with his performance as he bids to retain his English Schools’ title in Liverpool in two week’s time.

“I have to be happy with that for I didn’t really know what to expect after being out injured since the North Easterns,’’ said Charlton immediately after the race. “I’ve had to miss out all of the championship races this winter due to a knee injury but thankfully, things are looking much better now. The plan was to go hard on the first lap, ease off on the second, then, if everything was ok, push on again on the third lap. I think I got carried away a bit on the second lap but everything is coming together before defending my schools’ title after missing out on so much training that is logically the one to go for as it gives me the most time to get as close to 100% fit as possible.’’

Sunderland duly won the Division One team race ahead of Wallsend with Gateshead in third place while Gosforth came out on top in Division Two ahead of Birtley and Ponteland as Houghton led the way in Division Three ahead of Jesmond Joggers and Blyth.

AGE GROUP RACES

UNDER-17/20 WOMEN

Tess Graham (Birtley) and Blaydon’s Cecilia Reid worked their way through the field from the medium pack to claim first and second places respectively with Tess getting the verdict by four seconds. The pair were followed home by Morpeth’s Sophie Coaker and Elswick’s Emily Allison. The leading four finishers were all contesting the younger age group while Chester-le-Street’s Ella Duffield, who finished in fifth place, was the leading under-20. In a tight team race, Blaydon came out on top by finishing just one point ahead of Elswick with Morpeth a close up third.

UNDER-17 MEN

Morpeth’s Dylan Gooding led throughout to claim a comfortable victory running from the slow pack. Gateshead’s Jack Garrett held second place before being caught in the closing stages by Houghton’s Samuel Gibson, who, after giving 2min 5sec start away, was rewarded with the fastest time of the day. Garrett held onto third place finishing just four seconds ahead of Sunderland’s Alexander Seed who just held off the fast-finishing Dylan Davies (Morpeth) who was rewarded with the second fastest figures behind Gibson. Gooding led Morpeth to team victory finishing ahead of Houghton and Sunderland.

UNDER-15 GIRLS

Birtley’s Katie Francis defied a 1min 40sec handicap to wind her way through the field to finish in pole position. Alnwick’s Ellie Price was a long-time leader but was caught close to home so had to settle for the runners-up award. Gosforth’s Alice Lewis finished third with Millie Breese (Alnwick), with the second fastest time of the day, crossing the line in fourth position. Alnwick won the team contest finishing comfortably ahead of Blackhill Bounders and Birtley.

UNDER-15 BOYS

Chris Perkins bounced back in the most positive way after his third place in last weekend’s National Championships in Nottingham. The Birtley athlete, like team-mate Kate Francis, defied a 1min 40sec penalty to come home in pole position. Unfortunately, Matthew Burton (South Shields) who had led for most of the way, was disqualified for having run from the wrong pack. Blaydon’s Joseph Lonergan crossed the line in third place closely followed by Morpeth’s Ryan Davies who was rewarded with the second fastest time of the day behind Perkins. Morpeth won the team race finishing ahead of Gosforth and Sunderland.

UNDER-13 GIRLS

The first seven home all defied a 1min 40sec handicap with victory going to Durham City’s Charlotte Dillon who won comfortably by 45 seconds to finish ahead of Billingham Marsh House’s Sophie Quinn with Elswick’s Poppy Wilde crossing the line in third place a further 11 seconds adrift. Gateshead came out on top in the team race with Gosforth second and Elswick third.

UNDER-13 BOYS

The first three home took advantage of a 1min 40sec start to claim the awards. Victory went to Durham City’s William Jardine who finished 25 seconds clear of Houghton’s Thomas Pigford with Sam Livingstone (Morpeth) a further 31 seconds behind in third place. Fastest on the course was Gateshead’s Theo Dragoi who managed to weave his way through the field to finish in fourth place. Morpeth came out on top in the team stakes finishing ahead of Gateshead and Birtley.

UNDER-11

Once again the ‘Try Cross-Country’ runs are proving extremely popular with 47 lining up in the girls event and 56 in the boys contest. In the girls competition it proved to be the closest race of the day with the timing system unable to split Millie Moat (Gosforth) and Durham City’s Grace Carter with the judges deciding that Millie was fractionally ahead at the line. Blyth’s Niamh Adams led the charge for third place just four seconds behind the leading duo.

