December 2004

Woodlawn Xmas Pudding Run.
Whitley Bay.  Sun. 26th Dec.
Morpeth Harrier, Nick McCormick was in record breaking form, when winning yesterday's Woodlawn Xmas Pudding Run, at Whitley Bay.
In the cold conditions, McCormick soon headed the field of 700 runners, closely pursued by Great Britain's recent European Junior Cross Country representative, Ryan McLeod of Elswick. The lead was extended to 40secs at the finish line, with 2003 winner Ivan Hollingsworth of Morpeth passing another previous winner, Terry West of host club, North Shields Poly in the closing stages, to take third place.
McCormick bettered Ian Hudspith's previous figures from 2000, by a massive 35secs.
Chester Le Street athletes occupied the first three places in the Womens' race, with Alyson Dixon just missing the course record in first place ahead of Sarah Wilkinson, who was having her first run after being sidelined with injury. Angie Watson finished 3rd.
Result.  Distance 3.2M.
1 N McCormick (Morp) 15:19 (rec); 2 R McLeod (Els, U20) 15:59; 3 I Hollingsworth (Morp) 16:26; 4 T West (NSP) 16:30; 5 A Shepherd (Morp) 17:06; 6 J Young (Morp, U17) 17:08; 7 D Kirkland (unatt) 17:09; 8 L Atkinson (Morp, M50) 17:10; 9 R Stephenson (NSP, U20) 17:15; 10 S Kirtley (Morp, U20) 17:18; 11 T Brannon (NSP) 17:22; 12 K Flannery (Gate, U20) 17:29
Women: 1 A Dixon (CleS) 18:33; 2 S Wilkinson (CleS) 18:54; 3 A Watson (CleS) 20:14; 4 C Taylor (Gate) 20:27; 5 F Little (unatt) 20:28; 6 S Hanley (CleS) 21:27; 7 L Marr (Tyne, W40) 21:18; 8 D Hodgkinson (Walls) 21:28
(Newcastle Journal:  Mon. 27th December 2004).

Additional Comments: Most of report used. As usual a better quality turn out up front for a Fun Run, than almost all local (including Championship) races. Bright morning but icy underfoot in unexposed parts. Apologies to Danielle Hodgkinson (nice to see her back), whose time should read 21:25 (my error). Not 100% accuracy with results as only Bill McGuirk and myself took any. I thought Brannon was 10th and Flannery 11th, and could not recall Atkinson coming in. Another I did not see at finish was Susan Auld, who would have been about 8th lady after first loop. 13th runner was AN Other, who I think was missing link in 2003. Other times (placings suspect) were: 14 A Lawrence 17:32; 15 R Floyd 17:46; 16 A Swinburne 17:54; 17 D Embleton 17:58a; (?) A Jenkins 18:25. (Andrew Lawrence since pointed out he was 16th so probably missed two)
Heaton known performances were (no positions) (apologies for any omissions): Scott McEntee 21:25; Ted Baty 21:32; Mal Gibson 21:39; Howard Gold 21:44; Allen Mulliss 22:40; Reg Checkley 23:07; Colin McEntee 23:10; John Josephs 23:12; Pam Gold 21:56; George Routledge 26:25
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Weekly Round-up
(to 19th Dec).
Several North East athletes competed in the Junior events at the Brussels Cross Country Meeting (19th Dec). Ryan McLeod finished 6th (20:10) behind Keith Gerrard (19:44). Claire Holme won the Womens' race (14:52) ahead of Rosie Smith (14:55) with Delyth James 11th (15:53), and Julia Orr 18th (16:18).
Paul Lowe won the Loftus Poultry Run in a time of 44mins 16secs, ahead of Shaun O'Grady (44:22) and Craig McBurney (44:39). Joe McCready finished 4th (44:44) ahead of Tony Livingston (1st vet) (45:11). Jon Kettle was 1st M60 (55:50).
Alyson Dixon won Womens' race (48:22) by a massive 4mins 13secs from Catherine Hare.
Organisers please note that this race would have got better coverage, if I had seen some advanced info.
Peter Newton won the Great Langdale 10km Xmas Pudding Run in Cumbria, in a time of 33mins 29secs (by 42secs). Rebecca Robinson, listed as unattached, won the Womens' race in a time of 36mins 39secs, from Jacqui Hargreaves (Cumb) (37:31) (1st vet) and R Brown (Eden) (40:38) (1st Junior). At the Eaves Wood Trail Race, in Silverdale, Lancashire, Steve Murdoch was 3rd (27:56) (1st vet) behind L Siemaszko (Liverpool) (26:57). Sarah Tunstall (now N Rowntrees) won Womens' race (32:00) by a massive 6mins 17secs.
At the City of Manchester Indoor Meeting, Kieran Flannery won the 800m (1:54.37) and Mark Christie was 1st in the Pole Vault (4.60), with Chris Boundy 3rd (4.40). Sam Hart won the 800m (2:16.72) (listed as 400m !) and Sally Scott won the U15 Pole Vault (3.00).
Fastest times in the North Shields Poly Handicap (14th Jan) were Peter Newton (gst) 18:33; A Woodward 18:42 and Rob Walker (18:48). Kate Chapman ((gst) was fastest lady (22:00) ahead of S Oerstele (23:21).
All info courtesy of AW, where there yet more amended results from Abbey Dash 10km.
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Saltwell Harriers Road Races.
Gateshead.  Sun. 19th Dec.
