Its been a while since our last race report so lots to shout about…
Quayside 5km
The quayside route is proving popular to runners and organiser of North East events.
It was perfect conditions for runners who had the choice of 3 races, a junior 3km plus adults A and B races over the same 5km course.
Only one of our juniors took part and she ran superbly, coming 2nd in her category. Well done Ayla Blight – the running genes are strong in the Blight household.
In the adults races.
We had 3 runners running in the ‘B’ race – Aimed at runners that run 20+ mins for. 5km. Bella was our first home with a splendid run, finishing 2nd in her category, Mark and Malcolm were also in action and ran great races. Mark finishing 1st in his category and Malcolm 11th.
| Pos | Name | Gun Time (Chip Time) | Net Cat Pos (Net Gen Pos) |
| 60 | Bella Russell #1754 U17 Ladies | 00:20:43 (00:20:43) | 2 (12) |
| 172 | Mark Mcnally #1480 V75 Male | 00:23:43 (00:23:34) | 1 (130) |
| 251 | Malcolm Liddle #1670 V65 Male | 00:26:44 (00:26:31 | 11 (177) |
In the ‘A’ which is aimed at those who run under 20 mins for a 5km we had 8 runners.
In a stacked race that saw many a PB. Luke lead the Elswick charge, David Bell, great to see him back in the vest, not far behind with an excellent run.
Imogen continued her excellent form finishing 1st in her category and well inside the top 10 ladies – excellent going.
Big shout out to Aiden Jones who has his dad running scared as he nears Dave’s PB – great to see you competing well in the senior races.
Tony had a very impressive run as always, Mike not far behind and picking up a 3rd place in his category. Lovely to see Andrea Banks back from injury who also claimed a 3rd place category place.
| Pos | Name | Gun Time (Chip Time) | Net Cat Pos (Net Gen Pos) |
| 47 | Luke Hilliard #309 Senior Male (20-34) | 00:16:04 (00:16:02) | 30 (46) |
| 66 | David Bell #6362 V45 Male | 00:16:25 (00:16:20) | 4 (64) |
| 106 | Imogen Bungay #2 U20 Ladies | 00:17:26 (00:17:21) | 1 (8) |
| 162 | Tony Banks #301 V50 Male | 00:18:16 (00:18:06) | 5 (152) |
| 233 | Aiden Jones #251 U15 Male | 00:19:38 (00:19:27) | 2 (210) |
| 238 | Mike Russell #143 V55 Male | 00:19:46 (00:19:31) | 3 (213) |
| 260 | Andrea Banks #300 V50 Ladies | 00:21:02 (00:20:46) | 3 (37 |
Lambton Trail Races
With a choice of distances to choose from, we had 3 runners taken part in the 5 mile distance
A fabulous run from Jen who finish 2nd lady overall and 1st in her category – great to see you back and doing well following the birth of your second child.
Andy Middleton was up next with a very good run followed over the line by Jeff Emmerson who picked up a 3rd place category finish.
| Pos | Name | Time (Net Time) | Cat Pos (Gen Pos) |
| 12 | Jennifer Clements #55 Female 4049 | 00:43:04 (00:43:03) | 1 (2) |
| 17 | Andy Middleton #462 Male 4049 | 00:44:55 (00:44:53) | 7 (15) |
| 119 | Jeffrey Emmerson #448 Male 7079 | 01:12:36 (01:12:34) | 3 (48) |
Rich Houghton was our only runner in the 10 mile race – has he not been to Gibside before
A cracking run by Rich ‘perma tan’ Houghton who finished 4th overall and a 3rd category place – not bad for a guy that has a hamstring injury.
| Pos | Name | Time (Net Time) | Cat Pos (Gen Pos) |
| 4 | Richard Houghton #225 Male 4049 | 01:12:55 (01:12:55) | 3 (3) |
Bassenthwaite Sprint Triathlon
We had the three amigos, Andrew, Adam and David Bell competing in the sprint distance triathlon.

