Elswick News Archive 2009

WINTER NEWS:

Norman Woodcock Road Race
The Norman Woodcock Road Race promoted by the club was held on a new traffic free course of 5 miles in High Gosforth Park. In spite of the extremely wet weather the event went off well with the winner Nick McCormick of Morpeth Harriers recording an excellent time of 23:48 with PHIL HURST having an outstanding run to record 24:14 in second spot nearly a minute clear of Matt Nicholson of Morpeth.
Next home for the club was PAUL TURNER - 13th in 27:08 with KEVIN STEPHENSON 24th in 28:47. MARK McNALLY was first 0/60 in 30:47. IAN FENWICK was 45th in 31:17, and JUDITH NUTT on her return to racing was 80th in 34:16. New recruit DAVID ALLINSON was 95th in 35:42. Most of the members were marshalling the course or assisting with the catering enabling the race to go off well with 180 finishers.

Blyth Sands Race
The next day the 50th Blyth Sands Race was held with KIM MATTHEWS triumphing in 1st place, and to complete a family double HARRY MATTHEWS was 3rd overall.

North Eastern Cross Country Championships
The 104th annual North Eastern Cross Country Championships were held at Darlington on Saturday 12th December in very heavy conditions with PHILLIPA WILLIAMS making the headlines for the club by winning the U/17 Womens Championship in a time of 20:31 over the 5k course. LAUREN TAYLOR was 30th in 25:41. In the U/20 Mens 8.3k race PHIL HURST claimed the bronze medal in 29:04 in spite of finding the heavy conditions not to his liking. JOE WALKER ran well in the U/13 Boys event to finish in 9th place in 13:02. ETHAN ROBSON was 32nd in 14:18 and SAM HAMILTON was 47th in 16:09. JESSICA RICHARDSON was our sole representative in the U/13 Girls 3k finishing 28th in 15:46. ROBERT LAIDLAW was 40th in the U/15 Boys 4k race in 18:14. BEATRICE TAYLOR was 14th out of 28 in the U/15 Girls 4k in 17:32. The final event of the afternoon was the 6k U/17 Mens race with CAMERON LAIDLAW 36th in 25:20 and DANIEL BALMAIN 42nd in 26:05. In the Senior Mens Championship run over 11.8k Elswick were 7th team overall with PAUL TURNER 1st home in 29th place in 43:28. KEVIN STEPHENSON was next home in 45:12 in 48th spot, with STEVE GREY 68th in 46:46. GRAHAM BELL was 82nd in 47:33, IAN FENWICK 115TH in 50:14, ANDREW HARTLEY - 119TH - 50:17, MARK CARPENTER - 152ND - 51:55, DAVID JARDIN - 154TH - 52:17, and PETER SLOAN - 184TH - 54:56. Most runners enjoyed the afternoon at this very well organised Championship.

Saltwell Harriers Annual Road Races
In spite of the snowfalls Saltwell Harriers went ahead with their annual road races in Saltwell Park on the 19th December thanks to the efforts of the members and the council. Numbers were down but the club had success in the U/17 Womens race with PHILLIPA WILLIAMS first home. CAMERON LAIDLAW was 2nd in the U/17 Mens race. BEATRICE TAYLOR claimed 5th spot in the U/15 Girls. We had only one competitor in the Senior Mens 10k with DAVID THOMPSON finishing 42nd in a time of 41:35.

FINALLY:
JESSICA RICHARDSON won the North Tyneside Schools U/13 Cross Country Championships in December.

Autumn NEWS: 2009

Tynedale 10 Mile Jelly Tea Race
The Tynedale 10 Mile Jelly Tea race was held on Sunday 6 th September with a huge field of 519 completing the course. Pride of place for Elswick was ALAN THOMPSON who finished 20 th in 59:05, closely followed by new recruit LEE BENNETT in 21 st spot in 59:12. ANDREW HARTLEY was 30 th in 60:08 with KEVIN STEPHENSON 31 st in 60:20. STEVE GREY was 32 nd in 60:22.

There were a large number of Elswick competitors with the following finishers:
IAN HARDY - 46 TH - 62:58, GRAHAM BELL - 47 TH - 63:10, MARK MCNALLY - 50 TH - 63:48, ROB MAIN - 86 TH - 67:57, STEVE KYTE - 112 TH - 69:33, GILLIAN MOULD - 123 RD - 69:59, PETER SLOAN - 137 TH - 71:57, LUCY PRINS - 170 TH - 73:33, DAVID BLANCHFLOWER - 177 TH - 73:50, STEVE CURRY - 185 TH - 74:20, AUSTIN CHURM - 232 ND - 77:24, PAUL HENDERSON - 342 ND - 85:53, GILLIAN BRAZEWELL - 415 TH - 91:43, JOANNE BOTHAM - 421 ST - 92:01, SHARON CARR - 475 TH - 98:31, LYNNE BARCLAY - 492 ND - 100:37, KATIE ROBSON - 102:22.

I have left the outstanding performance of the day to last ALLISON DARGIE first woman home in 53 rd spot in a time of 64:03. Well done Allison!

