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Click Here To Read The Noticeboard This Week

Click Here To Read Official Club Notices

Updated 14th February 2012

Membership Renewal Form
Click here for Membership Renewal Form

Road Race
Click here for more information and Entry Form

AGM Notice
Click here for more information

Help Needed Notice
Click here for more information


Subscribe to the group

New Track Logo
Click Here for New Track Updates

NEHL Dates
Click here to see 2011/2012 Harrier League dates


Click here to see Full List and Target Races

ClubMark Certificate
Click here to see full size certificate

If you have any thing that you would like to sell !
Or have news about an event involving the club or its runners.
Or you have a story to tell about running.
Let us know and we will post it on the noticeboard.

No iPods Allowed

Health and Fitness Clinic Logo
Find out more about 26.2 HEALTH AND FITNESS CLINIC

Flashlight Films Logo
Find out more.......


Karen Ogle BSc.HONS Physiotherapy Clinic

On The Noticeboard This Week

































































































On The Noticeboard This Week.......................

Morpeth and Benfield Motor Group Sponsorship !

Official Club Notices

If you have any thing that you would like to sell !
Or have news about an event involving the club or its runners.
Or you have a story to tell about running.
Let us know and we will post it on the noticeboard.

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Morpeth and Benfield Motor Group Sponsorship !
Morpeth Harriers are pleased to announce that they have secured
a year long sponsorship deal with the North East's largest Independent Motor Group,
Benfield, who have a VW and Renault dealership in Hillsgate, Morpeth.

The deal will also include support to the annual Morpeth 10k Road Race,
which is scheduled to take place on Tuesday 3rd August 2010 at 7.30pm.

Benfield Group General Manager Keith Parkinson,
pictured left, along with Morpeth Harriers Club Chairman Bill Woods,
and Club Secretary Mike Bateman viewed the link up
with one of the Northumberland Market Town's leading sporting
organisations as a good marketting opportunity,
and also as well as benefitting the club,
it is hoped that individual members may also be able to have
direct access to any special deals that they offer.

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Track Gets Planning Permission !
Following a meeting of Northumberland County Council's
Planning and Environment Committee held on Tuesday 6th April 2010,
the proposed development of an athletics track and associated facilities
at Morpeth's King Edward VI School, is another step along the road to reality.

Despite a number of objections about increased traffic,
and floodlight requirements for evening training, the application for the facility,
fronted by Blyth Valley Arts and Leisure, was approved.

The Planning authorities agreed to take a further look
into traffic control, drainage, and the floodlighting issues.

This is obviously positive news for Morpeth Harriers,
along with other athletics clubs in the Northumberland area,
and the facility will certainly provide a long awaited base to develop athletic talent,
that has previously had to look elsewhere in the region
to find facilities to train for many events in the athletics programme.

A grant from Sport England to the tune of £300,000 is currently being awaited,
in order to ensure sufficient finance for the project, which is expected to cost £800,000 in total.

The club will continue to use its base at Mitford Road for changing and road training,
however this new facility for both training and competition will be a long awaited boost
which should help us develop the sport in the area.

The decision from Sport England is now the critical factor turning our hopes into reality.

This Website will keep you informed on future progress.

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New Track Hits The Home Straight !
A new athletics track for Morpeth Harriers has hit the
home straight as the town's high school enters the race.

And King Edward VI School could also become the base of
Morpeth Sporting Club junior footballers,
with work under way to improve the drainage of its grass pitches.

The original plan was to replace the ageing athletics facilities
at Craik Park with a six-lane synthetic track, including an eight-lane 100m straight,
as well as refurbish Morpeth Town Football Club's ground
and upgrade surrounding facilities for junior teams.

But it stalled when management arrangements could not be agreed,
so the Harriers and Blyth Valley Arts and Leisure (BVAL),
appointed by Northumberland County Council to manage the project,
approached the school.

KEVI Head Teacher Simon Taylor said: "It's a potentially exciting development
that would benefit both the community and the school,
and it's worth noting that there's an overlap as many of our students
are Harriers runners and/or members of Morpeth's junior football teams.

"We have lots of space and lovely grounds so
a 400m running track would clearly be a great addition.

"We have already allocated money to improve the drainage of our pitches
because the rainfall during last year's floods meant some of them were unusable for a long time.

"This can tie in nicely with the football side of the project and having
these new and better facilities would benefit all our sports teams."

Funding of £300,000 is in place from the county council,
which was awarded by the former Castle Morpeth Council,
and Sport England has earmarked the same amount for the athletics aspect.

Now the body has been asked to approve the change of venue.

At a meeting of the council's Communities and Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee,
BVAL Chief Executive Bruce Ledger said: "Sport England will hold a meeting to decide
this, but unofficially I have been told that it wants to find a solution
for the project as long as the alternative location meets its criteria.

"There is enough space at King Edward VI School and it will be
able to meet Morpeth Harriers' immediate needs and aspirations."

Harriers' Secretary Mike Bateman believes the school can meet
its requirements and provide storage for equipment.

Committee Chairman Glen Sanderson said it is also important to
sort out the future of Craik Park and he asked for regular updates.

Executive Member for Culture Isobel Hunter said the legal department
is in discussions about the lease with Morpeth Town.