Morpeth Harrier, Martin Scaife was an emphatic winner of yesterday's popular Pre-Christmas Saltwell 10km Road Race, coming home over 400m ahead of the 250 strong field. Scaife took an early lead on the loop of Saltwell Park, overcoming the tricky frost covered paths, and opening an advantage of 80m coming on to the main route. The lead was 250m on Team Valley, and increased all the time, as he also took the £25 prime-prize for arriving at the top of Chowdene Bank in 1st place. Steve Horn of Elswick moved through strongly to finish in a distant second place ahead of 2003 winner, Stewart Bell of Chester Le Street. Scaife also helped his club to take the team title. Dave Robertson was the leading veteran in 6th position, with his club Sunderland, also taking the team awards.
Zoe Tucker, based in Somerset, returned to her native North East to win the Womens' race. Tucker finished in 38th position overall defeating 2003 winner, Judith Nutt of Elswick, by 30m. Veteran Lynne Marr of Tynedale finished in a distant third place, but had the consolation of leading her club to the team title.
Jack Martin of Sunderland returned to action to win the Under 17 event, while Lindsey Dodsworth of Gateshead, winner of the Under 15 event in 2003, moved up an age-group to take the Under 17 Womens' race.
Steph Crowell of Jarrow and Hebburn won the Under 15 Girls' race adding to her Under 13 victory in 2003.
The South Tyneside club also provided the winner of the Under 13 Boys (Greg Ritchie) and Under 13 Girls (Emma Winter). Ross Murray of Gateshead overcame the strong challenge of Mark Cochrane of Morpeth to win the Under 15 Boys' event.
Results.
Senior 10km.  1 M Scaife (Morp) 31:10; 2 S Horn (Els) 32:31; 3 S Bell (CleS) 32:51; 4 A Shepherd (Morp) 32:58; 5 R Hunt (R&Z) 32:59; 6 D Robertson (Sun, M40) 33:01; 7 J Archer (Low F) 33:03; 8 T Doughty (Sun, M40) 33:04; 9 D Purvis (Birt) 33:29; 10 C Roberts (Gate) 33:41; 11 P Coulson (High) 33:48; 12 L Atkinson (Morp, M50) 33:56; 13 P Given (Sun) 34:01; 14 A Woodward (NSP) 34:29; 15 Mark McLeod (Els) 35:06; 16 S McLay (Serp, M40) 35:21; 17 M McDonald (Low F) 35:32; 18 C McDonald (SSh) 35:35; 19 P Dodd (Els) 35:36; 20 S Hilton (Blay, M40) 35:37
Further Veterans:  M45: 1 G Bayne (Morp) 36:34; 2 P Morgan (SSh) 36:46; 3 P Dixon (Els) 37:20  M50: 2 A Jenkins (Morp) 36:39; 3 B Jameson (unatt) 37:11  M55: 1 M McNally (Els) 36:23; 2 I Richardson (NSP) 39:50  M70: I Barnes (Darl) 44:44
Teams: 1 Morpeth 28; 2 Elswick 29; 3 Gateshead 42  Veterans: 1 Sunderland 19; 2 Morpeth 22; 3 Elswick 41
Women: 1 Z Tucker (Bitton) 37:18; 2  J Nutt (Els) 38:25; 3 L Marr (Tyne, W40) 42:52; 4 J Elliott (Blay) 42:56; 5 J Cross (Clare, W35) 43:44; 6 E Wilson (Gate) 43:57; 7 S Milburn (N Ayc, W45) 44:00; 8 J Clark (Morp) 44:22; 9 G Barry (unatt) 45:37; 10 V Butler (Els) 45:52; 11 E Renwick (Salt, W40) 47:14; 12 L Tweddle (Sun) 48:11  W55: P Gold (Heat) 49:42  W65: E Armstrong (Tyne) 54:54
Team: Tynedale 15
Under 17 Men: 4.8km. 1 J Martin (Sun) 15:50; 2 A Carmichael (Gate) 15:54; 3 S Brewis (H&P) 16:24; 4 W Pike (Gate) 16:39; 5 S Haswell (H&P) 17:01
Under 15 Boys: 2.8km.  1 R Murray (Gate) 8:59; 2 M Cochrane (Morp) 9:01; 3 T Perrins (Gate) 9:11; 4 R Kirkup (Blyth) 9:25; 5 R Hall (Gate) 10:01
Under 13 Boys: 2.8km.  1 G Ritchie (J&H) 9:55; 2 L Baistor (Blyth) 10:06; 3 J Beaton (Gate) 10:10; 4 S Cochrane (Morp) 10:36; 5 B Pearson (Els) 10:45
Under 17 Women: 4.8km.  1 L Dodsworth (Gate) 19:58; 2 C Gilmore (Gate) 22:21
Under 15 Girls: 2.8km.  1 S-K Crowell (J&H) 10:50; 2 E Murray (J&H) 11:28; 3 V Brewis (H&P) 11:48
Under 13 Girls: 2.8km.  1 E Winter (J&H) 11:01; 2 C Fletcher (Gate) 11:12; 3 R Oldham (Gate) 11:20
(Newcastle Journal:  Mon. 20th December 2004)

Additional Comments: Report cut off after Senior reports. Weather very cold but bright. Paths in Park were tricky with frost. Apparently a problem with traffic from top of Chowdene Bank, through Low Fell. A start an hour earlier has been suggested. Race started 10mins late due to rush of last-minute entries. 250 finishers (last time 69:28) which was the largest field for some years (170 advance entries). I think Veterans prizes should have been given for older age-groups than M/W55. All the older statesmen were listed as 55, which meant I could not pin-point first M60 or M65. Also not sure if there is a need for a seperate Veterans' team prize, for this size of field. Times seemed slow, probably due to the caution when running in the park. Coulson was a clear second after first loop of park. I think Gillian Barry was actually running in H&P colours. Among the finishers was a Kevin Dinsdale (M40) who was 81st in 42mins 13secs. Surely not the Journal Sports Editor ! Ian Barnes making his debut as a M70, was 9th M55. Les Atkinson was also running his first official race as a M50. Other personality performances came from 192 Ray Laverick 49:58 (possibly 2nd M70); 196 Dave Whitmore 50:38. Chloe Gilmore led Lindsey Dodsworth by 20m after lap 1, so what happened ?