Sunderland Harriers Open Cross Country Races
12th of September was the date of the annual Sunderland Harriers Open Cross Country Races were held at Farringdon In the first race the U/13 Boys and Girls JOE WALKER ran well to finish in 6 th spot with ROBERT BARNES –17 th, ETHAN ROBSON - 21 ST, and DUNCAN TAYLOR - 28 TH JESSICA RICHARDSON was the only girl representing the club finishing in 10 th place.

RYAN ANDERSON was first home for the club in the U/15 Boys and Girls event finishing 9 th in 10:34, with GREG CHAMBERS - 14 th in 10:53. ROBERT LAIDLAW was 22 nd with DANIEL HOBSON - 24 th in 11:30 and 11:40 respectively. In the Girls BEATRICE TAYLOR was 8 th - 12:24, with REBECCA CARPENTER - 12 th - 12:37, and CHARLOTTE SLOAN - 15 TH - 13:13.

CAMERON LAIDLAW was 5 th in the U/17 Men’s event in 10:08 with DANIEL BALMAIN - 11 TH - 10:58. In the U/17 Girls event PHILLIPA WILLIAMS ran well to claim 2 nd spot in 11:35. In the Veteran Men’s Relay Elswick claimed 4 th and 5 th places and the third squad 13 th.

KEVIN STEPHENSON on the first Leg ran 9:40 to finish 4th overall followed by STEVE GREY who ran 9:49, with new recruit LEE BENNETT holding on to 4 th spot in 10:04. ALAN THOMPSON ran 10:20 on the final leg to keep the club in 4 th position. The ‘B’ squad of JOHN BELL, GRAHAM BELL, DAVE APPELBY and MARTIN CROWE ran well to claim 4 th place in 10:15, 10<15, 10:41, and 11:03. Elswick’s third team of STEVE CURRY, PETER SLOAN, ANDY MIDDLETON, and new man PHILIP BARNES were 13 th overall in 12:20, 11:50, 12:25, and 11:09.

Overall there was a good turnout from members especially amongst the youngsters which is a testimony to the hard work put in by Martin and Tony.

Leicester Marathon
Well done to STEVE KYTE who competing in the Leicester Marathon ran a P.B. of 3Hours 13 Minutes, an improvement of over 2 Minutes on his previous best.

Great North Run
Hope members spotted ALLISON DARGIE on the T.V.coverage of the Great North Run running amongst the elite womens field sporting her Elswick vest, finishing in 1hour 27Minutes.

Sherman cup and Davison Shield
The Sherman cup and Davison Shield were held at a stormy Temple Park Leisure Centre on Saturday 24 th October with a record number of competitors finishing the Sherman Cup.

In the U/13 Girls event JESSICA RICHARDSON ran well to claim 16 th spot in a time of 14:46. ALLISON DARGIE finished 7 th in the Senior Womens Davison Cup in 24:53 with PHILLIPA WILLIAMS running well to be 6 th finisher in the U/17 Womens event in 25:48. Elswick had one representative in the U/13 Boys race with JOE WALKER finishing 19 th in 13:26. RYAN ANDERSON was 9 th out of a field of 47 in the U/15 Boys Race in 11:35. In the U/17 Men’s race DANIEL BASLMAIN was 22 nd in 26:01 with new recruit YASAR RICHARDS 25 th in 26:36. In the main event of the afternoon PHIL HURST ran superbly to go away from the rest of the field to finish in 29:39 winning comfortably from Matt Nicholson of Morpeth Harriers. PAUL TURNER also had a cracking run to claim 9 th place in 32:08 with LEE BENNETT 25 th in 33:24. Elswick were 3 rd team overall in the Senior Men’s event with the other finishers being DAVID JARDIN - 98 TH - 37:26, ADAM COMBIE - 106 TH - 37:47, ANDREW HARTLEY - 108 TH - 37:56. PHIL COLVER was 136 th - 39:35, STEVE KYTE - 139 TH - 39:50, TOM HANSON - 152 ND - 40:52, ANDY MIDDLETON - 171 ST - 41:54, STEVE CURRY - 188 TH - 43:15, PETER BANNISTER - 196 TH - 43:51, STEVE LONG who made the journey from Brampton to finish - 205 th in 44:59 and TONY PRINCE - 225 TH - 47:52.

Annual General Meeting
The clubs Annual General Meeting was held on Friday 23 rd October with the main officers of the club being re - elected for another term with David Jardin added to the committee. The fees for the New Year 2009/10 were set at £37:00 for senior members –no increase on the previous year. Would all members please note that the subs. are now due and must be paid by 31 st December?

The attendance at the meeting was an all time low which is extremely sad as it reflects a lack of interest in the way the club is being run by the majority of the members.

Great South Run
In the sunny south two of our members ran in the Great South Run, two of 12,000 competitors in Portsmouth MARK KETLEY returned a time of 61 Minutes for the 10 Mile course, with IAN FENWICK suffering from the effects of a heavy cold finishing in 69 minutes.

Summer NEWS

Tynedale Harriers Pie and Peas 10k race
The Tynedale Harriers Pie and Peas 10k race was held in sweltering conditions on Wednesday 1st July. There was a huge field with 595 finishers.
Pride of place for the club was an excellent run from KEVIN STEPHENSON who finished 10TH in 35:07. Next home was PAUL DIXON IN 33RD in 37:05 with ANDREW HARTLEY - 35TH - 37:28. PAUL O’MARA was 58th - 39:03 with ALLISON DARGIE returning to form one place behind in 39:04. YAM THIRU had another excellent run to finish - 63rd in 39:12.

