October 2002

Weekly Round-Up
(to 27th Oct).
Gale-force winds and flooding in the southern part of the country, caused the cancellation of the National Young Athletes Road Relays at Sutton Coldfield.
Info from George Patterson, used by Journal (but not very easy to find). Morpeth had arrived with two teams, befor being advised of cancellation. They were not pleased, as were Aldershot, who brought two busloads. There is an idea to rearrange for spring, but the old McDonalds Relays are held then. As I have said many times before, there is only room for one Road Relay Championship in the season.
Andy Toward, running for St Mary's, won the first London Colleges League race at Parliament Hill (23rd Oct), in a time of 23:10.
At the 50th Hammer Circle Reunion meeting, at Eton (19th/20th Oct), Shirley Webb won the four competitons with 55.47, 53.69, 52.32 and 57.88.
North Yorkshire and South Durham Cross Country fixture, due to be held at Barnard Castle on 27th October, was cancelled due to high winds and flooding. Info from Graham Hall.
Results info from AW.
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Friends of Gibside Fruit Bowl 7 Trail Race.
Gibside Estate, Rowlands Gill.  Sun. 27th Oct.
Michael Openshaw of Birchfield easily won yesterday's sixth Blackhill Bounders' Gibside Fruit Bowl Trail Race, at Gibside Hall. On the tough hilly course, made more difficult with the earlier heavy rain, Openshaw sonn pulled away from his only other serious rival, Stewart Bell of Chester Le Street, coming home with 500m to spare. It was the third win in this event for Openshaw, who was also victorious in 1999 and 2001. The winner had been expected to line up for his club, in the previous day's National 6 Stage Relay. Bell, who did compete at Sutton Coldfield, and was successful here in 1998 and 2000, was a comfortable second with third place going to former Chester Le Street athlete, Steven Armstrong. Steve Clark of North Shields Poly, runner-up in 2001, was the leading veteran in 5th position. Sheila Allen of Houghton and Peterlee, who competes for England in next month's Veterans' International at Ballymena, easily won the Womens' race, from defending champion, Fiona Shenton of Elvet. Louise Hayes of Chester Le Street took third place.
Result.
1 M Openshaw (Birch) 38:05; 2 S Bell (CleS) 39:45; 3 S Armstrong (unatt) 41:47; 4 H Scov (Darl) 42:29; 5 S Clark (NSP, M40) 42:42; 6 T Mellor (NSP, M40) 42:52; 7 S Grey (unatt) 43:08; 8 A Jenkins (Morp, M50) 43:28; 9 A Brown (Blyth) 43:32; 10 S Coxon (Tyne, M40) 43:41; 11 K Maynard (Sun S) 44:00; 12 P Grey (Aln, M40) 44:15; 13 C Dentice (Morp, M50) 44:32; 14 N Morris (Low F) 44:56; 15 K Findlay (Blay) 44:58; 16 R Hall (Blyth, M50) 45:27; 17 P Cross (Telf, M50) 45:42; 18 P Tait (Tyne, M40) 45:57; 19 B Maughan (unatt, M40) 46:01; 20 S Laws (Derw) 46:27  Further Veterans: M60 - 1 P Winter (Morp) 53:06; 2 D Fereday (Barnet) 56:06; 3 R Moore (Tyne) 56:07  M70 - 1 G Shirley (Heat) 60:45; 2 R Hill (Morp) 62:35
Women: 1 S Allen (H&P, W45) 47:15; 2 F Shenton (Elvet, W35) 48:19; 3 L Hayes (CleS) 50:41; 4 D Elliott (H&P, W35) 51:34; 5 S Morton (Els, W35) 52:12; 6 T Laws (Derw) 52:49; 7 M Stephenson (unatt) 53:09; 8 S Laws (Derw, W45) 53:10; 9 T Douglas (Eden, W45) 53:16; 10 K Robertson (Tyne) 53:20; 11 J Cross (Clare, W35) 55:12; 12 A Nott (Heat, W35) 55:44  Further Veterans: W55 - E Armstrong (Tyne) 62:52
(Newcastle Journal: Mon 28th October 2002).

