2008 North Eastern Counties Track & Field Championships !
Sixteen Championship medals were won by Morpeth Harriers Young athletes
at the North Eastern Counties Track and Field meeting held at Gateshead's
International Stadium over Saturday and Sunday 10th/11th May.
Apart from the medals, five of which were Gold, six were Silver
and five were Bronze, a host of new personal bests were achieved
in what could only be described as perfect conditions,
with both days being blessed with dry, warm sunny weather.
On Saturday Laura Weightman was the first Morpeth athlete to
strike Gold in what could only be described as a fairly
competitive combined Under 20 and Senior Womens 800m.
The 2007 Under 17 Champion shared most of the early pace
with former Morpeth athlete Nisha Desai, now running for Trafford,
and with 200m remaining Weightman decided to take up the gauntlett
only to be chased all the way to the line by her fierce rival Stacey Smith,
formerly Tynedale, now with Gateshead.
Sensing danger from Smith, Weightman injected yet another surge
of power with 40m remaining and crossed the finish line in 2m08.20s,
knocking a whole three seconds off her previous figures for the distance.
By finishing in fourth place behind Desai, Morpeth's Natalie Young picked
up a Bronze medal by virtue of being third Under 20 in 2m23.5s.
Another Morpeth Gold medallist on the Saturday was Hannah Rank,
who easily won her very first Under 15 Girls 3000m in 11m15.1s.
Hannah's training partner and clubmate Rachel Denton opted to
give the Under 15 Girls 800m a miss on the Saturday, however
turned up on the Sunday to put in an outstanding performance
to take Gold in the 1500m in 4m51.99s, and bettering
her previous figures by around three seconds.
Morpeth's Joe Robertshaw more than made up for his narrow
defeat in the Under 13 Boys 100m on the Saturday,
where his clocking of 13.7s was exactly the same as the winner
Matthew Routh of Middlesbrough, by breaking the Championship
record in the heats of the 200m on the Sunday with his time of 27.38s,
and then went on to win Gold in the Final in a slightly faster 27.21s
against the same Middlesbrough athlete, however the sweetness
was slightly taken away by the fact that the Wind Gauge had ruled
his time ineligible for ratification to a better figure.
Nevertheless Joe had worked hard for to retain his hold on the title that
he won in 2007, and more than deserved this particular victory alone.
Morpeth's fifth Gold of the weekend came on the Sunday
where Alan Richmond won the Under 20 Mens Hammer with a best of 34.53m.
This was Richmond's second medal of the weekend having taken Bronze
on the Saturday in the Discus with a little below par best of 29.12m.
Chris Sampson just lost out to New Marske's Dominic Shaw in
a hard fought Senior Mens 5000m, where he clocked 15m09.56s.
Clubmates Dan Samuels and Ross Floyd finished fourth and seventh
in respective times of 15m44.88s and 16m06.69s.
Deborah Oakley picked up a well deserved Silver medal
in the Under 17 Womens 3000m with a finishing time of 11m37.74s.
On Sunday Natalie Young added a Silver medal to the
Bronze medal she'd won on the Saturday when finishing
second in the Under 20 Womens 1500m in 4m51.41s.
Also on Sunday Martyn Cairns secured Silver in the
Under 20 Mens 5000m where he clocked 17m45.08s.
Morpeth's other Silver medals came in the Field events
with Rachel Moody taking second in the Under 17 Womens Javelin
on the Saturday with her best of 17.05m .
On Saturday Alistair Douglass secured a well earned Bronze medal in the
Under 17 Mens 1500m where he clocked a brand new lifetime best of 4m17.08s,
and on the Sunday he very nearly added a second Bronze
in the 3000m where he clocked an excellent 9m31.30s.
Morpeth's Jack Hepple finished third in the Under 15 Boys 400m in 68.45s.
One Morpeth athlete who performed superbly over the
two days was Jonny Nisbet who on Saturday won his heat of
the Under 15 Boys 1500m in a new personal best time of 4m45.74s,
and although he bettered that time again in the final,
just lost out for medals when he finished fifth.
Jonny returned on the Sunday to produce yet another personal best
in the heats of the 800m where his 2m18.69s saw him finish fourth
in his heat, to go through to the final as a fastest loser.
However 2m18.84s in the Final was just not quite good
enough to get him amongst the medals.
Despite clocking excellent new personal bests of 4m19.23s
and 2m04.72s in the Under 17 Mens 1500m and 800m events,
Morpeth's Marcus Cram found himself outside the medals,
however as a first year in this age group there is certainly more to
come from the son of the former World Mile Record Holder.
Other excellent Morpeth performers other than medallists were
Shannon Henley who made it through to the finals of both the 100m
and 200m in the Under 13 Girls age group and finished fourth in the Long Jump,
Daniel Hedley who got through to the Final of the Under 17 Mens 200m,
Andrew Toothill who finished fourth in the Under 20 Mens Discus,
and Liam Brooks who just lost out on countback for
a Bronze medal in the Under 13 Boys High Jump.