Other Elswick finishers as follows:
MARK McNALLY - 65TH - 39:17,STEVE GREY - 68TH - 39:35,ROB MAIN - 94TH - 40:56,GARY RUTHERFORD - 112TH - 41:47,STEVE KYTE - 125TH - 42:15,STEVE CURRY - 182ND - 44:43,DAVID COATES - 191ST - 45:02,AUSTIN CHURM - 295TH - 48:48,PETER LOWES - 316TH - 49:20,STEVE LONG - 336TH - 49:54(nice to see Steve back in the North East),ASHLEY ROBSON - 493RD - 56:55,LYNNE BARCLAY - 554TH - 62:19,KATIE ROBSON - 576TH - 66:38.

English Schools Track and Field Championships
The English Schools Track and Field Championships were held at the Don Valley Stadium in Sheffield on 10th and 11th of July. The club was represented by PHIL HURST who exceeded all expectations by winning a bronze medal in the Senior Boys 3000 Metres. Phil recorded 8.27:35 to finish behind the much more experienced duo of Tom Farrell of Cumbria and Daniel Clorley of Bedfordshire. The achievement in medalling at these prestigious games can not be overemphasised bringing great credit to Phil and Martin Crowe and the club on the national scene.

Northumberland Coastal Run
MARTIN CROWE was first home for the club in the Northumberland Coastal Run in 37th spot in 1 hr. 32:41 with MARK McNALLY 54th - 1hr. 36:14.

Sunderland Harriers 5k Silksworth Road Race
The Sunderland Harriers 5k Silksworth Road Race was run on Wednesday 22nd July with Mark Hood easily winning the event in 14:45. ALAN THOMPSON was first Elswick finisher in 17:16 - 35th place. IAN FENWICK was 74th - 18:45,MARK McNALLY - 80TH - 18:56,YAM THIRU - 83RD - 18:59. GARY RUTHERFORD was 106th - 19:54 with ROB WILSON - 112TH - 20:17,TOM HANSON - 121ST  - 20:33,CHRISTINE LEE was 189th - 24:22.

Morpeth Harriers 10k Road Race
There was a record field in the Morpeth Harriers 10k Road Race held at Tranwell on Tuesday 4th August with Serod Batochir winning easily in 30:28. The Mongolian athlete is now heading for Berlin for the World Championships. STEVE GREY was 20th in 36:54 first home for the club. DAVID JARDIN was 60th - 40:58, with HARRY MATTHEWS - 68TH - 41:16. Other finishers were TOM HANSON - 82ND - 42:22,ROB WILSON - 89TH - 42:42,PHILLIPA WILLIAMS - 92ND - 42:49,PHILIP BARNES - 126TH - 44:37,LUCY PRINS - 149TH - 46:04,ANDY MIDDLETON - 166TH - 46:57,DANIEL MONK - 216TH - 49:15,RUTH HUCKINS - 248TH - 50:40,CHRISTINE LEE - 260TH - 51:15,ASHLEY ROBSON - 301ST - 55:27,LYNNE BARCLAY - 332ND - 60:11,KATIE ROBSON - 338TH - 62:22.

Exhibition Park 5k
The Newcastle City Council organised Exhibition Park 5k Wednesday 12th August in pleasant warm conditions with 288 finishing the race. A new name was put on the Elswick Cup in the shape of Nathan Shrubb of Morpeth Harriers who won easily from Marc Fenwick of Wallsend Harriers with James Buis of Heaton in 3rd spot. First home for the club was KEVIN STEPHENSON in 11th place in 16:57, with ALAN THOMPSON in 23rd - 17:28. New recruit LEE BENNETT had a promising debut to finish 24th in 17:32 with ANDREW HARTLEY 29th in 17:49, closely followed by STEVE was held on GREY in 30th position –17:53. Other club placings as follows:
JOHN BELL - 34TH - 18:16,MARK KETLEY - 37TH - 18:20,MARK McNALLY - 45TH - 18:37,IAN FENWICK - 52ND - 18:44,ALLISON DARGIE - 54TH - 18:46(3rd Woman) DAVE APPELBY - 57TH - 18:51,DAVID JARDIN - 58TH - 18:53,PAUL OMARA - 62ND - 19:02,JIM BELL - 75TH - 19:27(2nd 0/60) HARRY MATTHEWS - 92ND - 19:54,ROB WILSON - 101ST - 20:20,DAVID BLANCHFLOWER - 111TH - 20:44,STEVE KYTE - 121ST - 21:24,LEE COULSON - 140TH - 21:59,CHRISTINE LEE - 221ST - 21:59,and JOANNE BOTHAM - 231ST - 25:00. This city centre event seems to be increasing in popularity with a record number of finishers.

Durham Summer Cross Country
Elswick fielded one team in the annual Durham Summer Cross Country Relays at Maiden Castle on 26th August finishing in 6th spot out of 27 teams. KEVIN STEPHENSON ran 10:32 on Leg 1 with STEVE GREY recording the same time on the second Leg. JOHN BELL ran 10:41 on the final Leg. North Shields Poly ran out easy winners of the event.

