Tynedale 10 mile 'Jelly Tea' Race. 4.09.2011.

John Stephens; The answer to the question on everyone’s lips over the past three months was delivered when summer finally decided to turn up for this years running of the ‘Jelly Tea’ 10, an apt descriptor for an event of 10 miles distance topped off by a jelly tea.  A bumper field of over 500 runners (the pre-entry limit of 700 had been reached weeks ago) no doubt swelled this year by the return of the BMAF national 10mile championship being incorporated into the race, assembled for the 1100 start on the Corbridge road at Hexham. There was an excellent turn out from the club – 17 runners (see results), with apologies to anyone that I missed.

Accurately described as an undulating, scenic, rural course although challenging in places it is a real delight to run and an opportunity to turn in a ‘negative split’ for a ten – just ask Bill. Being a little short of any great fitness I decided on a fairly conservative start and build into the race. Turned out to be a decent strategy in that my strongest running came from six miles on, to the point that I did make considerable inroads in closing down on Neil who was having a very strong run, over the second half of the race. However, my good friend and mountain/fell running colleague was not in the mind of entertaining my getting too close as evidenced by a couple of looks around over the final couple of miles. I saw you Neil! Actually you looked quite comfortable it has to be said. Cracking run.

With the warm conditions the water stations just before half way and at around 8miles were utilised to good effect, and from the amount of bottles on the road, by a number of the front runners as well as us mortals. The race was won by Yared Hago, who also won the Watergate 5K, in a very swift 49:32. No disrespect to winners in recent years but it was really good to see the return of a high standard winning time for an excellent event. Not to be outdone however, there were a number of pb’s for the burgundy vest massif, including Cheryl and Phil by the veritable country mile (sorry, pun intended) and certainly an age best for Bill.

Well done to all that ran. Particularly brave run by Mick (Graham) who suffered quite badly with his breathing – a mandatory activity for most runners – due to bruised ribs following a fall from his bike last week.

As usual the final mile raises the age old question of “What flavour jelly this year?” Quite a challenge but one that is getting easier with age as I get slower and therefore have more time to deliberate over life’s big issues such as this. It is crucial to get a complimentary mix of sandwich, jelly and tea. After hovering between blackcurrant (always a big favourite), and lime (never really a serious contender), I finally settled on orange which seemed to compliment the egg mayo sandwich in the manner anticipated. In amongst this, going for a cool down I also managed to lose my car keys and was quite fortunate to retrieve them. Then again it was that kind of day and nothing was going to spoil the enjoyment.

P.S. Jon was that really you in 500th position or was it your stunt double? Step forward the mystery person. Maybe we could run a sweepstake. Wish I’d placed a bet on the winning time – my forecast was 49:30. Maybe Yared relaxed for 2 secs in the final mile – blackcurrant, orange, lime? It’s not easy.

L.F.R.C. Watergate 5k. 24.08.2011.

Jonathon Stephens; The third and final of our annual races saw a healthy turnout, an excellent winning time, some great Low Fell individual performances as well as a great team performance by the club.  Not bad for a Wednesday night really.

7pm was the start time, the weather was good and we were ready to go! Well, the weather was not so good for it being summer but for running it was near enough perfect.  From the whistle, the runners competed for space on the narrowish path before it widened out around 100m later.  Yarod Hagos, currently living and training in the North East, took the lead from the start with Gateshead’s Ryan Stephenson tucking in just behind as we took the right turn and the small incline up towards the pond.  I have to say that Carl (Watson) seemed a little more restrained than usual; I thought he would have at least challenged the Ethopian over the first 600 or so (sorry Carl!).  Behind the front two a group of 6 (including me) stayed close together and maintained a decent pace for most of the first lap. Getting around the other side of the pond, Patrick Duffy (Crook) and Conrad Franks (Gateshead) managed to create a bit of a gap going up the first incline with Justina Heslop (Clapham Chasers) keeping just in contact.  Stewy Bell (Chester-leStreet), Phil Walker (Morpeth) and myself formed a bit of a loose group that ever drifted apart over the remaining section of the first lap.

