March 2007

North of England Road Relay Championships.
Silksworth Sports Centre, Sunderland.  Sun. 1st April.
It was a day of double victory for the North East at yesterday's North of England Road Relay Championships, at Silksworth. Morpeth Harriers won the Mens' 12 Stage event for the 7th time since 2000, their one lapse being in 2006. Chester Le Street retained the Senior Womens' 6 Stage title (they also won in 2003). Morpeth had an indifferent start with Nick Swinburn finishing in 13th place. Ivan Hollingsworth (12th), Neil Wilkinson (6th) and Martin Scaife (5th) moved through the field, before Michael Morris on leg 6, lifted them into 2nd position. At this point, Leeds City were holding on to a lead they had gained on leg 4. Chris Sampson dropped to 3rd on leg 7, before Dan Samuels regained 2nd on leg 8. Great Britain World 1500m representative Nick McCormick cut into the lead of Leeds on leg 9, reducing the gap to 22secs. Ian Hudspith quickly reduced the deficit on leg 10 before passing his rival nearing halfway. The advantage for Morpeth was now over a minute as club captain, Dave Swinburne began leg 11. With Mark Hudspith on the final leg, Morpeth claimed victory ahead of a revitalised Leeds who finished 21secs behind their rivals.Sale Harriers took the bronze medals in a distant third place. Sunderland finished in 11th position, with Gateshead (13th), North Shields Poly (18th), Chester Le Street (25th) and Elswick (27th) all qualifying for the National event at Sutton Coldfield in 2 weeks time. Morpeth's second string athletes, in 15th place also just defeated Leeds to take the B team award. McCormick's time was easily the fastest short leg of the day.
In the Womens' event, Chester Le Street finished 4th on leg 1, through Kathryn Waugh. Tracy Laws dropped to 5th on leg 2, with Scottish International Freya Murray taking the lead on leg 3, with the day's fastest time. Sarah Wilkinson lost the adavantage to Leeds on leg 4, but Emma Waterhouse regained the lead on leg 5, with Alyson Dixon pulling away to 49secs victory on the final leg. Sale again took the bronze medals. Morpeth finished in an excellent fifth position after Sarah Graham moved them into a bronze medal position on leg 5.
Results.
Senior Men:  (Legs 1,4, 7, 9 long stage: 4M, legs 2,3,5,6,8,9,11,12 short stage 2M).
1 Morpeth 2:41:19 (N Swinburn 21:04, I Hollingsworth 10:44, N Wilkinson 9:59, M Scaife 20:01, M Morris 9:50, M Brown 10:01, C Sampson 20:41, D Samuels 9:47, N McCormick 9:17, I Hudspith 19:30, D Swinburne 10:20, M Hudspith 10:05); 2 Leeds City 2:41:40; 3 Sale, Manchester 2:44:18; 4 Trafford 2:45:10; 5 Salford 2:47:18; 6 Blackburn 2:48:35; 7 Liverpool H 2:49:23; 8 Hallamshire, Sheffield 2:50:11; 9 Altrincham 2:52:36; 10 Derby 2:54:06  Other Placings: 11 Sunderland 2:54:40 (B Rushworth 20:58, R Kemp 11:03, A Lilliendale 11:22, T Field 21:52, G Massingham 9:45, P Collins 11:22, T Doughty 21:56, J Dobson 10:55, P Merrison 11:04, S Potts 22:08, A Macrae 11:13, G Harden 11:02); 13 Gateshead 2:56:08 (A Carmichael 22:30, M Thompson 10:43, K Bell 10:45, P Branston 22:44, C Franks 10:51, C Burrows 12:00, A Buckley 20:23, M Elliott 10:54, J Hogg 11:23, S Hall 21:44, J Pearson 10:38, C Paton 11:33); 15 Morpeth B 2:57:56 (T Wall 21:23, J Young 10:14, R Balmbra 10:59, N Shrubb 22:31, R Floyd 10:53, C Herrington 10:42, B Harrison 21:52, L Atkinson 10:45, M Hegarty 11:16, P Waterston 22:56, G Bayne 12:09, L Cavill 12:16); 18 North Shields Poly 2:59:33 (I Twaddle 21:31, M Haddon 11:20, T Wallett 11:12, R Stephenson 21:36, S Gilroy 12:12, J Tuton 12:10, T West 21:39, H Wilkinson 10:59, S Clark 11:51, T Brannon 22:19, G Moore 10:58, V Hemy 11:46); 21 Richmond & Zetland 3:03:34; 25 Chester Le Street 3:10:52; 27 Elswick 3:12:38; 32 Blyth 3:19;33; 33 Low Fell 3:20:55; 35 Sunderland B 3:23:26; 37 Sunderland Strollers 3:26:48; 39 North Shields Poly B 3:33:52
Fastest: Short: N McCormick 9:17; S Dirrane (Leeds) 9:37; R Weir (Derby) 9:43; P Tedd (Sale) 9:44; G Massingham 9:45
Long: S Deakin (Leeds) 19:23; I Hudspith 19:30; G Cornish (Sale) 19:36; A Jones (Salf) 19:41; J Mellor (Liv H) 19:45
Senior Women (6 x 2M). 1 Chester Le Street 68:02 (K Waugh 11:26, T Laws 11:48, F Murray 10:47, S Wilkinosn 11:51, E Waterhouse 11:16, A Dixon 11:04); 2 Leeds City 69:01; 3 Sale, Manchester 71:07; 4 Hallamshire, Sheffield 72:08; 5 Morpeth 72:19 (D James 11:43, A Fox 11:30, J Mooney 11:51; K Chapman 12:12, S Graham 11:58, G Cavill 13:05); 6 Bingley (M Dodd 13:13 leg 4) 74:04; 7 Wigan Phoenix 78:25; 8 Holmfirth 78:43; 9 Rotherham 80:21, 10 Heanor 80:47  Other Placings: 15 Morpeth B 84:27 (R Turnbull 13:16, S Calvert 13:18, J Clark 13:55, P Woodcock 15:12, S Welsh 14:11, J Holland 14:35); 16 Sunderland 85:44; 18 Blyth 90:27
Fastest: F Murray 10:47, A Dixon 11:04, A Gostling (Leeds) 11:13, S Partridge (Leeds) 11:14, E Waterhouse 11:16
(Newcastle Journal:  Mon. 2nd April 2007).

Additional Comments:  Included in old month for simplicity. Most of info used. Weather bright and dry, but cool and breezy.
39 finishers SM and 18 (SW). Among teams not completing were: City of Sheffield, Durham, Saltwell, Houghton and Peterlee and Heaton. Also Chester Le Street B Women. Apologies but Chester Le Street's winning time should read 68:12.
Leg positions for the following were: SM: Sun(11,14,16,15,13,11,11,12,11,11,11,11). Gate (28,20,18,20,18,18,15,15,15,15,12,13). Morp B (16,10,12,14,15,14,14,13,12,14,15,15). NSP (18,19,19,16,20,20,20,20,20,18,18,18). SW: Morp (7,4,5,4,3,5). Morp B (20,18,16, 15,15,15). Chester Le Street splits were: D Purvis 21:23 (17), S Wells 11:51 (22), A Coffer 10:54 (21), I Bloomfield 23:30 (23), D Old 10:53 (22), P De Winter 22:00 (?) (40), M Tomlinson 22:25 (23), D Cheshire 11:10 (31), S Grey 11:39 (29), S Bell 22:29 (29), S Laws 11:17 (27), P Embleton 11:15 (25). I think after leg 5, leg 6 runner took off very late, which is why they dropped 17 places. Elswick splits were: M McLeod 21:51 (21), J Dixon 11:18 (28), S hite 11:39 (25), G Bell 24:38 (30), D Armstrong 11:34 (29), M Connelly 11:45 (27), K Stephenson 23:14 (24), John Bell 12:01 (25), I Hardy 12:27 (25), M Kettley 25:42 (26), P Sloan 12:46 (26), I Fenwick 13:35 (27). SW: Sunderland splits were: M Holt 12:40 (16), G Barry 12:32 (10), L Valentine 15:07 (15), L Watson 15:31 (17), S Clughen 15:31 (17), L Tweddle 14:23 (16). Blyth included on first two legs H Morris 13:30 (21), C Young 14:09 (19).
Heaton splits were: D Robins 24:44 (43), J Moore 10:23 (35), C Burn 13:16 (39).
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Hartlepool Marina 5M Road Race.
Sun. 1st April.
Gary Dunn from Thirsk, repeated his 2005 victory in the third Hartlepool Marina 5M Road Race. Junior atletes, Alex Duffield of Loftus and Andrew Wiles of Middlesbrough, took the minor places.
Sunderland Harrier, Louise Noble narrowly won the Womens' race from Sunderland Stroller, Kristina Slater.
Result.
1 G Dunn (T&S) 25:08; 2 A Duffield (Loft, U20) 26:00; 3 A Wiles (M'bro, U20) 26:41; 4 R Morrell (M'bro, U20) 26:43; 5 M Grainger (Darl, M45) 26;50; 6 A Shepherd (Morp) 27;25; 7 G Hetherington (Sedg, M45) 27:31; 8 M Armstrong (Hart) 27:38; 9 Z Scott (Birt, U20) 27:45; 10 A Chadfield (Bill MH) 27:50; 11 C Jackson (Sun S) 27:59; 12 L Millmore (Birt) 28:12
M40: J Glover (NYM) 29:19  M50: R Pollard (NYM) 30:02  M55: A Ward (Swale) 30:27  M60: G Gardner (Hart) 33:48  M70: 1 I Barnes (Darl) 35:23; 2 J Prudham (J&H) 36:18; 3 J Conaghan (N Marske) 36:23  M75: W McNeil (Dur) 40:12
Women: 1 L Noble (Sun) 30:43; 2 K Slater (Sun S, W35) 30:50; 3 J Mastrolonardo (Loft) 31:35; 4 J Goble (NSP) 33:35; 5 V Booth (Sun S) 34:44; 6 S Laws (unatt, W50) 34:51
W45: 1 J Tinkler (CleS) 35:31; 2 S Milburn (N Ayc) 35:55  W55: 1 A Johnson (Bill MH) 39:51; 2 S Kirkup (CleS) 39:58  W65: K Stewart (NSP) 42:47
(Newcastle Journal:  Mon. 9th April 2007).

Additional Comments: Included under March for simplicity. Only received results (courtesy of HBR website and later AW) on following day. Will resubmit for next Monday (9th). 284 finishers (last time: 65:20). Weather probably a little windy ?  Mal Stephenson was first M65 (38:04). Dave Whitnore finished 194th (41:41). Heaton placings were: 83 A Mulliss 35:00; 173 E Appleby 39:57 (4th M70).
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100 Mile 10-Mile Relay.
Churchill Playing Fields, Whitley Bay. Sat. 31st March.