Additional Comments: Most of info used though in small print. Sorry error by me. Miscalculation of years (for some reason thought it was 2003). Bell won in 1997 and 1999. Openshaw won in 1998 and 2000. Fine day after heavy rain. Wet underfoot. 343 finishers with Ted Joynson clocking 1:47:17, in 343rd position. A place ahead of him were two runners (1:36:00). Computer Results, courtesy of George Ogle, were helpful in this event, where in the past, it has been difficult getting much information on day. Some recorded times may be incorrect. Not sure I agree with Veterans' prizes in ten-year age-groups. Heaton were led home by Gary Campbell (47th in 50:04). Anita finished in 123rd position and Gerry was 202nd. Only had nine runners altogether, which was well down on previous turn-outs in this event.
Other Heaton placings: 95 Allen Mulliss 53:29; 105 John Marshall 54:10; 114 John Josephs 54:42; 208 Jo Parkinson 60:56; 308 Gemma Hyde 72:23; 316 George Routledge 74:42.
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Durham Pine North Eastern Harrier League.
Chester Le Street.  Sat. 26th Oct.
Sunderland made an impressive start to their defence of the Durham Pine North Eastern Harrier League Division 1 title, by narrowly defeating Durham in Saturday's opening fixture at a warm and sunny Chester Le Street. Sunderland were led home by Norman Younger, who crossed the line in third place but was promoted to second, after Paul Best of Shildon, the first past the line, was disqualified for running from the slow, instead of the medium pack. Victory then went to Gateshead's Mark Elliott. Due to an error in the written instructions, competitors only covered three of the intended four laps, making it an advantage to the slow pack runners. Tynedale's Andy Caine clocked the fastest time, moving his way through to 16th place. Claire Smallwood of Jarrow and Hebburn easily won the Womens' race, with top veteran, Sheila Allen of Houghton and Peterlee, taking second place.
Results.
Senior Men: 6.9km. 1 M Elliott (Gate) 23:28; 2 N Younger Jnr (Sun) 23:33; 3 A Swailes (CleS) 23:48; 4 R Clements (NSP) 23:58; 5 P Hutton (Gosf) 24:44; 6 P Reay (CleS) 24:53; 7 D Graham (Gosf) 24:54; 8 N Morris (Low F) 24:59; 9 J O'Reilly (Gate) 25:06; 10 S Kelly (Heat) 25:19; 11 R Small (Birt) 25:37; 12 A Dougal (Tyne) 25:48; 13 S Laws (Derw) 26:16; 14    S Nesbitt (Dur) 26:18; 15 A Caine (Tyne) 26:21; P Best (Shil) (disq) 23:14  Fastest: 1 A Caine 21:21; 2 T Wall (Morp) 22:25; 3 J Graham (Gosf) 22:38; 4 R Kay (Morp) 22:43; 5 J Archer (Low F) 23:06; 6 C Sampson (Morp) 23:08  Veteran: L Atkinson (Morp, M45) 23:22.