I passed the halfway point in around 8.20 and felt moderately comfortable which was a pleasant surprise!  The plan was to maintain a quick pace around the first lap and then stay relaxed until the last half mile where I would attempt to push on. So far so good.  I could see Patrick, Justina and Conrad making good progress further up the field, seemingly putting a bit of extra daylight between us and them.  Stewy and Phil had got away from me a little whilst approaching the far end of the lake and with around 1200 to go I was starting to feel the effects of the slight chest infection from the week before (i.e. non-resposive legs!).  I maintained effort (but not pace!) and almost drew in Phil Walker over the two inclines but it wasn’t to be!  Finishing in 16.55 (8th place), I was very pleased and a little surprised to go under 17 minutes, having been way off the mark over the past 3 months.  However, that’s just how it goes sometimes!

Yarod Hagos was the overall winner in 14.38 with Ryan Stephenson second in a solid 15.34.  Justina Heslop convincingly won the women’s race with third place overall in an impressive time of 16.30.  Third male in was Patrick Duffy of Crook in 16.31 - a PB and a great performance.

Just in behind me in 9th place was our very own Tony (Maxwell) in 17.13 and Dave (Warren) came in 13th (17.35) to complete our scoring team.  It was a great effort which won us first place in the team prize.  Neil (Morris) placed first MO45 with 18.14 and 20th place overall.  15 Low  Fell runners finished the race with 127 finishing in total.

On a final note - thanks to everyone who helped out with the marshalling, officiating and results and also for the great club support around the course!

George Ogle Memorial Race. 23.05.2011.

Jonathon Stephens; The race in memory of unheralded stalwart of athletics, George Ogle, had its inaugural outing this year after George sadly lost his life to cancer last September.  George was a bit of a permanent fixture on the NEHL, North East and Northern Cross Country circuit, dedicating a lot of his time to our sport in all weathers for many, many years.  As well as his roles as secretary within each of the aforementioned cross country associations, he also spent many years coaching with Blaydon Harriers and Tynedale Harriers having had some input in to the early training of Jill Hunter and also Mike Mcleod.  George not only coached and officiated but was pretty handy as an athlete, winning the Army mile title in 1959 as well as the Combined Services mile.  He was also Northumberland and Durham mile champion from 1957 to 1961.

George’s wife, Audrey also plays a big role within our athletics community (being a NEHL secretary for starters) and it was fitting that she acted as the starter for this Memorial Race.  The race itself is roughly 6 miles (6.15mi or 9.9km according to some peoples’ love ‘em or hate ‘em Garmins!) covering the Derwent Valley from Swalwell to Rowlands Gill area on tarmac paths, trails and meadows (with some steps and steep hills thrown in for good measure).   Conditions for the race were pretty harsh with very strong winds blowing from the South-West, so pace judgement was a decent skill to have on the night.  Around 100 runners set off at 19.15 from Swalwell Cricket Club, following the path towards the waterfall and Tennis Club.  Being considerate of the wind I started off steadily and took some time to suss out the competition; a group of 5 had got away (including me and Carl Watson) with Patrick Duffy (Crook) and Jamie Barbour (Heaton) pushing the pace a bit more.  I decided to let them go in the hope that they would tire from the wind and the hills that were to come.  After around a mile I was running alone and the two leaders had put around 30 metres of daylight between us, so I picked up the pace to stop the gap getting any bigger.  This paid off as I closed the gap as we climbed steadily up Kite Hill in Derwenthaugh Park.  At the top of Kite Hill, the course turns right on to the Derwent Walk and over the Nine Arches Viaduct.  The viaduct is an impressive site later on in the race - 500ft long and only there because the Earl of Strathmore would not allow the railway to pass through his estate (Gibside) back in 1867 (enough of the history lesson now).  Off the viaduct and onwards and upwards to the ‘Viewpoint’ – this is a narrow off-road trail that climbs (and climbs...) parallel to the Derwent Walk where at the top, if you look left, you can get great views of Gibside Monument.  I must say that I forgot to look as I was a little preoccupied with working up the hill.  Fortunately and as they say, “what goes up must come down”, we were descending back down and I took the opportunity to stretch the lanky legs out and get in to second place.