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Jim Alders RunnersLife ! !
Jim Alder is now featured as a Guest Runner
on the RunnersLife website,
www.runnerslife.co.uk

There are also several comments relating to Jim on the
RunnersLife website Forum
www.runnerslife.co.uk

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Kevin Bray Tells You About www.parkrun.com !

Advert for Parkrun.com
www.parkrun.com is a website that, not surprisingly,
gives you details about “Parkruns”.

Parkrun organise 5k races that are held each and every Saturday
morning starting at 09.00 at various parks throughout the UK.

There are currently 12 venues, mainly down south and all are listed on the website.

The nearest location to us up here is Albert Park in Middlesbrough,
followed by Hyde Park in Leeds and Pollock Park in Glasgow.

Whilst visiting family in London I have run the “Bushy Park run” twice,
(Sept ’08, 19.17 27th place & April ’09, 19.27 41st place).

The atmosphere is really good.

The races are free to enter and in my (limited) experience, really well organised.
400+ runners each week at Bushy Park from Olympians
(Craig Mottram holds the course record at 14.00!),
to people pushing baby buggies!

Fellow Morpeth Harrier Andrew Toward has also run the
Bushy Park event (in a marginally quicker time than me!).

You register on the website, turn up and run.
At the finish you get a disc with your position on it,
hand this to the recorders, they find you on the laptop and it’s all logged!

I know from talking to Alistair McDonald that he has taken the clan
down to Albert Park in Middlesbrough and really enjoyed the event.

So, if you are planning a weekend away, have a look at the website,
www.parkrun.com
and you might find yourself tempted to have a blast.
If so, register on line (it’s free and dead straightforward)
and that’s it – you can take part in any Park Run event – free!

Kevin Bray

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Castles and Islands Logo
Kevin Bray and Bob Sewell took part in
The 2008 Castles & Islands Challenge Race
on June 20th and June 21st.
Below Kevin describes how they tackled the challenge...........

Its ten past midnight on Saturday morning and I’m bobbing about in a rubber dinghy being rowed into Lindisfarne
harbour by Bob Sewell as part of our latest mad caper, competing in the Castles & Islands Challenge.

The event began at 6.30pm with 16 pairs of runners setting off from Alnwick castle in a straight race down to Coquet
Yacht club at Amble, via Warkworth Castle.

We came in 4th team, and then boarded ‘our’ yacht a 34’ racer/cruiser called Cactus Jack. The Yacht was skippered
by Nick Spurr, the owner of Amble boatyard and crewed by his son Ben, his foreman Steve and Bob’s brother in law
Ken – hence the invite to take part.

Stepping on board I couldn’t help thinking that a yacht like this (it really was the business) deserved better runners than
a couple of 50 'plussers' !

Castles and Islands Challenge Race 2008

We enjoyed a fantastic evening weather wise sailing north round Coquet Island, through the Farnes to reach Holy
Island just after midnight.

Once we landed we had to run around the island visiting three checkpoints that took us on an 8 mile circuit from the
harbour via Lindisfarne castle.

We saved time and distance because the tide was out allowing fast running on hard sand before we cut back into the
dunes to find the obelisk at Emmanuel Head then the footpaths to the castle and harbour. The sky was clear and the
moon so bright that we hardly needed head torches.

Back on board we got dried, changed and brewed up as we sailed south, again through the Farnes before a ‘choppy’
disembark and row into Seahouses harbour, from where we ran north along the beach before cutting through the dunes
to circuit Bamburgh castle, a run of about 7 miles.

Sunrise at Castles and Islands Challenge Race 2008

A feature of an event like this is that you really have no idea of where you are in the field at any particular time because
you can take on the runs in any order and the yachts are handicapped by a system that was beyond me! All we knew
was that we seemed to be towards the front of the field position wise and Bob and I were running well helped by
skipper Nick’s strategies to use the tides to maximum advantage.

Bob Sewell on board ship at Castles and Islands Challenge Race 2008

However the tide wasn’t always going to be out and the next run we did in the early hours was a killer. The yacht
anchored off Low Newton and Bob rowed us into the harbour. We checked in with the marshal then began our run
down the beach to Dunstanburgh castle and back. It was 41 minutes of purgatory for me – my legs were dead and
Bob just seemed to be pottering along hardly sinking into the soft sand where it seemed I was up to my knees!

We were both glad to get back on board and when we set sail for the finish at Amble it seemed we were lying in
second place on the course. The wind had really died and Nick used all his skill to find what breeze there was to allow
us to overtake the leading yacht about 400m from the finish at the harbour entrance. We finished at 9.30am Saturday
morning in 15 hrs 5 mins and so became the course record holders – the first time in either of our running careers we
have held a ‘record’ so we are making the most of it!

Bob Sewell at Castles and Islands Challenge Race 2008

We tied up in the marina and then enjoyed a proper breakfast sitting in the sun on deck – we then discovered that
sailors like a drink. There is none of this waiting until the ‘sun dips over the yardarm’ carry on. Any excuse to break out
the rum – by the time I got to bed at 11.15 that morning I was in some state!

We went to the prize presentation that night to discover that we had finished 3rd overall on handicap and 4th fastest
team of runners. The total running distance is estimated at 30 miles and we were timed at 3.48.

Kevin and Bob at Castles and Islands Challenge Race 2008

This is an event that is something totally different. It was hard work, but great fun and it is well organised by ex –
Morpeth Harrier Pete Hammond and his team. Safety is a priority.