Teams: Division 1 - 1 Sunderland 99; 2 Durham City 103; 3 Wallsend 140  Division 2 -  Morpeth 113  Division 3 - Gateshead 54
Under 17 Men: 4.7km. 1 J Creegan (Black B) 15:56; 2 L Timmins (Gosf) 16:01; 3 S Stewart (Tyne) 16:51; 4 C Howey (Birt) 16:58; 5 R Hall (Tyne) 17:18; 6 J Downie (Gosf) 18:05  Fastest: R Stephenson (NSP) 15:55  Teams: 1 Tynedale 25; 2 Gosforth 32; 3 Morpeth 60
Under 15 Boys: 3.2km.  1 S Watson (Gate) 11:27; 2 L Adams (J&H) 11:30; 3 A Coffer (CleS) 11:34; 4 W Pike (Gate) 11:51; 5 J Pearson (Els) 12:09; 6 M Docherty (Birt) 12:13  Fastest: S Watson 11:27  Teams: 1 Gateshead 31; 2 Birtley 33; 3 North Shields Poly 46
Under 13 Boys: 2.5km.  1 J Gibson (Gate) 8:58; 2 S Keith (Walls) 9:09; 3 S Ruddick (Blay) 9:11; 4 K Fairclough (Sun) 9:28; 5 D Regan (Blay) 9:32; 6 R Cunningham (Birt) 9:37  Fastest: R Cunningham  8:27  Teams: 1 Blaydon 17; 2 Birtley 38; 3 Sunderland 41
Senior Women: 4.7km.  1 C Smallwood (J&H) 17:13; 2 S Allen (H&P, W45) 18:07; 3 A Watson (CleS) 18:14; 4 K Robertson (Tyne) 18:24; 5 L Trainor (Dur) 18:40; 6 J Battersby (Elvet, W35) 18:44; 7 P McCrea (Gate) 18:56; 8 D Hales (Dur) 19:05; 9 J Nutt (Els) 19:08; 10 J Elliott (Blay) 19:09; 11 S White (Tyne, W40) 19:11; 12 F Shenton (Elvet, W40) 19:21  Teams: 1 Tynedale 31; 2 Durham City 34; 3 Elvet Striders 35
Junior Women: 4.7km.  1 J Orr (Quak, U17) 18:26; 2 D Watts (Morp, U17) 19:28; 3 V Raw (CleS) 20:13; 4 S Evans (J&H, U17) 20:22; 5 M Ward (Tyne, U17) 20:46; 6 L Tweedle (H&P, U17) 21:21  Team: Birtley 49
Under 15 Girls: 3.2km.  1 M Ferrier (Gate) 12:42; 2 C Harrison (Sun) 12:53; 3 C Bellamy (Gosf) 13:15; 4 L Rawlings (Blay) 13:19; 5 S Duffy (Gate) 13:33; 6 C Gilmore (Gate) 13:39   Teams: 1 Gateshead 12; 2 Blaydon 22; 3 Sunderland 26
Under 13 Girls: 2.5km.  1 S Smith (Tyne) 9:43; 2 S Coleby (Dur) 9:44; 3 G Rutherford (NSP) 9:53; 4 E Spoor (Sun) 10:08; 5 R Shield (Dur) 10:14; 6 G McMeiken (Blay) 10:24  Teams: 1 Sunderland 29; 2 Gosforth 41; 3 Tynedale 54
(Newcastle Journal: Mon. 28th October 2002).

Additional Comments: Most of info used, but in small print. Lovely warm day with slight breeze. Problems with marshalling in later races (not sure why, as same lap was used all day ?). Written instructions said three laps for Semiors, though map suggested four. Lap was nowhere near advertised 3km distance, anyway. Part of intended North Eastern Championship course could not be used, but things need to be improved for then. Third lady from Chester Le Street, unknown to me by name, but face familier. Notable performances were by Phillipa McCrea and Jacqui Elliott, who were competing for their "new" clubs. Where was Sam Crowe in Junior Womens' race ?
Heaton were 5th team in Division 3. They fielded eight runners, but Malcolm Gibson dropped out after one lap (behind Eric Appleby at time). Eric (224th in 31:19), unlike most of field, was happy about short course. Denis Bolam, on comeback run was 240th (32:16). Other Heaton counters: 140 Richard Dodgson 29:08; 143 Gary Campbell 29:12; 209 Allen Mulliss 30:41; 268 George Routledge 42:18 (268 finishers - David Tait passed George on final lap).
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National 6 Stage Road Relay Championship.
Sutton Coldfield.  Sat. 26th Oct.
Morpeth Harriers took the silver medals at Saturday's National 6 Stage Road Relay Championship, at Sutton Coldfield. Morpeth finished exactly two minutes behind runaway winners, Belgrave. The Northumberland club were never outside the first three after Tom Ranger, brought them home in third position on Leg 1. Michael Morris (2nd), Mark Brown (3rd), Ian Hudspith (2nd), Ivan Hollingsworth (2nd) and Mark Hudspith were the other counters, while Hudspith's fourth leg time, was only bettered by Aldershot's Chris Thompson.
Sunderland finished in a creditable 21st position. Chester Le Street faded to 55th after Stewart Bell brought them home in 2nd position on Leg 1. Chester Le Street performed well to finish 7th in the Womens' 4 Stage event. North East athletes helped the two winning teams. David Anderson ran the final leg for Belgrave (17:30), while Carolyn Dickie ran the third leg for Windsor (15:07).
