Morpeth athletes were in dominant form at the
Tynedale 10k Road Race on Wednesday 1st July,
when our Senior Men were convincing winners of the Team Trophy.
They were led home by Ian Harding who finished second in 32m35s,
and was only eight seconds adrift of race winner Dave Kirkland of Alnwick Harriers.
Michael Dawson, running in his first race as an official Morpeth
counter finished third in 32m43s, and the winning Morpeth
score was completed by Kristian Forster who finished sixth in 34m28s,
with fellow clubmates Ross Floyd and Phil Walker not far behind
in seventh and eighth places in respective times of 34m36s and 34m44s.
Jane Mooney led Morpeth Harriers Ladies home to second team place
behind a dominant Chester Le Street, and was fifth lady finisher in 37m35s.
Supporting Morpeth team counts came from Aiveen Fox (11th) 40m33s,
and Kate Chapman (15th) 42m20s.
The event was run in very warm and humid conditions.
Full Morpeth Results will follow...........................
Less than 48 hours after his wife was giving birth on Tyneside,
Morpeth Harrier Se-Rod Bat-Ochir was finishing second in
the Mansfield Half Marathon on Sunday 28th June.
With very little sleep, the 27 year old Mongolian International
clocked an impressive 67m29s.
However he wasn't quite in shape to match the agressive talents
of recent Blaydon Race runner up Raymond Tonui of Kenya,
who won with around 2m50s to spare over Bat-Ochir.
Against very tough conditions, which played against good times,
Morpeths Jonathan Taylor and Lewis Timmins each secured places
in the European Under 23 Championships due to be held in
Kaunas in Lithuania over 16th to 19th July,
by placing first and second in the 5000m,
at the Aviva Under 23 and Under 20 Championships held at Bedford
International Stadium over Saturday and Sunday 27th and 28th June.
Taylor clocked 14m27.28s, and Timmins eventually won
a close battle for second when he finished in 14m38.20s.
It wasn't so lucky however for fellow Harrier Laura Weightman,
who was hoping to reach the qualifying time to run the
1500m at the European Junior Championships in Novi Sad, Serbia,
which are being held one week after the Under 23 event.
Unfortunately the frustration continues, after she clocked
an impressive 4m22.08s for fourth place, with the first three all
dipping under the 4m20s qualifying standard required.
Weightman now has to find a suitable race before the cut
off point of 13th July, to see if she can still gain inclusion.
What the added frustration is, the fact she has already
dipped under the qualifying time this season,
however that was in a mixed race at the North Eastern
Track and Field League at the end of April,
and the authorities will not accept that as a ratified qualification.
Recent winner of the Blaydon race Ian Hudspith,
donned his track shoes on Saturday night ( 27th June )
to come home in seventh place in 14m07.94s,
in the Mens 5000m at the BMC meeting held at Manchester.
It was Hudspith's best 5000m time since 2002.
Fellow Morpeth Harrier Matthew Nicholson,
was just inside his seasons best when he clocked
3m52.39s for seventeenth place in a talent filled 1500m.
It was back to traditional miling at Gatesheads International Stadium
last Wednesday night ( 24th June ) when the Stan Long Memorial race was held,
as part of the third North Eastern Athletics League meeting.
The A race contained four Morpeth Harriers.
Nick Swinburn was first home for the club in third place in 4m27.34s.
Not far behind him in fifth place was Marcus Cram who clocked 4m34.03s.
One place behind Marcus came Ross Floyd who finished in 4m37.18s.
Gary Jones took part in his first ever track mile,
and finished twelfth in 4m56.08s.
Morpeth Junior Jordan Scott ran a very creditable
B race when he finished fourth in 4m50.13s.
Elsewhere in the other North Eastern Athletics League events,
Morpeth Harrier Jonnie Nisbet was just outside his personal
best when he placed fourth in the Under 15 Boys 1500m in 4m30.56s.
Callum Duncan and Joe Robertshaw finished fourth and fifth
respectively in the A race of the Under 15 Boys 100m in 12.7s and 13.3s.