Wallsend Harriers smashed the World Record for the 10-Man 100M Relay at Churchill Playing Fields, on Saturday. In the cold windy conditions, the North Tyneside club bettered the two-year-old record set by Dulwich Runners, by a massive 63mins.
The team of Dave Moir (38), Tony Carter (19), Dave Young (42), Dave Anderson (51), Paul Leigh (36), Dave Daniels (34), Gareth Huxley (36), Mark Hall (39), Stephen Hargreaves (28) and Steve O'Gara clocked 8hrs 38mins 5secs.
The runners were always ahead of record schedule, clocking intermediate times of 2:11:56 (25M), 4:19:43 (50M) and 6:28:44 (75M).
(Newcastle Journal:  Mon. 2nd April 2007).

Additional Comments: Info edited but this had a good write-up in Sunday Sun. Steve O'Gara's age not listed in publicity brochure, but I'll guess at 37. Time for Guinness Record purposes will be rounded up to 8hrs 39mins. Cold and windy, but thankfully bright and dry. Event started about 8.40am. Further splits included: 53::55 (10M), 1:45:44 (20M), 2:37:06 (30M), 3:28:47 (40M), 5:11:03 (60M), 6:03:21 (70M), 6:55:05 (80M), 7:46:24 (90M). Runners ran in pairs, covering 400m alternately for 12 laps. Times ranged from 66secs (O'Gara), to 86secs (D Young carrying a slight injury). For the final 40 laps, each runner coverd 400m one after the other. Opening leg runner covered the extra distance from start to finish (about 130m) + the next full lap of the 402.
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Weekly Round-up
(to 25th March).
Results from Carlisle Aspatria Open Meeting included: U15G: LJ: 1 J Read 5.00  U13G: 800; 1 S Taylor 2:34.4.
Result of the Nationwide Bath Half Marathon: 1 T Sheferaw (Eth) 62:09; 2 S Tonai (Ken) 64:28; 3 I Hudspith 64:49; 13 D Bannister 68:51.
Result of Ackwith Half Marathon (W Yorks): 1 I Fisher (Ot) 67:49; 2 A Osborne (Leeds) 68:30; 3 D Bilton (Leeds) 68:47; 4 N Swinburn 70:11
Results from the European Veterans Indoor Championships in Helsinki (22nd - 25th Mch): M50: 60: 1 S Peters 7.48; 3 E Smart 7.63  200: 1 S Peters 23.77; 2 E Smart 24.20  3000:.6 A Jenkins 9:50.35.
John Moore was baulked in M35 800m heat (2:06) and did not progress..
David Wardle won Sandy 10M (Beds) in a record time of 50mins 20secs. His winning margin was a massive 3mins 55secs.
Results from NYSD Meeting at Redcar. Thought these were Relays but individual times given: SM: 1 L Gamble Thompson 15:17; 2 G Dunn 15:21; 3 A Churchill 16:26  Team: New Marske. U15 (3km): 1 J Rowe (R&Z) 10:09; 2 F Roberts (U13) 10:15  SW: 1 C Summersgill 18:59; 2 S Penny (U17) 20:55  Team: Middlesbrough & Cleveland  U15 (3km): S Allison 11:34
Result of Brough Law Fell Race (somewhere in Northumberland): 1 W Horsley (North'd FR) 38:30  SW: 1 V Oldham (now W40) 41:47; 2 S Scott 46:10
Results from the World Cross Country Championships, at Mombasa (24th Mch) included:
SM: 1 Z Tadese (Err) 35:50; 2 M Mosop (Ken) 36:37; 3 G Nygtuny (Ken) 36:43; 10 M Farah 37:31; 62 M Skinner 39:40; 70 J Ward 39:58; 74 P Nichols 40:11; 79 A Buckley 40:20; 82 P Wicks 40:25  Teams: 1 Kenya 28; 2 Morocco 140; 3 Uganda 185; 8 Great Britain 377
JM: 1 A Kiprok (Ken) 24:07; 2 V Chephok (Ken) 24:12; 3 M Kisorio (Ken) 24:23; 58 L Carey 27:17; 72 A Livingstone 27:47; 77 C McNulty 28:00; 87 B Lindsey 28:31; 89 D Forrester 28:33  Teams: 1 Kenya 10; 2 Erratria 33; 3 Ethiopia 54; 13 Great Britain 294  SW: 1 L Kipolgat (Neth) 26:23; 2 T Dibaba (Eth) 26:47; 3 M Molkanu (Eth) 26:48; 15 H Dean 28:48; 16 H Yelling 28:53; 49 F Milton 30:26; 60 E Baker 30:59  Teams: 1 Ethiopia 19; 2 Kenya 26; 3 Morocco 99; 5 Great Britain 140  JW: 1 L Barasa (Ken) 20:52; 2 M Kosgai (Ken) 20:59; 3 V Waniju (Ken) 21:10; 15 C Purdue 22:00; 17 E Pidgeon 22:07; 26 J Coulson 22:38; 38 O Kenney 23:22  Teams: 1 Kenya 13; 2 Erratria 33; 3 Ethiopia 36; 5 Great Britain 96
A good run from Mo Farah after a slow start (in 60's on lap 1). Excellent perfoormance by Charlotte Purdue. Bekele who dropped out, I think thought he was finishing a lap earlier, which is why he slowed down to let Tadesse join him again. The original effort, together with the conditions, proved too much for him. Overall a poorer event than normal, though much improved GB performance.
Loughborough Students won the Ed Prickett Memorial Cross Country Relay at Nottingham, with Chris Parr's third leg (9:28) the fastest overall. Ryan McLeod clocked 9mins:42secs on leg 4. Jon Young clocked 10mins 14secs on leg 3, for second-placed St Mary's. Lewis Moses (9:54) ran last leg for 4th placed Loughborough B team.
Most of info courtesy of AW.
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Sainsbury's English Schools Cross Country Championships.
Temple Newsham Park, Leeds.  Sat. 24th March.
Northumberland's Ross Murray won Saturday's English Schools Intermediate Cross Country title at Temple Newsham, Leeds, adding to his victory in the Inter County Under 17 event, at Nottingham, a month ago.
In the cold but dry conditions, the Gateshead Harrier, a pupil at St Thomas More School, Tynemouth, was always in the leading group, before kicking away from his main rival, Jeremy Gilmour of Greater Manchester, with 400m remaining. Cumbria's Tom Farrell, second with less than a km remaining, ran well to finish in 4th place.
In the Intermediate Girls' race, Cumbrian Laura Park once more defeated her North East rivals, adding to her victory in the National Under 15 event at Sunderland, 2 weeks ago.
Park withheld the determined challenge of Durham's Kate Avery (winner of the Junior title in 2006), crossing the finishing line with 6 secs to spare. Northumberland's Laura Weightman, racing her way to full fitness after being sidelined with injury in January, finished in a creditable 5th position.
Murray, Avery and Weightman, all for the third successive year, along with Park and Farrell, who are both making their England debut, will now represent their Country in this Saturday's International event in Dublin. Weightman won the 2006 International in her age-group.
Cleveland's Ricky Stevenson, 2nd in 2006, had to settle for 4th place in the Senior race. Stevenson along with Norfolk's Mitchell Goose, broke clear in the early stages on the testing hilly course, but as Goose pulled away on the final lap, Stevenson faded out of a medal position.
Relative newcomer, Michael Priestley of Northumberland, finished in an excellent 10th position in the Junior Boys' race. Lydia Patton of Northumberland's moved through strongly to finish in 19th place in the Senior Girls' event. Heather Timmins of Cheshire, the Northern Under 17 champion and National runner-up, easily took the title.
Sadly there were no team medals for the North East counties, though Northumberland finished 3rd in the Aggregate Grls' Group B section.
Results.
Senior Boys: 6.6km.  1 M Goose (Norf) 21:52; 2 J Van Deventer (Surr) 22:06; 3 J Wilkinson (W Yorks) 22:10; 4 R Stevenson (Cleve) 22:15 ; 5 D Easter (Herts) 22:18; 6 C Gunderson (Mers) 22:20  Other Placings: 24 D Shaw (Cleve) 23:04; 28 C Smith (Dur) 23:08; 51 P Huck (Cumb) 23:29; 53 S Barnby (Cumb) 23:32; 63 R Balmbra (North'd) 23:42; 77 A Mitchell (Cleve) 23:54; 80 J Pearson (North'd) 23:58; 97 T Perrins (North'd) 24:09; 100 J Gibson (North'd) 24:13
Teams: 1 Hampshire 285; 2 Staffordshire 321; 3 Avon 331; 16 Northumberland 646; 24 Cleveland 855; 31 Durham 1152
Intermediate Boys: 5.3km.  1 R Murray (North'd) 17:36; 2 J Gilmour (Gt Manch) 17:45; 3 J Robinson (Norf) 17:57; 4 T Farrell (Cumb) 18:03; 5 J Dalgleish (Gloucs) 18:07; 6 A Ahmed (S Yorks) 18:13  Other Placings: 13 D Schofield (N Yorks) 18:40; 40 K Taylor (North'd) 19:07; 60 D Roberts (N Yorks) 19:17; 62 T Venus (Cumb) 19:18; 81 C Bell (Dur) 19:29; 92 A Morrell (Cleve) 19:35; 98 G Rowe (Dur) 19:39
Teams: 1 Hertfordshire 209; 2 West Yorkshire 328; 3 Greater Manchester 376; 16 Northumberland 613; 26 Durham 916; 27 Cumbria 946; 28 Cleveland 1016
Junior Boys: 3.6km.  1 R Letch (Surr) 11:42; 2 K Yusef (Ess) 11:56; 3 D Mills (Warw) 11:57; 4 D Scott (Corn) 12:00; 5 J Bentham (Kent) 12:04; 6 D Collins (N Yorks) 12:04
Other Placings: 10 M Priestley (North'd) 12:13; 29 J Forrest (Cleve) 12:28; 33 C Boyek (Dur) 12:31; 38 P Clifford (Dur) 12:34; 52 J Phillips (Dur) 12:40; 54 L Hogg (North'd) 12:41; 59 J Archer (Dur) 12:43; 65 D Redpath (North'd) 12:45; 87 J Addison (Cumb) 12:50; 91 M Grieve (Cumb) 12:52; 101 R Pearce (Cleve) 12:54
Teams: 1 Surrey 137; 2 Greater Manchester 266; 3 North Yorkshire 306; 8 Durham 543; 13 Northumberland 690; 22 Cumbria 811; 31 Cleveland 1031
Senior Girls: 4.3km.  1 H Timmins (Ches) 15:57; 2 K Hamilton (Dev) 16:09; 3 N Peters (Beds) 16:14; 4 K Knowles (Corn) 16:15; 5 L Russell (Hants) 16:15; 6 C O'Connell (Mers) 16:21
Other Placings: 19 L Patton (North'd) 17:05; 23 K Legg (Cleve) 17:15; 31 G Rutherford (North'd) 17:23; 49 A Wilson (Dur) 17:44; 59 A Porteous (North'd) 18:00; 60 L Roche (Cleve) 18:01; 62 C Baudouin (North'd) 18:04; 91 B Phillips (Cleve) 18:33; 92 R Gledhill (Cumb) 18:35; 95 S Gray (Dur) 18:36; 101 J Roberts (N Yorks) 18:39
Teams: 1 Hampshire 185; 2 West Midlands 359; 3 Cheshire 374; 9 Northumberland 493; 20 Durham 804; 24 Cleveland 884; 31 Cumbria 1215
Intermediate Girls: 3.6km.  1 L Park (Cumb) 12:34; 2 K Avery (Dur) 12:40; 3 N Roberts (North'ts) 12:48; 4 B Carter (Kent) 12:52; 5 L Weightman (North'd) 12:53; 6 H Bateson (Lancs) 12:56  Other Placings: 23 H Gertig (Dur) 13:30; 35 C Arter (Cumb) 13:44; 41 J Russon (Cleve) 13:48; 55 N Young (North'd) 13:58; 62 A Wheatman (N Yorks) 14:01; 65 Z Armstrong (North'd) 14:02; 93 M Howell (Dur) 14:16
Teams: 1 Lancashire 291; 2 West Midlands 299; 3 Hampshire 323;; 6 Durham 505; 19 Northumberland 683; 25 Cumbria 808; 33 Cleveland 1091
Junior Girls: 3.3km.  1 K Holt (Staffs) 11:50; 2 E Gorecka (Surr) 11:58; 3 C Freeman (Suss'x) 12;01; 4 M Courtney (Dors) 12:03; 5 C Cook (Suss'x) 12:04; 6 M Hawtin (Ox) 12:08
Other Placings: 39 R Denton (North'd) 13:02; 43 E Wilson (Cumb) 13:04; 55 H Rank (North'd) 13:13; 78 S Bell (Dur) 13:24; 98 J Sissons (Cumb) 13:44
Teams: 1 Greater Manchester 145; 2 Surrey 185; 3 Sussex 220; 17 Northumberland 716; 26 Durham 963; 30 Cumbria 1045; 42 Cleveland 1639
Aggregate Team: Group B: 1 Staffordshire 1700; 2 Cheshire 1812; 3 Northumberland 1895
(Newcastle Journal:  Mon. 26th March 2007).