Result.
Senior Men: 6 x 3.5M.
1 Belgrave 1:44:24; 2 Morpeth 1:46:24 (T Ranger 17:28, M Morris 17:47, M Brown 18:12, I Hidspith 17:03, I Hollinsworth 18:14, M Hudspith 17:40); 3 Birchfield 1:46:52; 4 Salford 1:47:01; 5 Newham & Essex Beagles 1:48:01; 6 Tipton 1:48:09; 21 Sunderland 1:52:29 (T Field 18:57, L Browell 18:22, R Kemp 18:42, M Hood 18:18, P Martin 18:35, A Lilliendale 19:35); 42 Chester Le Street 1:56:42 (S Bell 17:25, G Thraves 20:06, M Tomlinson 18:57, C Lamb 19:03, P Reay 20:45, G Dickinson 20:26); 55 Durham City 2:01:16 (S Moralee 18:44, R Hand 18:09, S Marshall 21:00, G Starkey 20:03, G Watson 21:08, F Turner 22:12); 62 Loftus 2:05:02 (S Hepples 17:42, K Patterson 20:19, T Herbert 20:41, D Middlemass 21:34, S Handy 21:20, C Ellis 23:26)  Fastest Times: 1 C Thompson (AF&D) 16:53; 2 I Hudspith 17:03; 3= M Miles (Belg) & S Lombard (Woodford Green) 17:08
Women: 4 x 2.7M.
1 Windsor, Slough and Eton 59:40; 2 Tipton 60:06; 3 Bristol 60:53; 4 City of Glasgow 61:07; 5 Bedford 61:08; 6 Salford 61:12; 7 Chester Le Street 61:16 (K Waugh 15:32, M McDonnell 14:49, H Robinson 16:23, D Henaghan 14:32)
Fastest Times: 1 H Yelling (WS&E) 14:15; 2 L Hayes (Salf) 14:22; 3 K Reed (Bristol) 14:31; 4 D Henaghan 14:32
(Newcastle Journal: Mon. 28th October 2002).

Additional Comments: Most of report used, though in tiny lettering. Info from race-results website (on by 6.00pm). Weather was very summery, but I gather underfoot conditions were difficult in parts.  "Our Tim" had bad start for Sunderland (47th). Lombard, a new name to me, led on Leg 1. Rob Hand moved Durham from 39th to 22nd on Leg 2. Belgrave took lead on Leg 3. Angela Dickie clocked 15:40 for Wakefield (8th) and Meryl Dodd clocked 15:45 for Bingley (10th). Yelling moved from third on Leg 4 for Windsor.
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Weekly Round-Up
(to 20th Oct).
Sheila Allen won Womens' race at Richmond Castle 10km on 20th October, in a time of 37:42. Glen Hilton was third overall (34:28) behind M Wilcox (unatt) (33:38). As usual I was not aware this event was on, until I saw result in AW.
Apologies to Allen Mulliss (1468th in 1:36:27) and Chris Ward (1484th in 1:36:36), who were omitted from original GNR results.
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Blaydon Harriers Metrocentre Nichol Hunter Memorial Cross Country Relays.
Shibdon Pond.  Sun. 20th Oct.
Morpeth Harriers retained the Senior Mens' title at yesterday's Nichol Hunter Memorial Cross Country Relays, but it was their B team who triumphed after an exciting finish. Jonathon Graham led for Gosforth on Leg 1, ahead of Chris Lamb of Chester Le Street and Sean Moralee of Durham. Morpeth A, through Dan Samuels were in 5th place and the B team through Neil Armsworth were 8th. Mark Hudspith, having his first competitive since his traumatic exprience, when dropping out of the Commonwealth Games Marathon, moved the A squad into the lead on Leg 2, ahead of B team runner, Mark Brown, the pair clocking the two fastest times of the day. David Swinburne took over on Leg 3 , 17 secs ahead of Richard Kay, but Kay gradually reduced the deficit, to pass his rival with less than 100m remaining. The Gosforth team, made up of Junior athletes, held on to third place. Jarrow and Hebburn led all the way to win the Womens' race. Claire Smallwood, held a commanding lead on Leg 1, over Durham's Rosie Smith. Angela Hunter and Denise Todd, extended the advantage, to well over 2 minutes ahead of Gateshead. Elswick, thanks to a fine last leg by top Under 17 runner, Sam Crowe took third place. Sunderland easily won the Veterans' Relay, with Rob Hand clocking by far the fastest time, when moving Durham from 7th to 4th on Leg 3. Morpeth were the top club of the day, also winning the Under 17 Mens', Under 13 Boys' and Under 15 Girls' events.
