English National Cross Country Championships, Roundhay Park, Leeds. 27.02.2010.

John Stephens: Chatting to Geoff (Hume) it seems that the last time we managed to get a team out at the ‘Nationals’ may have been as long ago as 1987, which ironically is the last time I ran in them, albeit for another club. Alan (Elders) wasn’t sure at all about this apart from that the club have probably put teams out at the nationals on just one or two occasions. It was against this background that 8 runners from the club along with two supporters (Lesley and Luke’s partner/girlfriend – sorry but I’m very well known for having problems with names) and Alan in support/administration role set off from WiNG on Saturday morning.

Arriving in good time, Alan picked up the numbers while we had a look at the course. For the senior men (12K min) – didn’t like the sound of the ‘min’ bit – this involved 3 laps of a course that got quite heavy in a number of places by the start time and included the famous ‘Hill 60’ each lap – an experience not to be missed I can assure you. Although, ahem, supposedly attending in an administrative capacity, Alan saw the layout of the start pens and soaking up the atmosphere (you have to be there – some great footage from Lesley on club facebook site) and decided he would run a lap having sneaked his spikes out under the nose of June assuring her that he wouldn’t be running due to a hip injury.

The start of the ‘National’ is like nothing else (again check out Lesleys video footage – don’t miss the guy stopping to tie his lace about 20m after the start!). You are very much aware of being part of an unbelievable surge, with the first minute or so run at a fair clip before you need to settle down into a bit of a rhythm for the rest of the event. It really is a massive sea of colour complimented by a thunder-like sound of runners’ footfalls. Obviously with major hill to climb there is a corresponding descent – cue Lawrence and his kamikaze downhill tactics. I think it more than made his day.

Jonathan (Archer) had an outstanding run to finish 115th, with the other Jonathon (Stephens) 2nd counter for the club coming in at a highly credible 354th in his first national, and the ‘old man’ (yours truly) coming third counter, followed by Lawrence, Dave, and Luke. This placed the club at the impressive ‘heinz beanz’ position in the team event of 57th. We were backed up admirably by Dave and Bob, with Alan duly completing his lap and then providing some much appreciated encouragement from the side of the course. Good to see more than a few clubs down from the NE even if some were a bit under strength, e.g. Sunderland, and Gateshead didn’t manage to get a team out which was a shame with the runners they have. Anyway, left the door open for us and sneak 4th finishers of teams from the NE behind Morpeth, New Marske, and South Shields. Good to see Saltwell finish a team and also I think Birtley, as well as the inspirational George Routledge bringing up the rear of the field.

Fantastic day out with a great result. Thanks to everyone who travelled down to Leeds. Dave wouldn’t be drawn on the ‘enjoyment factor’ of the race, well not just yet anyway – “Not sure John, but it was a challenge”. Unfortunately due to the coach driver needing to be back in Gateshead for another job in the evening, the trip to the Wetherby Whaler didn’t materialise, but we were ready if the opportunity came with Dave locating their phone number at an app on his phone – must be the new i-phone chippy application. Anyway, it only served to make the chips from Kells Lane all the more enjoyable, particularly being washed down with a couple of beers. Onto the final NEHL fixture at Prudhoe I guess to bring the curtain down on another cross country season.

Start Fitness North East Harrier League, South Shields. 20.02.2010.

John Stephens: Saturday turned out to be a beautiful clear, crisp afternoon at Temple Park. Although for the most in quite good condition the course was a bit boggy down at the bottom end. Fantastic to see so many turn out and represent the club, 4 runners in the U-13 boys, 14 in the senior men`s event, 2 in the ladies. Along with a rather slick warm-up, our best result in terms of tent wrestling this season, thanks to Les we also had a functional cool-down to perform in the form of ‘van pushing’ as Les’s van got stuck in the mud once parked up.

The lads set the scene for the afternoon with excellent runs, Liam leading the way in 13th and Kyle (bit of lace tying practice required Kyle), Jack and Lewis packing well. They are currently in a much deserved 10th place for their age group league.