It’s going to get more popular so opportunities for runners to take part are bound to increase
– so keep an eye on the Coquet Yacht Clubs Website.......

Kevin Bray 2008
(Thanks to Bob Sewell for inviting me to take part)

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Official Club Notices

Updated 17th May 2011

Minimum Age !

Click Here To Read About New Minimum Age Requirements......

Key Holders Notice !

Click Here to Read Important Notice about Keyholders

DON'T RUN ILLEGALLY
We have recently received the accompanying letter from the Blaydon Race.

Click Here To Read Letter........

We fully support Bob Houston in the points that he makes,
and strongly discourage our members from giving race
numbers to (or receiving them from) others.
Some years ago a runner died during a race that we organised,
and he was wearing someone else's number.
It doesn't take a lot of imagination to work out
what could have happened in such circumstances.

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Glynne Bellerby
We are very sorry to learn of the death at the age of 74
of our friend and former Morpeth Harrier colleague
Glynne Bellerby who sadly lost his brave fight for life on Friday 20th June 2008.

Glynne will be very much revered for his witty conversations on many a 1980's training run,
however will also be fondly remembered for his methods of refreshing returning runners
from a hard evenings training session, by providing an endless supply of splendid juicy oranges
that were greatly appreciated by all who received them.

He played a splendid Mine Host to many a New Years Day evening party
after the Morpeth to Newcastle Road Race at the Calfornia Suite in Morpeth
which Morpeth Harriers members, and runners visiting the area regularly attended.

Glynne's Funeral Service took place at St Mary's Church, Morpeth
on Thursday 26th June, followed by an Interment at Fairmoor Cemetery.
Flowers or Donations to Marie Curie Hospice
may be sent c/o J.W.Peters Funeral Directors, Wellwood House, Morpeth.

From all those who knew Glynne at Morpeth Harriers,
we offer their sincere condolences to his immediate family.

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A Few Days In Dubai !

Dubai

Morpeths Bill Woods was in Dubai recently officiating at the Dubai Marathon here is his story of how it all went.

As there was to be an official attempt at a new world marathon record,
the group of officials from the North East was increased
from the normal two to the required total of five.
Dick Balding & I, have been the officials for a few years now,
but on occasions someone else has stood in.

This year to adhere to IAAF rules two additional timekeepers,
Ron Hartridge & Michael Brown were added.
Nick Hodgson was the appointed referee.
With the event having used the transponder system (chips)
I was required to record as many of the numbers as possible
for verification of the result as well as the recording the times.

Dubai Beach

Our journey over to Dubai was on Emirates Airlines was fine
until Dick & I appeared to have no luggage.
Nick, Ron and Michael proceeded to get a taxi to the hotel,
along with holiday maker Clive Wright,
one of the past committee of the Morpeth to Newcastle.
After being assured that the luggage was not coming,
I started to fill in a lost baggage report,
only for Dick to call to say our cases were arriving.

Dubai Sunset

Our room eventually was available at 3.30am.
After a short sleep & breakfast we had a meeting
with the Gateshead lads. (Bob, Mick, Fergus etc.) to sort tasks.
Later Nick Michael & I took up the offer of a drive around the route.
We were asked to meet with the dope testing team
(led by Richard Driscoll, NOT our Richard).
Three of us spent the rest of Thursday helping with the registration
until just after 9pm. We headed back to the hotel for an early night.

Race day (Friday) Up at 5.15am to catch taxies at 6am.
Approach roads were closed, -so a half mile walk to the start.
This at least helped to wake us up. The normal checks were made the start,
but extra care was taken in view of the record attempt by Haile Gebrselassie.
We did not want any mistakes to land at our feet!!

Start of 2008 Dubai Marathon

One athlete decided to come to the front line minutes
before the start and stand next to him.
He was quickly turfed out to the back, only seconds later to reappear.
Mick Laidler and another marshal ensured he did not get another chance.
It appeared that the record was in danger as Haile
was doing regular sub 3 minute Kilometers.
As the race progressed we were of the opinion that he was going too fast,
and so it proved. His time of 2hrs.04mins 59secs.broke the course record
by 4 minutes 40secs. whilst recording the 2nd fastest marathon ever.
His ‘failure‘to beat the record cost him $1million.
The first four finishers broke the old course record,
& the top 14 were inside 2hrs.15secs.

Haile Gebrselassie wins Dubai Marathon

The ladies race was also a record breaker, with Birhane Adere
breaking the course record by a similar margin being4mins 37secs inside.
Again the first four ladies broke the old record. The 12th place recorded 2hrs.39.mins.
The last man limped the final 12k.and eventually finished in 7hrs.31.54.
It made for a long day bearing in mind that the team had to split up
during the race to handle the 10k.
(Not the same standard the winning time being 29min 24secs.)

That night we were invited to the Puma celebration,
which went on until the small hrs. The last of our team lasted until
nearly 3am before grabbing a taxi back to hotel.
The party was still going strong............

Dubai

Never mind we did have the rest of Saturday to wind down.
Sight seeing, bartering in the Gold Souk, and a couple of pints at lunch time.
Back to the hotel, got ready for our evening meals,
then into the bar for the Newcastle match.
As the finish was after midnight ( Dubai time) another short nap,
and up early for a 7.30am flight home.
Bill Woods
Find out more about Dubai Marathon.......