The profile of the North Eastern Counties Championships certainly
reached a new high with a good deal of competition in Track events,
however there is still a good deal of work to be done
to ensure popularity within the Field events.
Certainly medal presentatations done in front of a watching
crowd added some spice to the occasion.
Many thanks must go to Gateshead Council
for their efforts in promoting the event.
YOUNG ATHLETES PAGE INDEX
Running In The Dark !
Start Fitness North Eastern Athletics League !
There were some fine performances from our young athletes
at the second Start Fitness North eastern Athletics League held at
Gateshead's International Stadium on Wednesday 28th May.
The event also incorporated a series of BMC 800m events
which saw Rachel Denton produce a new personal best of 2m21.82s
to capture an excellent victory over Middlesbrough & Cleveland Senior athlete Abby Smith.
In the league events, the performances of Marcus Cram,
Alistair Douglass and Joe Robertshaw clearly stand out for merit.
In the 800m A race where he was seeded against more Senior athletes,
Cram achieved a brand new personal best of 2m02.57s.
Clubmate Martyn Cairns can also feel well pleased with a
personal best of 2m08.13s which saw him take the B race.
Alistair Douglass ran a superb 3000m to finish third against
more Senior rivals in a time of 9m25.7s.
Another Morpeth young athlete in the 3000m was
Jordan Scott who finished 10th in 9m39.4s
Joe Robertshaw just missed his personal best when he
triumphed in the Under 13 Boys 200m in 27.29s.
Jonny Nisbet gave good account for himself when he finished second
in the Under 15 Boys 200m in 27.4s and fifth in the 800m in 2m18.50s.
Start Fitness North Eastern Athletics League ( 1 )
YOUNG ATHLETES PAGE INDEX
Running In The Dark !
Start Fitness North Eastern Athletics League !
Morpeth Harrier Laura Weightman showed that she is now virtually
back to her sparkling best as she knocked a whole three seconds
off her personal best time in the 1500m at the first Start Fitness
North Eastern Athletics League meeting held at a rainswept
Monkton Stadium, Jarrow on Wednesday 30th April.
She certainly took every advantage when running as the only Female
against older Men and Boys, to cross the finish line in an excellent 4m23.4s.
Another good Morpeth performer on the night was Joe Robertshaw,
who won the Under 13 Boys 100m in 13.5s.
Other Young Morpeth Athlete performers on the night were
Katie Plant Under 15 Girls 75m Hurdles (16.0s) and 100m (14.5s)
Daniel Hedley (18.1s) Under 17 Mens 150m and (39.7s) 300m,
Martyn Cairns (4m35.4s) Under 20 Mens 1500m,
Deborah Oakley (5m49.1s) Under 17 Womens 1500m.
YOUNG ATHLETES PAGE INDEX
Running In The Dark !
On Camp with Kelly !
Laura Weightman recently spent 10 days in the company
of Great Britain's double Olympic Gold Medallist Kelly Holmes,
courtesy of the Norwich Union funded scheme that Holmes
had masterminded in 2004 in order to help prepare athletes
that had been pinpointed for future stardom as British Champions.
Laura was one of 40 youngsters who had been handpicked
to take part in the educational camp at Loughborough University,
and here she describes her unique experience day by day as it happened for her.
On Camp with Kelly – 1st – 10th April
When I arrived on Monday 31st I didn't know what to expect.
We were told to pack as if we were going abroad on an aeroplane.
So when I arrived, they weighed my suitcase and took it off me.
I was just left with my VERY under prepared hand luggage.
Tuesday 1st April
Today was the first day of ‘On camp with Kelly’ I was really
excited but I was nervous as I didn’t know what to expect.
By this time I still had still not received my luggage.
We were told that they were in ‘Spain’.
We were welcomed to the camp and we meet Kelly.
We also did team building tasks. My team won!!!!!
We did are first training session:-
Grass track session. 10min warm up and cool down jog,
with drills and stretches. (1000m, 500m, 500m) x2.
This was a really hard session, Kelly also did the session with us.
Wednesday 2nd April
I had only just received my bag after it was found in ‘Spain’ !
We had talks on Hydration, Nutrition; these were very interesting talks I learnt a lot.
We also had a talk on the importance of goal setting.
We were up at 7:30am to do a run. I did a 27min run;
It was enjoyable to do it at this time of the morning, with all the girls.
We then all did aqua jogging. This was really enjoyable as I had never done it before.
It’s good when you are injured as it is none weight bearing and you are
able to replicate your track sessions in the pool.
We did:-
5min warm up and cool down
2min, 60s, 30s, 15s
2min, 60s, 30s, 15s, 15s
75s, 60s, 45s, 30s, 15s, 15s
The recovery was the same as the effort, slow jogging.
This session was really hard but I really enjoyed it.
Thursday 3rd April
We went to stay a Welbeck 6th form college. This was a military base.
There were 15 of the old girls that came and 15 new boys.
We began the day by doing team tasks which were really fun;
we had to jog everywhere with heavy and annoying army helmets on!!