Patrick Duffy was in first place after strongly taking the hill with me now around 15-20 metres back.  Coming off the hill is a kissing gate and then a sharp left on to the farm road which takes you down to the meadows.  With me not being a great lover of off-road running, Patrick managed to put in another 10 metres gap going around the meadows.  The meadows run right along the Derwent River and it looks a very beautiful place to run, especially as you turn back towards the Derwent Walk and are greeted with the site of the Nine Arch Viaduct and its enormity.  Off the meadows, and there’s a good number of steps to negotiate to get back up on to the Derwent Walk and only two words can describe those steps – Lactic Acid.

I had planned before the race to run with the leaders and then put in a big effort when we got back on the Derwent Walk where there is 2 miles to go on flat ground.  Patrick was about 25-30 metres in front at the top of the steps and I needed to catch him quickly if I wanted to have a go at winning.  I picked up the pace and after around half a mile I came level with him.  Remembering some advice, I resisted the temptation to now slow down and run with him and instead picked it up a bit more with about 1.5 miles left.  1.5 miles seems a long way when the legs are burning!  The footsteps behind me gradually became quieter as I put a bit more of a gap in and kept pushing to the finish.

The last half mile of the race turns left off the Derwent Walk and back towards the Cricket Club, and that strong wind was back; I felt like I was going nowhere, bent double in to the wind.  A lap of the cricket pitch proceeded, and all I can say is that I was glad to finish!  I had put in more of a gap than I had realised, finishing in 35.53 with Patrick finishing 24 seconds behind.  Patrick had a great race and I’m sure we will both look forward to racing each other this summer!  3rd place went to Jamie Barbour (Heaton) who had led for a good portion of the race.  Carl Watson had a good run to finish 9th - all in good preparation for his holiday (volcanic ash cloud dependant)!

All in all a great race organised by PB Fitness of Rowlands Gill with all proceeds going to Macmillan, who’s nurses do fantastic work for the care of cancer patients and their families.  It will be great to see more people turn out for this event next year as I’m sure it will grow even more popular.

As a last note I have to admit that... I wasn’t wearing my club vest!  I have an honest excuse though - my employer (Egger in Hexham) support their staff by paying for race entry fees and then donating a further 5Euros for every KM to charity – so I had to wear my Egger t-shirt at least once!

Transped Blyth Valley 10k. 03.04.2011.

Jonathon Stephens; A relatively less windy morning, in comparison to the few days prior, greeted the 14 Low Fellers on Sunday for the 7th running of the Transped Blyth Valley 10k.   The course is essentially an 'out and back affair from the Quayside in Blyth down to Seaton Sluice and back; the out being on the path through the dunes and the back being along the main road.

Over 500 competitors toed the line for the 10am start, with what looked like a great turnout from most of the North-East clubs  (as a side note, the start seems to have retracted around 150m back from its usual place but the turning point and finish seemed in the same place...maybe my memory from previous years serves me wrong?).  Anyway, having raced a half-marathon 7 days ago (well about ? of it before blowing up...) I was looking for a decent training-type run to get the legs ticking over again.  Also, having not raced a 10k for 9 months, I just wanted to familiarise myself with racing the distance.

The first 200m was pretty sharp with most trying to get away quickly along Quay Road.  Sweeping around to the right and past the park towards the main road, people including me looked to settle down into groups.  There looked a decent group in front of me containing Conrad (Franks) from Gateshead, Mark (Likeman) from Heaton and a couple of guys from Morpeth and North Shields.  They were around 20m in front as I passed the first mile marker and headed towards the beach area.  Already I could feel the effects of the half-marathon the week before as my legs felt a bit heavier than I would have liked.

With the path through the dunes undulating and the constant breeze from the open sea-front, things were a little tricky (for me anyway!) and my pace dropped through the second and third miles.  Things picked up after the turning point with the last 3 miles being on the flat road.  I was running with a small group containing Brian Hetherington (Wallsend), Paul Bainbridge (South Shields) and Jason Holmes (Border) in which we were also joined by Patrick Duffy (Crook) who made a great effort to catch the group with a couple of miles to go.  The group was great to run in as we kept pushing the pace every so often, which allowed the last 2 miles to be the quickest of the race for me.  Lee Millmore (Birtley) ran well as he seemed to come out of nowhere and glided through our group at around 5 miles and ended up finishing 24s in front.