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New President For The Club !
Ernie Slaughter
At the clubs AGM held at Morpeth Rugby Club on Tuesday 11th March,
Club President Ernie Slaughter announced that he was
standing down from office after 23 years at the helm.
Ernie, who is the longest serving member of the club,
having joined as a prominent youth in 1947,
not long after the clubs formation, felt that the time was right for
someone younger to come in, and he would welcome the opportunity to
take a back seat after years of what all those present agreed was excellent service.

He was honoured however to accept the title of Honorary President,
and went on to say he would keep a watchfull eye on things,
and hoped that the club would continue to gain success,
he was a very proud man and praised the work of his fellow officers
and the coaches at the club who had continued to persevere through difficult times.

Jim Alder
The man elected to step into Ernie's shoes was former
Commonwealth Games Marathon Champion
and long time Club stalwart Jim Alder MBE.
This is much deserved after the devotion and hard work
he has put in over many years to both promote and bring
success not only to his club, but also the town of Morpeth.

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2007 Vets Grand Prix Presentation Night !
The Vets and there award at Thursdays presentation
Forty Veteran athletes from Morpeth Harriers turned out in
support of their super fit colleagues at the clubs annual
Grand Prix 2007 Presentation Night, held at the Joiners Arms
in Morpeth at 7.30pm on Thursday 13th March.

The event which is sponsored by Tony Woodcock Planning Consultants
was hosted by Tony himself, along with his wife Pam,
who has been a member of Morpeth Harriers for a good number of years.
They were pleased to introduce their guests of honour, Ernie Slaughter and Jim Alder MBE.
Two nights earlier at the Morpeth Harriers AGM, Ernie had bowed out as the clubs President,
a post he has held for around 23 years, and Jim had taken over as the clubs new President
after all his many and long remembered years of service both as an outstanding athlete,
and as a Coach and Club Committee Official.

Ernie Slaughter and Pam Woodcock at Thursdays presentation

Ernie has now taken up the role as Honorary President which means
he will be more of a background figurehead, and although he intends to
cut down his workload as a Club Official, he will still be around to
give sound support and advice when required.
Both had agreed to make the presentations,
and Ernie opted to present the Womens awards,
which meant he ended up with all the lovely kisses.
Jim had dashed back over from Monkton Stadium
in Jarrow to present the Mens awards.

Before the awards took place Pam Woodcock paid tribute to all those
who had turned out to give support to the event on the night,
she went on to thank the clubs Press Officer and Webmaster,
George Patterson and Hudson Stoker for their efforts in promoting the event,
both in the Morpeth Herald, and on the Website, and paid particular tribute to the
quality of the Website and all the work carried out to promote the club.

Pam was very passionate about the Veterans Grand Prix, because she
recognised it as the only event within the club that gave everyone within
the Veteran age spans the opportunity of competing on a level playing field,
and she was delighted that it had once again been well supported
over the 15 chosen events throughout the year.
She thanked Ernie and Jim for turning out to support their night.

Pam and Tony Woodcock at Thursdays presentation

Tony Woodcock said he was delighted as sponsor to be associated with the event,
and felt that all those involved had competed with good humour,
the club representation had been good, and as a result the
Blue and White vest of Morpeth Harriers had been worn with distinction.
This led on to the presentation of awards

Sue Calvert receives her award at Thursdays presentation
WOMEN (Presented by Ernie Slaughter)
1st Sue Calvert.
2nd Michelle Woodley,
3rd Jane Blackett,

Paul Waterston receives his award at Thursdays presentation
MEN (Presented by Jim Alder)
1st Paul Waterston,
2nd Richard Driscoll,
3rd Gordon Dixon,

After the presentation Ernie Slaughter gave special mention to the
fact that nearly forty people had turned out on the night,
this had heartened him because of the recent poor turnout of
Seniors for major events, and that it had indeed been a pleasure to be present.

A special presentation was then made by the sponsors to Les Thain
for his long term organisational skills in relation to the Grand Prix.
Les was now stepping down from the role.
Unfotunately he was unable to be present so
Chris Dentice accepted the award on his behalf.

On behalf of the Club, George Patterson, the Press Officer,
thanked Pam and Tony for their continued support to the
event, and hoped that their support would continue,
and also praised them for the splendid buffet they had provided.

Finally Pam and Tony thanked the Landlord George
and the team at the Joiners Arms for their support and help.

Click Here To See More Photos From Presentation Night......

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Flashlight Films !
Morpeth Harrier Ian Brown has started up his own film company
called Flashlight Films, click on the link below.
Find out more.......

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2008 Castle Morpeth Sports Council Awards !
At what could be the very last ever Castle Morpeth Sports Council Awards
ceremony. held at the Riverside Leisure Centre, on Friday 25th January.
Morpeth Harriers were honoured in two categories.

Laura Weightman was presented with the Hilder Rose Bowl
for Junior Female for both her tremendous achievements in 2007
on the Track and on the Cross Country circuit.
She had comfortably won the Northumberland Schools
Senior Girls Cross Country title, and then had recovered from
a nasty spike injury sustained in the North of England Cross
Country Championships to finish fifth in both the English Schools
and Home Countries Championships, added to that she had a superb
Track season at her favourite distance 1500m, by winning the North Eastern,
North of England, Northumberland Schools, English Schools
and International Schools titles before capping her season in great style
by retaining the UK Schools games title, the only female athlete to achieve such a feat.