Today we did are first session on the track. We did a 10min jog warm up.
Then we did drills but we were getting filmed so that they could
see what we need to improve on. In my case a lot!
We did:-
2 x 6 x 300m with 2min recovery and 1 lap between the sets.
50s- 47s for each of the efforts.
Then at the end we did 6 x 40m.
This session was really fun as I love running 300m reps
and it was nice to have the other girls there pushing you along.
Also it was good to have Kelly running them with you.
Friday 4th April
Today was the day that I was not looking forward to, as we were doing circuits.
We started at 10am. We did a 10 min warm up jog and stretch.
Then we did 1hour 30min of very hard circuits.
We had 5 min breaks, as they changed around the circuits.
This was really hard but I have learnt ways I can do my own circuit without equipment.
We also had talks from the doctor on injury, allergies, asthma and stress fractures.
This was really interesting as I have problems with a lot of what he talked about.
Saturday 5th April
Today we had a race. We could run either 600m, 800m, 1000m or 1500m.
But I decided to do the 1000m just as I had never done one before.
I won in 2:57.85. The day was fun as they told us we were in Poland
at the World Junior Championships.
So they had Polish signs everywhere.
The starter even said ‘on your marks’ in Polish.
There was also a mixed zone at the finish of the race
with loads of reporters waiting to interview you.
Then as you went inside there were UK Sport doping control.
I was asked to do a drug test, I was quite nervous as I had never done one before.
But they just wanted to show you the procedure of what it would be like.
This was a good experience so I now know what to expect in the future.
Sunday 6th April
When I woke up it was white!! There was snow everywhere.
We went out for a 40min run at 7:30am. I loved it in the snow,
this made it harder but it was very much fun.
Today we had a talk on 100% me. This was all about drug testing
and what you can and can’t take at a championship.
Then we met Margot Jennings (Kelly’s Coach).
She was amazing so inspirational. We had a talk with her on mental techniques.
I learnt a lot from her, she gave you so many tips.
Monday 7th April
Today we did a track session with Margot.
The session was really interesting as I had never done anything like it before.
We did:-
1 mile (we had to pick are time and run it –
no faster than 6min – I pick 6:17.5
and you had to take of your watch)
I ran 6:15.5. A lap jog.
Then 3 x 400M with 70 sec recovery. A lap jog.
Then 10 x 80m with 20 sec recovery
Then 2 x 80m, 2 x 60m, 2 x 40m and 6 x 20m.
All with 15sec recovery.
This session was really hard, but I especially loved the short sprints at the end.
We also had a talk on nutrition, what is good to eat before and after a race/training.
Tuesday 8th April
We were up at 8am to do a fartlek session with Kelly.
We did a hard 15min warm up and cool down.
Then 15 minutes of hard fartlek. On a hard hill loop,
increasing speed and decreasing speed on the whistle.
This was hard but you were kept on going by the other girls.
Also today we were very lucky to have an hour physio screening with a top physio.
This was really good to help me strengthen my weaknesses.
I was seen by Alison Rose. It hurt at times though!!
Wednesday 9th April
Today we did aqua jogging again.
This time we did:-
10 min warm up jog and 5 min of water drills; they were very hard to do.
5 x 3 min with 90sec jog recovery.
Then 8 x 1 min with 30 sec jog recovery.
This session was hard but I managed to get used to the technique of aqua jogging.
We then did a 30min run with Kelly.
Kelly also showed us some medicine ball circuits we could do.
Thursday 10th April
Today was the last day. By this day we were all a bit tired.
But we were up at 8am, to do a 30min run with Kelly.
I had an amazing time. I have learnt so much that I have taken away with me.
The training was hard but it was a good kick start to the track season.
Watch Video of On Camp with
Kelly.......
YOUNG ATHLETES PAGE INDEX
Running In The Dark !
Gateshead Harriers Track & Field Meeting
!
Sarah Wilkes of Morpeth Harriers began her Track and Field season
with great determination and success when she competed in
Round 1 of 5 Rounds in the Gateshead Harriers Young Athletes
meetings at Gateshead International Stadium on Sunday 20th April.
She cleared 3.40m to win the Under 12's Long Jump,
she won her heat in the 60m in 9.8s
and finished third in the final in 9.6s.
Sarah went on to finish 4th in the 600m in 2m17s,
and 4th in the Javelin with 6.5m.
All of these efforts gave her a total of 14 Grand Prix points
placing her second overall after one round.
Gateshead Harriers also held their Medal Track Meeting
alongside the Young Athletes meeting,
and two of Morpeths Young athletes produced prominent performances.
Daniel Hedley finished fifth in the Under 17 Mens 100m
in 12.5s and fourth in the 200m in 25.1s.
Rachel Denton had an excellent run of 2m26.18s
to finish second in the Under 15 Girls 800m.
YOUNG ATHLETES PAGE INDEX
Running In The Dark !
2008 London Mini-Marathon !
In the London Mini Marathon on Sunday 13th April,
Morpeths Laura Weightman finished fourth in the
15 to 17 year old girls category in the Non London Borough event.