SPRING NEWS:

Gordon Smith Memorial Relays
The popular Gordon Smith Memorial Relays hosted by Wallsend Harriers took place on Wednesday 6th May with the club providing 5 teams altogether.
Elswick A team finished a commendable 4th overall with PAUL TURNER having a fine run on Leg 1, finishing in second spot behind eventual winners Morpeth Harriers Paul recorded 10:11 over the two mile course with KEVIN STEPHENSON - 10:33, and PAUL DIXON - 10:58. Our B team also ran well to finish in 7th position with STEVE GREY – 10:39, PAUL DODD - 10:59, and ADAM COMBIE - 11:05. Our third team of MARTIN CROWE - 11:27, JON BELL - 11:07, and IAN FENWICK - 11:29 were 10th overall. The O/60 team of STEVE WHITE, DAVE APPELBY, and HARRY MATTHEWS were 16th in an aggregate time of 35:09. The Elswick Womens’ team were in tremendous form to grab second place through YAM THIRU, ALLISON DARGIE and KIM MATTHEWS in a time of 37:01. Unfortunately some individual times were not available.
A total of 55teams finished this popular midweek event and full marks to Wallsend for another great evenings sport.

North Eastern Track and Field Championships
Saturday/Sunday 9th and 10th May saw the North Eastern Track and Field Championships take place at the Gateshead International Stadium. Phil Hurst continued his fine form of the winter by easily winning the U/20 1500 Metres from Russ Best of New Marske in a time of 4Mins. 02. There were several commendable performances from our youngsters with new recruit JON WALKER reaching the finals of both the U/13 1500 and 800 Metres finishing 7th and 6th respectively. JESSICA RICHARDSON ran well to final in both the U/13 girls 200 and 800 Metres. In the U/13 Girls 1500 metres ERIN SMITH ran 5:52.
In the U/17 Womens 300o metres REBECCA ORAM finished 4th in 11:25, whilst CHARLOTTE SLOAN gained a bronze medal in the U/15 3000 metres in 12:26.

McCain Young Athletes Northern Division
The McCain Young Athletes Northern Division first fixture was held at Monkton Stadium on Sunday 17th May with Blaydon/Elswick coming out on top against Lincoln Wellington, Derbyshire and South Yorkshire, and Harrogate. Victories for Elswick members in the following:
DANIEL BALMAIN - 400 Metres B, and the Triple Jump
JOE WALKER in the 1500 Metres
REBECCA ORAM in the 3000 Metres
REBECCA CARPENTER in the 75 Metre Hurdle
ERIN SMITH won the U/13 Girls 1200 Metres.

There were also excellent performances from DANIEL HOBSON, ETHAN ROBSON, BEATRICE TAYLOR, CHARLOTTE SLOAN, and JESSICA RICHARDSON. Full marks to all the youngsters who competed at Jarrow, a reward for all the hard work put in by Tony and Martin on training nights.

National Masters Road Relays
Congratulations to our 0/60 Team on achieving a bronze medal in the National Masters Road Relays at Sutton Park, Birmingham finishing behind Oxford and Altringham. STEVE WHITE ran 18:27, MARK McNALLY - 18:23, and HARRY MATTHEWS - 18:26. over the 5k course.

Sunderland Strollers Pier to Pier Run
The Sunderland Strollers Pier to Pier Run took place on Sunday 17th May with 980 competitors finishing the race. Elswick had the following prize winners - KEVIN STEPHENSON - 6th place 2ndO/40, PAUL DIXON - 21ST - IST O/50. HARRY MATTHEWS - 39TH - IST O/60, LUCY PRINS - 158TH - 3rdO/35, KIM MATTHEWS - 193RD - 2ndO/45. Seventeen other members ran with the following placings: STEVE CURRY - 180TH, JEFF EMMERSON - 220TH, AUSTIN CHURM - 241ST, LEE COULSON - 278TH, DAVID REAY - 354TH, ALAN LATTIMER - 376TH, DANIEL MONK - 392ND, RUTH HUCKINS - 429TH, SUSAN WILSON - 512TH, LALAGE BROWN - 525TH, MARY LISLE - 534TH, SHARON CARR - 729TH, MARY AVERY - 828TH, HELEN FLYNN - 829TH, LYNNE BARCLAY - 851ST, KATIE ROBSON - 852ND, DEEPTA CHURM - 913TH.

Les Allcorn 10k
Two members ran the Les Allcorn 10k at Alnwick with STEVE GREY taking 4th spot in 35:26, and GARY RUTHERFORD –28TH IN 41:45.

Clive Cookson 10k Road Race
The Clive Cookson 10k Road Race was held at a showery Monkseaton on Wednesday 20th May with 228 finishers. Elswick men gained Third team prize through PAUL TURNER - 6TH - 33:38, ANDREW HARTLEY - 20TH - 36:17, ALAN THOMPSON - 22ND - 36:45, and JOHN BELL - 25TH - 37:05. Special mention of Andrew Hartley who again ran a P. B. for 10k having run under 37 minutes for the first time in a race in his hometown of Peterborough a few days previously.
Eleven other members took part :
DAVE APPELBY - 28TH - 37:44, ADAM COMBIE - 29TH - 37:47, MARTIN CROWE - 30TH - 37:50, IAN FENWICK - 31ST - 37:54. (a P. B. for Ian!) HARRY MATTHEWS - 48TH - 38:59, DAVE JARDIN - 50TH - 39:09, ALLISON 40:41, DARGIE - 65TH - 40:14, GARY RUTHERFORD - 69TH - 40:41, JIM BELL - 73RD - 41:03, ROB WILSON - 76TH - 41:26, DAVID COATES - 114TH - 44:24 which was also a . P. B.

