Northern Cross Country Championships – Witton Park, Blackburn
We had 18 hardy runners take part in the annual Northern Cross Country Championships at Witton Park. It’s pretty much a six hour round trip to get there and back in a day, so some athletes opted for an overnight stay on the eve of the race. Others opted to take the bus, with Gosforth Harriers who were happy to share a vehicle and to depart from Newburn Leisure Centre.
At Witton Park we were blessed with extremely still and mild conditions. The parking was only 400m away from the course where we pitched our tent in a little northeast commune along with Gosforth and Durham City. The course has a bit of everything – soft, even grass turf, a long, lonesome hill, a fast tufty descent straight into a deep, section of watery mud where staying upright was the priority.
The first race for our team was the under 17 men (5.9km). Callum Eldridge was hoping to build on what has been an excellent cross-country season. Despite losing one of his shoes in the muddy quagmire, he managed to continue to the finish line in a time of 23.22 (66th). He was pragmatic about the result, having added another tough race to his legs and having the good fortune of recovering the lost shoe. Adam Robinson had better luck with his footwear and had a consistent run finishing in 24.42 (86th). The race was dominated by Morpeth who had six runners in the first 21 finishers and easily clinched the top team position.
Next up, the under 15 boys. This age group in both boys and girls has the highest number of competitors. Our representatives Liam Coulson and Aiden Jones were cool under the pressure of the tough competition and managed the challenging 4.3km course with ease. Liam finished in 19.56 (117th) closely followed by Aiden in 20.19 (122nd). Poppy Wilde and Hannah Waterhouse were our two representatives in the under 15 girls’ race. Poppy finished in a time of 18.50 (34th). She was third under 15 girl from the north east which secured her selection for the Inter-counties final on 11 March, Loughborough. Hannah Waterhouse had a strong, confident run, finishing in 22.47 (126th).
Our under 13 boys were experiencing their first Northerns XC Championship, running 3.2km which included the same long steep hill and the absolute mud bath that the under 15s and 17s had faced. Back from injury, Nicholas Surtees-Brown had a pleasing run, chasing team-mate Dominic until close to the finish. He completed the course in 13.44 (69th). Dominic had an impressive sprint finish to see him only one place behind Nicholas in 13.50. George Russell finished comfortably in 16.26 (106th) sprinting well beyond the finish line which prompted Bill McGuirk to remark that he had obviously been a little too conservative with his effort levels earlier in the race. All good race experience to build upon for next time.
Our final junior race was the under 17 women. Having missed the North Easterns and Sherman Cup/Davison Shield owing to illness, Poppy Old was keen to impress the selectors for the Inter-Counties Final. She achieved that by finishing in 10th place, (second from the north-east) in 21.59, securing her place in the Inter-counties. Bella Russell enjoyed the course and finished well in 25.31 (59th).
Proceedings then moved to the senior women whose race covered three laps rather than two, so three times to tackle the hill and the quagmire. The race was won easily by Phillipa Williams, Hallamshire Harriers (27.11). Bill McGuirk was quick to inform me of this when I crossed the line, realising I’d be interested to know given that Phillipa used to be a junior at Elswick before she departed to Sheffield for university. I was only ten minutes behind (37.12) in 128th position!
The men’s 11.5km race concluded the event. As usual there were some fabulous runners at the head of the field. Lewis Liddle was first home in 42.45 (133rd). He applied himself throughout which will undoubtedly pay dividends in his current progression and development. Mike Russell was our first veteran to finish and was happy with a time of 50.30. Peter Sloan showed that he is back to form with a time of 54.06 (419th) and ranking as ( ) over 60 male. Simon Allen managed to achieve a time of 55.28 (437th) even though he filmed much of the run with his GoPro. Rob Lambert looked strong and cheerful throughout the race and achieved a time of 58.17 (465th) followed by Rob Wilson in 1.18.17 (499th). Tom started the race but elected to retire after the first lap, clearly thinking of saving his energy for his night out in Blackburn.
The senior men were our only complete team and they managed to finish in 34th place out of 90 clubs represented at the championship.
Congratulations to all our runners for making the effort to travel to Blackburn and for competing on such a challenging course. Thanks to Martin Connelly, Kerrie Old, Gillian Wilde, Lee Coulson, Malcolm Liddle and family for the support around the course. It was a fun day trip and I hope we can do the same again next year wherever the event is held.
Full results can be found here.
https://results.sporthive.com/events/7024041154295397632