Heaton turned out 14 athletes though sadly only two Women. Performances were: 44 Dan Robbins 38:03; 73 Chris Auld 41:28; 88 N Unwin 42:44; 89 Ted Baty 42:42; 134 Scott McEntee 45:19; 139 Allen Mulliss 45:50; 150 Colin McEntee 46:37; 160 John Josephs 47:25; 161 Howard Gold 47:25; 188 Pam Gold (13L); 208 I McKinnin 51:23; 211 Rachel Kane 52:00 (18L); 242 George Routledge 59:31; 245 Harry Craven 60:23. Since learned JJ took heavy fall and HG ran rest of way with him.
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Gateshead Indoor Standards Meeting.
International Stadium.  Thurs. 16th Dec.
Senior Men:  50: A Sturrock (Gate) 6.4  50H: A Sturrock 7.6  HJ:  B Robertson (NSP, M40) 1.65
Under 20 Men:  50: B Wilson (M'bro) 6.3  50H: C Crawford-Glanville (Gate) 7.7  HJ: L Powell (unatt) 1.75
Under 17 Men:  50: 1 M Mullins (NSP) 6.6; 2 J Sinclair (Tyne) 6.6  50H: A Dalby (Gate) 8.1  HJ: J Cowen (NSP) 1.60  SP: P Brown (Black B) 11.04
Under 15 Boys:  50: 1 N Flannery (Gate) 7.1; 2 A Wilkinson (Gate) 7.1  B: J Corbett (unatt) 7.4  50H: N Flannery 8.3  HJ: N Flannery 1.55
Under 13 Boys: 50: C Hedley (Gate) 7.6
Senior Women:  50: N Roe (Morp) 7.5
Under 20 Women:  50: 1 K Thomas (Gate) 6.8; 2 J Graham (NSP) 6.9; 3 R Willi (Gate) 7.3  LJ: K Stoker (Morp) 4.81  SP: K Thomas 8.39
Under 17 Women:  50: 1 L McMichael (CleS) 7.0; 2 V Holmes (Gate) 7.3  B: K Kelsall (Gate) 7.0  LJ: 1 K Kelsall 5.28; 2 L McMichael 5.17  SP: S Hopkinson (Birt) 9.13
Under 15 Girls:  50: 1 N Pearson (Gate) 7.1; 2 C Gill (Gate) 7.4  LJ: 1 N Pearson 5.07; 2 C Gill 4.97  SP: T Breen (Black B) 9.06
Under 13 Girls:  50: R Pow (Gate) 7.7  B: J Reed (Gate) 7.6   LJ: A Harvey (Gate) 4.01  SP: K Fanning (Birt) 7.24
(Newcastle Journal: Mon. 20th December 2004).

Additional Comments: Only results sent due to "time lapse". Field events seemed to be better supported than track. Lloyd Powell is a complete novice (looked afer by the Williams) and I think comes from Cleveland. Kirdty Thomas is entered for New Year Sprint at Musselbrough. Bob Smoult ran with Under 17 Men, and was probably overawed as he clocked a "slower than usual" 7.8secs. Surprisingly Brown and Breen well ranked in their previous age-group, either missed (Brown) or just beat the AW standard (Breen) at the older level.
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Gateshead Lunchtime Road Race Handicap.
International Stadium. Wed. 15th Dec.
Unattached runner, Steve Heseltine easily beat the handicapper to win yesterday's third race in the Gateshead Lunchtime Series. Running off a mark of 5mins 20secs, he came home a massive 2mins 22secs ahead of his nearest challenger.
John Murray of Newcastle University clocked the fastest overall time, while Fiona Lothian of Fife, was again the fastest lady.
Result. Distance 5km.
1 S Heseltine (unatt) 25:05; 2 D Pemberton (NE Vets) 27:27; 3 D Shotton (Walls) 27:43; 4 A Hetherington (unatt) 27:45; 5 G Armstrong (Sun) 28:01; 6 K Sutton (Gosf) 28:01; 7 G Rutherford (Els) 28:02; 8 A Silvester (Newc U, L) 28:10; 9 R O'Donnell (J&H) 28:10; 10 A Irvine (Bill MH) 28:12
Fastest: J Murray (Newc U) 16:32; S White (Els, M55) 17:12; P Morgan (SSh, M45) 17:25; G Harden (Sun, M40) 17:55
Women: F Lothian (Fife, W40) 18:29; Y Thiru (Gosf, W35) 20:08; A Nott (CleS, W40) 20:37
(Newcastle Journal: Thurs. 16th December 2004).

Additional Comments: Not used. Will resubmit results for Monday (20th). 67 finishers. Just guessed at first name of winner, so apologies if incorrect. Quite mild and bright and strong wind overnight had abated (best conditions ever for Xmas race ?). Managed to compile full results sheet (with assistance from Malcolm Pierce), before leaving at 2.00pm. R Balding was absent (full of cold).  Ted J did not run. He was "under the weather", but had meeting with organisers, before event re future participation. Murray (62nd) was off an ungenerous 14mins and Steve White (41st) off 11:50. Lothian ((17th was off 10mins. Other times included: Ken Sutton 22:01; 16 Rob Hall 18:26; 34 Y Thiru; 36 P Morgan; 42 Albert Prouse 22:33; 44 Gary Pemberton 18:24; 45 Joe Prudham 22:05; 48 Dave Whitmore 25:21; 49 George Smith 21:53; 50 G Harden;  52 A Nott; 59 Sid Robson 29:54; 65 David Tait 30:45 (last person 33:06).