Additional Comments: Most of info used. Quite cold but dry and a little breezy. Mainly overcast but some sunshine.Good spectator course but not easy for athletes. Best run for ages from Avery. Good run also from Helen Gertig. Mark Shaw was lying 2nd with one lap remaining. Not sure what happened after that ? Sigourney Bell was 2nd after 100m but gradually faded after that. Good run by Rachel Denton. Priestley goes to Heaton Manor School, and is I think in Gosforth H. Very difficult to time races after about 15th (SG a possible exception). Funnels very narrow and runners finishing on top of each other, across the course. No times given (though definitely taken) for 3rd and 4th in SB race. Actual times should read: 3 22:09; 4 22:13. .
Further Results (approx times): IB: 112 P Hurst (N) 19:46  SG: 123 S Coleby (D) 18:57  IG: 108 R Jameson (D) 14:22; 118 E Toogood (D) 14:26  JG: 108 F Higgins (D) 13:44; 111 R Lundgren (N) 13:44  Overall: Boys: B: 1 Cheshire 1626; 2 North Yorkshire 1686; 4 Northumberland 1949; 10 Durham 2611  C: 1 Norfolk 1742; 5 Cleveland 2904  Girls: B: 6 Durham 2256  C: 1 Northamptonshire 2429; 5 Cumbria 3071; 10 Cleveland 3618.
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South Shields Harriers Sand Dancer Multi Terrain 10km.
Sat. 24th March.
Former Morpeth Harrier, Ashley Henderson comfortably won Saturday's South Shields Harriers Sand Dancer 10km. Henderson dropped his main rival, Paul Given of Sunderlland, after the halfway point.
Sunderland's Michelle Holt easily won the Womens' race from North Shields Poly veteran, Heather Lambert.
Result.
1 A Henderson (unatt) 32:55; 2 P Given (Sun) 33:15; 3  J Farquhar (Pit, M45) 34:04; 4 C McDonald (SSh) 34:18; 5 C Franks (Gate) 34:23; 6 C Paton (Gate) 34:44; 7 D Weston (unatt) 35:48; 8 M Jones (SSh, M40) 35:57; 9 C Muir (unatt) 36:21; 10 S Brown (Tyne, M45) 36:28; 11 K Blyth (Sun S, M45) 36:32; 12 G Scott (unatt, M45) 36:34; 13 G Ogden (unatt, M40) 36:39; 14 P Grey (Aln, M45) 36:47; 15 P Bainbridge (unatt) 36:52
M40: 3 B Mackey (J&H) 37:44  M50: S English (Low F) 41:20  M55: E Wilson (SSh) 39:09  M60: 1 A Duncan (Pit) 37:08; 2 L Christopher (Sun) 37:50; 3 M Walker (Gosf) 40:27  M65: B Pinkney (SSh) 46:30  M70: 1 J Prudham (J&H) 44:10; 2 B Cordes (Morp) 44:46; 3 E Appleby (Heat) 48:34  M75: W McNeil (Dur) 49:09
Women: 1 M Holt (Sun) 39:16; 2 H Lambert (NSP, W45) 41:02; 3 G McKernan (Blay, W45) 42:19; 4 L Laverton (unatt, W35) 42:31; 5 E Partington (unatt) 44:15; 6 V Thompson (J&H) 44:26; 7 C Bruce (NSP, W35) 44:35; 8 J O'Neill (unatt) 45:26
W40: J Kilner (unatt) 45:33  W50: 1 S Parr (CleS) 45:59; 2 S Clughen (Sun) 47:27; 3 D Jelley (NSP) 47:51  W55: S Kirkup (CleS) 49:05
Junior 5km.  1 M Foggin (Sun, U18) 11:54; 2 N Reed (Sun, U16) 12:28; 3 K Fairclough (Sun, U16) 12:49  Girls: E Murray (J&H, U18) 15:52
(Newcastle Journal:  Mon. 26th March 2007).

Additional Comments: Only results (courtesy of George Ogle) used. 109 finishers (last time: 63:55). Conditions apparently reasonable. I have slight doubt about distance (a little short ?). Apologies about listing Junior race as 5km (at best 3.5km). Heaton performances were: 30 L Ingham 38:59; 36 J Gibson 39:41; 54 E Baty 43:18 (2nd M55); 58 A Mulliss 44:07 (12th M45 but 1st in VAANE Champs); 82 E Appleby (2nd VAANE); 87 R Checkley 49:08 (4th M70 - 3rd VAANE); 91 W Brown 50:35; 109 H Craven 63:55 (2nd M75).
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British Masters Cross Country Championships.
Berry Hill Park, Mansfield.  Sat. 24th Mch.
Sunderland Harriers won the team event in the Over 40 age-group, at Saturday's British Masters Cross Country Championships, at Mansfield. The Wearsiders are also the current holders of the Relay and 5km  titles. Past champion Brian Rushworth was their first counter finishing 2nd to former International, Barry Royden.
Harry Matthews of Elswck won the Over 60 title.
M40 -49: 7.5km.  1 B Royden (Med) 25:59; 2 B Rushworth (Sun) 26:16; 3 M Croasdale (L&M) 26:18  Other Placings: 9 T Field (Sun) 26:51; 12 T Doughty (Sun) 27:21; 42 P Merrison (Sun, M45) 28:39
Team: 1 Sunderland 1:49:07
(Newcastle Journal:  Mon. 26th March 2007).

Additional Comments: Only results (courtesy of Kevin Carr) used. Apart from Harry Matthews no info on other North East competitors. Additional results:(courtesy of AW).  M45: 1 I Furness (Dul) (7th) 26:44; 12 P Merrison.  M60: 1 H Matthews 30:40 (by 30secs)  M65: 1 S James 33:25; 2 W Ryder 34:41  M70: 1 B Newell (Scun) 24:59; 4 I Barnes 27:57  M75: 1 D Howarth 30:58; 5 B Emmerson 36:30  W65: 1 K Stewart 31:36 (by 2mins 14secs).
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Coniston 14.
Cumbria.  Sat. 24th Mch.
Morpeth Harrier, Kate Chapman won the Wonen's title at Saturday's Coniston 14M Road Race, which attracted a field of 1350 runners.
1 D Goulding (unatt) 75:10; 2 J Frost (E Hull) 75:16; 3 I Crampton (Dur, M45) 76:32; 4 M Scott (Bord, M40) 77:23; 5 T Herbert (Loft) 78:21
Women: 1 K Chapman (Morp) 89:46; 2 S Hool (Glax) 90:29; 3 K Nelson (unatt, W40) 92:39
(Newcastle Journal:  Mon. 26th March 2007).

Additional Comments:  Only results (courtesy of ukresults website) sent. 1359 finishers (last time: 3:38:12). A beautiful day apparently. Heaton performances were 129 C Auld 1:36:59; 1321 G Routledge 2:48:49.
Further results included: SW: 4 D Gibb (York A,W50) 92:52  W50: 2 L Chapman (Gars) 1:44:11; 3 S Laws 1:45:39
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Weekly Round-up
(to 18th March).
Result of South Leeds Stadium 5 was: 1 D Samuels 26:32; 2 G Dunn 26:42; 3 I Hollingsworth 27:14  M45: A Dent 29:52  Women: 1 S Wilkinson 30:57 (by 4mins 20secs). Obviously a very hard course if distance correct.
Results from England Athletics Indoor Combined Events Championships at Sport City, Manchester (17th/18th Mch) included (all Pent): U17: 1 D Guest (Bridg'd) 3758; 6 N Flannery 2981 (8.62 60H, 6.78 SP, 6.32 LJ, 1.74 HJ, 2:08.73 800)  U17W: 1 K Johnson (CoH) 3377; 2 K Jenkinson 3275; 15 E Pringle 2744 (9.74 60H, 1.53 HJ, 9.06 SP, 4.87 LJ, 3:03.17 800); 21 J Hudson 2644 (10.48, 1,38, 8.13, 4.79, 2:36.25)   U15G: 1 K Thompson (Liv H) 3351; 3 J Hansom (9.48, 5.08 LJ, 8.58 SP, 1.62 HJ, 2:52.89).
Result of Inter County Walk Championship at Coventry: 10km: 1 B Wears (U20) 44:16 (by 3mins 37secs)
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25th Tees Valley Half Marathon.
Redcar.  Sun. 18th Mch.