In addition to Laura Weightman, eight other Morpeth Harriers
took part in the series of Mini Marathons that accompanied
the 28th running of the Flora London Marathon.
Natalie Young and Claire Pitt finished 54th and 67th
respectively in the 15 to 17 year old Girls event
that saw Laura finish fourth, although Laura finished up fifth
in the result sheet purely down to the chip recording system.
In the Boys 15 to 17 year age group, Jordan Scott and
Alistair Douglass finished 62nd and 73rd respectively.
Rachel Denton and Hannah Rank finished 14th and 34th
in a quality filled 13 to 14 year old Girls event.
In the 11 to 12 year old Girls event Adele Stewart finished in 63rd place.
Reece Ramsay finished 67th in the 11 to 12 year old Boys event.
YOUNG ATHLETES PAGE INDEX
Running In The Dark !
Cyril Elliott Memorial Open Track & Field Meeting
!
Morpeth Harrier Jordan Scott produced an excellent performance to finish
second in the 3000m at the Cyril Elliott Memorial Open Track & Field Meeting
at Claireville Stadium, Middlesbrough on Saturday 29th March.
Jordan clocked 9m46.2s putting him 26 seconds adrift
of race winner Andrew Wills of Gateshead Harriers.
Other Morpeth Young athletes to feature at the meeting
were Daniel Hedley and Greg Swinburn.
Hedley finished fourth in the Under 17 Mens 100m in 12.9s,
and fifth in the 200m in 26.0s.
Swinburn finished seventh in the Under 20 Mens 400m in 57.0s,
and second in the 200m in 24.1s.
YOUNG ATHLETES PAGE INDEX
Running In The Dark !
Indoor Standards Meeting !
At the final Indoor Standards Meeting held at Gateshead Stadium recently,
Morpeth's Joe Robertshaw triumphed in the Under 13 Boys 60m in 8.63s.
YOUNG ATHLETES PAGE INDEX
Running In The Dark !
2008 Elswick Harriers Good Friday Road Races !
At the annual Elswick Harriers Good Friday Road Races,
held at a cold and blustery Newburn Business Park,
Morpeths Young athletes had some noteable performances and victorys.
Morpeth's Under 13 Boys squad won their event,
and had the pleasure of seeing North East Cross Country Champion
Adam Harrington claim individual victory in 9m46s,
with Jonnie Nisbet finishing in second place in 9m50s.
The winning team score was closed with Jack Hepple
coming home in eleventh place in 10m45s.
Other Morpeth finishers in the Under 13 Boys event were
Jonny Anderson (17th) 11m06s, Liam Brooks (19th) 11m09s,
Ben Steel (33rd) 12m13s and Matthew Denton (38th) 13m10s.
Rachel Denton scored a superb individual victory in the Under 15 Girls event.
She won with seven seconds to spare over Gosforth's Rosie King with her time of 10m16s.
Morpeth unfortunately just missed out on team success to Gosforth despite
an excellent third place by Hannah Rank in a time of 10m34s.
Rachael Steel closed Morpeth's scoring three with
an excellent run to finish seventh in 11m26s.
It was on a countback situation that Gosforth won,
with both clubs being all square on points.
Other Morpeth finishers in the Under 15 Girls event were
Ailsa McGregor (11th) 12m05s and Catriona MacDonald (19th) 13m15s.
Another individual victory on the day came in the
Under 15 Boys event where Marcus Cram won with twenty
two seconds to spare over his closest rival Jake Archer of Sunderland Harriers.
It was at the point where the runners had the wind to their backs that Marcus
took off in search of victory, and he crossed the finish line in 11m54s.
Unfortunately Morpeth could not field a scoring three here,
as Philip Shuttleworth produced an excellent run to finish eighth in 12m55s.
Sarah Wilkes led Morpeth's Under 13 Girls home to fifth team
place when she finished 14th of 28 in 12m20s.
Further team support came from Carley Mae Webster (16th) 12m36s
and Francesca Price, in her first competitive outing, (18th) 12m53s.
Another Morpeth runner in this event was Rachael Todd who finished 24th in 13m38s.
Alistair Douglass was Morpeth's lone Under 17 Mens runner,
and he ran excellently to finish 8th in 12m18s.
YOUNG ATHLETES PAGE INDEX
Running In The Dark !
2008 Inter Counties Cross Country Championships !
At the Inter Counties Cross Country Championships held at
Wollaton Park, Nottingham on Saturday 15th March,
Morpeths young athletes in the North East team performed well.
Marcus Cram of Morpeth gave an excellent performance in the
Under 15 Boys event to finish as second counter for
the North East in nineteenth place of 281 finishers.
Click Here For Photos From Under 15 Boys Race.......
Morpeth's Marc Cochrane repaid the faith of the selectors
to finish as fourth counter in 91st place for a North East
Junior Mens squad that finished in tenth team place.
Click Here For Photos From Junior Mens Race.......
Another North East squad that finished tenth were the Under 13 Boys,
and three Morpeth Harriers played their parts excellently.