Results.
Senior Men: 3 x 3km. 1 Morpeth B 30:53 (N Armsworth 10:40, M Brown 10:02, R Kay 10:11); 2 Morpeth A 30:56 (D Samuels 10:26, M Hudspith 9:59, D Swinburne 10:31); 3 Gosforth 31:17 (J Graham 10:09, D Graham 10:41, P Hutton 10:27); 4 Sunderland 31:48; 5 Gateshead 33:07; 6 Gateshead B 33:32; 7 Elswick 33:47; 8 Durham City 34:15; 9 Wallsend 35:25; 10 Gateshead C 35:35  Fastest Times: 1 M Hudspith 9:59; 2 M Brown 10:02; 3 J Graham 10:09; 4 C Lamb (CleS) 10:10; 5 R Kay 10:11; 6 S Moralee (Dur) 10:13
Veteran Men: 3 x 3km. 1 Sunderland 33:29 ( J Watson 11:23, P Collins 11:04, S Coxon 11:02); 2 Wallsend 34:32; 3 Tynedale 34:38; 4 Durham City 34:40; 5 Blaydon 36:01; 6 Morpeth 36:29  Fastest Times: 1 R Hand (Dur) 10:24; 2 P Johnson (Morp-gst) 11:00; 3 S Coxon 11:02
Under 17 Men: 3 x 3km. 1 Morpeth 32:38 (N Shrubb 10:36, G Driscoll 11:32, K Wilson 10:30); 2 Newton Aycliffe 34:18; 3 Morpeth B 35:10; 4 Gosforth 35:23; 5 Tynedale 35:25; 6 Birtley 35:25  Fastest Times: 1 K Wilson 10:30; 2 N Shrubb 10:36; 3 L Timmins (Gosf) 10:48
Under 15 Boys: 3 x 2km. 1 Gateshead 21:13 (S Hall 7:04, W Pike 7:24, S Watson 6:45); 2 Morpeth 21:21; 3 Birtley 23:06; 4 Gosforth 23:38; 5 Wallsend 23:22; 6 Gateshead 24:25  Fastest Times: 1= S Watson & J Young (Morp) 6:45; 3 R Floyd (Morp) 6:59
Under 13 Boys: 3 x 2km. 1 Morpeth 23:51 (M Cairns 8:04, M Cochrane 8:00, M Travis 7:47); 2 Gateshead 24:05; 3 Birtley 24:42; 4 Elswick 25:53; 5 Wallsend 26:18; 6 Gosforth 26:32
Fastest Times: 1 R Cunningham (Birt) 7:33; 2 J Gibson (Gate) 7:45; 3 M Travis 7:47
Senior Women: 3 x 3km. 1 Jarrow and Hebburn 36:36 (C Smallwood 11:39, A Hunter 12:45, D Todd 12:12); 2 Gateshead 39:02 (H Patton 13:35, C Wickham 12:10, V Bennett 13:17); 3 Elswick 40:10 (A Smee 13:48, K Davison 13:41, S Crowe 12:41); 4 Morpeth 41:13; 5 Tynedale 41:48; 6 Sunderland 42:03; 7 Gosforth 44:10; 8 Houghton and Peterlee 44:22  Fastest Times: 1 C Smallwood 11:39; 2 R Smith (Dur) 12:04; 3 C Wickham 12:10; 4 D Todd 12:12; 5 A Dixon (Sun) 12:28
Under 15 Girls; 3 x 2km. 1 Morpeth 24:29 (A Porteous 8:01, N Sage 8:10, E Nesbitt 8:18); 2 Gateshead 24:48; 3 Blaydon 25:39; 4 Gosforth 25:52; 5 Blaydon 26:08; 6 Durham City 26:14  Fastest Times: 1 A Porteous 8:01; 2 C Harrison (Sun) 8:05; 3 N Sage 8:10
Under 13 Girls: 3 x 2km. 1 Durham City 26:12 (S Brown 9:16, R Shield 8:34, S Coleby 8:22); 2 Sunderland 26:37; 3 Gosforth 27:28; 4 Blaydon 27:37; 5 Morpeth 27:42; 6 Tynedale 27:49  Fastest Times: 1 S Smith (Tyne) 8:11; 2 E Spoors (Sun) 8:20; 3 S Coleby 8:22
(Newcastle Journal: Mon. 21st Oct 2002).