I finished in 35.47 which was a minute slower than I'd ran through 10k at the half-marathon the week before but, nonetheless, I was pretty happy with this.  Peter Newton of Morpeth convincingly won the race in a fast time (and course record) of 30.33, 1m15s in front of second place and Morpeth team-mate, Ian Harding. The first female was Lorna Young from Heaton in 35.51.

Well done to all the Low Fell runners that took part!

P.S. Being such a great husband, Laura had the treat of coming along with Izzy for Mother's Day... don't worry she did get some flowers delivered later in the day!

Wilmslow Half Marathon and Cross Country Season - View from afar. 27.03.2011.

John Stephens; On a recommendation from Jonathon who ran this event in 2010 along with complimentary on-line reports about the event I decided that a trip to Cheshire was ‘just the job’ in terms of contributing to my build up towards London. Hopefully I could get in a decent enough performance taking into consideration that I’d be a bit ‘leg-weary’ at some point in the race due to current marathon-based volume/intensity mix.

Anyway me and the number-1-son set off Saturday afternoon with the prospect of a drive down through the finest piece of motorway in the country (M6 from the Brough turn-off [J38] over Shap) whilst listening to the Euro qualifier on Radio 5 from the Millennium Stadium. Although 2-0 to the chaps wearing the 3 lions after 15mins predictions from the pundits of a ‘cricket score’ turned out to be pretty hollow. Unbelievably there were no reports from Prudhoe – maybe that was on 5-live extra – what do I pay my licence fee for?

Safe arrival at Wilmslow and check in at the local Premier Inn (highly recommended) in time for the boat race which also turned out to be a bit of one-sided affair. Could have been a bit more entertaining if some of the protesters from central London had stumbled along to Hammersmith I guess, but there you go, another missed opportunity. Looked everywhere for Lenny Henry, but apart from the cardboard cut-out in reception he was nowhere to be seen. We managed to get out and have a quick look at most of the course. I say most, as the map provided obviously wasn’t to scale but still enjoyed a drive around the Cheshire countryside followed by a very pleasant meal at Lenny’s place.

Sunday morning and delighted to inform that this is a really well organised and friendly event. The race HQ is at Wilmslow Rugby Club with plenty of parking. The Start is just up the road from the club, and finish about a 5-10min walk away (no wonder they get a few pb’s there!). The course is in the main fairly flat with a few rolling bits, which apart from the first mile is run on quiet rural roads, albeit with some great crowd support running through villages. Indeed some great looking pubs enroute that would seem to warrant a visit at some point, preferably on a balmy summers evening. So if you’re looking for a national championship event with some very pleasant scenery, and something that is biggish (field of around 4,800) but not GNR proportions, this is the place to go. Conditions were pretty still (slight head breeze on the way back), and starting temperature around 8 degrees climbing to around 11-12 degrees, on what is basically a pan-handle course (run out, do a loop, and run back).

Anyway, prompt and pretty pacey start in keeping with the national championship status I suppose. Took a little while to settle in, and I could see Jon making some good progress ahead, but by around 2 miles settling in nicely. Plan was to settle in run a quicker middle section of around 6 min miles or just under, in the knowledge that the last 3 -4 miles would be hard as leg weariness kicked in, and look to come home around 1:20ish. Pleasant surprise around 4-5 miles running with Angela Hibbs from Chester-le-Street – note to self; must find out what perfume she wears and get some for Vicky next birthday. Back in the race, somewhat surprised to go through 10K in 36:34ishandbits and feeling fairly strong. On to 9 miles and still passing folks although ‘feeling’ my legs a bit (could have done without 22 miles last Sunday, 1/2 miles Tuesday – but all for a good cause) and I’ve dropped Angela so no chance of a continued olfactory distraction! Still, 10 miles at around 60:40ish (quicker than Tyndale last year), tired over last 5K but held together nicely to hit target of 1:20 at 1:20:28 and pleasingly 3rd 0/50. Job done, I guess.

Jon was less than happy with his 1:18, but looking at his splits not too surprising as ran a pb for 10K! However, that’s the way to go at times and overall I’d still say a very good performance. To be commended. Even more so was the performance of Nick Swinburne who finished 3rd in 1:05 to follow-up on his excellent GNR performance. Not such a great day for last years winner, Andi Jones who ran 1:07. Although seems from the general pattern of results, generally folks went out quick. Very few with negative splits or anywhere near.