Heaton performances were: 14 John Josephs 21:32; 15 K Beaumont 23:12; 21 Reg Checkley 21:42; 22 Helen Mitford 24:05; 25 F Turley 20:57; 28 Pam Gold 23:30; 39 Allen Mulliss 21:18; 58 Trevor Hopkins 22:29; 66 Harry Craven 29:55.
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Weekly Round-up
(to 12th Dec).
Congratulations to Ryan McLeod and Rosie Smith for their medals for Great Britain Junior teams in European Cross Country Championships, in Heringsdorf, Germany (12th Dec). Also to Hayley Yelling for her unexpected win in Senior Womens' event. Sadly Ryan Stephenson was feeling effects of heavy cold. Felt more detailed coverage of Junior events could have been given by BBC, where only team position was announced.
Leading results: Senior Men: 1 S Lebid (UKR) 27:31; 7 Karl Keska 28:23; 15 Mo Farah 28:26; 18 Chris Thompson 28:30; 23 Peter Riley 28:38  Team: 1 France 28; 2 Italy 50; 3 Great Britain 63
Junior Men: 1 B Bene (Hun) 16:18; 8 Luke Gunn 16:46; 10 Adam Hickey 16:46; 21 Mark Buckingham 17:00; 24= Ryan McLeod 17:02; 91 Ryan Stephenson 17:59  Team: 1 Russia 42; 2 Ireland 54; 3 Great Britain 63
Senior Women: 1 Hayley Yelling 18:06; 3 Jo Pavey 18:08; 13 Natalie Harvey 18:23; 26 Helen Clitheroe 18:41  Team: 1 Portugal 38; 2 Great Britain 43
Junior Women: 1 B Uslu (Turk) 11:33; 10 Claire Holme 11:55; 12 Rosie Smith 12:01; 21 Jennifer Pereira 12:09; 22 Katrina Wootton 12:10  Teams: 1 Rumania 51; 2 Great Britain 65
Rachel Ross Russell running for Notts AC, was first lady in the Bedford Half Marathon (12th Dec), in a time of 80mins 3secs. Low-down courtesy of Mike Brooks is that her husband is stationed at RAF Leeming, and she now resides in North Yorks. She has clocked 79mins for this distance and was 9th lady in Bishop Auckland 10km (36:52) (pb around 35mins).
Leading results of Simonside Cairns Fell Race (11th Dec) were: 1 T Wylie (Tyne, M40) 77:44; 2 P Addyman 80:03  M50: R Hall 91:30  M55: D Cockburn 1:45:07  Women: 1 A Raw 97:47
Johanna Jackson was the overall winner of the Dick Hudson 8.5M Walk at Bingley (12th Dec) in a time of 73mins 22secs (by 16secs).
Leading results at North of England Open Meeting at Sheffield (11th Dec) were:
SM: 400: 1 R Yusuf 49.12  60H: 2 S Nyananyo 8.53  LJ: 2 S Nyananyo 6.67
U17: 400: 1 J Sinclair 52.51  U15: 60: 2 J Summers 7.65
SW: 400: 1 N Desai 57.49  1500: 2 N Desai 4:43.57
( I did not know this meeting had taken place until I saw results).
At the Schools International Indoor Combined Events at Grangemouth (did not know there were Indoor facilities here), Sam Coleby was 8th in U16 Pentathlon. She scored 2933pts behind K Sheehan (Ire) with 3392pts. Her marks were: 5.03 (LJ), 9.82 (60H), 1.48 (HJ), 7.65 (SP) and 2:33.93 (800). Looking at other performances she struggled in her two strongest events, the Hurdles and 800m. Sadly she wasn't a scorer in winning England team.
Results of the Wallsend Harriers Handicap (7th Dec) were: 1 P Hilton 18:41; 2 S Smith 19:19; 3 D Daniels 19:40  Women: 1 L Walker 21:54; 2 D Horne 22:34
All info courtesy of AW, who cut both NE XC report and some results. Noticed that Humberside and Greater Manchester also held their Champs.
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North Eastern Counties Cross Country Championships.
Meadowfield Sports Centre, Durham.  Sat. 11th Dec.
Neil Wilkinson retained his Senior Mens' title, as Morpeth Harriers dominated Saturday's North Eastern Counties' Cross Country Championships, at Meadowfield. The Northumberland club retained the Trophy for the best overall performance, winning 5 team titles and providing 4 individual winners.
Conditions were ideal, dry with little wind and firm underfoot.
In the Senior event, Wilkinson pulled away from the leading group of 5 runners, on the 2nd of the 4 laps, coming home 200m clear of clubmate Mark Brown, with 10-times champion, Brian Rushworth of Sunderland, close behind in 3rd place. Morpeth took the title for the eighth succesive year, but had to withstand a strong challenge from Sunderland. In fact, Sunderland's 6th counter came home 8 places infront of Morpeth's final scorer, but with 5 runners in the first twelve, Morpeth's victory was assured. Morpeth also took the titles for Junior Men, Under 17 Men, Junior Women and Under 15 Girls. They also provided individual winners, JonathanYoung (Under 17 Men), Delyth James (Under 17 Women) and Laura Weightman (Under 15 Girls). In an exciting Senior Womens' race, Claire Simpson of Jarrow and Hebburn took an early lead and was only caught by Bernadette Taylor of Darlington on the final circuit. Simpson again pulled away, but was overhauled by Taylor 400m from the finish. Taylor came home 30m ahead of her rival, with past champion, Marie Stansmore in 3rd place ensuring that Darlington comfortably retained the team title.