Additional Comments: All info used, though the odd mistake, due to the computer "freezing" (then it sent un-ammended report by accident). Bright dry day but got cold later. Little wind and a thawing frost, made the going good. Course well marked out by Gateshead Council. Better turn-out than in recent years, but this probably the best date, as regards the autumn fixture list. Paul Johnson headed home Veterans on Leg 1, but does not qualify for Morpeth's team yet. Rosie Smith had nobody to hand over to, much to Angela's relief. Prize presentation did not take place, until after 4.00pm, which was a long time after first event, which started at 12.10. Heaton had two Senior teams (12th in 36:10) and (18th in 42:09). John Moore had an improved run, finishing 6th on Leg 1 (10:34), followed by Gary Campbell (12:53/11th), and Richard Dodgson (12:43). Scott McEntee (13:45/21st), Allen Mulliss (14:14/18th) and Eric Appleby (14:10) were the B team. George Routledge, Colin abd Kelly McEntee were in attendance but did not run. Hence two veterans were in Senior team. Anita must have been unable to field Womens' team, but I think she thought Kelly would be unavailable.
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Weekly Round-Up
(to 13th Oct).
New Marske won the Senior Mens' event, at the North Yorkshire and South Durham Relays, at Darlington (13th Oct). Steve Hepples of Loftus was fastest (10:31). Darlington won the Womens' race with Susie Rutherford fastest in 5:54.
Extra GNR info courtesy of AW. Mike Walker was first M55 (79:22) and Terry O'Gara was leading M60 (85:24). Sally Good was 119th in Womens' race (1:36:36) and Anita Nott was 143rd (1:38:16).
Further info from onrunning website results. Heaton's leading counters were Sean Kelly (144th in 1:20:17) followed by Chris Brown (743rd in 1:30:52), Gary Campbell (930th in 1:32:41), and Colin McEntee (998th in 1:33:17). I thought Gary was ahead of Colin followed by Chris ! Sally (1483rd) was first lady, ahead of Anita (1775th) and Kelly McEntee (3047th in 1:57:54). Other Placings included David Tait (20228th in 2:23:13) and (Jarrow) Jim Purcell (34980th in 4:08:55).
Ted Joynson was not listed and I did not see him.
Among the "celebrities" Richard Dunwoody was 749th (1:30:55), Suzanne Maddock ("The Bill") was 20594th (2:24:15) and Natalie Roles ("The Bill") was 22490th (2:28:41). Also running I understand was Holly Matthews/Wilkinson ("Byker Grove"). Though not listed, she ran with Angelica Bell, who was 17501st in 2:17:01.
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Weekly Round-Up.
(to 6th Oct).
BUPA Great North Run winners were Paul Kosgei (59:58) and Sonia O'Sullivan (67:19). Leading North East athletes were Ivan Hollingsworth (22nd in 67:14), Alan Stimpson (28th in 68:01), Terry Wall (29th in 68:27) and Rob Hand (35th in 69:41). Hand was first veteran (I think) ( nb. since claimed to be second behind a Shettleston athlete). Morag McDonnell was 18th Lady in 77:19 (a pb by a long way). Highlight of day was seeing Debbie McCallister and Cass Rickman from "The Bill". Further info when full results available.
GNR Mile winners were Rui Silva (4:12.4) and Kelly Holmes (not a fan, especially as she defeated Turkish athlete of the year)(4:32.1).