Overall a great couple of days out, highly recommended for anyone fancying a weekend away taking in a ‘rural’ half. Pleasant journey back and picked up on the Prudhoe results – still not on Radio 5 though - via the web. Despite the demise from Div 1 NEHL, the club got a fair few members out running these events over the 2010-2011 season which is the name of the game really. Overall, despite relegation a very successful year on the country; closed in mens teams in all major championships (NE, Northerns, National), 3rd in 0/45 NE Vets xc relays, 1st 0/55 team in NE Vets xc champs, with some old guy wining the 0/50s in the same event and Bill and Gordon finishing in the unenviable 4th position for 0/60s and 0/55s respectively. Great progress from the ladies also – goal must be to get a team out regularly next year in the NEHL. I’m sure they would finish well up in the League.

Final word on the trip. Jon forgot to bring any music so was mercilessly subjected to the more eclectic tastes of good ol’ Dad – bit of ‘extreme dance’ in the form of MIA. If you’re (un)lucky maybe I’ll treat you next time I give a lift to/from a race.

English National Cross Country Championships, Alton Towers. 19.02.2011.

John Stephens; For the second year in a row the club closed in a team at these Championships, and in doing so made some notable progress not just in terms of finishing position but also in the ‘refuelling strategy’ on the way home. This year’s venue saw us travel to Staffordshire and Alton Towers to test out the new ride, ‘The National’ and for sure it didn’t disappoint.

After making excellent progress for the trip down from Low Fell, we eventually descended below the snow line to arrive in good time and find the course and surrounding area under Glastonbury conditions i.e. mud for as far as the eye could see. Anyway, tent up in a field adjacent to the race area and on grass (a rare sight) and we all went off for a quick recce of the course. Basically the event was run in something resembling thick mushroom soup apart from 3 short stretches of about 20m where there was (unbelievably) still some of the green stuff visible. The heavy conditions took its toll on a number of the earlier events with (quite correctly) some concerns over health and safety on the course – there were a number of injuries reported (including fractures I’m led to believe) in the earlier events with aside from injuries a number of the younger athletes finishing in tears. Hence a fairly sensible decision was taken to shorten the womens and mens races by 2K for safety and also to ensure that the racing finished in daylight! The heavy conditions – have to say, probably the hardest I’ve seen at any XC or fell event for that matter – meant for some slow times, resulting in necessary departures from the race schedule.

Down to a bare 7 runners, we assembled at pen 212 for 1515 start with shoes tightly laced (no room for error this time, we were all a bit paranoid about losing a shoe) and chips firmly strapped to ankles. As with any National that I’ve run in there is nothing like the start – gun goes and a massive surge forward whereby nobody has any choice but to run flat out for at least 200m and then try to settle down. The fairly compact setting for the race meant that there was plenty of support around the course, particularly on the top section around the small loop (2K) on a level with the start. Consisting of a number of loops and switchbacks this made for good spectating so that bizarrely at one stage looking to my right I could see Jonathon (Stephens) on part of the course ahead of me and over my left shoulder Alan making his way into the veritable maize of loops. One fairly small hill to negotiate in the top section but made very difficult due to the mud resulting in no grip even with 15mm spikes. Onto the 2 large laps (~4K each) and a drop to the lower part of the course with a cracking hill to ascend – steep, with a tricky s-bend to get you back onto the top part of the course.

Have to say overall, quite a disappointing turn out from NE clubs but good to see a few familiar faces. South Shields closed in a team to finish fairly well up and we were 55th (2 places better than last year) to finish (I think) 2nd NE team. The ‘magnificent 7’ from the club saw Jonathan (Archer) finish an excellent 158th , this after giving himself a bit of a fright by lying around 10th after ½ a mile. Jon was followed in by t’other Jon who ran strongly to finish 389th and some old geezer who enjoyed his day out in the mud to finish 422nd. Dave (Warren) continued his strong form of late to finish 4th counter in 654th. With the 2 final scorers seeing a couple of cracking runs from Les (1081) and Dave (Wright, 1220) it was just reward to see us finish a couple of places up on last years effort probably within a slightly stronger field and much more testing conditions. Run of the day though must go to Alan who despite planning “I’ll just do a lap” , completed the full race mindful of the conditions and the risk of someone getting injured or having to pull-out. Unfortunately this did happen with Birtley, who would have closed in a very decent team performance but for one of their scoring six having to drop-out. However, congratulations to Birtley U15 girls who won the silver in the team event for that category. A very impressive result.