Morpeth junior Nick Swinburn overcame the extremely windy conditions, to win yesterday's 25th Tees Valley Half Marathon  Swinburn, making his debut over the distance, also took the incorporated North Eastern Counties' title. The 18-year-old, who took the bronze medal in the Junior event at last weekend's National Cross Country Championships, shadowed clubmate David Swinburne as the pair pulled clear of the 1100-strong field after 2M. The winner broke clear with 3.5M remaining, crossing the finish line over 100m ahead of his rival.
Shaun O'Grady of New Marske finished 3rd ahead of leading veteran Martin Grainger of Darlington. Morpeth's Ben Harrison finished 5th, ensuring the Nortumberland club gained an easy team victory.
Helen Wilcock from Pocklington,  easily won the Womens' race ahead of Sunderland's Louise Noble (also 2nd in 2006), who was having her first outing for over 6 months after illness. Noble also took the North Eastern Counties' gold medal ahead of third placed Kristina Slater of Sunderland Strollers. Sunderland retained the team title.
Result.
1 N Swinburn (Morp, U20) 72:35; 2 D Swinburne (Morp) 73:00; 3 S O'Grady (N Marske) 75:14; 4 M Grainger (Darl, M40) 75:23; 5 B Harrison (Morp) 75:34; 6 D Purvis (CleS) 75:50; 7 G Hetherington (Sedg, M45) 75:58; 8 P Waterston (Morp, M40) 76:23; 9 J Dobson (Sun, M40) 76:25; 10 R Bellamy (NYM) 77:34; 11 C Mustill (N Ayc) 77:40; 12 P Walker (Blay, M40) 77:49; 13 A Pearson (Loft) 78:44; 14 L Talbot (Blyth) 79:11; 15 P Whalley (Blyth) 79:14; 16 T Livingston (N Marske, M45) 79:38; 17 B Roberts (NYM, M50) 79:46; 18 D Middlemas (Loft) 79:56; 19 C McDonald (SSh) 80:10; 20 J Donneky (Derw) 80:24
M50: 2 P Roper (Sun) 81:21  M55: 1 M McNally (Els) 83:19; 2 E Taylor (unatt) 86:31  M60: L Christopher (Sun) 87:19 M70: J Conaghan (N Marske) 1:44:58
Teams: 1 Morpeth 8; 2 Blyth 51; 3 Loftus & Whitby 59; 4 North Yorkshire Moors 59; 5 New Marske 63; 6 Harrtlepool Burn Road 113
NECAA Champs: 1 N Swinburn; 2 D Swinburne; 3 S O'Grady
Women: 1 H Wilcock (Pock) 82:43; 2 L Noble (Sun) 84:51; 3 K Slater (Sun S, W35) 85:29; 4 F Bailey (Quak, W35) 87:29; 5 C Summersgill (M&C) 89:04; 6 H Astley (Heat) 89:27; 7 L Finlay (NYM, W35) 90:13; 8 H Lambert (NSP, W45) 90:45; 9 M Holt (Sun) 91:41; 10 J Dooley (Tyne) 91:43; 11 J Zoppi (Heat) 92:14; 12 L Carroll (unatt) 93:02; 13 M Woodley (Morp) 93:08; 14 R Soppitt (Gate) 93:17; 15 J Keavney (Swale, W40) 94:56
W50: C Young (Blyth) 96:06  W55: J Kilgour (Clare) 1:43:48
W60: S Gibson (Darl) 1:49:50
Teams: 1 Sunderland 27; 2 Heaton 77; 3 Sunderland Strollers 78; 4 New Marske 84; 5 Middlesbrough & Cleveland 86; 6 Gateshead 106
NECAA Champs: 1 L Noble; 2 K Slater; 3 F Bailey
(Newcastle Journal:  Mon. 19th March 2007).

Additional Comments: Most of info used. Weather cold and very windy. Affected runners first 300m of small lap at start, and final 3M. Apparently sheltered (or wind assisted) in other sections. Times were not as slow as expected. Results courtesy of JAND resulrs, who were much quicker than previous services in this event (all on website by 3.30pm). Chip Timing accurate also. 1114 finishers (last time: 3:11:45). First Mile covered in 5:35 (group of about 20). No info on further splits.David Tait finished 1093rd (2:45:32). Heaton performances were: 92 C Auld 1:29:20; 94 H Astley (L); 141 J Zoppi (L); 313 S McEntee 1:39:51; 314 C Mcentee 1:39:51; 433 J Friend (L) 1:45:02; 599 K Beaumont (L) 1:49:16; 566 S Thain (L) 1:51:19; 571 ??? 1:51:48; 706 M Dover (L) 1:57:06; 881 S Jones (L) 2:07:00; 969 A Benbow (L) 2:13:14; 1057 G Routledge 2:28:28. Well done girls ! 26th male Team.
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Start Fitness North Eastern Harrier League.
Prudhoe High School.  Sat. 17th March.
Sunderland Harriers won the Senior Men's Division 1 trophy, for the seventh successive year at Saturday's final Start Fitness North Eastern Harrier League fixture at Prudhoe High School. This was the Wearsiders 22nd victory since 1980, and they repeated last year's treble of  North Eastern Cross Country, Signals Relay and Harrier League titles. Sunderland Srollers and Claremont took the Division 2 and 3 titles, respectively. Elvet Striders comfortably retained the Senior Womens' trophy. In the very windy conditions, Gary Moore of North Shields Poly won the Mens'  individual race, with Tom Doughty of Sunderland clocking the fastest time, finishing in 8th position. Steve Potts (21st) won the Individual trophy, with Sunderland clubmate, Brian Rushworth taking the Veterans' title. In the Womens' race, Steph White from host club, Tynedale gained victory, with Donna James of Elvet clocking the fastest time in 2nd place. James also won the Veterans' Individual Trophy. Judith Nutt of Elswick (absent here) took the Senior title. The demanding course and smaller fields meant that there were six individual victories for fast pack runners. Karl Taylor of Morpeth (Under 17), Gregor Rowe of Blaydon (Under 15), Simeon Greenwood of Tynedale (Under 13), Helen Gertig of Blaydon  (Under 17 Women), Rachael Lundgren of  Gosforth (Under 15 Girls) and Hannah Rank of Morpeth (Under 13 Girls) all won, with Taylor, Lundgren and Rank also taking individual titles. Other overall winners were: Tristan Venus of Tynedale (losing his unbeaten record to Rowe on this occasion) (Under 15), Josh Brown of Tynedale (Under 13) and Monique Howell of Birtley (Under 17 Women).
Results.
Senior Men (8.5km Handicap): 1 G Moore (NSP) 32:09; 2 G Jones (Blyth) 32:44; 3 T Mehari (Clare) 32:55; 4 J Pearson (Gate, U20) 32:57; 5 H Matthews (Els, M60) 33:54; 6 R Walker (Dur) 34:00; 7 P Shuttleworth (Crook, M40) 34:04; 8 T Doughty (Sun, M40) 34:04; 9 J Stephens (Low F, M40) 34:04; 10 A Banakiewicz (unatt) 34:07; 11 W Horsley (Elv) 34:20; 12 K Mackey (SSh, M45) 34:34; 13 T Field (Sun, M40) 34:41; 14 R Barkley (Blyth) 34:46; 15 A Lawrence (Morp) 34:48; 16 I Hayden (Aur) 34:50; 17 A Macrae (Sun) 34:53; 18 G Huxley (Walls) 34:55; 19 A Wear (Birt) 35:04; 20 D Lydon (Sun S) 35:05
Fastest: T Doughty 29:04; A Banakiewicz 29:07; T Field 29:41; A Lawrence 29:48; S Potts (Sun) 30:07; J Buis (Heat) 30:20; J Pearson 30:27; L Millmore (Birt) 30:32
Teams: Div 1: 1 Sunderland 189; 2 South Shields 258; 3 Crook & District 296; 4 Wallsend  312; 5 Alnwick 392; 6 Elswick 420  Div 2: 1 Sunderland Strollers 312; 2 Elvet Striders 363; 3 Tynedale 368  Div 3: 1 Claremont 384; 2 Birtley 388; 3 Low Fell 861
Final Standings: Div 1: 1 Sunderland 10; 2 Wallsend  15; 3= South Shields & Alnwick 29; 5 Durham City 31; 6 Elswick 32. Div 2: 1 Sunderland Strollers 7; 2 Tynedale 22; 3= Saltwell & Heaton 27. Div 3: 1 Claremont 9; 2 Low Fell 13; 3 Birtley 19. Indiv: 1 S Potts 31; 2 S Bell (CleS) 24; 3 J Buis 21.5. Veterans: 1 B Rushworth (Sun) 40; 2= T Doughty & T Field 36
Under 17 Men (5.4km Handicap): 1 K Taylor (Morp) 20:38; 2 A Southern (Els) 20:46; 3 D Dalby (Gate) 20:54; 4 J Scott (Morp) 21:29; 5 M Foggin (Sun) 21:34; 6 D Watt (NSP) 21:47; 7 T Calder (Tyne) 21:53; 8 M Cochrane (Morp) 21:56; 9 C Rutherford (Tyne) 21:59; 10 A Richardson (Tyne) 22:11
Fastest: K Taylor 17:58; J Scott 18:49; M Foggin 18:54
Teams: 1 Morpeth 13; 2 Tynedale 26; 3 Sunderland 37
Final Standings: 1 Tynedale 15; 2 Morpeth 24. Indiv: 1 M Cochrane 37; 2 C Rutherford 36; 3 D Watt 26
Under 15 Boys (3.3km Handicap): 1 G Rowe (Blay) 13:09; 2 T Venus (Tyne) 13:26; 3 L Attwell (H&P) 13:30; 4 L Wintrip (Sun) 13:33; 5 J Moore (J&H) 13:35; 6 A Douglass (Morp) 13:38; 7 J Falconer (Gosf) 13:45; 8 M Bennett (Gate) 13:53; 9 M Kilbride (Sun) 14:07; 10 C Pearson (H&P) 14:10
Fastest: G Rowe 11:29; T Venus 11:46; L Wintrip 11:53
Teams: 1 Sunderland 25; 2 Houghton & Peterlee 32; 3 Gosforth 54
Final Standings: 1 Tynedale 17; 2 Sunderland 20; 3= Houghton & Peterlee & Gosforth 34 Indiv: 1 T Venus 40; 2 J Moore 30; 3 G Urwin (Tyne) 28
Under 13 Boys (2.9km Handicap): 1 S Greenwood (Tyne) 11:27; 2 S Barras (J&H) 11:29; 3 J Brown (Tyne) 11:33; 4 D Parker (Tyne) 11:33; 5 G Lowry (J&H) 11:34; 6 R Loraine (Birt) 11:45; 7 N Newton (Gate) 11:46; 8 R Costello (Gate) 11:46; 9 B Maskell (Gate) 11:54; 10 J Sloane (Els) 11:56
Fastest: S Greenwood 10:07; S Barras 10:09; J Brown 10:13
Teams: 1 Tynedale 8; 2 Jarrow & Hebburn 22; 3 Gateshead 24
Final Standings: 1 Tynedale 9; 2 Jarrow & Hebburn 20; 3 Gateshead 29. Indiv: 1 J Brown 36; 2 S Greenwood 32; 3 S Barras 30
Senior Women (5.4km Handicap):  1  S White (Tyne, W40) 23:32; 2 D James (Elv, W40) 23:41; 3 K Robertson (Tyne, W35) 23:50; 4 J Critchley (Heat) 23:53; 5 K-J Murray (New U) 23:55; 6 K Elliott (Elv, W35) 23:55; 7 M Dawson (Elv, W35) 23:59; 8 R Kirk (Clare) 24:00; 9 A Flynn (NSP) 24:02; 10 L Walker (Walls, W35) 24:09; 11 H Morris (Blyth, W40) 24:23; 12 C Hamson (Heat) 24:31; 13 M Loraine (Birt, W45) 24:32; 14 P Adamson (NSP, W45) 24:41; 15 J Cross (Clare, W35) 24:44
Fastest: D James 21:01; K Robertson 21:10; K-J Murray 21:15; C Hamson 21:51; A Peace (Heat) 22:19; F Shenton (Elv, W45) 22:38
Teams: 1 Elvet Striders 15; 2 Tynedale 29; 3 Heaton 35; 4 North Shields Poly 41; 5 Claremont 49; 6 Sunderland Strollers 83
Final Standings: 1 Elvet Striders 10; 2 Heaton 24; 3 Tynedale 25; 4 North Shields Poly 30; 5= Blaydon & Sunderland Strollers 43  Indiv: 1 J Nutt (Els) 35; 2 J Zoppi (Heat) 28; 3 J Dooley (Tyne) 21.5  Vets: 1 D James 40; 2 K Robertson 38; 3 F Shenton 32 .