Superb runs by Jonny Nisbet and North East Champion
Adam Harrington saw them finish in 35th and 37th places
respectively and only a second apart in the final run in
that saw them as first and second counters.
Lewis Coyle produced an excellent performance to come
home as fourth counter in 80th place out of 298 finishers.
Eighth and final finisher for the North East
was Jack Hepple who placed 181st.
Click Here For Photos From Under 13 Boys Race.......
Morpeths Rachel Denton led the North East's Under 15 Girls squad
home to 13th team place when finishing 58th in a field of 274 finishers.
Clubmate and training partner Hannah Rank was
a non scorer as fifth from the region in 95th place.
Click Here For Photos From Under 15 Girls Race.......
The North East's Under 17 Womens squad who were hit by the loss of
former Inter Counties Champion Laura Weightman,
finished in sixteenth team place.
Natalie Young of Morpeth produced a superb performance to come
home as second counter in 70th place out of 240 finishers.
Click Here For Photos From Under 17 Womens Race.......
Although a non scorer, Morpeth's Jordan Scott answered his late
call up to the North East's Under 17 Mens squad by finishing 145th of 258 finishers.
Click Here For Photos From Under 17 Mens Race.......
Morpeth's Laura Dixon finished 111th in the Junior Womens event.
Click Here For Photos From Junior Womens Race.......
Its thought that the North East Counties may have won
the overall trophy by completing as a prominent team
in all of the ten events to count in the competition.
YOUNG ATHLETES PAGE INDEX
Running In The Dark !
2008 Scottish Secondary Schools Cross Country Championships !
Competing in the Boys 15 to 17 year age group, Morpeth Harrier Marcus Cram
led his Fettes College of Edinburgh team - mates to fourth team place in the
Scottish Secondary Schools Cross Country Championships held in Irvine on Saturday 8th March.
Marcus finished eighth and was thirteen seconds adrift of a Bronze medal.
YOUNG ATHLETES PAGE INDEX
Running In The Dark !
2008 English Schools Cross Country Championships !
Eleven Morpeth Harriers competed for Northumberland at the
English Schools Cross Country Championships held at
Sefton Park, Liverpool on Saturday 8th March.
On a day when the county certainly underperformed,
there was brightness in the individual performance of Rachel Denton,
and the best team performance being achieved by
the Intermediate Boys who finished eleventh.
In Denton's case she ran very competitively to come home in 24th place
and led Northumberland's Junior Girls home to 22nd team place.
Other Morpeth Harriers amongst the counters in this age group
were Hannah Rank (135th) and Rachael Steel (225th),
who were third and sixth for the county.
The Intermediate Boys were helped in their eleventh placed effort by
Morpeth's Alistair Douglass, who in finishing 139th was fifth counter.
Although Laura Weightman's form is still a worrying factor,
she managed to lead Northumberland's Senior Girls home to
20th team place with her individual placing of 22nd.
A lack of regular racing this winter did not daunt Natalie Young
when she came home as third counter in 101st place.
Northumberland's Intermediate Girls finished in 22nd team place
and were helped by Morpeth's Claire Pitt (187th) (4th counter)
and Zoe Armstrong (218th) (6th counter)
Although not a counter Deborah Oakley
competed well to finish in 236th place.
Northumberland's Junior Boys finished in 25th team place with
Morpeth's Jonny Nisbet being their fifth counter in 161st place.
Jordan Scott of Morpeth was second counter for
the Senior Boys who finished in 30th team place.
His individual placing was 145th.
Recent rain had made the Sefton Park course a little tricky in places,
with tightness of space also being experienced in several cases by athletes.
YOUNG ATHLETES PAGE INDEX
Running In The Dark !
2008 English National XC Championships !
In terms of individual performance, Adam Harrington's placing of seventh in the Under 13 Boys
event at the Saucony sponsored English National Cross Country Championships,
held at Alton Towers in Staffordshire on Saturday 23rd February,
was the most outstanding from any Morpeth Harrier on the day.
The North East Champion went off strongly from the gun,
and held himself prominently throughout, and was only a
mere eight seconds adrift of a Silver medal at the finish line.
Northern Champion Fergus Roberts of Richmond and Zetland
had stolen well away to claim another Gold Medal victory.
Morpeth Harriers finished eighth in the team competition in this event
with Harrington's excellent run being well supported by Jonny Nisbet (26th)
Jack Hepple (84th) and Reece Ramsey (157th).
Sixth team place against some strong opposition was a
good result for Morpeth's Under 17 Women.
Despite another slightly jaded performance by her own standards,
Laura Weightman led the Morpeth quartet home by finishing in seventeenth place.
Second counter home was Natalie Young, who like brother Jonathan,
was making a competitive comeback after a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
Natalie finished in 60th place.
Third counter was Zoe Armstrong, who had begun strongly,
but slipped a little in the later stages to eventually finish 92nd.
The scoring count was completed by Deborah Oakley who finished 103rd.
Morpeth Harriers Under 15 Girls finished as 16th team.