Junior races were won by Coln Rooney (4:14.0) and Lisa Dobriskey (4:53.3). Chris Parr, who led most of way, was second (4:15.1) and Charlotte Wickham was 8th (5:16.8), in their respective events.
Further info from Young Athletes Relays at Blackpool. Morpeth's Under 15 team was R Floyd (10:51), Jonathon Young (10:35), Joe Wood (11:39) and B Henderson (11:14). Kirk Wilson's time was 9:42, with Anthony Moran, fastest (9:34) followed by Michael Rimmer (9:40). Gateshead were 5th in Under 15 Girls' race, with Mary Ferrier second fastest (8:57).
Steve Cairns won Norham 10km (6th Oct), in 33:03 from Les Atkinson (33:18) and S Watson (Teviotdale) (35:03). Chris Dentice (7th) was 1st M50 (35:35). Kathryn Waugh won Womens' race (37:25) from Caroline Bowman (40:04) and Judith Mark (40:38) (105 runners, I gather). Sorry Norham, but if I do not see entry form (did not know event was definitely on, until Friday night beforehand), then I cannot give it any decent coverage.
Catherine Brennan won Womens' race, in Diane Modahl 5km at Manchester (2nd Oct) in 18:33. Sorry the name of the event, would stop me having any involvement. All info other than GNR from AW.
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North of England Young Athletes Road Relays.
Blackpool.  Sun. 6th Oct.
Morpeth Harriers took the silver medals in the Under 15 boys' event, at yesterday's North of England Young Athletes' Relays, at Blackpool. Second leg runner, Jonathon Young clocked the third fastest overall time of 10:35. Morpeth finished fourth in the Under 17 Mens' race, with Junior Great North Run winner, Kirk Wilson, on the fourth leg, again third fastest with 9:40.
(Newcastle Journal: Mon. 7th October 2002).

Additional Comments: Info from George Patterson (rang up on returning bus). As line was crackly could only use some results, and not 100% sure on times. Further results in weekly round-up.
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BUPA Junior Great North Run.
Newcastle/Gateshead Quayside.  Sat. 5th Oct.
Morpeth Harrier Kirk Wilson easily defeated the 7000 strong field at Saturday's  BUPA Junior Great North Run. Wilson soon took the lead on the course around the Newcastle and Gateshead Quayside area, holding off the early challenges of Ryan Stephenson of North Shields Poly and then Daniel Pettit of Peterborough. Wilson (10th last year), dropped his rivals after the opening mile, as Chris Knights of Peterborough (5th in 2001), moved into second place. Wilson, 16, a pupil at Cramlington High School, though visibly tiring after the fast early pace, still increased his lead to 20 secs at the finish line. Knights took second place ahead of a rejuvinated Stephenson, who improved from his 21st placing of last year. Emily Pidgeon of Gloucester, only 13, who won every available Cross Country title last winter, and track title this summer, easily won the Girls' race, finishing in a magnificent 15th position. As the runners came across the Millineum Bridge, into the finish in Newcastle,  Gateshead's Mary Ferrier, the 2000 Northern Under 13 Cross Country champion, led the local challenge in a distant second place, with Lucy O'Gorman, finishing third.
Result: Distance 3M.
1 K Wilson (Morp) 15:52; 2 C Knights (Peterbrorough) 16:12; 3 R Stephenson (NSP) 16:24; 4 C Doyle 16:35; 5 L Moses (Quak) 16:38; 6 A.N.Other 16:39; 7 D J Pettit (Peterborough) 16:40; 8 J Creegan (Black B) 16:42; 9 A Duffield (Shil) 16:54; 10 M Sawrey (Bord) 16:59; 11 M Lomax (Shil) 17:00; 12 M Bell (N Ayc) 17:02; 13 M Wilson 17:10; 14 A O'Gorman 17:12; 15 J Martin (Sun) 17:20; 16 G Taylor (J&H) 17:22; 17 A Macrae (H&P) 17:26; 18 M Lang 17:28; 19 S Desport 17:38; 20 S Watson (Gate) 17:55; 21 S Bell 17:56; 22 T Killigrew 18:00; 23 D Old 18:01; 24 P Fitzpatrick (R&Z) 18:05; 25 A Russell 18:07
Girls: 1 E Pidgeon (Gloucester) 17:16; 2 M Ferrier (Gate) 18:53; 3 L O'Gorman 18:55; 4 J Scott (Sun) 19:04; 5 C Rodham 19:15; 6 S Crowe (Els) 19:33; 7 N Turner 19:36; 8 J Orr (Quak) 19:56; 9 D Watts (Morp) 19:59; 10 C Harrison (Sun) 20:05; 11 S Hart (N Marske) 20:05; 12 S Tunstall (Bord) 20:06; 13 S Ainslie 20:09
(Newcastle Journal: Mon. 7th Oct 2002).