It was Andrew who came out on top finishing 7th overall and 1st in his category, Adam was only 30 seconds behind finished 8th. David wasn’t too far off his younger siblings.
| Pos. | Name | Race Number | Gender | Gender Position | Age Category | Category Position | Finish Time | |
| 7 | Andrew Bell | 12 | Male | 7 | V40 | 1 | 01:12:32 | |
| 8 | Adam Bell | 11 | Male | 8 | V40 | 2 | 01:13:04 | |
| 18 | David Bell | 13 | Male | 17 | V40 | 7 | 1:20:50 |
British Triathlon Championships
Rob’s first triathlon of the year was in the British Championships in Mallory Park.

Rob enjoyed the event and being back in action after being hampered by injuries.
In a very high quality field, he graded himself “For me poor swim, average ride, good run”. I’d say Rob is being hard on himself as he placed 24th in his category. Well done, Rob, great to see you racing again!
| Pos | Name | Gun Time | Cat Pos (Gen Pos) | |
| 56 | Robert LAMBERT #256 Open Ages 55 – 59 | 01:27:30 | 24 (56 |
Holiday Half Marathon and 10km
When holidaying in Sri Lanka you’d think you’d take in the culture, a little relax around the pool maybe take in a game of cricket and a cup of tea… not the Russell’s, they go out and dominate the local runs…

Young George ran the 5km, and ever improving Bella took on the 10km and won the race!

Mike and Andrea decided they go for the half marathon, Mike finishing 12th overall and Andrea 7th lady.

Huge well done for racing in the baking heat!
Watergate 5km
Our final 5km of the Club Championships but don’t worry there’s still two 10kms and one 10 miler to go…
We had an amazing turnout, Luke and Imogen led the Elswick charge for the men and women.

Luke dipped under 16mins to finish an impressive 3rd in a tough field. Imogen was also super speedy and came home 1st lady.
Highlight of the night was seeing three of our older juniors stepping up and running so well. Well done Aiden, Nicky and Sydney fantastic runs!
In the teams results, our men and female teams both ended up on the podium, our ladies always outshining us men finished second with the men finishing third.
Gateshead Trail 10km
There was 5 of our runners taking part in Saturdays Gateshead Trail.
Simon had another impressive run leading the Elswick charge. Louise, Jayne, Nigel and Peter followed him home.
Well done all!
| Overall Pos | Name | Gender | Gender Pos | Age Grp | Cat Pos | Time |
| 45th | Simon Allen | M | 41st | 60-69 | 5th | 45:02 |
| 131st | Louise Allen | F | 19th | 50-59 | 3rd | 46:50 |
| 343rd | Jayne Cuskern | F | 73rd | 18-39 | 28th | 53:15 |
| 395th | Nigel Hollier | M | 301st | 70-99 | 2nd | 54:39 |
| 538th | Peter Jobson | M | 372nd | 60-69 | 31st | 58:21 |
Prudhoe Miners Race
A new format and a few distances to choose from this year.
We had 2 runners taking part on this windy August bank holiday weekend.

Cath Lowes back in fine form, brilliant to have her back running, finished 3rd overall and 1st female in the 5km.
Kim Matthews was our other running, Kim ran the 10km, again, its so good seeing Kim back in action and running a fabulous race.
Future Fixtures:
Relays:
Looking for two men for the Farringdon Relays – see facebook post
Club Champs:
August – *Watergate 5km – enter online now
August 27th – Internal 10km
October (weekend) – **Internal 10 mile
10th November – Heaton Memorial 10km – enter online now
Useful website for races: http://www.northeastraces.com
*Update 5/3/24: Watergate 5km has been included following the withdrawal of the March fixture due to rearranged XC fixture.
**Updated 19/3/24: internal 10 mile and 5km switched so we can utilise the light nights and run the 5km on the closed section of OneNE. The 10 miler will now take place in October on a weekend.
2024 North East Harrier League:
Sunday 1/9 – Farringdon Sunderland XC Relays
Saturday 28/9 NEHL – Thornley Farm
Sunday 13/10 NEHL – Druridge Bay
Sunday 20/10 NEHL – Lambton
Saturday 23/11 NEHL Course Nr Prudhoe NEW COURSE
Saturday 14/12 NE XC Championships
Saturday 4/1/25 NEHL Wrekenton
Sunday 2/2/25 NEHL Sherman Cup/Davidson Shield – Temple Park
Saturday 1/3/25 Alnwick Castle