Another monster NEHL turn out in the senior men`s race, well over 300 in total with the club again being very well represented with 14 runners spread across the slow and medium packs. Looking to start out fairly steady, Jonathon opted to run the first lap with me and then clear off. Have to say one of my better runs at Shields and although not entirely fluent in crossing my nemesis of previous years, I would modestly describe my traverse of the ditch each lap as ‘tidy’. Everyone looked to be going well as I worked though the field giving and receiving the usual pleasant if rather snatched words of encouragement to each other. A little disappointed not to see Sean out in his wellies, rumour has it he found them a bit tight doing his strides at the end of warm-up and so opted for something a little more functional in the form of fell shoes.

Up at the sharp end Jon worked through to finish an excellent 22nd, and Scott, fresh from a couple of days climbing in Scotland clearly enjoyed the course and conditions to record a very impressive 31st (whoa, steady there almost in the medium pack at a second attempt – good bet for Prudhoe though?). With another highest finish for Lawrence (55th), and the kit-kats again doing the job for Sean (85th), combined with my 35th, it was left to Ben to give by far his best performance in the NEHL to complete the scoring in 98th place. This resulted in 4th place on the day and with one fixture to go keeps us 4th in Div 1.

There were very strong runs by the rest of the senior men with Neil starting his first race from the medium pack and working through to 106th place, Luke improving to place within the top 200, along with low 200 finishes for George and Chris. Good to see Brian out again, a very solid run from David, and further improvements from Les and Bob. Well done all, everyone contributing to a successful men`s event result.

Great to see 2 ladies having a run out. Lesley was joined by Caroline this week, who in her first attempt at cross-country finished fairly comfortably in 103rd with Lesley again sticking to the task magnificently, literally running herself into the ground at the finish!

Onto Leeds and a run out at the Nationals next weekend and then the final NEHL fixture at Prudhoe. Great if we could get another good turnout there to finish off the season particularly if we were able to get a ladies team out. Thanks once again to one and all for turning out.

Absent Friends Trail Race, Billingham. 14.02.2010.

Carl Watson: I decided to venture down to Billingham and do the 5.2 mile multi terrain race.

A sunny but cold day welcomed me to the 2nd running of this race, however the previous day’s rain made conditions very boggy, tough and testing. The winner, Brian Rushworth of Sunderland Harriers came home in 27.53, a fantastic time considering the conditions, and also beating last years winning time.

I was going relatively well until about 1.5 mile, with the option of following the outside track of the farmers field which was ankle deep of mud. I decided to jump on the already provided duckboards (Pieces of wood to walk on). Mud and wet, a combination for disaster, so I jumped onto the duckboards to get better traction ,and the obvious happened. Lets just say, to be blunt I went arse over tit.

I clattered my hip and knee against the side of the duckboards, and went down like a bag of whatever. It seemed to take forever to get back up. A load of runners passed me, at least 23 .My position, 25th, honest it was true. Well anyway I couldnt get back in to my running, and struggled with the pain of my leg, but finished it, totally enjoyable!.

Start Fitness North East Harrier League, Wrekenton. 13.02.2010.

John Stephens: There can be no better way to spend your birthday than running around the muddy tracks and fields, not to mention two acquaintances per lap with a certain Mr Hill, at ‘Wrekington’ – quite an appropriate typo I guess, at the Sportssoft results website. Thanks for the messages left at my facebook page, and apologies for dodging off early but who wouldn’t in order to receive a birthday cake made by two of my grandchildren who clearly are very well brought up and diplomatic – just the one candle on top! Those girls know which side their bread is buttered on.

Overall it turned out to be a bit of a famous day for the club, with three competitors in the U13 Boys (well done Liam, Kyle and Lewis), two ladies, and 12 starters in the mens event. Unfortunately Scott was unwell and couldn’t make this one, but did turn out to provide some encouragement at the most strategically important point, i.e. at the trig point on top of the hill.  Jon and I managed to get there just in time to join in warm up – tent wrestling – and although not perfect it has to be said that we all did a much better job than at the Town Moor.