They were led home by Rachel Denton who finished in 25th place.
Hannah Rank was second counter in 79th place.
The Morpeth team counts here were completed by
Ailsa McGregor (183rd) and Catriona MacDonald (258th).
A bit of in house competing between Karl Taylor and Jordan Scott
led Morpeth's Under 17 Mens squad home to 21st team place.
After Scott had gone slightly ahead of Taylor at the end of the first lap,
Taylor chased him home and caught him just ahead of the finish line
to finish in 83rd place, with Scott finishing in 85th spot.
The scoring counts were completed by Alistair Douglass (96th)
and Daniel Hedley who finished 290th.
On a note of credibility, Morpeth Harriers Under 13 Girls squad
performed excellently to finish as 35th team.
Bearing in mind all of this squad are in the first year of their age group,
and will all be eligible to compete at the same level again next year,
their performance holds a great deal of promise for the future.
They were led home by the "mighty atom" tactics of tiny Sarah Wilkes,
who battled the tough natured course to finish in 229th place.
Excellent further support came from Adele Stewart (240th)
Stephanie Purvis (289th) and Eve Shashova (310th).
Back to individual performance, and Marcus Cram produced
a sound run to finish 28th in the Under 15 Boys event.
Unfortunately Morpeth could not close as a team in this event,
and other club finishers were Tom Brookes (292nd)
and an injured Philip Shuttleworth (330th).
YOUNG ATHLETES PAGE INDEX
Running In The Dark !
English Schools XC Championships Selection
!
The following Young Athletes from Morpeth Harriers have been
selected by Northumberland to represent the county at the
English Schools Cross Country Championships, which are
being held at Sefton Park, Liverpool on Saturday 8th March 2008.
Junior Boys
Jonny Nisbet.
Intermediate Boys
Alistair Douglass
Senior Boys
Jordan Scott
Martyn Cairns
Junior Girls
Rachel Denton
Hannah Rank
Rachael Steel
Intermediate Girls
Zoe Armstrong
Claire Pitt
Deborah Oakley
Senior Girls
Laura Weightman
Natalie Young
YOUNG ATHLETES PAGE INDEX
Running In The Dark !
2007/2008 Winter Cross Country Series !
Three young Morpeth Harriers have been achieving success in the
2007/2008 Winter Cross Country Series run in the Scottish Borders.
Over a series of six events that took place in Norham, Dunbar,
Galashiels, Peebles, Spittal and Lauder.
Sarah Wilkes, Steph Purvis and Eve Shashova( Pictured above )
overcame the challenge of 34 other competitors
in total in the Under12 Girls age group to
finish first, second and third respectively in the series.
The events took place between November 2007 and February 2008.
YOUNG ATHLETES PAGE INDEX
Running In The Dark !
Laura Weightman On Camp with Kelly !
Morpeths Laura Weightman has been chosen to join
double Olympic champion Dame Kelly Holmes’ exclusive
monitoring initiative for young female middle distance runners.
Laura will join the Norwich Union-supported On Camp with Kelly,
after impressing Dame Kelly at a strenuous selection day
at the UK Athletics High Performance Centre in Birmingham.
She was one of 13 athletes aged between 15 and 19 who
were selected after coming through various tasks, including
determination tests, team challenges and a session on goal setting.
Laura was also assessed on her attitude, determination and
willpower by Dame Kelly with the assistance of On Camp
with Kelly staff and representatives from UK Athletics.
Though the competition for places was gruelling,
it is no surprise to see Laura make it through.
Her athletic performances over the past 12 months stand out,
with her being the current English Schools’ intermediate 1,500m champion.
Laura, coached by Morpeth Harriers Club Secretary Mike Bateman,
with a great deal of input coming also from the
Club's Head of Coaching Tony Ward,
also won the 1,500m at the UK School Games.
To show she is equally at home racing on the country,
Laura recently landed the Northumberland Schools’ title.
16-year-old, Laura will now attend a Norwich Union-funded
On Camp with Kelly Educational Camp at
Loughborough University for 10 days from April 1-10 where she
will learn all about what it takes to become a world- class athlete.
After successfully completing the camp, she will become a full member
of the OCWK and will be able to benefit from regular get-togethers,
exhibition races, financial and medical support
and mentoring from Dame Kelly herself.
The Olympic 800m and 1,500m champion,
who started the OCWK ball rolling in 2004,
said: “I was very impressed by the performances of Laura
at the Selection Day and am delighted to welcome her to On Camp with Kelly.
“There is no doubt Laura is a very talented young athlete
and I hope that being involved with OCWK will help ther to
develop her athletics career and to achieve her full potential.”
Tanya Veingard, Head of Sponsorship at Norwich Union,
added: “As the team behind UK Athletics we are proud to
be able to offer support for all levels of athletics,
from grassroots through to elite.
“Our support for On Camp with Kelly helps to nurture and develop
talented girls into world-class athletes that Britain can be proud of
and we are delighted to be making it easier for Laura to achieve her dreams.”