The clubs Under 13 Boys Cross Country squad received certificates
of achievement for their overwhelming victory in the North Eastern Championships,
where they also had the Gold and Silver Medallists in Adam Harrington and Jonny Nisbet,
they came sixth and only fifteen seconds adrift of medals at the English Cross Country Relay Championships,
and are currently four points clear in the title race at the North Eastern Harrier League,
added to which, the aforementioned Adam Harrington
is the leading individual performer with two meetings remaining.

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Morpeth Track Project !
Click Here To Read About Morpeth Track Project.......

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Volunteers Wanted !
Volunteers Wanted
Northumbria University are looking for long distance runners !
They are looking for males aged between 18 and 35
who train at least 2-3 hours per week.

They would be required to do 3 x 2 hour bouts of running on a treadmill.
In return, they would get a performance report, ie. VO2 max, heart rate etc.
Advice on their immune function during training,
free lunch and will get paid £70 for taking part.

Athletes can contact Ian Walshe at
ian.walshe@unn.ac.uk

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Morpeth Harriers Scottish Walking Weekend !
I am planning another Scottish weekend for anyone interested
in doing some mountain walking around the GLENCOE area.

We would travel up on the evening of FRIDAY 11/4/07
returning late afternoon early evening SUNDAY 13/4/07

Accommodation would be in a bunkhouse at INCHREE
and would cost £13.00 ppp including breakfast.
All bedding is supplied and the place is warm and comfortable
with good showers and an EXCELLENT DRYING ROOM!!

Bar meals are available on site or you can self cater –
the bunkhouse has a large well equipped communal kitchen.

If you are interested, or if you want more details give me,
Kevin Bray a ring on 01670 505953.

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Club Volunteers !

CAN YOU HELP MORPETH HARRIERS ?
PLEASE THINK ABOUT JOINING OUR VOLUNTEERS' NETWORK.

Click Here And Find Out How.......

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Happy Birthday Quiz Answer !
We have a winner of our Website Birthday Picture Quiz.
The Answers were Ian and Mark Hudspith.
The winner of the Bottle of Champagne for the first correct answer was Ian Brown,
Congraulations Ian, and many thanks to all those who took part.

Click on this link below and see some of our web pages from the last six years......
Old Web Pages.......

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Jim Alders M.B.E. Presentation !
Morpeth Harriers Commonwealth Games Marathon legend Jim Alder
recently received his M.B.E. from H M The Queen at Buckingham Palace.
Jim with his family at Buckingham Palace
Jim was accompanied to the investiture by his wife
Kathleen and Son and Daughter Ian and Susan.
He described his day as wonderful, and would like to thank
his beloved family for being there to support him.
Jim with his MBE at Buckingham Palace
Jim would also like to thank all his friends within and outside
the sport of athletics for their kind wishes.
Messages have come from all over the world, and Jim, between supporting
his club of course and getting in his daily 6 mile run,
is trying to answer as many people as he can.

Watch a video about Royal Investitures at Buckingham Palace......

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2007 Castle Morpeth Sports Council Sports Awards !
Athletes from Morpeth Harriers were amongst the numerous
sportspersons to receive awards at the Annual Castle Morpeth Sports
Council Sports Awards Night held at Morpeth Leisure Centre on Friday 2nd March 2007.

Jim Alder with his MBE
Guest of Honour presenting the awards was Jim Alder MBE,
who had only just returned from London after receiving
his award from Her Majesty The Queen.
This was all carried out in the company of the Mayor of Castle Morpeth
Cllr Geoff Proudlock who said he was indeed proud to be in the
company of Jim Alder and was equally proud to have known the
Morpeth Harriers Marathon Legend for as many years.

Jim in his speech said that he was indeed proud that what
he described as "Little Morpeth" had been well and truly put
on the map by itssporting achievements.
He described how another Morpeth Harriers had in fact defeated
the great Wolverhampton Wanderers in an FA Cup tie many years ago.
Jim also paid tribute to the Morpeth Rugby club who had a number
of years ago got one match away from a Grand Final at Twickenham. He went on to mention a number of individuals who
were the backbone of their sporting clubs.
In jocular fashion he describe how Her Majesty had asked
if Ernie Slaughter was still at the helm at Morpeth,
and was George Patterson still writing for the Morpeth Herald.

Nick Swinburn receives his award from Jim Alder
On the Awards front Nick Swinburn received the
Newcastle Building Society Trophy as the Senior Male Open winner.
He was also part of the Morpeth Harriers Under 20 Cross Country Team
that won the Abbey National Trophy for the Open Team award.
Certificates of achievement were awarded to
Laura Weightman receives her award from Jim Alder
Laura Weightman (Junior Female Under 18)
Claire Reid (Senior Female Open)
Morpeths award winning Under 13 Girls team
Morpeth Harriers Under 13 Girls
Cross Country Team (Team Award Under 13).

Click here to see more photos taken at Castle Morpeth Sports Council Awards

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Vets 2006 Grand Prix Presentation Night !
The winners and the sponsors at the vets presentation night
Morpeth Harriers held their Veterans 2006 Grand Prix
Presentation Night at the Sour Grapes on Thursday 1st March 2007.
This year the competition was sponsored by
Tony Woodcock Planning Consultants.
Tony and his wife Pam, who is a Harriers member,
were both on hand for the presentation.