Allendale 8
The Allendale 8 was held on 30th May with 5 members taking part and finishing 2nd Team overall. MARK KETLEY finished 11th with DAVE APPELBY 12TH with respective times of 50:53, and 50:59, IAN FENWICK was close behind in 13th spot in 51:05. STEVE KYTE was 30th - 55:56 with DAVID REAY - 121ST - 74:09.

B. M. C. Manchester
On the track PHILIP HURST has continued to improve, running in a B.M.C. event in Manchester. Philip ran 8 mins. 24. 15 in the 3000 Metres which was a P.B. and in the U/20 Mens rankings is rated 6th overall. To be in the top ten is a tremendous achievement. His 1500 Metre time of 3. 53. 18 also places him in 11th spot in the U/20 Men’s rankings.

Blaydon Race
The ever popular Blaydon Race was held on the 9th June with first home for the club PAUL TURNER in 24th place in 31:44. First Woman home for Elswick was YAM THIRU in 142nd spot in 36:43 winning the Dames prize. On a fine evening a huge number of Elswick vests were on display. Once again a superbly organised event by Bob Houston and his Blaydon colleagues.

Newburn River Run
Our own promotion the Newburn River Run took place in damp conditions on Wednesday 17th June with a new name being put on the Archbold Trophy. Ryan Stephenson now competing for Gateshead Harriers easily won from the 2008 winner Darren Purvis with James Buis of Heaton Harriers in 3rd. spot. First home for the club was STEVE GREY in 8th position in 37:21with PAUL DIXON in 16th - 38:54. DAVE APPELBY was 25th in 40:08 with ian fenwick - 29th in 40:26. Other placing’s as follows: IAN HARDY - 31ST - 40:42, PAUL O, MARA - 36TH - 41:21, ADAM SOUTHERN - 77TH - 44:48, DAVID COATES - 110TH - 47:01, ROB FORSTER - 118TH - 47:41.

There were fewer Elswick vests than normal due to the large number of members who marshalled the event, enabling it to be a huge success. Your help made the event go off very smoothly with 285 finishers. Full results can be obtained by logging on to the clubs website, going to the Races section and clicking on the links for Newburn River Run 2009 or SportsSoft results.

Special mention must be made of the performance of the leading Woman, Mary Wilkinson from Bingley Harriers who ran the second fastest ever time on the course in 37:53, which considering the conditions was a superb performance.

FINALLY:
Another P. B. for PHILIP HURST in a B. M. C meet at a very wet Manchester, winning the 1500 Metres in 3mins. 51 seconds improving his time for the event by 2 seconds

MARCH/APRIL NEWS

North East Harrier League (Pt. 1)

The penultimate North East Harrier League took place at Prudhoe on 14th March with the Senior Men finding life difficult finishing in 9th spot.

The following ran - JOHN BELL - 43RD KEVIN STEPHENSON - 73RD PAUL DIXON - 80TH STEVE GREY - 107TH HARRY MATTHEWS - 127TH ANDREW HARTLEY - 173RD TOM HANSON - 191ST

The U/15 Boys ran well to finish 3RD Team through CAMERON LAIDLAW - 7TH, DANIEL BALMAIN - 14TH, and DANIEL HOBSON - 19TH The U/13 Boys had RYAN ANDERSON - 1OTH, JON WALKER - 34TH, and ROBERT LAIDLAW - 44TH There were 2 Elswick finishers in the U/15 Girls in REBECCA ORAM who was 2nd, with CHARLOTTE SLOAN - 9TH JESSICA RICHARDSON was 6th in the U/13 Girls race.

Royal Signal Relays
The postponed Royal Signal Relays took place in perfect conditions on Saturday 21st March at Watergate Country Park. The Veteran Men took pride of place in obtaining Silver medals behind Sunderland Harriers. GRAHAM BELL was on Leg1 recording a time of 11:17, with KEVIN STEPHENSON - 11:00 - this being the third fastest of the day, STEVE GREY - 11:24, MARTIN CONNELLY - 11:45, ALAN THOMPSON - 11:45, PAUL DIXON - 11:28.The team ran consistently maintaining second spot throughout.

The Senior Men finished 9th overall through - PAUL TURNER - 10:51, MARK KETLEY - 11:24, PAUL PRIOR - 11:57, JOHN BELL - 11:48, IAN FENWICK - 12:15, and PAUL DODD - 11:44.The Womens team of YAM THIRU - 12:22.KIM MATTHEWS - 13:48, SARA BLIGHT - 14:30, and CHRISTINE LEE - 16:41 were 6th overall.

Young Elswick Harriers making their mark
This month has proved to be one of unbroken success for PHIL HURST starting with his appearance for the North East Counties at Nottingham in the Inter Counties, and although setting his sights on a spot in the World Cross Country Championships ran creditably putting it down to experience! Phil then had a great run in the English Schools Cross Country at Loughborough missing out on a medal by a mere 9 seconds. His reward for this outstanding run was an England vest for the Home Nations Cross Country International in Wales. As Phil said he is learning all the time how to run in major races, and certainly put it into practice by finishing third in Bangor (first English finisher).