Everyone was absolutely knackered afterwards and lets just say most were reluctant at that point to declare whether they had enjoyed the race or not. This was probably all apart from the lads from Aurora whose sprits can never be dampened (no pun intended) who were trying to sort out their Barbie after the race – only joking but they would have easily won the ‘tent of the day’ competition. Sort of a cross between a gazebo and one of those tents that medieval knights got changed in at jousting competitions – absolute class!

Finally, I’m very happy to report that we managed the stop to refuel on the way home successfully this year. A visit to the legendary ‘Wetherby Whaler’ was finally made with Les ordering sole standing in his socks! Despite one or two doubters as to the validity of the refuelling strategy everyone was suitably satiated following the feast at this fine establishment.

Next year, 2012 and Parliament Hill. Like the Wetherby Whaler this is a venue that should be on every distance runners 1000 places to see and experience before you die. We’re also on a hat-trick.

Start Fitness N.E. Harrier League, Newcastle Town Moor. 06.02.2011.

John Stephens;With the ‘big freeze’ again taking its toll on this seasons NEHL before Christmas, it was to the great credit of Elswick Harriers being so flexible in putting on this the third Harrier League meeting. Snow and ice not so much of a problem this time but one for the ducks this year with much of the course ‘well watered’ after the wet’n’wild weather of the previous couple of days. Despite the inclement conditions and although missing one or two of our more front-end runners, there was a grand turnout from the club with 11 senior men and the ladies section being represented by one hardy soul (Cheryl), which was in fact one more than last year, along with Kyle in the U13s.

A big hit for the day was the club tent which really came into it’s own offering spacious accommodation, warmth and shelter from the rain and an outside temperature of around 4-5 degrees which seemed a degree or so colder into the breeze. Such was the refuge offered that it was somewhat reluctantly that we piled out for the start at around 1310. Bit of a monster slow pack (maybe 250ish), followed by a very small medium pack of around half a dozen and finally my home for this season at least with the ‘fast’ lads (why do they all look so young, well apart from Stewy). Once again I found myself in overall last place as we headed off towards Grandstand Road on the first of the 2 small laps (2.1 Miles each). Maybe just wishful thinking, or the conditions or a combination of the two, but the group didn’t seem to be pulling away from me as quickly as in the previous 2 events and settling in, dare I say it but, began to quite enjoy the afternoon out. I’d made a good decision in wearing a cap to try and keep the rain of my specs as much as possible, having found that running without them these days is not a viable option. A swift reminder of this was provided on Friday when ‘enjoying’ an easy 5-6 miles in the wind, a gust of wind through Harlow Green blew them off. Cue one visually impaired runner trying to find specs on the road, not the easiest task but according to Allan (Clark) a narrative that almost rivals that of Eric Appleby’s lost teeth on Shields beach. A legendary tale , just ask Allan.

Lap one and turning back towards the toon and I’m starting to catch folks and the task of working through the traffic. Although not quite as heavy going but a lot wetter, it seems as though we’ve just kept running from last weeks Northerns. At least there’s company now and a bit of chat catching up with some of the lads from the Fell – Stan enjoying his annual run-out on the Moor, and Alan (Elders) for whom it looks as though (thanks to Stan) that there will be no early bath after a lap this week. Onto lap 2 and a quick chat with David who is running strongly and amazingly staying on course (must be some kind of record) and then towards the end of the loop a quick word or three or four or five with Les. Further up the field, from my spies on the course Shaun is having a great day out, enjoying the conditions in a very strong run to eventually finish 27th and qualify for the medium next time out.

Final loop – the big one with a couple of hills thrown in for measure – and cracking to see Phil (Green) of the mighty Heaton Harriers running strongly and as always good for an exchange of pleasantries. Not so pleasant was the first hill which comes as a bit of a shock to the system in breaking the relatively steady rhythm of what is otherwise a fairly flat course. Apologies to Alex on this one as not a great deal of  conversation as we passed at the top of the first climb. Quite tricky descent over the wet ground but then one small climb and a flat run into the finish.