The Veteran Mens Category was won by Paul Waterston
with Richard Driscoll and Les Atkinson
taking second and third place respectively.

Jane Blackett won the Veteran Womens section
with Sue Smith and Michelle Woodley filling second and third places.

Sponsor Tony Woodcock
Tony Woodcock paid tribute to all the athletes who had competed
in the Grand Prix and went on to describe them as a very important
section of the club when wearing the Blue and White
vest at the numerous selected events.
Chris Dentice was thanked for his efforts as previous sponsor.
Les Thain
He went on to thank Les Thain who had painstakingly kept score
as the competition had progressed throughout the year,
without his diligent help life would have been difficult.
Finally he thanked all those who had turned up
on the night to witness the presentation.
The Vets Grand Prix Trophys

Click here to see more photos taken at Vets 2006 Grand Prix Presentation Night

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Unusual Tribute To Jim Alder !
Jim has received many congratulations and tributes
on being awarded his MBE, which he will collect
from the Palace in late February (HRH has been warned!)

Jim 

Alder

One of the more unusual ones was from Dr. Mike Turner
of Liverpool Harriers, himself one of the greats of British distance
running in the 1960s, and an old friend and rival of Jim.

He has used a lot of knowledge, research and his own
considerable talent to write a poem JNCA.MBE.
which brings together the themes of Northumberland,
our own club and of course Jim himself.
We thought members would like to read it………..

JNCA, MBE

alnus glutinosa,deciduous tree,
thrives in wetlands from harwood to the sea:

common alder,long hefted to these hills
and burns,through stannington and abbey mills,
crowden and hebron,ashington and todd,
throphill and stanton,where the romans trod.

it transforms the wansbeck at climbing tree,
bothal castle and woodhorn colliery;

faithful to the king of the stream and brae
and the lyne on its way to druridge bay.

it sheltered the legions on ermine street
and the man who prepared for kingston’s heat.

‘inter sylvas et flumina habitans’-
its motto: with a castle built by normans.

the guidebook doesn’t mention the greyhound pub,
or the four who founded its running club.

yet mhac is a monogram
known from the rangitikei to the cam.

when the tough get going, morpeth men run:
their record in relays second to none.

for denys,derek,jack duffy and tot,
don, ernie and walter, all gave their best shot;

as do bateman and shepherd,the hudspiths and dunn,
and their mentor and main man, the hard one.

a seat in the stalls that cost one and three:
cramp in the buttock and pain in the knee.

like john wayne he respects all men who lead,
and the tenets of the apache creed:

‘take warmth from the sun and shelter from the tree;
render honour to the tribe’(go khla yeh).

the duke(and saddam)liked a gun on their hip
but his response is to shoot from the lip.

yet,as a boy, he raised both arms and cheered
when in the end the cavalry appeared.

raised as an orphan,unlikely hero,
angel of the north east-geronimo!

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One Of The Worlds Greatest Distance Runners...Alfred Shrubb !

Have you heard of Alfred Shrubb?
Alfred Shrubb was one of the World Greatest distance runners,
a pioneer of the sport. Alfred set many world records,
one that lasted over 50 years.

Alfred Shrubb

There is a web site you can visit if you want to learn more
CLICK HERE

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Laura Weightman Wins Award !
Hi-Tec Logo
Following her excellent performance in the Womens event at the Junior Great North Run, where she won for the second year in a row,

Morpeth Harrier Laura Weightman has earned the title of performer of the week through HI-TEC and Athletics Weekly.

Laura will receive a pair of Hi-Tec V-Lite Phtera trainers to her size. These shoes normally retail at £50.00.

Laura's performance comes on the back of an outstanding year which saw her emerge as a surprise winner of the UK Inter Counties Cross Country Under 15 Girls title at Wollaton Park, Nottingham in March.

Last month she beat all-comers to win the 1500m title at the first UK School Games in Glasgow, she was also chosen to go to a week of expert coaching for endurance at St Mary's College in Twickenham in London.

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Cash For The Club !
Morpeth Harriers have landed grant money from the National Lottery to the tune of £5,387.00 to help promote the sport of athletics in local schools.

The clubs Senior Coach Tony Ward comments, " We are very pleased to receive this money, as it will boost the opportunity to take equipment out to the schools to introduce children to the sport at an early age". He further comments, With lack of ideal facilities, and the problems with rural transport, most youngsters in the area tend to miss out, and this shouldn't be so.

With money to buy a range of much needed new equipment, including a High Jump mat, as well as bringing in a professional coach, the club will be able to talent spot in an area that currently needs attention, mostly due to another case of poor facility availability.

This indeed presents budding Morpeth athletes with the ideal head start to further develop their abilities, and with focus definitely set on the Olympics in 2012, an opportunity most welcome.

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Morpeth To Newcastle Road Race !
Sadly it took slightly less than fifteen minutes on Thursday 14th September 2006 to decide the fate of the event that has been an institution amongst North East running enthusiasts for a century. Delegates from Claremont Road Runners, Gosforth Harriers, Heaton Harriers and Morpeth Harriers, who form the organising committee, were called to a special meeting to finally call time on what was undoubtedly Britains oldest-established road race.