Junior Women (4.4km Handicap):  1 H Gertig (Blay, U17) 20:16; 2 N Young (Morp, U17) 20:37; 3 M Howell (Birt, U17) 21:34; 4 G Campbell (J&H) 22:58; 5 C Potts (H&P, U17) 23:24; 6 V Brewis (H&P, U17) 23:25; 7 J Brignall (Heat) 23:32; 8 S Robinson (Els, U17) 24:21; 9 S-K Crowell (J&H, U17) 24:27; 10 E Murray (J&H, U17) 25:49
Fastest: H Gertig 17:36; N Young 17:57; M Howell 18:54
Teams: 1 Jarrow &Hebburn 23; 2 Houghton & Peterlee 23
Final Standings: 1 Houghton & Peterlee 11; 2 Jarrow & Hebburn 26. Indiv: 1 M Howell 33; 2 G Campbell 29; 3 C Potts 22
Under 15 Girls (3.3km Handicap):  1 R Lundgren (Gosf) 15:20; 2 Z Armstrong (Morp) 15:38; 3 E Masson (Gosf) 16:00; 4 H Waddell (Gosf) 16:22; 5 R Ferguson (Gate) 16:34; 6 R Oldham (Gate) 16:35; 7 M Bell (Black B) 16:49; 8 S Crosby (Sun) 16:51; 9 L Cairns (Morp) 17:07; 10 M McGarr (Gosf) 17:09
Fastest: R Lundgren 13:40; Z Armstrong 13:58; E Masson 14:20
Teams: 1 Gosforth 8; 2 Sunderland 31; 3 Jarrow & Hebburn 50
Final Standings: 1 Gateshead 15; 2 Sunderland 19; 3 Gosforth 28. Indiv: 1 R Lundgren 35; 2 S Smith (Tyne) 33; 3 R Oldham 25
Under 13 Girls (2.9km Handicap):  1 H Rank (Morp) 12:07; 2 C Porter (Sun) 12:34; 3 M Reid (Sun) 12:37; 4 S Taylor (Birt) 12:40; 5 S Robinson (Blyth) 12:45; 6 F Lockhart (Gate) 12:48; 7 L Clement (Gate) 12:50; 8 C Falconer (Gosf) 12:51; 9 P Howell (Birt) 13:11; 10 S Bennett (H&P) 13:21
Fastest: H Rank 10:47; C Porter 11:14; M Reid 11:17
Teams: 1 Sunderland 19; 2 Birtley 30; 3 Gateshead 31
Final Standings: 1 Gateshead 18; 2 Birtley 20; 3 Sunderland 25. Indiv: 1 H Rank 36; 2 S Taylor 29; 3 M Simpson (Morp) 28.5
(Newcastle Journal:  Mon. 19th March 2007).

Additional Comments: Most of info used. Weather very windy and colder. Underfoot conditions were dry around start/finish area, but muddy on other parts of course. Congratulations to Hugh and Steph on a succesful first season in charge of results. The final placings (always a dread in the past), were available in record time. Apologies to Birtley (much improved in latter part of season) who actually won Division 3 team race by 1pt with revised scoring. Did not realise until times were given, that Junior Women ran shorter course than Seniors. 225 finishers in SM race (last time: 54:32), SW 42 (29:15), JW 11. and U17M: 17 (more than usual). Other performances included: 49 A Jenkins 35:51; 213 F Strand 44:17. Heaton results were: SM: 27 J Buis; 62 P Howe 33:47; 68 A Bartram 36:24; 69 M Gibson 36:25; 97 D Robins 34:33; 122 I McKinnon 37:43; 167 J Gibson 39:46; 168 P Inskip 39:58; 197 D Brignall 41:40; 199 C Burn 42;02; 225 G Routledge 54:32  SW: 19 A Peace; 22 A-M Watson 25:12  JW: J Brignall 20:52. A good day concluding a highly succesful season. Footnote from Kevin Carr: Sunderland Men have now gained 8 successive victories.
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Gateshead Indoor Standards Meeting.
International Stadium.  Thurs. 15th March.
Results.
Senior Men:  60: 1 A Boyd (Dur U) 7.2; 2 C Hunter (J&H) 7.4; 3 A Babatunde (M'bro) 7.5  HJ: 1 C Hunter (J&H) 1.80; 2 M Joyce (J&H) 1.75; 3 B Robertson (NSP, M40) 1.65  PV: 1 G Bickerdale (Spen) 3.90; 2 I Dodsworth (H&P) 3.50  LJ: 1 A Babatunde 6.45; 2 C Hunter 6.21
Under 20 Men:  60: 1 L Milburn (unatt) 7.5; 2 L Powell (Bord) 7.6  HJ: 1 M Winter (M'bro) 1.85; 2 L Powell 1.85  PV: R Dixon (Gate) 3.80  LJ: 1 C Fiddes (Blay) 6.03; 2 D Downey (H&P) 5.73
Under 17 Men:  60: r1: 1 M Davison (Gate) 7.4; 2 P Goessen (J&H) 7.5. r2: A Wilkinson (Gate) 7.5  HJ: 1 E Gill (Gate) 1.60; 2 A Wright (Gate) 1.60; 3 J Unwin (Gate) 1.60  PV: 1 T Parkin (Gate) 3.70; 2 G Howard (Gate) 3.00  LJ: A Wright 5.36
Under 15 Boys:  60: M Young (Gate) 7.8  HJ: S Markwell (CleS) 1.50  PV: G Cryer (Gate) 2.60  LJ: S Markwell 5.01
Under 13 Boys:  60: r1: 1 M Blowers (Blay) 9.0; 2 K Clark (Blay) 9.1  r2: 1 S Hall (Gate) 8.2; 2 J Robertshaw (Morp) 9.1  HJ: S Hall 1.35  LJ: S Hall 4.79
Senior Women:  60: N Christopher (Dur U) 8.5  60H: N Christopher 10.1  HJ: A Berry (J&H) 1.50  PV: J Ibbotson (Spen) 2.90  SP: A Berry 9.03
Under 20 Women:  60: A Ramsey (SSh) 8.3  HJ: 1 T Kennedy (Darl) 1.55; 2 R Pottinger (Birt) 1.55; 3 L Watt (SSh) 1.50  SP: A Ramsey 9.78
Under 17 Women:  60: 1 N Pearson (Gate) 8.1; 2 L Hayes (H&P) 8.5  60H: A Wood (SSh) 9.8  HJ: 1 G Johnston (NSP) 1.55; 2 J Baker (Dur) 1.50; 3 I Sharp (SSh) 1.50  SP: J Hudson (Gate) 8.04
Under 15 Girls:  60: 1 J Read (Gate) 8.3; 2 E Hastings (Morp) 8.6; 3 K Marriott (Gate) 8.6  60H: H Lambert (Gate) 10.7  PV: Stacey Howden (Gate) 2.30  SP: K Bulmer (J&H) 8.08
Under 13 Girls:  60: r1: 1 R Quinn (Blay) 9.0; 2.Shannon Howden (Gate) 9.2  r2: N Teasdale (J&H) 9.2. r3: 1 A Hollings (Gate) 9.0; 2 A Smith (SSh) 9.1; 3 G Dawson (Gate) 9.1. 60H: 1 A Smith 10.6; 2 Shannon Howden 11.0; 3 N Teasdale 11.1  HJ: Shannon Howden 1.30  PV: Shannon Howden 2.30  SP: K Jacques (unatt) 6.87
(Newcastle Journal:  Mon. 26th March 2007).

Additional Comments:  Very disappointingly, the full results not made available until Mon (19th) pm. Will resubmit for 26th (included ok) . No info on Grand Prix winners yet (26th).
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Weekly Round-up
(to 11th Mch)
Result from the Hastings Half Marathon: 1 P Barru (Ken) 63:22; 11 D Wardle 67:43
Results from the British Universities Indoor Championships at Sheffield (10th/11th Mch) included: 800: B: 5 A Teate (North) 1:55.96  3000: 4 C Parr (Lough) 8:17.48; 6 R McLeod (Lough) 8:19.31  60H: 4 A Sturrock (Sun) 8.33  LJ: 1 C Kirk (North) 7.46; 4 S Nyananyo (Tees) 7.09; 7 J Stacey (North) 6.95  TJ: 7 G Jackson (North) 13.73  W: 3000: 3 S Maude (Lough) 9:43.84; 7 E Waterhouse (Dur) 10:00.24  TJ: 2 J Straker (Dur) 12.73
Karen Robertson won High Cop Nick Fell Race in Dufton, Cumbria in a time of 76mins 35secs. Her winning margin was a massive 13mins 16secs.
Fastest times from the North Shields Poly Handicap (6th Mch) were C Morley (TWFB) 19:17 and A Hibbs 21:46. Michael Brown (Blyth) was first across line.
