Conditions that were amongst the worst in living memory greeted teams from across the country who had travelled to Berry Park, Mansfield, for the English Cross Country Association National Relays on Saturday.
Described by the organisers as ‘a true cross country test’ but by many runners as the toughest conditions they had ever known, the quick succession of storms that the country had faced in October meant that the ground was saturated from the off and the course in many places still covered with standing water. With not many teams from the North East travelling, Morpeth Harriers were one of the few clubs to fly the flag once again for the region, with the club’s Senior Men in particular putting in an outstanding top-ten performance in the day’s final event, the four-stage, two-lap relay run over some 5 kilometres per leg. Won by Cambridge and Coleridge AC in a time of 1 hour 2 minutes and 4 seconds, Morpeth finished 6th overall in a time of 1:03:30, with Aldershot Farnham and District 2nd (1:02:06) and Highgate Harriers 3rd (1:02:36), some 177 teams finishing. Carl Avery had moved the club up to 10th with a clocking of 15:25 on leg two after Will Cork had come home on the as ever keenly-contested leg one in 15:54, with Lawrence McCourt gaining a further two places on leg three (16:44) and Scott Beattie matching Avery’s time exactly on the final leg. With teams from the South dominating the event, Morpeth did have the distinction of being first club from the North of England to finish, ahead of the very successful Leeds City AC, who were 7th. Fastest leg of the day was by City of York’s Angus McMillan of 14:55. It wasn’t such a successful day for the club’s Junior Men, however, as the curse of the relays struck once again for one of the two teams entered in the earlier 3k event which was contested by 81 teams. A strong run by Joe Dixon on leg 1 for the A team saw him back in 24th place (9:17) but in the melee at the changeover, 2nd leg runner Will de Vere Owen missed his return and went out over two minutes late. His 11:24, not an accurate reflection of his ability by any means, meant the team unfortunately dropping to 57th, with last leg runner James Tilley (9:44) pulling back over ten places on leg three for the team, who had been looking for a top ten place, to finish half way down the field in 44th in 30:27, with Aldershot Farnham and District race winners (26:43). The club’s B team of Liam Roche (9:27), Bertie Marr (9:33) and Matthew Walton (9:56) had a better afternoon, consistent runs by all securing 29th in 28:58. Morpeth’s Under 15 Girls also battled through their 6k of mud, finishing in 64th place out of some 93 teams, with legs by Molly Roche (9:35), Megan Potrac (9:40) and Emma Tomlinson (8:59), Aldershot Farnham and District again the winners. This coming Saturday's Harrier League fixture at Lambton Castle Estate has been postponed due to damage caused by Storm Babet. Potential alternative dates are being looked at for March 2024. The next fixture will now take place on 25 November at Aykley Heads, Durham.
Cat Macdonald took part in the prestigious Trofeo Vanoni mountain race at Morbegno in Lombardy, Northern Italy, at the weekend and in the process collected her 4th Scotland vest, although this was the first time she had represented the country outside the UK.
Hosted by local club CSI Morbegno, the race is now twinned with the International Snowdon Race and has a tremendous history, the men’s race having been contested for no less than 66 years. It was the 40th running of the women’s event, a relay for teams of two (three for the men), run over a challenging 5 kilometre mixed terrain course with a climb of some 248 metres from start to summit, conditions made worse by ten days of heavy rain - although race day proved to be thankfully dry and mild. Taking over from lead out runner Alice Goodall , Cat moved Scotland up to 4th with a time of 24 minutes 56 seconds, the tenth fastest time of the day, with Goodall, the European U/23 10,000m champion, running 24:34. Although the team finished just outside the medals, with Italian outfits Valtellina and Recastello finishing 1st and 2nd and Ireland 3rd, Scotland did, however, finish ahead of teams from both Great Britain (the Snowdon Race Team) in 6th and Wales in 7th. There were over 5000 finishers at the annual Leeds Abbey Dash on Sunday morning, a 10k race which continues to attract a quality field for its fast and flat out and back course from the city’s Town Hall to Kirkstall Abbey.
In a race won by Icelandic Under 23 international Baldvin Magnusson in a time of 28 minutes 51 seconds, just ahead of past winner Jonny Mellor in 28:53. Lawrence McCourt was the first of the six Morpeth Harriers who travelled down the A1, finishing in 17th place in a time of 30 minutes 7 seconds. Only six seconds back was Finn Brodie in 30:13, with regular visitor to the race Sam Hancox 34th in 30:51. Leeds-based Phil Winkler was 43rd in 31:15, George Lowry 68th in 31:58 and Rob Hancox 481st in 39:29 and also 11th O/55. Lincoln Wellington’s Abbie Donnelly won the women’s race in 32:05, with Herne Hill Harrier Georgie Grgec 2nd in 32:25 and Lincoln Wellington’s Sophie Wallis 3rd in 32:41. The last of the county’s Autumn shows took place at Alwinton on Saturday, with the strongly contested – and richly rewarded – Fell Race forming part of the entertainment on offer.
Harrier Bertie Marr, in his final year at KEVI, showed a clean pair of heels to the rest of the field, coming home just seven seconds ahead of Struan Bennett of Central AC with the unattached Sam Robb in third. Marr was joined on the winners' podium by two more club members, with Cat Macdonald running away with the Women’s race in 9th place overall, nearly a minute ahead of Millie Breeze in 13th. James Dixon was 15th, Gary Mason 37th, Rich Kirby 41st and Fran Robson 66th, with both Rich and Fran turning out the next day at the Harrier League at Druridge. |
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April 2024
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