It was a similar situation in the boys race with the leading pair, Gateshead’s Alex Lienard and Rob Walton (Morpeth) both being given the same time as they crossed the line. Once again a difficult decision for the judges but Alex was given the verdict as Birtley’s Noah Williamson claimed the third place medal.

*Grateful thanks go to Alnwick Harriers for going about in their unflappable way to give competitors the chance of a great day’s sport. On the back of hosting the North Eastern Counties XC  Championships in December once again everyone involved did a superb job.

Bill McGuirk
NEHL Reporter

Photos: Stuart Whitman, Emily James, John Geddes, Paul Dixon

Results available at harrierleague.com

NEHL Lambton Estate 14th March 2020

NEHL Lambton Estate - 14th March 2020

POSTCODE NE38 9JD - Big stone gate opposite Forest Drive

UPDATE RE: COVID19 Virus

Hi all, as you'll be aware there is a daily changing situation regarding COVID 19 and sporting events. Just to let you aware that we have had contact with the landowners (copied a section of our e-mail with Lambton Estate at the end of this notice for transparency). At the moment the plan is that the event to will go ahead, but obviously we would ask folks to take due care along recommendations regarding hand hygeine (disinfectant gel/cream is available at all the toilets), but also take due care to minimise any droplet spread (a bit difficult in our sport).

See below re our position as agreed with the landowners

Yes, I had been thinking about this myself. A number of issues in the light of no real firm steer from government or sport governing bodies (UK Athletics for us) regarding COVID 19. Having said that the FA response of banning handshakes prior to games was a bit bizarre in terms of it being a contact sport in any event, with players in very close proximity to each other exposed to droplet spread etc. From data I've accessed, as of 9am on 10 March 2020, 26,261 people have been tested in the UK, of which 25,888 were confirmed negative and 373 were confirmed as positive. Six patients who tested positive for COVID-19 have died. There have been 24 cases identified in the NE & Yorkshire region. Risk has been raised from low to moderate but this doesn't seem to have impacted on any change in strategy in terms of behviour.

Pro's and con's as I see it at the moment. Cross country isn't a contact sport (no intentional contact anyway) but does involve people running / physical exertion close to each other. In addition with the tents etc there will be a lot of people in close proximity to each other, but no more so than if anyone went e.g. shopping on a Saturday afternoon.The toilets are cubicles and all have a good supply of paper (tissue use as well) and also disinfectant hand gel / cream. The number of deaths recorded so far in the UK have been attributable with people who have co-morbidities and therefore more susceptible. The folks that participate in our events a) are generally in good health a requirement bearing in mind the nature of cross country and b) do so at their own risk to a certain degree.

On a lighter note an updated course map. I'd describe the course as being of 'varied terrain'. We can't get away from short stretch of narrow road (with good grass verge either side - similar to Temple Park). The rest varies from some fairly firm ground to some very soft / wet areas with a natural obstacle (fallen tree) to negotiate at one point although the gamekeeper may have moved - general consensus last weekend was to leave it if possible (but its their land). Lots of nice views, very scenic. Obviously will keep you posted re the situation re COVID 19

John Stephens
NEHL Sec.

Lambton Estate is the historical seat of the Earl of Durham, and you lucky cross country runners are going to get the chance to take part in the very first North Eastern Harrier League event to be held in the castle grounds.

Find out more about the estate at: LambtonEstates.com

GETTING THERE -  POSTCODE OF EVENT NE38 9JD - Entrance is opposite Forest Drive
The entrance we're using is off Bonemill Lane.  It will be signposted.  Please follow marshals instructions and have £4 ready for parking.  Entrance on Bonemill Lane near Picktree, signposted Lambton Castle.

The route has been finalised and we're happy to report that the car parking is on hard standing, so we shouldn't have any vehicles stuck on fields.

Please see map below for car parking, tent city, toilets etc.  The route takes in great views of the castle and estate and we hope you'll really enjoy the course.

Lambton Course Map

Lambton small lap .09 mile

Lambton Large Lap - 2 miles

Link to gmaps version of the large lap here

REGISTRATION. In the NEHL tent near the finish.

TOILETS AND REFRESHMENTS. There are portable toilets available, please use them.  Don't pee in the bushes next to the tents, parking, or the start-finish area.  Our officials don't need to see that.

CLUB TENTS. There is ample space for club tents beside the parking, opposite the course.  Follow marshal’s directions

COURSE. Mostly woods. Hills.