Morpeth Harriers sincerely wish Laura all the best on this
latest venture, for which she has worked hard and long to achieve.
Adapted from an article that appeared in the
Newcastle Evening Chronicle on 14/02/08,
and written by Bill McGurk
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Running In The Dark !
UK Inter Counties XC Championships Selection !
The following Young Morpeth Harriers have been selected by the North Eastern Counties
to compete for the region at the UK Inter Counties Cross Country Championships,
which incorporates the World Cross Country Trials, and the final of the UK Cross Challenge,
to be held at Wollaton Park, Nottingham on Saturday 15th March 2008.
Under 17 Men
Karl Taylor
Under 15 Boys
Marcus Cram
Under 13 Boys
Adam Harrington and Jonny Nisbet
Under 17 Women
Laura Weightman and Zoe Armstrong
Under 15 Girls
Rachel Denton and Hannah Rank.
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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.
Click Here to See Video of Awards Night Presentation.......
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2008 Northern Inter Counties Schools XC Championships
!
Although Northumberland could only manage one outright team victory
at the Northern Inter Counties Schools Cross Country Championships
held at Acklam Grange School in Cleveland,
on Saturday 2nd February there were a number of good individual
performances from athletes connected with Morpeth Harriers.
This was the last stage of competition that would give selectors
their chance to view who were going to make it on the team bus
for the English Schools Championships,
due to be held at Sefton Park in Liverpool in March.
Pride of place in those performances must go to Dame Allan's pupil
Rachel Denton who claimed an outstanding victory in the Junior Girls
event by showing a clean pair of heels to her nearest rival
by a margin of nineteen seconds.
The result in this event, where Northumberland finished as third team,
reflected well on Morpeth Harriers, as Denton was obviously leading counter,
her clubmates Hannah Rank (7th) and Rachael Steel (17th)
finished as second and third counters.
Other Morpeth Harriers competing in this event were
Ailsa McGregor (31st) (8th counter)
and Steph Courty (39th) (11th counter)
Denton, Rank and Steel, should all be on the
Northumberland team bus for Liverpool.
Another Morpeth Harrier who secured his spot for Liverpool was Jordan Scott,
who can feel well pleased with his effort to finish fourth in the Senior Boys event,
and led Northumberland home to third team place.
His club colleague Martyn Cairns came home in 23rd place as sixth counter.
Running against older boys in the Junior event, did not prevent
North Eastern Counties Under 13 Boys Cross Country Champion
Adam Harrington turning on the finest of performances
to finish in twelfth place as second counter for a
Northumberland squad that narrowly missed out on victory
to North Yorkshire by the margin of two points.
Sixth counter for the county was Harrington's club colleague
Jonny Nisbet who competed well to finish in 18th place.
Eighth counter was Jack Hepple of Morpeth who was 26th overall.
Another excellent Morpeth performer was Alistair Douglass
who came home as third counter in seventh place for a
Northumberland squad that finished second to Durham.
The Preliminary Boys event saw Morpeth Harriers Reece Ramsay
and Ryan Dodds finish ninth and thirty sixth respectively.
Northumberland's only team victory came in the Senior Girls
where Morpeth's Natalie Young finished as fourth counter in ninth place.
Eighth counter and a non scorer was her club colleague
Laura Dixon who finished 18th overall.
The Intermediate Girls event saw Morpeth's Zoe Armstrong finish as
fourth counter for Northumberland in twelfth place overall.
There was a strong presense of Morpeth athletes in this event
with Armstrong being accompanied by Claire Pitt (18th) (7th counter)
Deborah Oakley (20th) (9th counter), Stevie Goodfellow (39th) (11th counter)
and Louise Cairns (40th) (12th counter)
Northumberland finished as second team to Durham in this event.
Adele Stewart and Eve Shashoua of Morpeth Harriers were
fourth and fifth home respectively for a third placed
Northumberland Preliminary Girls squad when finishing in
seventeenth and nineteenth place overall.
Final team selections for the English Schools Championships
will be made known on the 17th February.
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2008 North of England Cross Country Championships
!
Despite the heavy overnight winds, conditions were near perfect
for the athletes who took part in the North of England Cross Country
Championships, held at Roundhay Park, Leeds on Saturday 26th January.
Morpeth's North East Under 13 Boys Cross Country Champion
Adam Harrington certainly showed his full potential
when he finished third to take a Bronze medal in his 3k event.
With around 800m remaining Harrington had slipped back to fifth,
however he summoned all of his reserve on the final
steep uphill to regain a medal placing,
and only just ran out of ground to take Silver.
Harrington's individual effort very nearly spurred team Bronze for Morpeth,
as they were just sixteen points adrift of third placed Warrington.
Excellent efforts by Jack Hepple (30th), Lewis Coyle (44th)
and Reece Ramsay (62nd) were the supporting counts.
Other Morpeth efforts worthy of praise in this event were
from Jonny Anderson (79th), Ben Steel (149th) and Joe Elder (159th)
Unfortunately Morpeth's Laura Weightman experienced breathing
problems in the Under 17 Womens 4.5k event, and
was disappointed to come home in seventh place.