Patrick Martin of Sunderland proved too strong for 2003 Under 17 Lewis Timmins of Gosforth in the Junior Mens' event, while at Under 17 level, Young, second in 2003, reversed placings with New Marske's Ricky Stevenson, who came out on top in last weekend's Reebok Challenge meeting at Liverpool. Surprise winner of the day, was the relatively unknown Chester Le Street athlete, Carl Smith in the Under 15 Boys' event, as Gateshead took the team honours. Tynedale's Tristan Venus comfortably won the Under 13 race, with Sunderland taking the team title.
In the combined Junior and Under 17 Womens' event, Junior Great North Run winner, Delyth James easily defeated her older rivals. The first Junior was Johanna Jackson of Middlesbrough, who has recently taken up at Race Walking, winning a few titles..
Weightman the 2003 Under 13 champion, was untroubled in the Under 15 event, while Kate Avery of Shildon as expected won the Under 13 event, by a large margin. Gateshead took the team honours.
Results.
Senior Men: 11.2km. 1 N Wilkinson (Morp) 37:44; 2 M Brown (Morp) 38:22; 3 B Rushworth (Sun, M40) 38:29; 4 M Hood (Sun) 38:53; 5 M Nicholson (Gosf) 38:57; 6 C Sampson (Morp) 39:06; 7 S Bell (CleS) 39:10; 8 D Swinburne (Morp) 39:37; 9 J Archer (Low F) 39:43; 10 T Doughty (Sun, M40) 39:53; 11 P Lowe (NYM) 40:02; 12 T Wall (Morp) 40:07; 13 G Massingham (Sun) 40:11; 14 D Purvis (Birt) 40:12; 15 P Newton (Clare) 40:25; 16 S Horn (Els) 40:30; 17 M Tomlinson (CleS) 40:39; 18 S Potts (Sun) 40:39; 19 M Armstrong (Hart) 40:56; 20 P Given (Sun) 41:08; 21 M Grainger (Darl, M40) 41:18; 22 T Brannon (NSP) 41:29; 23 J McCready (Darl) 41:34; 24 A Churchill (Hart) 41:34; 25 M Donkin (Sun) 41:38  Teams: 1 Morpeth 57; 2 Sunderland 68; 3 Chester Le Street 174; 4 Elswick 281; 5 Hartlepool Burn Road 284; 6 North Shields Poly 329
Under 20 Men: 7.8km.  1 P Martin (Sun) 25:46; 2 L Timmins (Gosf) 25:52; 3 L Moses (N Ayc) 25:55; 4 N Shrubb (Morp) 25:57; 5 A Piggford (Hart) 26:33; 6 M Atkin (CleS) 26:56; 7 S Moralee (Dur) 27:01; 8 J Creegan (Gate) 27:31; 9 R Morrell (M'bro) 27:34; 10 A Lawrence (Morp) 27:46; 11 D Heslop (Blay) 28:08; 12 M Elliott (Gate) 28:33; 13 D Old (CleS) 28:44; 14 G Driscoll (Morp) 29:24; 15 A Ingram (N Ayc) 29:32  Teams: 1 Morpeth 28; 2 Newton Aycliffe 34; 3 Chester Le Street 39
Under 17 Men: 5.6km.  1 J Young (Morp) 19:23; 2 R Stevenson (N Marske) 19:31; 3 R Floyd (Morp) 19:33; 4 S Watson (Gate) 19:37; 5 M Crawley (Dur) 19:45; 6 J Pearson (Els) 20:06; 7 A Colwell (Morp) 20:18; 8 A Mitchell (M'bro) 20:22; 9 A Coffer (CleS) 20:25; 10 A Wiles (M'bro) 20:35; 11 A Carmichael (Gate) 20:40; 12 R Balmbra (Morp) 20:44; 13 M Douglas (Gate) 20:54; 14 D McMeiken (Blay) 20:55; 15 P Moore (N Ayc) 20:56  Teams: 1 Morpeth 23; 2 Gateshead 50; 3 Middlesbrough Mandale 74
Under 15 Boys: 3.9km.  1 C Smith (CleS) 13:15; 2 R Cunningham (Birt) 13:19; 3 J Gibson (Gate) 13:21; 4 K Thompson (Shil) 13:25; 5 D Gibbon (M'bro) 13:26; 6 R Best (N Marske) 13:34; 7 S Potter (NSP) 13:35; 8 T Perrins (Gate) 13:40; 9 R Murray (Gate) 13:41; 10 C Bell (CleS) 13:51; 11 J Day (St Cuth) 13:52; 12 M Cochrane (Morp) 13:53; 13 C Parker (Gosf) 13:55; 14 S Ruddick (Blay) 13:55; 15 B Walker (M'bro) 13:56  Teams: 1 Gateshead 42; 2 Chester Le Street 46; 3 Morpeth 80
Under 13 Boys: 2.8km.  1 T Venus (Tyne) 10:12; 2 G Hawkins (M'bro) 10:28; 3 J Robson (Gate) 10:31; 4 N Reed (Sun) 10:31; 5 R White (Tyne) 10:50; 6 C Gaffney (N Ayc) 10:53; 7 L Battista (Gosf) 11:05; 8 L Baistor (Blyth) 11:05; 9 G Urwin (Tyne) 11:10; 10 L Wintrip (Sun) 11:14; 11 S Younger (Sun) 11:15; 12 J Stokle (St Cuth) 11:16; 13 A Wears (N Marske) 11:16; 14 R Pearse (N Marske) 11:17; 15 A Douglass (Morp) 11:22  Teams: 1 Sunderland 56; 2 Gateshead 66; 3 Morpeth 91