Morpeths Mongolian import Se-rod Bat-Ochir enjoyed his second
British Road race victory in the Newton Aycliffe 10k on Sunday 21st June.
Having become a well adopted Geordie in the Blaydon Race, where he placed fourth,
he planted the seeds very early on to claim victory in 31m45s,
which was just outside his previous win in the North Tyneside 10k in April,
however was good enough to put forty three seconds between himself
and his closest rival on this occasion, James Bulman of North York Moors.
Another good Morpeth Harrier performer was Terry Wall
who finished fourth in a seasons best 33m05s.
Third home for Morpeth was Aiveen Fox,
who ran well to finish as second Lady in 18th place in 37m12s,
and was two places behind Ladies race winner Carolyn Summersgill
of Middlesbrough & Cleveland AC.
24 hours after winning three Gold Medals on the Track
in the Veterans North East Championships,
Morpeth's Archie Jenkins was back in action,
finishing as third Over 50 in 43rd place in 39m30s.
Other Morpeth Harriers finishers were
Julie Clark (58th) (5th Lady) 41m32s,
and Ricky Davison (115th) 44m35s.
Morpeths Neil Wilkinson won the Bronze Medal at the British
Masters 5k Road Race in Horwich, Lancashire on Sunday 21st June.
By finishing in his best time for two years in 15m32s,
he was only eleven seconds outside the winning time.
After winning his 1500m heat in 3m59.55s, Morpeths Matt Nicholson
went on to finish fifth in 3m57.07s, in the final at the
Northern Senior and Under 20 Track and Field
Championships,
held at Manchester's Sports City Arena over Saturday
and Sunday 20th/21st June.
New controversial rules governing the distance races at the
Spar European Team Championships, held in Leiria, Portugal
on Saturday and Sunday 20th/21st June, sparked widespread
criticism from Athletics media, and Morpeths Nick McCormick
was very much caught up in the somewhat vicious tactics that were
exercised in order to combat not getting caught out,
in the Mens 3000m on Sunday 21st June.
The new rules allow judges to withdraw athletes in turn,
should they cross the finish line last with five,
then four, then three laps remaining.
This resulted in all twelve competing athletes grouping
together in a wall as they came down the finishing straight with five
laps remaining, and McCormick, competing for Great Britain
and Northern Ireland, was fortunate to escape as he was
bumped to the outside, and it was a Frenchman who exited.
When the field now down to eleven came round with four laps remaining,
there was a cavalry charge for the line, and again McCormick just managed
to escape as the athletes from the Czech Republic and Sweden took hefty tumbles,
which resulted in the latter being excluded.
With three laps remaining the field were much more
spread out and McCormick was in fifth place.
McCormick kept very much in contact with the leaders,
and with two laps remaining had moved into fourth.
At the bell, McCormick moved into second place,
and was very much looking a serious challenger for victory.
With 200m remaining, McCormick began to kick for home,
however the aptly named Espana of Spain was also intent on
glory, and with 100m remaining the Spaniard went clear for victory.
McCormick was not going to give in without a fight however,
and it was only in the final 40meters that he found himself
passed by the athletes from Russia and Italy for the minor placings.
It was better than predicted however, because it was reckoned
beforehand that McCormick would probably barring
accidents have finished fifth, and fourth and nine points
was a handy bonus for his country.
McCormick's time of 8m03.45s was a little disappointing,
however given the hot conditions, and the tactics employed
within the event he felt relieved to have finished relatively unscathed,
apart from some spiking damage to his left leg.
When interviewed on BBC TV afterwards,
McCormick was very philosophical about his performance,
he was competing with the best in Europe, and felt that there
was still more to come, and he needed more races.
With regard to the tactics, he felt that the new rules presented
some difficulties, and he had been able to identify that his
own particular weakness was being unable to be perhaps
a little more physical when the occasion demands.
Morpeths evergreen Archie Jenkins enjoyed a triple medal winning
success at the annual Veterans North East Track & Field Championships,
held at Jarrow's Monkton Stadium, on Saturday 20th June.
The Alnwick schoolteacher, having only just recovered from an operation
to cure a niggling arm and shoulder injury,
won Gold medals in the Over 55, 800m, 1500m and 5000m events.