In addition to Shauns excellent result there were some very good performances across the board with David, Jim (hope it’s not another 16 months before you race again!), Neil (from the Medium pack), return to a bit of  form for Lawrence and myself being the scoring team to finish 8th. Still keeps us in a relegation place but ‘in touch’ as they say in football circles with one or two teams above us in our bid to stay in Division 1.

Have to say the tent was a toasty place to be after the race, with a broad range of re-fuelling strategies evident. Les and his chocolate tea comes close but the award for the most professional approach to post race nutrition must go to Shaun not only for his choice of a banana (stacks of carbs, minerals etc) but he actually has a customised  ‘banana container’ to keep and protect.

The senior mens event for the club was sandwiched by a very solid run by Kyle in the U13s who did very well in the cold conditions and a most impressive run by Cheryl in the ladies race to finish 40th. We all thought she was going to run with her umbrella or maybe have someone run around with it! Finally, tent a bit of a mess so glad of a bit more rain to rinse off the mud and fingers crossed for a bit of dry weather later in the week to dry it out.

North East Counties Cross Country Championships. Temple Park, South Shields. 08.01.2011.

John Stephens; The weather enforced change in date for the Championships from December turned out to be a good call all round with cold but bright and breezy conditions greeting runners for the North Easterns at Temple Park. To comply with championship requirements each lap was stretched out somewhat by the addition of 3 sets of 3-sides-of-a-square at the end of the sports fields, the far end of the course, and the area behind the Leisure Centre building once you come off the footpath respectively. This resulted in an enjoyable but bizarre experience of running approximately 400m to advance 100m along the usual NEHL course in each case to make up the 7.5mile distance.

On arrival we opted to go alfresco with the tent or more accurately without the tent, just putting down the ground sheet as a) space was tight in the camping area b) a couple of other clubs had taken a similar option and seemed to be enjoying it c) it was a nice day d) Les, Jon and I couldn't be ar**d to put up the tent. Any or all may well have been the case. I'm still not sure myself. Anyway, with the bare bones of a men's team, 7 runners with Alan getting his oar in first with his "I'll just do a lap" it was a true team effort particularly as (to be quite honest) Neil and I both suffering the man flu would have probably preferred not to run. Still nil desperandum as the great Latin Scholars no doubt would say, although I'm not sure that they were noted for their ability to run around South Shields on a chilly Saturday afternoon in January or indeed that this was the exact context they had in mind.

A decent sized field assembled at the start, 1300 and we were off. Usual stampede for the first 400m or so. Soft and cold underfoot with smatterings of snow and ice around the course. Jonathon and Scott got good clear starts and seemed to be settling pretty handily placed around the top 50. Indeed news from further up the field would indicate congratulations to Birtleys Lee Millmore on his recent wedding are in order. I hope that he and his wife are very happy. Not the usual race banter but nevertheless reflected the conversation between Lee and Jonathon. Great honeymoon apparently.

After a lap things were pretty stretched out all round and to be honest, not just the field but also me physically with the lack of fitness/ill-health alliance proving not to be much of a winning combination. This also seemed to be the case for Neil – no chatty dialogue about weddings or such from us! Well not on Saturday anyway. Further back down the field our final scorers, Les and Chris were having solid runs. Les was his usual chirpy self, and Chris put in a great shift before putting another one later in the day in keeping us all safe on the mean streets of Gateshead.

Somewhat surprisingly not only did we close in a team but finished 13th, which was more than respectable. Club results at 'results'.

The ladies race, to the best of my knowledge saw two Low Fell runners involved in the championship for the first time (??) with Steph and Cheryl (Parkin) turning out and winning the mandatory bottle of Chateau Elders. Cheryl was a bit unfortunate in losing a shoe on the first lap, but recovered well to secure 70th place with Steph five places ahead. Not sure if it was smiles or grimaces but both looked to enjoy the race and ran very well. Pity we didn't have a couple more to close in a ladies team, but another pleasing highlight was to see Jane (Mooney) take 3rd place and a medal in the ladies event.