Senior Women: 7.8km.  1 B Taylor (Darl) 29:54; 2 C Simpson (J&H) 30:00; 3 M Stansmore (Darl) 30:15; 4 M Holt (Sun) 30:39; 5 H Robinson (CleS, W40) 30:44; 6 M Czarnecka (CleS) 30:59; 7 J Mooney (Morp) 31:13; 8 J Nutt (Els) 31:27; 9 A Raw (Darl, W40) 31:31; 10 D Hales (Dur, W35) 31:46; 11 A Watson (CleS) 31:56; 12 F Shenton (Elv, W40) 32:20; 13 S Oesterle (NSP) 32:44; 14 J Smith (Heat) 32:55; 15 L Walker (Walls) 32:59; 16 H Lambert (NSP, W45) 33:20; 17 G Cavill (Morp, W40) 33:39; 18 D Horne (Walls) 33:41; 19 L Marr (Tyne, W40) 34:04; 20 S White (Tyne, W40) 34:16  Teams: 1 Darlington 13; 2 Chester Le Street 22; 3 North Shields Poly 53; 4 Morpeth 60; 5 Elswick 62; 6 Wallsend 70
Under 20 Women: 5km.  1 J Jackson (M&C) 17:59; 2 J Orr (Quak) 18:09; 3 A Fox (Morp) 18:28; 4 D Watts (Morp) 18:44; 5 S Crowe (Els) 18:57; 6 S Hart (Gate) 19:15; 7 S Evans (J&H) 19:25; 8 N Dawson (Morp) 20:03; 9 R Adams (Morp) 20:15; 10 L Hastings (M&C) 21:12; 11 N Owens (Shil) 21:24; 12 L Tweddle (Sun) 22:11
Under 17 Women: 5km.  1 D James (Morp) 17:51; 2 M Ferrier (Gate) 19:06; 3 N Powell (Tyne) 19:53; 4 A Wilson (N Ayc) 20:10; 5 L Dodsworth (Gate) 20:23; 6 S Brennan (Gate) 20:37; 7 J Stephenson (Blay) 20:42; 8 M Oliver (Tyne) 20:46; 9 L Paton (Gate) 20:48; 10 H Dix (Blay) 20:51; 11 K White (Els) 20:57; 12 C Gilmore (Gate) 21:09; 13 L Roche (M&C) 21:17; 14 K Abel (M&C) 21:25; 15 A Bell (CleS) 21:26  Teams (Combined with Under 20): 1 Morpeth 10; 2 Gateshead 29; 3 Middlesbrough and Cleveland 47
Under 15 Girls: 3.9km.  1 L Weightman (Morp) 14:45; 2 J Russon (N Marske) 15:00; 3 H Girtig (Blay) 15:16; 4 R Adams (Morp) 15:19; 5 C Baudouin (Gate) 15:38; 6 A Suffield (Shil) 15:52; 7 F Buckton (M&C) 16:03; 8 R Shield (Dur) 16:03; 9 S Miller (Blay) 16:18; 10 A Smith (M&C) 16:25; 11 F Keenan (M'bro) 16:27; 12 N Bellamy (Gosf) 16:27; 13 S-K Crowell (J&H) 16:28; 14 E Saxby (Darl) 16:29; 15 E Clifford (Darl) 16:43  Teams: 1 Morpeth 25; 2 MIddlesbrough and Cleveland 34; 3 Blaydon 39
Under 13 Girls: 2.8km.  1 K Avery (Shil) 10:48; 2 Shonagh Smith (Tyne) 11:17; 3 S Bell (Gate) 11:34; 4 S Goodfellow (Morp) 11:48; 5 S Crosby (Sun) 11:51; 6 S Wood (Dur) 11:52; 7 Z Dixon (Birt) 11:53; 8 C Fletcher (Gate) 12:00; 9 E Masson (Gosf) 12:17; 10 E Campbell (Sun) 12:31; 11 J Hudson (Gate) 12:35; 12 V Addison (J&H) 12:36; 13 E Winter (J&H) 12:36; 14 R Noble (Darl) 12:41; 15 L Cairns (Morp) 12:45  Teams: 1 Gateshead 22; 2 Morpeth 36; 3 Sunderland 37
(Newcastle Journal: Mon. 13th December 2004).

Additional Comments: Most of early part of report used, but cut off midstream after Junior Womens' race. Also re-written slightly to suggest Stevenson won Liverpool race. Times in early races suggested long lap was short of advertised 3km, but Senior race suggested it was not as far short as first thought. Have classed as 2.8km, with loop being 1.1km. Stacey Smith dropped out of U15 Girls' race with half-a-lap remaining but was 50m behind Weightman at time. 182 finishers in SM event (last time 65:45). Andrew Toward, who had been unwell, dropped out on lap three when lying about 7th/8th. David Tait dropped out after 1 lap when lying a distant last. Other placings included: 31 Rob Hand 42:16; 34 Mark McLeod 42:34; 36 Nigel Orr 42:44; 44 Alan Dent 43:15; 47 Phil Walker 43:25; 49 Jimmy Bell 43:42; 156 Ian Barnes 53:23; 178 Ray Laverick 59:29. 44 finishers in SW race (this was disappointing after record entry of 132) (last time: 41:42). Kathryn Waugh dropped out after 3km, when lying 5th. There were only 22 Junior Men finishers. Disappointing also that none of the out-of-region athletes (who were entered) took part. Sadly only two active Heaton Harriers were in attendance: Jo Smith (a much-improved run after Brampton) and the reliable Scott McEntee (161st in 54:45). George Routledge was on holiday and Allen Mulliss went to match.
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Weekly Round-up.
(to 5th Dec).
Morgan Donnelly won the Hexhamshire Hobble at Allendale (5th Dec). His time was a record 65mins 19secs, with T Wylie (Tyne) 2nd (68:32) and Phil Addyman 3rd (70:49). Karen Robertson won Womens' race (78:57) from Alison Raw (82:03).