The performances over the winter by Phil reflect well on the club and its coaches, in particular MARTIN CROWE. Considering that he has only been running competitively for two years his progress has been outstanding.

Mention must also be made of the selection of three of Elswicks young women for the English Schools Cross Country Championships, so well done to CHARLOTTE SLOAN, PHILLIPA WILLIAMS and REBECCA ORAM.

North East Harrier League (Pt. 2)
The final Harrier League fixture of the season was held at South Shields on March 28th with the club facing the prospect of relegation to Division 2. The members responded splendidly with Elswick finishing in 1st spot and easily retaining their place in the top division. IEUAN ELLIS running for the club for the first time for ages ran away from the 359 strong field to cement the clubs top position. We had all 6 counters in the top 40 with particular mention to the performance of IAN FENWICK who ran superbly to finish 11th PAUL PRIOR was 24th with DAVE APPELBY - 25TH MARTIN CONNELLY was next home in 29th and PAUL DIXON WAS 39TH Other club finishers were:

DAVID JARDIN - 65TH, JOHN BELL - 75TH, ADAM SOUTHERN - 85TH, PAUL TURNER - 93RD, KEVIN STEPHENSON - 102ND, ALAN THOMPSON - 107TH, STEVE GREY - 138TH, GARY RUTHERFORD - 182ND, ANDREW HARTLEY - 196TH, TOM HANSON - 204TH, STEVE CURRY - 247TH, LEE COULSON - 263RD, ANDY MIDDLETON - 264TH, TONY ROBSON - 290TH

The U/15 Girls ran well to finish in second place through - BEATRICE TAYLOR - 7TH, PHILLIPA WILLIAMS - 9TH, REBECCA ORAM - 12TH, and CHARLOTTE SLOAN - 19TH Phillipa was second individual overall in the U/15 Girls for the season. We had two competitors in the U/13 Girls with ANNA BARNES - 8TH, and JESSICA RICHARDSON - 18TH The U/15 Boys were 5th with ALEX TIBBS - 14TH, CAMERON LAIDLAW - 23RD, MICHAEL HALL - 24TH, DANIEL BALMAIN - 25TH, and DANIEL HOBSON - 34TH The U/13 Boys also managed 5th with RYAN ANDERSON - 12TH, JOE WALKER - 24TH, ETHAN ROBSON - 30TH, ROBERT LAIDLAW - 38TH It has been a promising season for the younger elements so full marks to coaches Martin and Tony for all their hard work showing signs of paying off.

Good Friday Road Races
Good Friday saw our annual Road Races taking place at the Newburn Riverside Park with another good turn out from competitors. The outstanding performance of the day came from Shildon Harrier Kate Avery who smashed the course record in the Womens 2.28 race. Despite being an U/17 she broke the Senior record by a massive 16 seconds.

From a club perspective the first race of the day - U/13 Girls saw ERIN SMITH in 11th spot with JESSICA RICHARDSON - 16th The U/13 Boys were 6th team overall with JON WALKER - 17TH, ROBERT LAIDLAW - 17TH, DAMIEN TAYLOR - 38TH In the U/15 Girls REBECCA ORAM ran well to claim 2nd spot with CHARLOTTE SLOAN - 10TH and BEATRICE TAYLOR - 14TH CALUM JOHNSON gained 2nd place in the U/15 Boys race with CAMERON LAIDLAW - 13TH, ALEX TIBBS - 15TH and DANIEL BALMAIN - 16TH This enabled the team to finish in 2ND.place.In the Womens 2.28 event GRACE TAYLOR was 3RD U/2O with ALLISON DARGIE - 9th overall. Morpeth Harriers won the Senior Men’s Relay from Gateshead with the fastest time of the day going to Gosforth Harrier Paul Hutton in 10:35 to win the Alex Burns Cup. Elswick were 5th overall through PHIL HURST - 10:52, MARK KETLEY - 12:28, PAUL DODD - 12:32, IAN FENWICK - 13:28.The incomplete team of ADAM COMBIE - 12:31, and ADAM SOUTHERN - 14:09 were 26th In the Veteran Men’s event Elswick were also 5th through PAUL DIXON - 12:08, STEVE GREY - 12:24, PAUL PRIOR - 12:29 and ALAN THOMPSON - 12:27.MARK McNALLY ran a solo 13:09.Morpeth Harriers completed a double by winning the Veterans event from Sunderland Harriers.

The weather held and a good days racing took place .Special thanks to everyone at the club for providing the marshalling, the refreshments and to anyone who helped in any way. Finally a special word of thanks to FAULKNERBROWNS who carried forward their sponsorship from the postponed Norman Woodcock race to support the Good Friday Races. Their support is very much appreciated, and was a major factor in the success of the day.

Wallsend Harriers Multi Terrain Race
The Wallsend Harriers Multi Terrain Race was held at the Rising Sun Country Park on Sunday 19th April. KEVIN STEPHENSON had a fine run to clinch 5th position in 28:11, with ALAN THOMPSON –8th - 29:25.AUSTIN CHURM was 81st - 37:45, SHARON CARR - 141ST - 46:07, and DEEPTA CHURM - 143RD - 46:24.

