Long serving members of Morpeth Harriers & AC will be sorry to learn of the death of former athlete and long serving colleague Eddie Hudspith, following a long and bravely fought battle with Parkinson’s Disease.
Eddie, who is the father of two of the clubs finest athletes Mark and Ian, and was later to witness the emergence of two of his grandchildren, Andrew and Joseph in competitive action at the club, was part of Morpeth’s competing hierarchy in the late 60’s, and into the 70’s and 80’s in a Veteran capacity, following an earlier running career with the now defunct Benwell Harriers, alongside other North East notables, who all went on to make their name in the sport, with rivals such as Elswick Harriers, Gosforth Harriers, and Heaton Harriers. Instead, Eddie chose Morpeth to be his new stamping ground, and linked up with the now legendary Jim Alder, to strengthen a growing squad, with a burning ambition for success, not only regionally, but also territorially and nationally. Eddie fitted in well alongside his new colleagues, who included Alder, Doug Cockburn, Peter Carmichael, Tom Horne, and Alec Matheson. He also assisted by taking an interest in the clubs’ democratic affairs, however, not without a sense of humour, or even mischief at times, which brought a likeable light-hearted view to many a serious matter. One such occasion was at one of the clubs annual General Meetings, where it came to electing the clubs officers, and Eddie promptly said that he was proposing that Alec Matheson be elected Sheriff, (laughter at this was duly observed and appreciated), according to those present, and this moment certainly endeared him to his colleagues. (The above tale was referred to by Jim Alder on numerous occasions). On the competitive front, one result from 20th December 1988, clearly shows that Eddie, now aged 48, was still producing prolific performances. That was in the Saltwell 10k Road Race, on the old course, involving the notorious Chowdene Bank. In the separate Veteran Men’s race, Eddie finished 25th in an excellent 35m35s, only four minutes adrift of his eldest son Mark, who had finished tenth in the Senior Men’s race, leading Morpeth to a six-point margin team victory over Sunderland Harriers. Eddie’s time alone, would have seen him in the top 100 of the Senior Male finishers, and only one Woman, Sheila Catford of Leeds City finished ahead of him that day. Behind all good Men, there is also a good Woman, and in Eddie’s case, that is certainly no exception, his Wife Pat, has indeed been a staunch supporter for him for many years, and in helping him to bring forth the superb talents of Mark and Ian, who both achieved International success, and also witnessed the club debuts of Grandsons Andrew and Joseph. In closing, Morpeth Harriers & AC, would wish to offer much sincere condolences to Pat, Mark, Ian, and all of Eddie’s close family at this very sad time for them, but also to thank them for their support and close association throughout all of the years they have given us. Eddies funeral took place on Thursday, 7th November, at the Crematorium on the West Road, Newcastle upon Tyne. Morpeth Harrier and KEVI sixth former Daniel Dixon led a British 1/2/3 in the Youth category
at the Super League Triathlon in Malta on Saturday 19th October 2019. The tough format requires the mastery of the three triathlon disciplines, with a 300m swim- 4km bike ride - 1.6km run, these all performed not once but twice. On his first ever visit to the Mediterranean island, Dixon’s was a dominant win as he lead from the front throughout, the event set against the scenic backdrop of Vittoriosa Yacht Marina. With a time of 23 minutes 23 seconds, nearly a full minute ahead of his nearest rival, he later described the experience as both ‘full-on’ and simply, ‘awesome’. Morpeth’s Jason Dawson travelled to Amsterdam to take part in the annual half marathonon Sunday 20th Octoner 2019. Run on the same day as the full marathon, the two events have certainly gained in popularity with athletes from Britain, Europe and further afield, both for the flat courses and the opportunity to relax in the welcoming Dutch city afterwards.
The full marathon is run over the 1926 Olympic marathon course, starting and finishing in the stadium, while the half takes in much of the full route and also culminates in a stadium finish. They even find time to squeeze in an 8.5k run through the Vondel Park between the two events! In a race won in near perfect 12 degree conditions with no wind by a Swede, Marcus Aberg, in 1:06:35 with a Frenchman second and a Spaniard third, Dawson’s trip was certainly worth the journey as he had a fine run and a personal best, finishing the 13.1 miles in a time of 1:22:18 for 137th place. The full marathon incidentally was won by Vincent Kipchumba in 2:05:09 and the women’s race by Degitu Azimeraw in 02:19:26. With no competitive fixtures on the North East calendar at the weekend,
many runners took the chance to participate in one of the growing number of local park runs. There were winning performances by Andy Lawrence at Blyth in 16 minutes 53 seconds and Colin Archer, home from the North Sea oil rigs, at Newbiggin in 18:28. Pick of the crop was perhaps Rachelle Falloon’s on Newcastle Town Moor, however, where she was first woman home in 17:39 and finished in an overall fifth place. Morpeth Harrier Rory Leonard took part in the British Athletics Cross Challenge at Cardiff on the weekend of the 12th October 2019, the event the opening fixture of the 2019/20 British Athletics Cross Challenge series.
Enjoying his first competitive run out for a while, Leonard confessed to being a little race rusty, only managing to get in a couple of weeks training beforehand, but still managed to finish as third Under 20 in a time of 20 minutes 5 seconds, some ten seconds behind race winner Matt Willis and second place Zakariya Mahamed. Leonard had in fact led for much of the race with little between the top three, with Wrexham AC’s Willis enjoying local Welsh support and gaining the lead in the final kilometre. |
Archives
April 2024
|