Very little info on English Schools Cup at Oswestry (4th Dec) apart from JB: 8 M Grimes (Dur J) 11:06  JG: 20 S Wood (DJ) 9:42  Durham Johnson 8th team.
Leading results from the Reebok Cross Country meeting at Liverpool (4th Dec) were: SM: 1 R Whalley 30:10; 2 K Farrow 30:18; 3 D Bannister 30:20  U17M: 1 D McCarthy (Ire) 16:29; 2 L Carey (Nun) 16:30; 3 R Stevenson 16:43; 8 J Young 17:04  JW: 1 A Murray (Pit, U17) 14:53; 2 N Stanford (Swans, U17) 15:19; 6 D James  (4th U17) 15:40; 15 J Orr 16:07
At the Commonwealth Youth Games at Bendigo (Australia) (3rd Dec), Richard Buck finished 3rd in the 400m (48.21).
Leading results from the Jarrow Indoor Grand Prix (2nd Dec) were:
U17M: 60: J Sinclair (Tyne) 7.6  600: 1 N Ridgeon (SSh) 1:53.6; 2 J Sinclair 1:54.1  U15B: 60/600: J Summers (Gate) 7.7/1:59.7  U17W: 60: L McMichael (CleS) 8.1  600: 1 A Bell (CleS) 2:07.5; 2 L McMichael 2:14.6  U15G: 60: N Pearson (now Gateshead) 8.3  600: E Winter (J&H) 2:06.6
Heard a sad thing at this meeting in that Claire Smallwood has not raced recently, because her coach told her not too. Unfortunately a sign of the times.
At the London Colleges League run at Hackney (1st Dec), Fiona Burnie (UC) finished 9th (17:07) behind Gemma Turtle (St Mary's) (15:58). She was also in the winning team. Louise Burnie (Imperial) finished 20th (19:12).
All  info (apart from Jarrow) courtesy of AW where 2004 Boys' Under 13 British rankings were produced. Only Tom Parkin of Gateshead, made the Top 10, with his Pole Vault of 2.40m placing him 3rd.
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North Yorkshire and South Durham Cross Country League.
Thirsk. Sun. 5th Dec.
Steve Hepples, a close second in last week's prestigeous Leeds Abbey Dash 10km, easily won the main event at yesterday's third North Yorkshire/South Durham Cross Country League fixture at Thirsk racecourse.
Leading Results.
Senior Men: 1 S Hepples (Loft) 25:56; 2 P Lowe (NYM) 27:10; 3 R Hunt (R&Z) 27:14
Under 17 Men: 1 A Duffield (Loft) 19:10; 2 J Taylor (M'bro) 19:32; 3 A Mitchell (M'bro) 19:35
Senior Women: 1 R Ross-Russell (R&Z, W35) 19:58; 2 B Taylor (Darl) 20:19; 3 J Jackson (M&C, U20) 20:56
(Newcastle Journal:  Mon. 6th December 2004).

Additional Comments: Results courtesy of John Kettle.More to follow. John is just a M60 and not a M70 as AW stated. Never heard of winner of Womens' race, which is why I did not mention it.
Additional results from website: SM: 10 M Grainger 28:03 (1st M40); 11 N Zissler 28:08 (1st U20); 12 J Orange 28:22 (2nd M40); 15 N Orr 29:03 (3rd M40); 61 M Brooks 32:20 (1st M50); 104 J Kettle 34:56 (2nd M60)  Team: Richmond and Zetland 15  148 finishers. U15B: D Gibbons (M'bro) 10:38  U13B: G Hawkins (M'bro) 11:35  SW: 4 D Richardson 21:29; 5 C Summersgill 21:46; 6 C Hare  21:59; 7 J Roberts 22:07 (1st U17); 12 K James 22:47 (3rd U17); 16 L Dodsworth (2nd claim N Ayc) 23:21 (5th U17); 22 S Milburn 23:43 (1st W45)  Team: Richmond and Zetland 15  61 finishers.  U15G: A Wheatman 11:28  U13: H Rodgers 12:37
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Blyth Sands Race.
Sun. 5th Dec.
Elswick veteran Steve White overcame the difficult underfoot conditions, to win yesterday's 45th Blyth Sands Race, for the third time. The milder weather meant the sand was a lot softer than usual. White, in the Over 55 category, was off a 5mins handicap, but was never troubled moving through the 125-strong field, coming home 300m clear of Morpeth's Archie Jenkins, with Cath Young of host club Blyth taking third place. The winner, who tasted successive victories in the late 90's, slightly extended the 1min start, given by the runner-up. Rob Walker of North Shields Poly running off scratch, clocked the fastest time, finishing in 19th place overall. Fastest lady was Morpeth junior, Danielle Watts finishing in 9th place off a 5min handicap.
Blyth edged out Morpeth to retain the team trophy.
Result. Distance 5M.
1 S White (Els, M55) 27:05; 2 A Jenkins (Morp, M50) 28:09; 3 C Young (Blyth, W45) 28:29; 4 A Potts (Blyth, W50) 28:39; 5 C Dentice (Morp, M50) 28:45; 6 I Richardson (NSP, M55) 29:07; 7 R Hall (Blyth, M50) 30:00; 8 L Marr (Tyne, W40) 30:21; 9 D Watts (Morp, U20W) 30:30; 10 R Walker (NSP) 31:08; 11 M Gaughan (Blyth, M45) 31:11; 12 S Clark (NSP, M40) 31:20; 13 M Cochrane (Morp, U15) 31:47; 14 H Morris (Blyth, W40) 31:56; 15 R Kirkup (Blyth, U15) 32:19; 16 M Stott (Blyth) 32:28; 17 R Checkley (Heat, M65) 32:38; 18 J Kilgour (Clare, W50) 32:53; 19 B Hume (Low F, M55) 32:55; 20 R Barkley (Blyth) 32:58
Fastest: R Walker 31:08; S White 32:05; A Jenkins 32:09
Women: D Watts 35:30; G Adams (NSP) 38:26; L Marr 39:21
Teams: 1 Blyth 25; 2 Morpeth 29; 3 North Shields Poly 54
(Newcastle Journal:  Mon. 6th December 2004).