There could be mud!

PLEASE DO NOT WARM UP ON THE COURSE. Use the next to tent city to warm up in (where the tents and cars are), it is massive.  The course is very narrow in places, your club will be penalised if you warm up while events are taking place.

PLEASE TAKE YOUR RUBBISH HOME. Thank you.

RACE ORDER & TIMES for this season

Start Fitness North Eastern Harrier League

Lambton Estate

1200 U11 - Boys U11 lap
1205 U11 - Girls U11 lap
1215 U17 Men - 1 x short lap followed by 1 x large lap
1220 U17 / U20Women - 1 x short lap followed by 1 x large lap
1235 U15 - Boys 1 large lap
1240 U15 - Girls 1 large lap
1250 U13 - Boys 1 large lap
1255 U13 - Girls 1 large lap
1305 Sen & Vet Women - 2 x large laps
1350 Sen & Vet Men - 3 x large laps

Age restrictions as follows:

Under 11 - must be age 9 on the day of competition
Under 13 - must be 11 on 31st August 2019.  U11s turning 11 during the season may move up to the U13s
Under 15 - must be 13 on 31st August 2019.
Under 17 men - must be 15 on 31st August 2019.
Under 17 & 20 women - must be 15 on 31st August 2019.
Senior Men - must be 17 on 31st August 2019.
Senior Women - must be 20 on 31st August 2019.

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.

English National Cross Country Report

MUDDY GREAT WAY TO END THE DAY

WHAT a way to end a special day. Those who made the trip to Nottingham’s Wollaton Park, and there were many athletes and spectators from the North East who did, for the English National Cross-Country Championships were rewarded with one of the finest performances by a local senior athlete for many a year. The last time the region celebrated senior success was in 2001 when World Championship representative and former Chester-le-Street athlete Michael Openshaw claimed the title at Durham running in the colours of Birchfield Harriers.

Nineteen years is a long, lean time but it finally came to an end when Calum Johnson, who, incidentally, had to be content with second place in the North Eastern Counties Championships in Alnwick just before Christmas, destroyed the 2,000-strong field after producing a devastating last lap which finally pushed back the last of the challenges.

It was a pleasure to be there as the 25-year-old Gateshead Harrier lifted the treasured trophy adorned with the leading endurance runners’ names from the past, including fellow Gateshead athlete Brendan Foster, who won in 1977 and Elswick Olympic silver medallist Mike McLeod who won two years later.

In pre-race news outlets Johnson didn’t get a mention despite winning the Northern title earlier in the year but he made those writers eat their words as he home to an extremely comfortable 23 seconds victory where, on crossing the line, the smiles on his face quickly disappeared to be replaced by tears of joy!

It was certainly a confident Johnson who set off for a tough three circuits of the undulating park covering 12 kilometres which, after the previous nine races, the course was a quagmire and if that wasn’t enough to deter the most hardy, there were strong winds to contend with as well as a huge log placed strategically on the running line to negotiate!

Carl Avery meanwhile started more conservatively and while Johnson was easily recognisable at the front the Morpeth athlete, who had finished in bronze medal position the previous year, was swamped by a huge group outside the top 20.

At the completion of the first of the three laps it was Leeds City’s Linton Taylor who was forcing the pace with Johnson and Joe Steward (East Cheshire) tacking every move as Avery had dug in well and had moved through into fourth position, albeit around 20 metres adrift of the leading trio.

As the athletes went out into the country for the penultimate time the Yorkshireman’s front-running tactics began to tell and he quickly became detached leaving Just Johnson and Steward to fight it out over the final circuit.

With Taylor gradually slipping back the incentive for Avery was to close him down and hopefully go on to repeat his third-place finish of last year.

He did close him down gradually but at the same time former champion, Adam Hickey managed to pass him midway through the lap at the point when Johnson also made an early bid for victory.

On the steepest section of the course Johnson made his move and it immediately had the desired effect for Steward couldn’t match the slight injection of pace and within no time he quickly became detached. There were still two kilometres of the contest to go but the tri-athlon specialist certainly wasn’t going to leave anything to chance and so it proved for once he came into site he was well clear and only a mishap would deny him the glory. 