All info courtesy of AW, where the following Veterans' Road rankings for 2006 were listed: W60: 5km: 5 C Lee 22:16  10km: 6 C Lee 46:12   10M: 4 S Gibson 78:24  W65: 5km: 1 C Lee 22:32; 5 K Stewart 24:47  5M: 1 C Lee 37:15  10km: 1 C Lee 46:55  10M: 6 K Stewart 86:14
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Saucony English National Cross Country Championships.
Herrington Country Park, Penshaw, Sunderland.  Sat. 10th March.
Morpeth Harriers provided the North East with hard won medals at Saturday's Saucony National Cross Country Championships at Herrington Park, Penshaw. The event returned to the region for the first time since 2001, when it took place at Durham. In the Junior Mens' race, Nick Swinburn finished strongly to take third place behind Kevin Deighton of Bridlington. Swinburn was well supported by Jon Taylor (15th), Nathan Shrubb (43rd) and Jonathan Young (48th) as Morpeth took the silver medals behind Liverpool Harriers. Cumbrian Adrian Holliday (Trafford) finished 6th.
On a cold, windy but thankfully dry day, the region's only other medal came in the Under 13 Boys' race, when Mark Shaw of New Marske finished second to Stroud's Tom Purnell.. Fergus Roberts of Richmond & Zetland finished 4th and Cameron Boyek of Shildon, 9th.
Fell Racing specialist Laura Park from Ellenborough, Cumbria took the Under 15 Girls' title, pulling away strongly from her rivals in the final 200m. Shildon's Kate Avery finished 7th.
Frank Tickner of Wells won the Senior Mens' race by a large margin of 40secs.The Birmingham University student thus completed the grand slam of domestic titles, having also won the European and British Uniiversities (inc World Trial) races and the Inter Counties Champiionship. Second place went to Bedford's Hugh Lobb, who won the last Morpeth to Newcastle race in 2005. North East-based Shaftesbury Barnet Harrier Dominic Bannister finished 4th and Morpeth's Ian Hudspith 6th. Morpeth finished 5th in the team event behind defending champions, Leeds City.
Commonwealth Marathon bronze medallist, Liz Yelling (Bedford) comfortably defeated sister-in-law Hayley Yelling (Windsor) to take the Senior Womens' title. The winner had also won the event, in 2001. The region's highest placed club was Chester Le Street in 7th, with Morpeth finishing in 9th position..
Results.
Senior Men: 12km.  1 F Tickner (Wells) 37:31; 2 H Lobb (Bed) 38:11; 3 G Raven (Sale) 38:14; 4 D Bannister (Shaft B) 38:28; 5 G Thonton (Kent) 38:38; 6 I Hudspith (Morp) 38:40; 7 J Mays (Kent) 38:42; 8 K Heywood (Bris) 38:43; 9 D Deed (Bed) 38:47;10 O Freeman (Body) 38:51  Further Placings: 23 M Hudspith (Morp) 39:27; 54 M Hood (Sun) 40:09; 65 M Morris (Morp) 40:29; 75 J Mooney (Morp) 40:51; 81 B Rushworth (Sun) 40:58; 91 J Leinonen (Gate) 41:19; 100 D Swinburne (Morp) 41:35; 111 R Cole (N&EB) 41:50; 114 S Potts (Sun) 42:04; 116 T Field (Sun) 42:11; 132 T Doughty (Sun) 42:29; 134 I Hollingsworth (Morp) 42:31; 146 N Wilkinson (Morp) 42:47; 154 A Lawrence (Morp) 43:01; 171 A Churchill (Hart) 43:26; 182 B Harrison (Morp) 43:36; 184 P Walker (Blay) 43:38; 191 G Hetherington (Sedge) 43:46; 204 D Purvis (CleS) 44:02; 225 C Franks (Gate) 44:37; 227 S Bell (CleS) 44:42; 229 D Middlemas (Loft) 44:47; 231 P Waterston (Morp) 44:49; 239 M Armstrong (Hart) 44:55; 243 J Russell (CleS) 44:57; 246 J Donneky (Derw) 45:00; 248 P Merrison (Sun) 45:01
Teams: 1 Leeds City 162; 2 Bedford & County 226; 3 Sale, Manchester 287; 4 Notts AC 290; 5 Morpeth 403; 6 Shaftesbury Barnet 409; 14 Sunderland 744; 27 Hartlepool Burn Road 1857; 37 Chester Le Street 2366; 38 Loftus & Whitby 2481; 41 South Shields 2736; 42 Sunderland Strollers 2751; 43 Blaydon 2768; 45 Saltwell 2916; 48 Elswick 3036; 49 Darlington 3076; 54 Claremont 3387; 55 Middlesbrough & Cleveland 3486; 56 North Shields Poly 3558; 60 Alnwick 3667; 61 Tynedale 3726; 62 Birtley 3791; 63 Derwentside 3863; 65 Houghton & Peterlee 3702; 68 Heaton 4316; 70 Aurora 4635
Junior Men: 10km.  1 K Deighton (Brid) 32:12; 2 T Russell (Stroud) 32:14; 3 N Swinburn (Morp) 32:30; 4 J Mellor (Liv H) 32:34; 5 R Fraser (OWLS) 32:44; 6 A Holliday (Traff) 32:46  Further Placings: 15 J Taylor (Morp) 33:46; 21 A Wiles (M'bro) 34:01; 22 A Duffield (Loft) 34:01; 23 M Crawley (Dur) 34:02; 28 L Moses (N Ayc) 34:19; 31 R Morrell (M'bro) 34:26; 43 N Shrubb (Morp) 34:54; 48 J Young (Morp) 35:07; 58 R Floyd (Morp) 35:35; 65 L Gamble Thompson (N Marske) 35:48; 73 Z Scott (Birt) 36:02; 81 A Mitchell (M'bro) 36:32; 87 T Carter (Walls) 37:08
Teams: 1 Liverpool H 87; 2 Morpeth 109; 3 Aldershot, Farnham & District 116
Under 17 Men: 6km.  1 D Forrester (St Hel) 20:38; 2 G Divall (Royal SC) 20:47; 3 J Brownlee (Brad GS) 20:52; 4 D Easter (Shaft B) 21:11; 5 M Williams (Leeds) 21:14; 6 C Harvey (Cann) 21:18  Further Placings: 20 C Smith (CleS) 21:55; 27 K Taylor (Morp) 22:09; 43 A Duffield (Loft) 22:30; 55 D Roberts (R&Z) 22:48; 75 M Cochrane (Morp) 23:16; 87 K Fairclough (Sun) 23:27; 90 D Watt (NSP) 23:31; 93 J Scott (Morp) 23:32
Teams: 1 Aldershot, Farnham & District 125; 2 Warrington 125; 3 Shaftesbury Barnet 136; 10 Morpeth 349
Under 15 Boys: 4.5km.  1 N Young (Mendip) 15:01; 2 S Harding (Ton) 15:06; 3 A Combs (Ton) 15:18; 4 J Moody (Mat) 15:20; 5 P Thompson (Notts) 15:22; 6 B Norris (Notts) 15:26  Further Placings: 10 D Schofield (Scar) 15:36; 11 T Venus (Tyne) 15:37; 27 C Gaffney (N Ayc) 15:55; 36 G Hawkins (M'bro) 16:05; 39 G Rowe (Blay) 16:07; 41 L Baister (Gate) 16:09; 53 D Collins (Scar) 16:16; 57 K Chirnside (CleS) 16:19; 59 G Urwin (Tyne) 16:21; 70 A Douglass (Morp) 16:31; 73 T Allen (R&Z) 16:32; 77 P Clifford (Darl) 16:35; 88 M Rice (Gosf) 16:46; 89 J Archer (Sun) 16:46; 91 J Philips (Darl) 16:47; 93 J Falconer (Gosf) 16:50
Teams: 1 Tonbridge 41; 2 Aldershot, Farnham & District 61; 3 Liverpool Pembroke & Sefton 162; 10 Scarborough 317; 14 Gosforth 411; 16 Tynedale 447; 17 Blaydon 512; 23 Sunderland 650; 25 New Marske 818; 27 Houghton & Peterlee 824
Under 13 Boys: 3km.  1 T Purnell (Stroud) 10:22; 2 M Shaw (N Marske) 10:35; 3 R Park (Here) 10:38; 4 F Roberts (R&Z) 10:39; 5 R Charles (Eal) 10:39; 6 M Kaye (Holm) 10:40
Further Placings: 9 C Boyek (Shil) 10:50; 17 M Scott (R&Z) 10:58; 21 L Hogg (Gate) 11:03; 38 S Greenwood (Tyne) 11:19; 45 J Brown (Tyne) 11:22; 52 D Parker (Tyne) 11:28; 76 R Loraine (Birt) 11:39; 78 E Hetherington (Blyth) 11:41; 99 B Maskell (Gate) 11:51
Teams: 1 Tonbridge 117; 2 Aldershot, Farnham & District 132; 3 Bedford & County 145; 9 Tynedale 301; 13 Gateshead 337; 14 Richmond & Zetland 344; 19 Shildon 466; 30 Blyth 762
Senior Women: 8km.  1 L Yelling (Bed) 28:56; 2 H Yelling (Windsor S&E) 29:35; 3 L Damen (Winch) 29:40; 4 J Wilkinson (Bed) 29:48; 5 F Fullerton (Hav) 30:18; 6 W Jones (Ciren) 30:33; 7 L Elliott (Winch) 30:35; 8 V Webster (Shaft B) 30:36; 9 G Phillips (Ken) 30:39; 10 C Martin (Telf) 30:44  Further Placings: 21 R Robinson (Kend) 31:41; 34 A Raw (Bing) 34:37; 36 C Dickie (Windsor S&E) 32:44; 38 S Tunstall (N Rown) 32:59; 39 G Rutherford (Darl) 33:00; 42 A Dixon (CleS) 33:02; 51 J Mooney (Morp) 33:26; 56 A Fox (Morp) 33:38; 58 T Laws (CleS) 33:49; 65 C Summersgill (M'bro) 34:09; 71 J Nutt (Els) 34:29; 81 M Stansmore (M&C) 34:45; 82 A Watson (CleS) 34:47; 83 K Chapman (Morp) 34:51; 97 M Holt (Sun) 35:20; 98 H Robinson (CleS) 35:20; 102 T Waller (Hart) 35:42; 104 S Graham (Morp) 35:50; 112 F Shenton (Elv) 36:00; 115 H Lambert (NSP) 36:05; 121 J Dooley (Tyne) 36:13; 127 A Hunter (CleS) 36:30; 132 G Barry (Sun) 36:39; 134 Y Thiru (Els) 36:59; 137 E Smith (Clare) 37:05; 140 C Hamson (Heat) 37:11; 141 G Cavill (Morp) 37:12; 145 B Pearce (Clare) 37:21; 149 N Kent (Loft) 37:37
Teams: 1 Winchester & District 41; 2 Telford 123; 3 Bingley 145; 7 Chester Le Street 280; 9 Morpeth 294; 17 Middlesbrough & Cleveland 573; 20 Claremont 709; 21 Sunderland Strollers 778; 26 Alnwick 949
Junior Women: 5km.  1 J Sparke (WG&EL) 17:03; 2 S Stockton (Vale R) 17:29; 3 L Snow (WG&EL) 17:38; 4 R Edwards (Roth) 17:41; 5 R Senior (CoNorw) 17:49; 6 L Mayho (Bing) 17:50  Further Placings: 13 M Ferrier (Gate) 18:17; 21 D James (Morp) 18:31; 33 L Patton (Gate) 19:13; 40 J Orr (Quak) 19:37; 43 A Snook (Shil) 19:49; 44 A Porteous (Morp) 19:51; 45 L Roche (M&C) 19:52; 47 A Wilson (N Ayc) 19:58; 59 R Turnbull (Morp) 20:35; 62 J Roberts (R&Z) 20:53; 67 H Dix (Blay) 21:09; 76 R Barnes (CleS) 21:49; 77 K Walker (Gate) 21:53; 83 J Brignall (Heat) 23:15