Morpeth finished as sixth team here with good supporting runs
coming from Zoe Armstrong (39th), Deborah Oakley (60th)
and Stevie Goodfellow (82nd)
Another Morpeth athlete to suffer breathing problems was
Marcus Cram, who was forced to slow down after being in
the top ten in the early stages of the Under 15 Boys 4k event.
He eventually slipped back to 52nd place.
Morpeth's only other runner in this event was
Philip Shuttleworth who finished 95th.
Despite having been ill in the few days leading up to the event,
Morpeth's Rachel Denton still managed to work her way
through to finish 13th in the Under 15 Girls 4k event.
Morpeth finished as eighth team with further excellent team support
coming from Hannah Rank (22nd), Rachel Steel (63rd)
and Catriona MacDonald (128th)
Louise Cairns finished two places behind Catriona.
A freak head injury sustained in an accident just prior to the event,
forced Morpeth's Karl Taylor to withdraw during the Under 17 Mens 6k.
This left the club without the scoring four which was unfortunate
because Jordan Scott and Alistair Douglass finished in
42nd and 61st places respectively,
and Daniel Hedley came home in 161st place.
Morpeth could not turn out a full team in the Under 13 Girls 3k event.
Steph Courty was first home for the club in 95th place,
and Carley May Webster and Sarah Wilkes
finished in 133rd and 137th places respectively.
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Running In The Dark !
2008 Northumberland County Schools XC Championships !
Having being out of action since November, Morpeth Harrier Laura Weightman
bounced back into winning form at the Northumberland Schools Cross
Country Championships held at Kirkley Hall on Wednesday 16th January.
She won the Senior Girls event with thirty eight seconds
to spare over her nearest rival.
Fellow Harriers Natalie Young and Laura Dixon also ran well
to finish in third and seventh places respectively.
Another Morpeth Harrier winner was Adam Harrington.
The North Eastern Under 13 Boys Champion won the
Junior Boys event by a margin of six seconds.
Fellow Harriers Jack Hepple, Jonny Nisbet and Lewis Coyle
finished in seventh, eleventh and fourteenth places respectively.
Rachel Denton made it a hat-trick of Morpeth winners when she
won the Junior Girls event, with her clubmate Hannah Rank
coming home in second place.
Other Morpeth Harriers in this event were Ailsa McGregor (9th)
Steph Courty (13th) and Rachael Steel (14th)
Stephanie Purvis finished second in the Minor Girls event,
and fellow Morpeth Harrier Eve Shashoua finished seventh.
In the Intermediate Girls event Deborah Oakley, Claire Pitt
and Zoe Armstrong finished fourth fifth and sixth,
and Jessica Caldwell came home in fifteenth place.
Robert Balmbra finished fifth in the Senior Boys event,
and fellow Morpeth Harrier Martyn Cairns came home in eleventh spot.
Reece Ramsay and Joe Elder finished
second and twelfth in the Minor Boys event.
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Running In The Dark !
2008 Great Edinburgh XC Meeting !
Marcus Cram of Morpeth Harriers produced an excellent run to finish
second in the Under 15 Boys event at the
Great Edinburgh Cross Country meeting on Saturday 12th January.
Cram only missed out for victory by two seconds at the finish line.
YOUNG ATHLETES PAGE INDEX
Running In The Dark !
NECAA 2008 Indoor Track & Field Champs !
Morpeth Harrier Joe Robertshaw showed the opposition a clean pair of heels
when he retained his Under 13 Boys North Eastern Indoor 60m title
at the Championships held at Gateshead International Stadium
on Saturday and Sunday 12th and 13th January.
He clocked an excellent 8.70s which bettered his 2007 figure of 8.97s.
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Tesco Junior Great Winter Run !
Morpeth Young Athletes Sarah Wilkes and Stephanie Purvis
made very fruitfull journeys to Holyrood Park in Edinburgh
on Saturday 12th January when they finished first and third
respectively in the Under 14 Girls Tesco Junior Great Winter Run.
It was particularly successful for Sarah as she was defending the title
that she had won 12 months previous at the same venue,
and she now holds five Junior Great Run titles.
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Running In The Dark !
East Northumberland Schools XC Champs !
Several of our young athletes were prominent amongst the leading finishers
at the East Northumberland Schools Cross Country Championships
held at Queen Elizabeth Park, Ashington on Wednesday 9th January.
Zoe Armstrong won the Intermediate Girls event with Deborah Oakley
finishing second, Claire Pitt third and Louise Cairns fourth.
Hannah Rank won the Junior Girls event and Rachel Steel finished third.
Adam Harrington won the Junior Boys event with Jack Hepple
and Jonny Nisbet claiming the minor placings.
Philip Shuttleworth, coming back from illness and a leg injury,
finished sixth in the Intermediate Boys event.
The conditions were extremely difficult
with strong winds prevailing throughout.
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Running In The Dark !
Running In The Dark !
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 !
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