Additional Comments: All used. Results (only available), courtesy of Julian Waugh. Most of race info courtesy of CBBC coverage (remind me not to tune into this channel again). Weather bright and breezy, quite mild. Not keen on venue. I think only Brendan wanted it changed from Gateshead Stadium, where there were no problems with numbers etc. Very narrow start, which was about 500m from finish (because of numbers it was difficult to access both before and after race). Surprised to see some leading runners lined up at least 25 mins before start (which was 10mins later than originally). They were lined up 10m behind start line, but were led up 5mins before start. This was too long (should have been 1 minute), and marshalls could not hold them as they broke early. A hooter then started (should have been gun), which did not please Alan Bell (he was waiting to set off to match, another bad clash surely ?). Even the start was missed by CBBC, who caught it after 200m approx. Distance was changed from 4km to (a short) 5km late on also. Kelly Rodmell, (like many others she lined up at front the last minute, which did not please Bill McGuirk), must have dropped out. Sam Crowe was another who must have been disappointed. Sixth-placed athlete was Thomas Minshall (found out day later). This was originally listed as Emily Blake (12). Pidgeon looked awesome but will she, like many others, burn out ? GNR and GN Mile info in weekly round-up. Clubs listed when known. Wheelchair result not seen. Only four competitors.
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Dixon Sports Gateshead Lunchtime Road Race Handicap.
International Stadium.  Wed. 2nd Oct.
Michael Graham of Low Fell, was a comfortable winner of yesterday's first race in the Dixon Sports Gateshead Lunchtime Handicap series. Garry Dickinson of Chester le Street clocked the fastest time and Durham veteran, Val Hancock, was the fastest lady. Due to the CBBC extravaganza at the Stadium on Saturday, parts of the normal course had to be hastily re-routed.
Result.  Distance 5km.
1 M Graham (Low F) 25:58; 2 R Dance (Ryton Tri) 26:05; 3 P Emmerson (Sun) 26:06; 4 K Alnwick (Gate) 26:16; 5 G Hurst (NE Vets) 26:23; 6 S White (Els) 26:24; 7 B Kielty (unatt) 26:25; 8 G Hume (Low F) 26:26; 9 I Whyte (Victoria Park) 26:30; 10 J O'Reilly (Gate) 26:42
Fastest Times: 1 G Dickinson (CleS) 17:14; 2 M McNally (Els, M55) 17:30; 3 J O'Reilly 17:32
Women: 1 V Hancock (Dur, W55) 21:00; 2 C Lee (Gosf, W60) 22:21; 3 H Mitford (Heat, W45) 23:50
(Newcastle Journal: Thurs. 3rd Oct 2002).

Additional Comments: Only part of report used. Will resubmit results for Monday (7th). 54 runners. George Reeve, in comeback run, was 54th. He was off zero with Sid Robson. Weather very warm, with sun starting to come out. No wind. Only finishing straight in Stadium was used, with race starting and finishing on five-a-side pitch. Revised course probably 100 - 200m on long side. Val Hancock finisheed 24th and Dickinson (backmarker off 10:30) was 29th. Ted J did not enter, but did "jog" around. Trevor Hopkins was first Heaton counter (13th in 22:44). Others were Allen Mulliss (23rd in 20:45), Reg Checkley (25th in 23:07), Helen (28th), and George (33:48). Full results on www.lowfellrunningclub.co.uk. Do not know age of some athletes, so full veteran details not given.
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