Teams: 1 Bristol & West 73; 2 Woodford Green & Essex Ladies 76; 3 Vale Royal 119
Under 17 Women: 5km.  1 C Purdue (AF&D) 17:08; 2 H Timmins (Warr) 17:48; 3 R Gough (Team So) 17:49; 4 B Haywood (Linc W) 18:03; 5 S Hopkinson (Glouc) 18:08; 6 L Russell (Winch) 18:19  Further Placings: 14 L Weightman (Morp) 18:51; 23 H Gertig (Blay) 19:12; 26 K Legg (M'bro) 19:14; 42 N Young (Morp) 19:55; 44 A Wheatman (Scar) 19:56; 45 J Russon (N Marske) 19:57; 46 G Rutherford (NSP) 19:58; 68 R Adams (Morp) 20:35; 70 M Ellis (Loft) 20:36; 75 A Smith (M&C) 20:49; 77 A Ewan (H&P) 20:52; 82 J Adams (R&Z) 20:59; 91 S Favier (Gate) 21:13
Teams: 1 Rotherham 55; 2 Royal Sutton Coldfield 88; 3 Aldershot, Farnham & District 155
Under 15 Girls: 4.5km.  1 L Park (Ellen) 16:33; 2 C Freeman (Body) 16:39; 3 B Carter (Inv) 16:40; 4 M Courtney (Poole) 16:50; 5 K Holt (CoStoke) 16:57; 6 S Burns (Roth) 17:18  Further Placings: 7 K Avery (Shil) 17:19; 48 D Pickavance Clarke (CleS) 18:44; 60 Z Armstrong (Morp) 19:02; 61 R Lundgren (Gosf) 19:05; 68 S Smith (Tyne) 19:12; 91 R Jameson (Gate) 19:34; 94 R Clarke (Darl) 19:35
Teams: 1 Aldershot, Farnham & District 68; 2 Bedford & County 181; 3 Royal Sutton Coldfield 201; 13 Gateshead 448; 19 Morpeth 617; 21 Tynedale 732
Under 13 Girls: 3km.  1 E Goreka (AF&D) 10:44; 2 C Cook (Eastb'ne) 10:59; 3 N Speake (Bris) 11:02; 4 G Bell (Eal) 11:06; 5 E Wallbank (Bed) 11:10; 6 R Haynes (AF&D) 11:13
Further Placings: 16 H Rank (Morp) 11:48; 24 R Denton (Morp) 11:56; 41 M Winzer (R&Z) 12:13; 49 F Higgin (Shil) 12:20; 59 G Rodgers (Loft) 12:30; 68 S Taylor (Birt) 12:38; 74 L Richardson (Dur) 12:40; 84 E Ward (Darl) 12:47; 94 F Lockhart (Gate) 12:52; 96 E Fields (M'bro 12:53
Teams: 1 East Cheshire & Tameside 47; 2 Aldershot, Farnham & District 64; 3 Leicester Coritanian 105; 19 Gateshead 521; 22 Shildon 594; 25 Middlesbrough Mandale 708; 26 Sunderland 717; 28 Middlesbrough & Cleveland 844; 29 Blaydon 849; 31 Houghton & Peterlee 915
(Newcastle Journal: Mon. 12th March 2007).

Additional Comments: All info used. Results courtesy of Graham Fecitt (via Val Gill) on day, apart from Senior tale-enders + teams, which were available about 9.00pm. Little wind in early morning, but got stonger as meeting progressed. Very windy Friday, which dried out most of course. Fairly firm underfoot (apart from registration tent). Difficult to follow races from finishing area. Also lack of info on last runners. Went down further in results than usual, due to what was an overall poor performance by North East runners. Number of finishers were: SM: 916 (last time: see later)  JM:139  U17M: 186  U15B: 266  U13B: 258  SW: 297 (62:16)  JW: 90  U17W: 155  U15G: 246  U13G: 268 . Not sure of who started in each race because of geography of course, but both James Buis and Sigourney Bell looked to be ready to run. Have to admit but I have never heard of Claremont's leading two female  runners. Congratulations to Laura Park who (according to announcer) was lying about 5th with 1km to go. Hayley Yelling stayed at Dickies' parents house the night before. Other performances worth mentioning were: SM: 262 A Dent 45:28; 293 A Lilliendale 46:05; 380 G Harden 47:33  SW: 57 O Walwyn 33:48; 152 L Walker 37:46; 157 J Tinkler 38:01; 165 D Horne 38:17; 170 H Morris 38:33; 177 S White 38:51; 188 V Booth 39:24; 192 M Loraine 39:37; 204 S Findlay (nice to see competing again) 40:20  U17W: 107 A Johnson 21:42; 110 C Potts 21:49  U15G: 107 D Bell 19:47; 108 R Oldham 19;47; 110 E Masson 19:48; 112 S Allison 19:50; 119 S Goodfellow 19:53.  Other Heaton performances were: 488 D Robins 49:39; 663 S McEntee 54:03; 745 E Baty 56:02; 790 C Burn 57:35; 811 A Mulliss 58:22; 825 D Brignall 59:09; 916 G Routledge 79:33.
Bonus "track": Sunday Sun report (11th Mch). Morpeth's team medal performance was omitted + SW reference.
Medals were hard to come by for North East athletes at yesterday's Saucony National Cross Country Championships at Penshaw, Sunderland. Best performances came in the Junior Mens' event when Morpeth's Nick Swinburn finished strongly to take third place (32:30) behind Kevin Deighton of Bridlington (32:12). Swinburn was well supported by Jon Taylor (15th), Nathan Shrubb (43rd) and Jonathan Young (48th) as Morpeth took the silver medals behind Liverpool Harriers. Cumbrian Adrian Holliday (Trafford) finished 6th. Mark Shaw of New Marske took the silver medal in the Under 13 Boys' race (10:35) behind Stroud's Tom Purnell (10:22). Fergus Roberts of Richmond & Zetland finished 4th and Cameron Boyek of Shildon (9th).
Fell Racing specialist Laura Park from Ellenborough, Cumbria took the Under 15 Girls' title (16:33).pulling away strongly from her rivals in the final 200m. Shildon's Kate Avery finished 7th.
Frank Tickner of Wells won the Senior Mens' race by a large margin of 40secs. The Birmingham University student thus completed the grand slam of domestic titles. North East-based Shaftesbury Barnet Harrier Dominic Bannister finished 4th and Morpeth's Ian Hudspith 6th. Morpeth finished 5th in the team event behind defending champions, Leeds City.
Liz Yelling (Bedford) comfortably defeated sister-in-law Hayley Yelling (Windsor) to take the Senior Womens' title. The region's highest placed club was Chester Le Street in 7th.
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Weekly Round-up
(to 4th Mch).
Results from the final North Yorkshire and South Durham League fixture at Richmond (sorry but a still dodgy leg and the very nature of the course, prevented me attending): SM: 1 G Dunn 31:21; 2 A Duffield (U20) 31:26; 3 J Orange (M40) 32:47; 4 A Churchill 32:47; 5 L Gamble Thompson (U20) 33:16; 6 M Armsrong 33:29  Teams: 1 New Marske 71; 2 Hartlepool Burn Road 74; 3 Loftus & Whitby 94  U17: 1 L Rodgers (Lof) 22:44; 2 R Best 23:29  U15: D Schofield (Scar) 12:34  U13: 1 F Roberts 9:10; 2 C Boyek 9:12  SW: 1 S Tunstall 24:33; 2 J Jackson 24:51; 3 K Livingston (N Marske) 25:33; 4 C Summersgill 26:33  U20: J Roberts (R&Z) 28:14  Teams: 1 Middlesbrough & Cleveland 48; 2 Loftus & Whitby 57; 3 New Marske 67  U17: 1 M Ellis (Loft) 26:10; 2 J Russon 26:25; 3 A Wheatman 26:36  U15: S Allison 15:14  U13: F Higgins 10:34
Result of the Haveswater Half Marathon in Penrith: 1 M Scott 71:27 (by 1:19)  W50: 1 S Laws 1:42:07; 2 J Kilgour 1:43:21
Results of the Greys Pike Fell Race at Kielder: 1 J Blackett (DP, M40) 40:44; 2 K Maynard (D) 41:31; 3 D Steel (N) 41:39  W: 1 K Robertson (N) 45:45; 2 L Wikinson (N) 50:14; 3 S Davis (N) 56:26.
Result of the Commondale Magical Mystery Tour Fell Race in Cleveland: 1 J Bowman (un) 36:05; 2 R Addyman (un) 36:37; 3 C Robinson (Helm) 36:41  W: 1 K White (NYM) 47:10 (by 15secs).
Congratulations to all the British medallists at the European Indoor Championships at Birmingham (2nd-4th Mch). Leading results were: 60: 1 J Gardener 6.51; 2 C Pickering 6.59 (6.56 semi)  400: 1 D Gillick (Ire) 45.52; 3 R Tobin 46.15  HJ: 1 S Holm (Swe) 2.34; 3 M Bernard 2.29  LJ: 5 C Tomlinson 7.89 (Qual 2: 7.96)  TJ: 1 P Idowu 17.56; 2 N Douglas 17.47  4 x 400: 1 Great Britain (Germany disq): 3:07.04 (R Tobin 46.49, D Garland 46.97, P Taylor 46.89, S Green 46.69)  W: 400: 1 N Sanders 50.02 (UK Rec) (23.31 200)  Pent: 1 C Kluft (Swe) 4944; 2 K Sotherton 4927 (8.23, 1.88, 14.57, 6.51, 2:12.54)  4 x 400: 1 Belaruse 3:27.83; 3 Great Britain 3:28.69 (UK Rec) (E Duck 53.63, N Sanders 50.60, K Wall 53.38, L McDonnell 51.08)
Results from the Briish Masters Indoor Championships at Lee Valley (3rd - 4th Mch) included: M35: 800; 2 T Brannon 2:02.65; 3 J Moore 2:02.85  1500: 2 T Brannon 4:11.77; 4 J Moore 4:18.39  M45: 800: 2 G Harden 2:06.91  1500: 4 G Harden 4:20.44  M50: 1500: 4 A Jenkins 4:39.00  3000: 2 A Jenkins 9:57.49  W45: 1500: 4 L Marr  5:35.29  3000: 3 L Marr 11:58.99  W65: 400: 1 K Stewart 81.67  800: 1 K Stewart 3:14.83  1500: 1 K Stewart 6:34.07
(original M35 info from JM).