Lack of a continued and committed sponsor and notorious spiralling Policing costs and their onerous requirements have undoubtedly consigned the proud event to the history books. Those present voted unanimously to disband the organising committee, and agreed that any remaining funds, as per constitution would be distributed between the four clubs. Race trophies will be donated to the sports local governing body, the North Eastern Counties Athletics Association.

The event was first run as a handicap in 1902 and two years later in 1904 became a full open race from Morpeth to Newcastle. Over the years numerous Internationals visited the region to test the locals and very often went away defeated. Most notable were Ron Hill and Steve Jones.

The greatest number of wins was gained by Duncan McLeod-Wright who managed to lead the field home on seven occasions between 1927 and 1932 and 1934. On the local front Morpeth Harrier Jim Alder and Elswick Harrier Mike McLeod have each won five. Mark and Ian Hudspith of Morpeth Harriers have won four and two respectively. Organising Committee Chairman John Williams said that it had not been able to find a cost effective way of coping with Traffic Management problems. He added that, "It was with much sadness that the decision has been made to end one of the country's classic road events, which had also been one of the anchors of the calendar for many years".

In contrast Morpeth Harriers Secretary Mike Bateman felt that the door might still be open to revive the event. However he stressed that the club could not go it alone, and it would need substantial input from local authorities and sponsors, and a change of attitude by the police

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Death Of Clubs Founder Member !
Dennys Anderson in 1947 Officials at Morpeth Harriers have learnt of the death of the clubs founder member Dennys Anderson at his home in Ireland at the end of July 2006.
Dennys was 8th in the Morpeth to Newcastle Road Race in 1947,
one year on after he had founded the club at the Greyhound Inn in Morpeth.
Anderson was also picked to run for Northumberland and Durham
who were a combined force in those days.
He was also a Club Secretary and Senior Champion.
Dennys was buried in Ireland witnessed by his brother and small family,
to whom the club pass on condolences.

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Jim Alders Commonwealth Games !
August 2006 marks the 40th Anniversary of the greatest
achievement by any Morpeth Harrier.

Dateline Thursday 11th August 1966, the venue Kingston, Jamaica,
the event, the Commonwealth Games Mens Marathon.
At exactly 5.30am seventeen runners face the Starter including one
James "Jim" Noel Carroll Alder, representing Scotland.

Jim Alder in action at 1966 Commonwealth Games
The gun goes off and immediately it's pre race favourite Ron Clarke
of Australia who hurtles to the front, and before long shoots off into an astounding lead
and by a short space of time is only a speck in the distance.
Coursewise the route is relatively easy, the only hazard is the heat and eventually
Clarke is seen to be coming back fast.
Meanwhile Jim Alder and England's Bill Adcock have being running a
sensible chasing pace and eventually pass a much distressed Clarke.
Others drop out including England's Brian Kilby and surprisingly Jamaican Keith B Graham.
Alder and Adcocks scent medals as they turn at halfway and continue to
work together and at fifteen miles they eventually see the distressed Clarke
at a watering hole and barely able to walk never mind run.
Jim passed a remark to the effect that one of them had Gold
and the other would surely get Silver.

Jim Alder tracks Bill  Adcocks at 1966 Commonwealth Games
At twenty one miles both athletes suddenly took fright
when they heard the patter of feet.
However it was only fellow Brit Bruce Tulloh out for
a training run and giving them encouragement.
At 22 miles Alder put in the required kick to get away from Adcocks and headed for home.
Alder was still leading as he approached the outskirts of the Stadium,
but suddenly problems in the shape of visiting members of the Royal Family
namely Prince Philip, Prince Charles and Princess Anne began
to take their toll on proceedings.

All the marshals and officials left their posts and Jim was left
to ask a car park attendant which way,
I don't know man!! was the reply, eventually one man helped Jim
on his way and that was Scottish Official Duncan McLeod- Wright,
himself a five time winner of the Morpeth to Newcastle Road Race in its early days.
That route was up some stairs!!! and eventually down into the tunnel.

Jim Alder in Scottish vest
Eventually Jim made it onto the track only to see the figure
of a man on the track ahead of him, it was Adcocks,
How could that be? he was about to be robbed of the glory he'd
worked for and dreamt of every night.
Despite not being able to believe the sight in front of him Alder set off
in hot pursuit to regrab his opportunity.
He kept pulling yard after yard off Adcocks and eventually just managed to get
in front of him to break the finish line tape in 2hrs22m078s with five seconds and
all of fifteen yards to spare and to win a Gold Medal that was at last his for keeps.

It was indeed a remarkable achievement for Alder as five days beforehand
he had persuaded the Scottish team management to allow him
to run in the 6 mile Track Race, the equivalent of what is now our 10,000metres,
the race that also brought him and Scotland
a Bronze medal in an excellent 28m15s.

Jim Alder gets civic reception in Morpeth 1966
Two days later Alder was forced to draw breath again as he was amazed
at the Civic reception he recieved on his return to his beloved Morpeth
which included a march salute from some of his clubmates at Morpeth Harriers.
Congratulations Jim on this the 40th Anniversary of your greatest success.

Jim Alder as he is now in 2006 with grandson

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ATHLETIC BOOKS


Below is a list of books that are available for Club Members to borrow.

