The big race this week, as the date above alludes to was The Blaydon Race, but more on that later…
First out of the blocks was Hazel Bough with a storming 800 metres in 2:34.6 at the 2nd NEMAA track and field meet of the season. She was first in her category – no mean feat for a newcomer to track racing.
Full results here.
Next was Kim Matthews who donned the Elswick vest for the first time in a little while at the DK Mile Race #3 at Blyth, on Friday 7th June – it’s very nice to see her back in competition. As usual, Kim gave her all in windy conditions and was first in her category, certainly doing the vest proud once again.
We all look forward to a lovely holiday in the Lakes; Ben and Mary Hall certainly do and cracked off a load of lovely Wainwright fell walks then topped it all off with a race with no rest days in between. The Coniston Lakeland Trails Challenge 16K is well named with almost 1400 feet elevation gain to be dealt with.
Ben improved on his previous attempt by over a minute in 1:22:25 – even though it was 1km further! You can’t ask for more than that, well done Ben – 2nd place, only 39 seconds behind the leader.
Turning to Mary Hall, another stunning run over the same course saw her finish in 1:38:06, 45th overall, and 8th woman, and 2nd in her age group.
Full results here.
Chris Smallwood continues to make gains in his 800 metres campaign this season with another 2 seconds off his PB. This time it was at the Northern Athletics Sen & U20 Outdoor Championships in Middlesbrough where he completed the two laps in a rapid time of 2:04.71.
Keep up the good work, Chris.
Full results here.
Now on to one of the favourite road races of the summer for Elswick members, The Blaydon Race.
We always see a big turnout of the legendary Elswick vest for this race, and 2024 didn’t disappoint. We had 51 finishers!
Every single one of our members were superb and should be proud of their achievements.
Some hightlights were Jonathan Rewcastle continuing to shine with his progress coming 63 over the line, Bella Russell doing nicely running in Senior races and showing great determination. It was also nice to see Callum Eldridge back from sea joining us when he can, and also Lee Coulson continuing his tradition of a pint of beer before the start. And then there’s Justina Heslop who had another super race coming in 5th female, 2nd in category, and 111th overall. Her time? A flying 34:25!
Finally, if you see Steven Robertson in the list, just think of Scott Brady.