His 1500m win saw him clock an impressive seasons best 4m55.7s,
which saw him not only improve by seventeen seconds,
the time he had clocked in the Scottish Championships a week previous,
but also saw him only a mere four seconds adrift of his best 2008 time for the distance.
In the 800m, which he was running for the first time since 2007,
saw him clock 2m32.4s, which was only five seconds
outside the best he had set two years ago.
Archie also competed strongly in the later 5000m,
where he clocked 19m23.4s.
Jane Mooney in finishing as second Lady in 22nd place in 39m45s,
was Morpeths first finisher at the Newburn River Run on Wednesday 17th June.
Next home for Morpeth was Michael Winter, who finished 34th in 41m00s.
Not far behind him in 48th and 52nd places in respective times
of 42m45s and 43m17s were Simon Robson and Richard Driscoll.
Emma Pearson also performed well to finish
as eighth lady in 74th place in 44m41s.
Other Morpeth Harriers finishers were as follows
Michelle Woodley (94th) (13th Lady) 46m07s,
Claire Bruce (96th) (14th Lady) 46m09s,
Paul tomlinson (115th) 47m35s,
Susan Smith (190th) (41st Lady) 52m25s,
Bernie Cordes (196th) (1st O/70) 52m52s,
Jane Blackett (234th) (59th Lady) 57m18s,
S.Bruce (243rd) 58m06s.
Morpeths Marcus Cram created a new personal best of 4m08.30s
when running in the A race of the BMC 1500m at Monkton Stadium,
Jarrow on Monday night ( 15th June )
Cram knocked a whole seven seconds off his previous best
for the distance which he set at Gateshead in July 2008.
His Morpeth Harriers club colleague Matt Nicholson also ran
in the same race and finished second in 3m53.5s,
which was agonisingly just outside his best.
Archie Jenkins finished as first Over 55 and second in the B race
of the Veteran Mens 1500m at the Veterans North East League
meeting on Monday night ( 15th June ) He clocked 5m03.7s.
The 29th running of the Nike Blaydon Race on Tuesday 9th June
brought an end to a decade of African dominance when Morpeths
Ian Hudspith crossed the finish line near Blaydon Shopping Precinct in an excellent 27m44s.
After placing third in the last two years, Ian was very much a determined Geordie,
as he not only emulated his elder brother Mark's excellent victory back in 1997,
he also became the first Briton since Hallamshire's Carl Thackery
captured the most coveted crown in 1998.
In most recent years, the race has been over as a spectacle
as far as Britain was concerned before the Blaydon flyover,
however on this occasion it was very much a close thing between
Hudspith and Kenyan challenger Raymond Tonui,
as the pair matched each other stride for stride during the final 2 miles of the 5.9mile event.
Tonui had been testing Hudspith all the way from Scotswood Bridge
after the pair had created themselves some daylight in front of a chasing
pack that included Hudspith's Morpeth club colleagues,
Mongolian Serod Batochir, and a now injury free Nick Swinburn.
Hudspith had eased to the front at Scotswood Bridge after sitting in the pack,
and at this point a determined Tonui was the only one to follow his lead.
The pair stuck like glue as they headed along Chainbridge Road,
and as they approached the rise onto the flyover Hudspith seized his opportunity,
and quickly turned a five metre advantage into ten,
and from then on his local knowledge and experience,
laced with a good amount of watching Geordie support,
saw him take a well earned victory by a margin of twelve seconds.
Third place went to Birchfields Jean Ndaysinga in 28m02s.
Morpeth Harrier team dominance added to the sweetness
of Hudspith's outstanding victory when Serod Batochir
came home in fourth place in 29m09s, and the added performances
of Nick Swinburn and Neil Wilkinson who finished in sixth and fifteenth
places in respective times of 28m19s and 30m52s clearly confirmed this.
In between Swinburn and Wilkinson, Morpeth also had newest signings
Peter Newton (formerly Claremont) and Michael Dawson (formerly North Shields)
finishing tenth and twelfth in respective times of 29m19s and 29m46s.