Additional Comments: Most of info used. Thanks to host club for full results.125 finishers which is a bit better than 2003. Quite a bright and mild morning, with little wind. Certainly the best "above the ground" conditions, that I can remember. Steve White could not remember the exact years he last won the race. Archie of course, won in 2003 (forgot to insert in report). Gill Adams finished in 26th position. Sadly Heaton only fielded four runners. Other placings were: 52 John Josephs 43:18; 79 Allen Mulliss 41:43; 125 George Routledge 58:39.
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Warburtons Norman Woodcock Memorial Road Race.
High Gosforth Park, Newcastle upon Tyne.  Sat. 4th Dec.
Dave Robertson narrowly defeated Sunderland clubmate and fellow veteran Tom Doughty to win a highly competitive Warburtons' sponsored Norman Woodcock Memorial Road Race, at  Gosforth Park on Saturday. In the gusty conditions, a group of five soon broke clear passing through halfway in 15:39. Matt Tomlinson of Chester Le Street pushed the pace at this point with Darren Purvis of Birtley quickly dropping back. The remaining four, led by Tomlinson, were still together with 300m remaining, but the superior sprinting speed of the two veterans prevailed in the final run-in. Alan Shepherd of Morpeth and the Army, now stationed back in his native North East, took third place ahead of Tomlinson. Shepherd supported by veterans Archie Jenkins (10th) and Chris Dentice (11th), led Morpeth to the team title.
Former Elswick Harrier, Sophie Milburn easily won the Womens' race, finishing in 29th place overall. Passing through halfway in 18:28, the Chester Le Street runner came home over 2mins ahead of Lisa Walker of Wallsend, with Vicky Booth of Sundeland Strollers in third.
The much-improved Walker, the North Eastern 10M bronze medallist, had the consolation of leading her club to the team title.
Result.  Distance: 6M.
1 D Robertson (Sun, M40) 31:23; 2 T Doughty (Sun, M40) 31:25; 3 A Shepherd (Morp) 31:26; 4 M Tomlinson (CleS) 31:32; 5 D Purvis (Birt) 32:01; 6 Mark McLeod (Els) 33:34; 7 P Dodd (Els) 34:26; 8 S Grey (unatt) 34:30; 9 P Morgan (SSh, M45) 34:34; 10 A Jenkins (Morp, M50) 34:40; 11 C Dentice (Morp, M50) 35:03; 12 D Daniels (Walls) 35:15; 13 D Anderson (Walls, M45) 35:18; 14 B Dixon (Els, M45) 35:32; 15 R Sewell (Morp, M45) 35:36; 16 S Hargreaves (unatt) 35:48; 17 S Marshall (Dur, M45) 35:51; 18 K Allen (Crook) 35:53; 19 D Robins (Heat) 36:31; 20 G Huxley (unatt) 36:38
Veterans: M50: 3 R Driscoll (Morp) 36:40  M55: M Henderson (Blay) 41:09  M60: R Pinkney (SSh) 42:13  M65: B Cordes (Morp) 43:09  M70: R Laverick (Aur) 46:28
Teams: 1 Morpeth 22; 2 Elswick 26; 3 Wallsend 45; 4 Gateshead 76; 5 Chester Le Street 81
Women: 1 S Milburn (CleS) 37:33; 2 L Walker (Walls) 39:46; 3 V Booth (Sun S) 40:14; 4 D Sabine (NSP) 40:30; 5 D Horne (Walls) 40:56;  6 S Auld (Heat) 41:36; 7 M Woodley (Morp) 42:10; 8 S Hanley (unatt) 42:17; 9 E Wilson (Gate) 43:29; 10 C Ure (Els) 43:36; 11 G Miller (Aln, W35) 44:54; 12 V Gilroy (NSP, W35) 45:08; 13 D Parker (Heat) 45:32; 14 M Pude (Walls) 45:54; 15 S Bingham (Tyne, W35) 46:54
W45: V Stapley (unatt) 50:58  W55: 1 P Gold (Heat) 47:59; 2 I Henderson (Blay) 49:08
Teams: 1 Wallsend 20; 2 Heaton 33; 3 Sunderland Strollers 46
(Newcastle Journal:  Mon. 6th December 2004).

Additional Comments: Most of info used. Results courtesy of Vera and Sid Robson. 144 finishers (last time 68:27). Not a great size field (slightly up on 2003) (Chelsea v Newcastle was on TV the same time), but also a lack of quality at sharp end. A pity as this is one of my favourite events. There were a family on a fitness regime, from "This Morning" programme, being filmed by TV, running mainly at the back of field (to be shown in January). Ray Laverick finished 102nd and Dave Whitmore 109th (47:16). Heaton's turn-out was not great for a GP event. Other performances were: 45 Chris Auld 39:08; 46 Mal Gibson 39:40; 65 Ted Baty 41:23; 67 Susan Auld; 77 Allen Mulliss 43:01; 93 G Sarson 45:13; 95 Dawn Parker; 111 Pam Gold (16L); 134 George Routledge 55:41; 135 Harry Craven 55:42 (a good sprint finish here, rivaling the leaders !).
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