TEACHING ATHLETICS TO 8-13 YEAR OLDS
An old book, but gives the basics in a range of athletics disciplines.

SHOT PUTT - MAX JONES

HIGH JUMP - FRANK DICK

LONG JUMP - MALCOLM ARNOLD

HAMMER THROWING - CARL JOHNSON

HOW TO TEACH JUMPS - DAVID JOHNSON

HOW TO JUDGE FIELD EVENTS (2 copies)

HOW TO JUDGE TRACK EVENTS (2 copies)

PHYSIOLOGY OF FITNESS - BRIAN SHARKEY
A technical book which includes chapters on health and fitness,
fitness and wellbeing, fitness and lifestyle.

THE LONELY BREED
An old book but a good read on the historical side of running.

TRAINING YOUNG DISTANCE RUNNERS
A good book for new coaches.

MIDDLE DISTANCE RUNNING - CLIFF TEMPLE
A book with some useful tips on all aspects of running and training.

MIDDLE AND DISTANCE MARATHON AND STEEPLECHASE
Covers training of all those racing disciplines.

AROMATHERAPY - A guide to its uses.

There are also books available from Tony Ward to borrow.

SPORTING CAVALCADE - FRED MOFFATT
A hundred years of sport in Morpeth.

CURES FOR COMMON INJURIES

RUNNERS REPAIR MANUAL

PERFORMANCE MASSAGE

UNDERSTANDING SPORTS MASSAGE

MIDDLE DISTANCE TRAINING

Various Club Members also have copies of
MARATHON AND CHIPS - ARTHUR T McKENZIE
The interesting biography of Morpeth Harriers legend Jim Alder.

Enquiries about all the above can be made at
Morpeth Harriers & AC Clubhouse.

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Help Our Young Athletes !

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Karen Ogle BSc.HONS Physiotherapy Clinic !

I have recently opened up a new physiotherapy clinic
in Morpeth town centre opposite The Clock Tower.
This is an additional practice to my clinic at Stakeford.
I can offer all aspects of physiotherapy treatment
as well as a full range of orthotics, ie foot problems.
at competitive rates,
I have in the past and currently,
treat many athletes for sports related injuries.
Find out more.......

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Gift Aid Form !
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FORM.......

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Community Amateur Sports Club Notice !
Community Amateur Sports Notice
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Running In The Dark !
Reflective Vest
Pavements or footpaths should be used if provided.
Where possible, avoid running next to the kerb with your back to the traffic.
If you have to step into the road, look both ways first.
If there is no pavement or footpath,
run on the right-hand side of the road
so that you can see oncoming traffic.
You should take extra care and be
prepared to run in single file,
especially on narrow roads or in poor light
keep close to the side of the road.
It may be safer to cross the road well before a sharp right-hand bend
(so that oncoming traffic has a better chance of seeing you).
Cross back after the bend.
Help other road users to see you.
Wear or carry something light coloured,
bright or fluorescent in poor daylight conditions.
When it is dark, use reflective materials
(e.g. armbands, sashes, waistcoats and jackets),
which can be seen, by drivers using headlights,
up to three times as far away as non-reflective materials.
BE SEEN IN THE DARK; WEAR SOMETHING REFLECTIVE !
Reflective Vest
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CramTags from COCO

CramTags have been produced for COCO by Reebok and are dedicated to the memory of Kevin,the brother of former athlete and now TV-presenter Steve Cram.
Kevin fell and died tragically in 2001 whilst out running and like most runners
he was not carrying ID at the time and his identification was
therefore delayed adding to the distress of the incident.
CramTags
Dedicated to the memory of Kevin,
CramTags are small, light weight identity tags which lace easily and securely into your running shoe:
CramTags
just write your contact details on the front
and any medical details on the back of your CramTag and then lace into your shoe.

CramTags are suitable for runners, walkers, cyclists, children and any one else with an outdoor lifestyle.
Cramtags are available from COCO in return for a modest donation (£1 minimum is requested)

How to Order your CramTag

To place individual or bulk orders of CramTags,
please e-mail Lucy to request an electronic or hard copy of the booking form.
(If requesting a hard copy, please include postal address!)
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2005/2006 CLUB AWARDS
Logo"

SPORTING MORPETHIAN TROPHY

(Best Performance U15 or U13)
MARCUS CRAM

DODDS CUP

(Most Improved athlete)
PAUL WATERSTON

CECIL MITCHELL MEMORIAL PLATE

('Sportsmanship') ALISTAIR MacDONALD

BOUTFLOWER CUP

(Best Performance by U20 or U17)
NICK SWINBURN

GRE PLATE

(Best Senior Track Performance)
NICK McCORMICK

DES SLOWEY TROPHY

(Young Athletes’ Team U15)
KARL TAYLOR

GRE TROPHY

(Best Senior Field Performance)
ANGUS WOOD

WOOLWORTH`S TROPHY

(Young Athletes’ Team U17)
ROBERT BALMBRA

GRE PLATE SHIELD

(Best Female T & F Performance)
JULIA STRAKER

BELLERBY SHIELD

(Club Service)
DAVID SWINBURNE

BELLERBY TROPHY

(Best Performance by a female)
LAURA WEIGHTMAN

MILLENIUM TROPHY

(Work in the Community)
NATALIE ROE

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