The overall event was won by new Gateshead Harrier - Ryan Stephenson.

Redcar Half Marathon
On the same day the Redcar Half Marathon was held with 1395 completing the course. PAUL TURNER was first home for the club in 15th place in a time of 1hr:16.ANDREW HARTLEY finished in 60th spot in 1hr:24.IAN FENWICK continued his improvement by clocking 1hr.25 (a P.B. by 4 minutes) to finish79th Other Elswick finishers as follows: JON BELL - 1:26 - 88TH, ALLISON DARGIE - 1:31 - 165TH, STEVE CURRY - 1:38 - 323RD, ALAN LATTIMER - 1:39 - 374TH, LEE COULSON - 1:43 - 461ST, - ANDY MIDDLETON - 1:46 - 558TH, and DAVID REAY - 1:55 - 819TH

Flora London Marathon
Elswick had 7 members competing in the Flora London Marathon with GRAHAM BELL first home in 2hrs.48 mins. MARK KETLEY finished in 2hrs.50 Mins, both inside the first 500 finishers. MARTIN CONNELLY ran 3hrs.9 mins, with STEVE KYTE - 3hrs.17 mins. GILLIAN MOULD in her marathon debut ran 3hrs.37 mins, with PHIL COLVER - 3hrs.44 mins. JOANNE VARLEY was home in 6hrs.6mins.

Transped Blyth Valley 10k
On the same day 416 finished the Transped Blyth Valley 10k. First home for the club in 12th spot was KEVIN STEPHENSON in 35:00, ALAN THOMPSON was 25th in 36:50 with PAUL DIXON - 26th one second adrift. Paul was 1st O/50!ADAM COMBIE ran well to finish in 29th position in 37:14.YAM THIRU was 47th - 38:48 and PAUL OMARA –50th - 38:55.Other Elswick finishers as follows: HARRY MATTHEWS - 67TH - 39:58, JIM BELL - 82ND - 40:48, GARY RUTHERFORD - 91ST - 41:13, TOM HANSON - 96TH - 41:30, ALLISON DARGIE - 100TH - 41:36, ROB WILSON - 108TH - 41:52, ALAN LATTIMER - 209TH - 46:44, DAVID REAY - 231ST - 47:43, PETER BANNISTER - 235TH - 47:54, CHRISTINE LEE - 318TH - 52:46.

  
FINALLY:
Well done to the youngsters who in their opening Young Athletes League fixture at Middlesbrough, combining with Blaydon Harriers finished a commendable second place.

FEBRUARY NEWS

North EastERN Harrier League

A major casualty of the severe winter weather was the cancellation of the popular Signals road relays at Watergate Country Park on Saturday 7th February with the underfoot conditions making racing too dangerous.

The postponing of the Signals meant a huge turn out for the North Eastern Harrier league at a muddy Wrekenton.

The club was poorly represented in the younger age groups, but full marks to those who made the effort. In the U/13 Girls JESSICA RICHARDSON finished 21st, and in the U/13 Boys ETHAN ROBSON was 28th DANIEL BALMAIN finished 24th in the U/15 Boys event. In the U/15 Girls race PHILLIPA WILLIAMS was a fine 4th (1ST in the fast pack) with CHARLOTTE SLOAN 17th.

There was a huge field in the Senior Mens event with the honours going to PHIL HURST who bounded round the course to easily win the race out of the medium pack, also recording the second fastest time of the day behind Ross Murray. This enabled the club to finish in 6th spot with counters being KEVIN STEPHENSON - 32ND, PAUL DIXON - 53RD, DAVID JARDEN - 72ND, DAVE APPELBY - 80TH, and PAUL TURNER - 81ST.The other Elswick finishers were as follows - STEVE GREY - 106TH, MARTIN CROWE - 121ST, IAN HARDY - 128TH, ANDREW HATRLEY - 166TH, GARY RUTHERFORD - 182ND, TOM HANSON - 214TH, STEVE KYTE - 222ND, ANDY MIDDLETON - 246TH, TONY ROBSON - 255TH, and TONY PRINCE - 286TH.

Pocklington 10 Race
Elswick had two representatives in the Pocklington 10 Race - MARTIN CONNELLY - 58:15, and GRAHAM BELL - 58:39 finishing 15th and 17th respectively.

English National Cross Country Championship
At the same time MARK KETLEY and IAN FENWICK ran in the English National Cross Country Championship at a very muddy Parliament Fields in London.

4TH North East Harrier League
The 4TH North East Harrier League took place at Cramlington in near perfect conditions on Saturday 28th February.The U/13 Boys took the honours with debutant runner RYAN ANDERSON winning the event , closely followed by JON WALKER in 5th spot. ROBERT LAIDLAW was 44th enabling Elswick to claim 2nd team prize. The U/15 Girls also took 2nd spot with PHILLIPA WILLIAMS –5TH, REBECCA ORAM - 13TH, and BEATRICE TAYLOR - 16TH. The U/15 Boys were 4th Team with DANIEL HOBSON - 19TH, CAMERON LAIDLAW - 28TH, DANIEL BALMAIN - 29TH, MICHAEL HALL - 30TH. Our sole runner in the U/13 Girls was JESSICA RICHARDSON - 24TH.