Steve Cairns won the Scottish Masters Cross Country Championship at Bathgate, West Lothian (3rd Mch), by a 48secs margin, in a time of 33mins 35secs.
All info courtesy of AW.
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Start Fitness North Eastern Harrier League.
Riverside, Chester Le Street.  Sat. 3rd March
Sunderland Harriers pulled away to a 3pt lead over nearest rivals Wallsend, in the Senior Mens' Division 1 competition at the penultimate Start Fitness North Eastern Harrier League fixture at Riverside, Chester Le Street. The pair started the day on level terms, but victory on this occasion for the defending champions against 4th placed Wallsend, set the Wearsiders up for their 7th successive league title. Victory in the individual race went to veteran, Alan Dent of Blaydon, with Morpeth's Junior International Nick Swinburn, recovering from a disappointing run at Nottingham a week earlier, clocking the quickest time finishing in 5th position from the fast pack..
Defending champions, Elvet Striders held off a strong challenge from Chester Le Street in the Senior Womens' event, extending their lead at the top of the table to a massive 12pts.
Individual victory went to Megan Murdoch of Claremont, with veteran Donna James of Elvet clocking the fastest time in 4th position.
Schools' International Laura Weightman of Morpeth, sidelined for five weeks, after sustaining a serous injury in the Northern Championships at Manchester, returned to win the Junior Womens' race from the fast pack. Sigourney Bell of Gateshead, 3rd in the National 800m Indoor championship, returned to Cross Country action, to win the Under 15 race from the fast pack. The day's other fast pack victory came in the Under 13 Girls' race, with Rachel Denton holding off the challenge of Morpeth clubmate, Hannah Rank. Tristus Venus of Tynedale maintained his clean sheet of fastest times in the Under 15 Boys' race, finishing 2nd to Stefan Aubrey of Hughton and Peterlee. Jonathan Anderson of Morpeth won the Under 13 Boys' event, with Robert Loraine of Birtley the quickest runner in 6th position.
Tim Calder of Tynedale easily won the Under 17 event, with Morpeth's Karl Taylor, clocking the fastest time in 2nd place.
Results.
Senior Men (9.2km Handicap): 1 A Dent (Blay, M45) 32:16; 2 M Crawley (Dur, U20) 32:34; 3 A Coffer (CleS, U20) 32:52; 4 P Collins (Sun, M40) 33:06; 5 N Swinburn (Morp, U20) 33:32; 6 L Atkinson (Morp, M50) 33:38; 7 S White (Els, M55) 33:43; 8 S Brown (Tyne, M40) 33:59; 9 P Whalley (Blyth) 34:10; 10 D Armstrong (Tyne, M40) 34:23; 11 P Carrill (Clare) 34:25; 12 M Frost (NSP, M40) 34:26; 13 G Sword (Sun S, M40) 34:39; 14 T Field (Sun, M40) 34:42; 15 L Christopher (Sun, M60) 34:43; 16 T Allsop (Sun S) 34:53; 17 S Cook (Aln) 34:57; 18 J Martin (Sun, U20) 35:01; 19 A Banakiewicz (unatt) 35:04; 20 P Dixon (Els, M45) 35:05
Fastest: N Swinburn 28:32; T Field 29:42; J Martin 30:01; L Atkinson 30:08; M McLeod (Els) 30:15; S Bell (CleS) 30:32; I Crampton (Dur, M45) 30:35; T Doughty (Sun, M40) 30:39
Teams: Div 1: 1 Sunderland 64; 2 Durham City 134; 3 South Shields 137; 4 Wallsend 186; 5 Alnwick 219; 6 Elswick 234. Div 2: 1 Sunderland Strollers 75; 2 Heaton 119; 3 Elvet Striders 169 Div 3: 1 Claremont 78; 2 Low Fell 81; 3 Birtley 111
Under 17 Men (4.6km Handicap):  1 T Calder (Tyne) 16:04; 2 K Taylor (Morp) 17:10; 3 K Fairclough (Sun) 17:12; 4 M Cochrane (Morp) 17:15; 5 M Foggin (Sun) 17:51; 6 D Watt (NSP) 17:53; 7 R Lindsay (Dur) 17:54; 8 S Ruddick (Blay) 18:08; 9 J Cutter (Sun) 18:29; 10 J Scott (Morp) 18:37
Fastest: K Taylor 14:50; M Cochrane 14:55; M Foggin 15:31
Teams: 1 Morpeth H 16; 2 Sun 17
Under 15 Boys (3.2km Handicap):  1 S Aubrey (H&P) 11:51; 2 T Venus (Tyne) 11:54; 3 D Gibbons (H&P) 12:02; 4 G Rowe (Blay) 12:04; 5 A Clenton (Gate) 12:08; 6 T Grey (H&P) 12:11; 7 J Moore (J&H) 12:16; 8 G Urwin (Tyne) 12:26; 9 J Archer (Sun) 12:26; 10 J Bosman (Blay) 12:39
Fastest: T Venus 10:24; G Rowe 10:34; A Clenton 10:38
Teams: 1 Houghton & Peterlee 10; 2 Tynedale 26; 3 Sunderland 34
Under 13 Boys (2.3km Handicap):  1 J Anderson (Morp) 9:06; 2 C Peverley (CleS) 9:10; 3 M Turnbull (Gate) 9:15; 4 M Fearn (H&P) 9:20; 5 R Goffey (H&P) 9:22; 6 R Loraine (Birt) 9:26; 7 S Barras (J&H) 9:30; 8 J Brown (Tyne) 9:31; 9 S Greenwood (Tyne) 9:32; 10 D Parker (Tyne) 9:32
Fastest: R Loraine 8:16; S Barras 8:20; Brown 8:21
Teams: 1 Tynedale 27; 2 Gateshead 32; 3 Morpeth 38
Senior Women (4.6km Handicap):  1 M Murdoch (Clare) 18:35; 2 E MacFarlane (Els) 18:38; 3 G Cavill (Morp, W40) 19:02; 4 D James (Elv, W40) 19:05; 5 J Tinkler (CleS, W45) 19:07; 6 S Wilkinson (CleS, W35) 19:08; 7 K Elliott (Elv, W35) 19:10; 8 H Morris (Blyth, W40) 19:13; 9 G McKernan (Blay, W45) 19:15; 10 L Walker (Walls, W35) 19:18; 11 S White (Tyne, W40) 19:20; 12 M Herworth (Clare, W35) 19:23; 13 C Bruce (NSP, W35) 19:31; 14 A Fox (Morp) 19:32; 15 R Layton (Elv, W40) 19:40; 16 J Zoppi (Heat) 19:44; 17 J Critchley (Heat) 19:45; 18 K Robertson (Tyne, W40) 19:49; 19 K Slater (Sun S) 19:58; 20 P Adamson (NSP, W45) 20:01
Fastest: D James 16:45; S Wilkinson 16:48; A Fox 17:12; J Zoppi 17:24; K Robertson 17:29; K Slater 17:38
Teams: 1 Elvet Striders 26; 2 Chester Le Street 38; 3 Claremont 43; 4 North Shields Poly 54; 5 Heaton 55; 6 Blaydon 64
Junior Women (4.6km Handicap):  1 L Weightman (Morp, U17) 19:32; 2 A Snook (Shil) 20:19; 3 G Campbell (J&H) 20:34; 4 M Howell (Birt, U17) 20:37; 5 J Brignall (Heat) 21:00; 6 A Johnson (NSP, U17) 21:32; 7 J Fenwick (Gosf) 21:46; 8 C Potts (H&P, U17) 22:00; 9 L Tweddle (Sun) 22:17; 10 V Brewis (H&P, U17) 23:03
Fastest: L Weightman 17:12; A Snook 17:59; G Campbell 18:14
Team: Houghton & Peterlee 29
Under 15 Girls (3.2km Handicap):  1 S Bell (Gate) 13:33; 2 S Smith (Tyne) 13:53; 3 E Rodgers (J&H) 13:59; 4 S Loraine (Birt) 14:16; 5 R Oldham (Gate) 14:19; 6 S Goodfellow (Morp) 14:38; 7 E Thompson (Sun) 14:53; 8 M Bell (Black B) 14:56; 9 S Robinson (Birt) 15:00; 10 R Ferguson (Gate) 15:04
Fastest: S Bell 12:03; S Smith 12:23; S Loraine 12:46
Teams: 1 Gateshead 16; 2 Sunderland 34; 3 Blyth 48
Under 13 Girls (2.3km Handicap):  1 R Denton (Morp) 9:45; 2 H Rank (Morp) 9:50; 3 R Bayley (NSP) 10:01; 4 S Taylor (Birt) 10:10; 5 P Howell (Birt) 10:12; 6 C Porter (Sun) 10:15; 7 F Lockhart (Gate) 10:27; 8 K Tiffin (Morp) 10:28; 9 M Simpson (Morp) 10:35; 10 C Price (Gate) 10:36
Fastest: R Denton 8:35; H Rank 8:40; S Taylor 9:00
Teams: 1 Morpeth 11; 2 Birtley 28; 3 Gateshead 33
(Newcastle Journal:  Mon. 5th March 2007).

Additional Comments: All info used. Weather was fine and dry and quite mild. Parts of course (away from start/finish area) were quite muddy. 239 finishers in SM event (last time: 51:25). 71 SW (30:48). 15 U17 Men; 11 JW. Coffer led for first two laps, when on lap 3, Dent turned a 50m deficit into a 50m lead. Crawley after a steady start, came through well on last two laps. Heaton performances were: SM: 27 P Bhogal 35:15; 35 S Daley 35:28; 52 M Gibson 35:54; 56 J Buis 30:59 (9th fastest); 70 P Howe 33:45; 151 I McKinnon 38:19; 174 C Burn 39:04; 175 P Inskip 39:07; 182 E Baty 39:25; 186 D Wright 39:51; 196 A Mulliss 40:58; 217 D Brignall 42:50  (S McEntee & G Routledge dnf) (7th overall - now lie 4th in league). SW: 22 A Lorenzi 20:04 (an excellent comeback run); 32 C Hamson 18:07; 40 A Peace 18:30 (lie 2nd in league).
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