These two are still ineligible for team competition because of the transfer rule.
Wilkinson had an excellent night as he was second Veteran man,
first Over 40, and he and Wife Sarah won the Me and Wor Lass Competition,
as they were declared the first Husband and Wife finishers when Sarah who
runs for Chester Le Street crossed the finish line as eleventh lady in 34m43s.
Switching to the Ladies race, Morpeth's Aiveen Fox produced an
excellent performance to come home as eighth lady in 34m02s,
and just twenty seconds ahead of Carolyn Dickie, (formerly Morpeth)
now running for Windsor Slough and Eton.
Other leading Morpeth Harriers finishers were as follows
Phil Walker (23rd) (2nd Over 40) 31m39s,
Ross Floyd (27th) 31m59s,
Paul Waterston (31st) (5th Over 40) 32m17s,
Gordon Dixon (63rd) (8th Over 45) 34m11s,
Mike Winter (119th) 36m05s,
Simon Robson (173rd) 37m20s,
Alan Hyde (176th) 37m27s,
Mike McKean (179th) 37m32s,
Eric Hurrell (183rd) 37m35s
Graeme Leathard (186th) 37m45s.
Senior Men First 20 finishers ! 1. Ian Hudspith (Morpeth) 27.44;
2. Raymond Tonui (Kenya) 27.56;
3. Jean Ndayasenga (Birchfield) 28.02; 4. Serod Botochia (Morpeth) 28.09;
5. Peter Riley (Leigh) 28.10; 6. Nick Swinburn (Morpeth) 28.19;
7. Ryan McLeod (Tipton) 28.45;
8. Matt Armstrong (Blaydon) 28.52;
9. Andrew Pearson (Longwood) 29.16; 10. Peter Newton (Morpeth) 29.19;
11. James Kelly (Belgrave) 29.24; 12. Michael Dawson (Morpeth) 29.46;
13. David Kirkland (Alnwick) 29.55;
14. Brian Rushworth (Sunderland) 30.11; 15. Neil Wilkinson (Morpeth) 30.52;
16. James Buis (Heaton) 30.57;
17. Alasdair Tatham (Quakers) 31.05;
18. Ian Crampton (Durham) 31.13;
19. Robert Turner (Harmoney) 31.25;
20. Iain Twaddle (North Shields) 31.27.
Although her time was a bit short of her target for qualifying
for the European Junior Championships, Morpeths Laura Weightman
was still very upbeat about her performance at the Super 8
meeting held in Cardiff last Wednesday 19th June.
With the deadline for qualifying still a month away,
she still feels confident following her 4m24.98s,
which saw her finish fourth in a 1500m that began very slowly,
and was eventually won in 4m15.01s by Wakefield's Charleen Thomas.
Laura described the conditions as reasonable, with a slight wind,
and had the race not been so tactically slow
she may have got closer to the qualifying time.
She will now pin her hopes on another chance
in the Junior Trials at Bedford later this month,
and hopefully a faster race.
Her training and preparations are going well,
it is just the races, where the tactics on the
occasion don't quite seem to work to plan.
In his very first Track 5000m at Watford on Saturday night ( 13th June )
in the Nike BMC Classic meeting, Morpeth's Jonathan Taylor
clocked a very respectable 14m06s to finish seventh.
At the same meeting, his fellow clubmate Chris Sampson
achieved a seasons best 9m21.90s, to finish 9th in the 3000m Steeplechase.
It was largely the Womens track efforts that helped
Morpeth Harriers to take second place in their second round
Northern League Division 3 match held at
Jarrow's Monkton Stadium on Saturday 6th June.
They claimed seven of the eight A race victories on offer,
and managed to take four B race victories into the bargain.
In the Womens Field events Morpeth had two A string victories.
Elaine Telford claimed wins in the 100m and 200m
in respective times of 13.0s and 26.7s, and was well backed up in
both of these by Under 17 athlete Katie Plant,
who marked her Northern League Senior debut by finishing third in the
100m B race in 14.0s, and second in the 200m B race in 29.5s.