So it was a smiling Tynesider who had eased off slightly in the run to the line who broke the tape, the seventh athlete from the region since the first championship was held way back in 1876.  Saltwell’s Jack Potts set the ball rolling in 1931- he also won in 1936 – followed by Elswick Olympian Alex Burns in 1932. Then it was Foster’s turn (1977), then McLeod (1979) then North East-based Dominic Bannister in 1998 followed by Openshaw and now Johnson.

After his success a tearful Johnson had this to say: "I was really confident going into the race after winning the Northern and the muddy course was certainly to my liking and having run here twice before – he was 12^th in 2017 in the senior race and a disappointing fourth in the junior race in 2014 - I had a good idea when to make a move".

“And I have to say the plan worked a dream. I knew I had beaten both Joe and Linton in the Northern’s so I was certainly confident of having the beatings of them again but I wasn’t going to leave it to the last minute and on the second lap I felt I was stronger that Joe on the steep hill at the back of the course so I decided to go then on the final lap. I didn’t push on really quickly but still managed to ease away which is a wonderful feeling knowing that baring an accident victory was in my hands". 

At that stage the biggest problem I had was weaving through the lapped runners for everyone was looking for the best surface which made it extremely difficult but you just had to concentrate and make sure there were no mishaps. I hadn’t looked behind once even though I was getting lots of feedback and lots of support and when Barry Maskell shouted out that I was well clear I did glance behind as I entered the finishing straight just in case he was giving me duff gen and it was then that I knew that I could relax and enjoy the closing stages without any pressure!’’

At the finish zone on the other side of the barriers Johnson quickly met up with mum Heather – more tears – dad Alan, brother Daniel and Maskell and it was a very happy group who eventually made it’s way to the presentation tent.

It was certainly the best way to end a long day of action for Johnson’s gold medal was only the North East’s second award after Birtley’s Chris Perkins had finished in third place in the under-15 boys event, a race which saw the Northern champion push the pace on from the off. In that contest North Shields Poly’s Josh Blevins showed a return to form to finish in ninth position and though the rest of the results for the North East weren’t top drawer the experience gained will do those who lined up the power of good for the future.

Other North East leading finishers included - 

Senior Women: 43 Philippa Stone (Middlesbrough/Mandale); 66 Georgia Campbell (Jarrow and Hebburn). 

Junior Women: 52 Robyn Bennett (Morpeth). 

Under-17 Women: 43 Bethany Bergstrand (Middlesbrough/Mandale); 65 Amy Leonard (Houghton). 

Under-15 Girls: 27 Marissa Boon (Darlington); 44 Abiail Leiper (Morpeth); 45 Katie Francis (Birtley); 53 Katie Lowe (Middlesbrough/Mandale). 

Under-13 Girls: 7 Eden Creasey (Middlesbrough/Mandale); 30 Zara Jones (Darlington); 43 Aoife Bell (Gateshead); 50 Sophie Quinn (BillinghamMHouse).  

Senior Men: 1 Calum Johnson (Gateshead); 5 Carl Avery (Morpeth); 46 Liam Aldridge (Billingham MHouse); 104 Kieran Walker (Middlesbrough/Mandale); 118 David Green (North Shields Poly); 121 Greg Jayasuriya (Middlesbrough and Cleveland). 

Junior Men: 5 Josh Cowperthwaite (Middlesbrough/Mandale); 7 Cameron Allan (Houghton); 30 Ross Charlton (Morpeth); 40 Ben Bergstrand (Middlesbrough/Mandale); 46 Kieran Hedley (Morpeth); 62 Daniel Melling (Morpeth). 

Under-17 Men: 12 Archie Lowe (Middlesbrough/Mandale); 16 Rowan Bennett (Morpeth); 25 Will Bellamy (Houghton); 53 Daniel Payne (Middlesbrough/Mandale); 62 David Race (Gateshead). 

Under-15 Boys: 3 Chris Perkins (Birtley); 9 Josh Blevins (North Shields Poly); 20 Joe Dixon (Morpeth); 32 Will Collinson (Blaydon); 36 Ryan Davies (Morpeth); 53 Brandon Pye (Houghton). 

Under-13 Boys: 75 Theo Dragio (Gateshead); 92 Ben Scantlebury (North Shields Poly).

*I travelled to the National courtesy of North Shields Poly for which I am truly grateful. They were a great bunch to be with and, of course, not a pick of bother which of course as it should be!

Bill McGuirk

NEHL Reporter

Full results available here

Photos courtesy of Adrian Royle & Sport Newcastle