SUNDAY 9 NOVEMBER
Memorial 10km Race, Heaton Harriers
Remembrance Sunday is a time for formal ceremonies of reflection to honour those who served our country in the two world wars. The Newcastle running community show their respects in the best way they know, that is by coming together on the Town Moor to compete in the annual Memorial 10k organised by Heaton Harriers. After the excitement of the junior races which start at 9.30, the senior and veteran runners gather at the start line to observe a two minute silence before the race commences at 11.02.
The conditions were perfect – a little chill in the air and a mild breeze. There never is a way of avoiding running into a head wind across the open and exposed Town Moor. There was an interesting collection of competitors given the various championship races that were occurring simultaneously in this single Heaton Harrier 10km – North East Counties Athletics Association (NECAA), North East Masters Athletics Association (NEMAA), British Masters Athletics Federation (BMAF) and last but not least, the Elswick Harriers inter club championship.
Following a flurry of email correspondence between Heaton Harriers and various Elswick members on Friday, we managed to submit four teams into the BMAF team competition in the male 55 – 64, male 65-74, women’s 35-44 and women’s 45-54. We await the results of that particular competition.
However, all of the individual prizes were decided fairly swiftly after the race. It was an exceptionally competitive field on account of the presence of veteran runners from all over the country vying for a position in the BMAF championship.
Clinching the win and the £200 prize money by four seconds was Adrian Bailes of Birtley in 31.34, closely followed by vet runner Jarlath McKenna for Tynebridge in 31.38 and Daniel Bradford of Shettleston Harriers, 31.54. The winning woman was Alex Sneddon (V35) of Jarrow & Hebburn in 36.38 followed by Justina Heslop (V45) 37.38 and Holly Lawrence of Morpeth (senior) in 37.42.
In addition to clinching the prize for second woman, Justina was the first V45 finisher, was silver medallist in the NECAA championship, gold medallist in the NEMAA V45 category and BMAF V45 category. David Walton and Andrea Banner took bronze medals in the in the V65 category and V55 categories respectively. Looking at our quickest competitor, Kirk Haddon, you can see how tough the competition was. Kirk finished in 35.18 and was ranked tenth in the V40 category. Likewise, Mark Turnbull’s 38.15 ranked him seventh in the V55 category; John Rippons’s 40.17 give him seventh position in the V60 race, and Jude Nutt’s 40.51 gave her a sixth place ranking in the V45 race. Our V70 hero Niggel Hollier was suffering with a sore ankle but battled through so as not to let his teammates down (Mike Steven and David Walton). He finished in 10th place in the V70 category.
The biggest round of applause of the day went to 91 year old Ian Barnes of Darlington Harriers, who finished in 1.47.10 taking the BMAF and NEMAA gold in the V90 category.
Well done to all our runners from relative new comers like Daniel Edgar to stalwarts like Rob Lambert . There were very pleasing personal bests and goals achieved– see list below. Thanks to our enthusiastic supporters who were out around the course cheering the Elswick crew to the finish line.
Raby Castle Canine Cross 5km, organised by Traildog
An alternative Remembrance Day race to the Town Moor was the canine cross event which took place in the ground of Ruby Castle in Darlington. A rugged and challenging setting for dogs and their athletic human owners to complete a 5km or 10km distance. Our women’s captain Felicity Smith was making her debut in the world of canine cross.
Competing in the 5km race, Felicity was up against some serious competition. The winning time of 17.25 was achieved by a Pointer named Ezra and his female owner Lucy Matthews. Pretty amazing time given the nature of the terrain. Felicity and Bijoux had an amazing run, finishing in 22.28, 13th out of 78 pairs. Congratulations to them both.
More scenic race settings next Sunday as we embark on the next Elswick championship race – the Gibside Fruit Bowl 7 mile multi terrain race starting at 9am. Entries are still available:
On Sunday 23, we will need as many runners as possible to compete in the fourth harrier league fixture at Wrekenton.
Lots to look forward to. If there’s any races or events that we’ve missed, please let us know what you’ve been up to.