KIM MATTHEWS was our only runner in the Senior Womens event finishing in 44th place.

There was a huge field of 302 in the Senior Mens Race with Elswick claiming 5th spot in Division 1 with KEVIN STEPHENSON running well out of the mediums to finish 12th overall. DAVID JARDEN who continues to improve was 50th with DAVE APPELBY - 57TH, ALAN THOMPSON - 58TH, PAUL TURNER - 78TH, IAN FENWICK - 86TH. Other club finishers were:

STEVE GREY - 88TH, HARRY MATTHEWS - 150TH, MARTIN CROWE - 162ND, TOM HANSON - 191ST, ANDREW HARTLEY - 201ST, ADAM SOUTHERN - 227TH, STEVE CURRY - 241ST, and TONY ROBSON - 252ND.

  
FINALLY:
News of Elswick Harrier ASHLEY GIBSON who is now at New Mexico University in the States who smashed the state womens mile record in a time of 4mins.47.88 secs, in a meeting at Notre Dame University. Also a superb run by ex Elswick Harrier Justina Heslop who finished 7th in the English National Cross Country at Parliament Hill.

JANUARY NEWS 2009

North East Harrier League

The second North East Harrier League was staged at Farringdon on Saturday 10th January with pride of place going to the U/15 Girls who were 1ST Team home through REBECCA ORAM - 3RD, CHARLOTTE SLOAN - 6TH, and PHILLIPA WILLIAMS - 9TH BEATRICE TAYLOR was in 15th spot.

JESSICA RICHARDSON was 27th in the U/13 Girls. Good to see the U/15 Boys fielding a team again with DANIEL HOBSON - 18TH, DANIEL BALMAIN - 30TH, CAMERON LAIDLAW - 33RD, and MICHAEL HALL - 34TH.

The Senior Men found life hard with first placing - KEVIN STEPHENSON - 92ND. Other finishers were as follows:-

PAUL TURNER - 101ST, DAVID JARDIN - 112TH,  JIM BELL - 142ND, STEVE GREY - 161ST, ANDREW HARTLEY - 173RD, PHIL COLVER - 196TH,  TOM HANSON - 207TH,  STEVE CURRY - 256TH,  ANDY MIDDLETON - 260TH, and TONY PRINCE - 304TH.

Unfortunately the club is paying for its success last season with too many faster pack runners. If any one knows of any seniors to bolster the squad please contact us!

The 27th Gran Premio Andalucia
The 27th Gran Premio Andalucia was held in Seville on 18th January and it was great to have an Elswick Harrier representing England through PHIL HURST who really acquitted himself well by finishing 7th out of a field of 62 on his international debut. Phil had a time of 21:11 over the 6.6 k. course.

Hopefully the first of many vests for Phil who thoroughly deserves the success he is achieving at present.

Durham Cathedral Relays
On the same day nearer home the Durham Cathedral Relays were being held on the Racecourse Sports Fields on the banks of the Wear. Elswick fielded two teams in the Veterans Race with the 0/35 Team finishing in 3rd spot behind North Shields Poly and Sunderland through KEVIN STEPHENSON, STEVE GREY and PAUL TURNER who recorded a time of 30:35 over the 3x 3k course.

The 0/45 Team of MARTIN CROWE,PAUL DIXON and ALAN THOMPSON were first team home in a time of 32:07 and were 5th team overall out of 40 teams. 

Northern Cross Country Championships
The Northern Cross Country Championships were held at a very muddy Sherdley Park, St. Helens on Saturday 24th January with Elswick Harriers fielding 13 runners in the Senior Men’s race. First home for the club was KEVIN STEPHENSON in 113th spot in 44:03 over the 12k course. STEVE GREY was 161st in 42:33 with MARTIN CONNELLY 198th in 44:03 and ALAN THOMPSON 202nd in 44:07.PAUL DIXON was 212th in 44:19 with MARK KETLEY 222ND in a time of 44:30.MARTIN CROWE  took 316th place in 46:55. Other placing’s were JIM BELL - 445TH - 51:02,ROB WILSON - 452ND - 51:15,STEVE CURRY - 508TH - 53:34,ANDY MIDDLETON - 554TH - 56:24,and ALAN LATTIMER - 568TH - 57:49. There were 604 finishers in total.

Overall the team was 13th out of 45, having the distinction of being the 2nd North East team home behind Morpeth Harriers.

In the Senior Womens event over 8k.GILLIAN MOULD was 112th - 33:22 and CAROLINE DUFFY –199TH - 38:36.In the younger age groups CHARLOTTE SLOAN was 83rd out of 148 in the 4k U/15 Girls race in a time of 15:57.

Veterans Athletics Association
The Veterans Athletics Association - North East Open Cross Country Championships were held at Holy Cross, Wallsend on 31st January with four Elswick members taking part in the 10k event. MARTIN CROWE recorded 40:33,ANDREW HARTLEY - 43:34, STEVE CURRY - 46:44. MARK McNALLY ran 40:33 to finish first 0/60. 
 
FINALLY:
Would members please note the Presentation Night will be held at Newburn Leisure Centre on Saturday 4th April at 7:30.p.m.Further details from Frank Watson on 0191 - 2673088

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