The Womens 400m, 800m, 1500m and 3000m
saw Morpeth claim double victories.
Laura Weightman secured victories in the 400m and 800m
in respective times of 61.0s and 2m18.7s, and was well
backed up by the B race victories by Gwenda Cavill (63.9s)
and Faye Kankowski (2m43.3s).
Aiveen Fox took the 1500m in a sprint finish with Richmond and Zetland's
Jo Adams and clocked 4m42.6s, and another Northern League
Morpeth debutant Emma Pearson gallantly took the B race in 5m22.6s.
After drawing well clear in the early stages,
Zoe Armstrong ran on to win the 3000m in 11m03.7s,
and North Eastern Under 17 Womens Champion Hannah Rank
easily won the B race in 11m23.3s by finishing second overall.
Morpeth's Womens Team Captain Aiveen Fox showed her
determination and versatility by getting a clear round in the
400m Hurdles for victory where she clocked 90.7s.
Claire Reid claimed victories in the Discus and Shot events
with bests of 31.66m and 10.62m, and finished second in the
Hammer (24.33m), and third in the Javelin (14.72m).
Morpeth's best Womens B Field performer was Gwenda Cavill,
who finished second in the Discus with 14.09m.
In the Womens 4x100m Relay Morpeth finished second in 59.4s,
courtesy of Aiveen Fox, Elaine Telford, Emma Pearson and Gwenda Cavill.
Morpeth's only Mens A track victory came from Chris Sampson
who won the 3000m Steeplechase in 9m25.2s.
The next best track result for Morpeth came from
Ross Floyd and Kristian Forster.
Floyd finished second in the 800m A race in 2m07.2s,
and Forster took the B race in 2m07.8s.
Forster also finished third in the 1500m A race in 4m25.1s,
and Jordan Scott took the B race in 4m26.4s.
In the Mens 5000m, Morpeth's Mark Davies finished
third in the A race in 16m49s, and Archie Jenkins took
second in the B race in 18m57s.
It also marked a Northern League
debut for Welshman Davies.
Morpeth's only Mens Field victory came in the Discus
courtesy of Steven Appleby's 31.72m.
Appleby also finished second in the Hammer (23.85m)
and third in the Shot (9.40m).
Debutant Michael Holland did well when finishing third
in the Triple Jump A event with his best of 10.18m,
and Ray Kirkup backed him up well in the B event with 9.62m.
MATCH RESULT
1st Jarrow & Hebburn 380pts, 2nd Morpeth 321pts,
3rd New Marske 287pts,
4th Scarborough 250pts,
5th Richmond & Zetland 228pts,
6th City of York 137pts.
Morpeth Harriers sole competitor Margaret MacDonald
finished 34th in the annual Alwinton Fell Race on Saturday 6th June.
On the usual tough course, although the cool dry conditions
slightly favoured the runners rather than the marshals,
Margaret finished in 2hrs 59.36mins, and was fifth Lady finisher.
Pre-race entry is now being accepted for the annual Morpeth 10k Road Race,
which is being held at 7.30pm on Tuesday 4th August 2009.
The event follows its usual two lap circuit around
Tranwell Woods (to the South West of Morpeth)
Ashington based Electrical Engineering Company A-Belco
are once again the events Main Sponsor,
with additional sponsorship coming from
Morpeth based Solicitors Brumell & Sample,
Stanton Hall Nurseries, Alderbuild,
and Morpeth Harriers Honorary Life President Ernie Slaughter.
Entry Fees are £7.00 UK Athletics Affiliated Club Members
and £9.00 Unattached Athletes,
Minimum age on the day of the race is 15.
The first 300 to enter will receive a
commemorative Morpeth 10k 2009 Mug,
and all entries received by 14th July 2009 will be guaranteed a mug.
Closing date for advance entry is Monday 27th July 2009.
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.
SUNDAY 5TH JULY
This Sunday sees Morpeth Harriers
Senior Men and Womens Track and Field
squad in action at their third round
Northern League match at York.
Articles and reports on this site are viewed before inclusion,
however the webmaster cannot be responsible for any errors or omissions contained therein.
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