With over 300 runners in total, it was quite a sight to behold when the slow pack took off at precisely 1315. Conditions were quite ‘clarty’ and there were a number of fallers. One such event came just about 20 metres after the start of the medium pack (Graham Lancaster, Sunderland, I believe) much to the amusement of the rest of the pack – oh those caring, sharing runner types. Have to report that much laughter to the point of guffaws came from one of Graham’s own team mates (no names, but he knows who he is) who laughed even more when I enquired as to whether he had tripped him up. However, Graham still managed to finish a couple of places in front of me, and provided some good company for the rest of the race.

Up front Neil had a great run, clearly a bit more at home on the mud than the snow and ice, finishing 18th and gaining promotion to the medium pack. The two Jons worked through to finish 24th and 28th respectively, Jon Archer posting one of the faster times of the day into the bargain. I think he is around 3rd or 4th in the senior men’s grand prix. Shaun’s new ‘Kit-Kat’ diet is clearly paying dividends with his impressive 55th place, and with Lawrence (another ‘best’ performance) and myself filling the final two spots we were all home in 76 to lift the team to a very impressive 3rd place and up the table to 4th in the current standings for Div 1. Unfortunately George’s knee didn’t tolerate the heavy going and he was forced to (quite sensibly) retire. Great back up for the scorers from Ben, Luke, David, Les, and Alan. Another full event for Mr Elders there. Must be coming into form for the Nationals!

Some great photos posted by Lawrence (taken by Lesley) with one and all looking quite sprightly with Les clearly enjoying himself. Biggest smile of the day. Not only did Lesley take the photos but also donned the burgundy along with Vicky to run the ladies race. Fantastic to see two ladies out – just one more and we could get some team points on the board. Not sure if Alan’s wine is still on chill, but will have certainly matured nicely by now. Also good to see Jane (Mooney, Morpeth) who trains with the club now and then, being based in Low Fell, continuing her fine form over the country this winter with another win.

On to Shields next weekend and hopefully another good turnout, maybe even get a ladies team out. Although I usually save my cr*pp*st run of the season for South Shields this isn’t due to the course being particularly tough, it’s fairly straightforward mainly run around parkland. Probably why I never run well there!!

Start Fitness North East Harrier League, Newcastle Town Moor. 30.01.2010.

John Stephens: With the majority of races during January being either postponed or cancelled due to the weather there was a certain irony in this the 2nd NEHL being run in snow following a fairly heavy overnight fall. This didn’t seem to deter too many people at the club as 17 runners completed the mens event, which may be a record of sorts, along with a lone representative (Jack) in the Boys U-13 (see results). May have been 18 but for Lawrence reporting that one club member who was thinking of running may not turn up as he was waiting for a chair to be delivered. Clearly a front runner for ‘the most original excuse for not turning out in the Harrier League’ award. What a pleasant surprise to see Bill not noted for his liking of cross country, turning out for the afternoons pleasantries over the Town Moor. The tent was back, no comment necessary other than it was to our good fortune that conditions were bright, sunny, with the park hedge offering some essential shelter from the (light) breeze.

A new course for the Harrier League this year, very well organised by Elswick, the mens event consisted of 2 small laps (2.1 Miles each) and a large lap that took in the hills at the western edge of the Moor. Quite a biting little breeze from the start of each lap out towards Grandstand Road and the Blue House Roundabout. In a number of places the snow was fairly compact and made for quite good running but the surface did churn up a bit in some areas over the large lap. However, with a turn out of over 300 in the mens event the snow did provide a great background for a very colourful phalanx of vests across the course. Yep, bit of a steady start as had a bit of a look around to orientate myself over the first lap. Great to see so many athletes out from the club particularly a lot of the guys who have recently joined. All ‘looking good’ as I started catch some of the slow pack runners with the usual brief exchange of encouragement with the lads in burgundy.

On the final lap the first hill (quite long and steep) was a little bit of a surprise not just for the runners it seems – a few bemused looks from members of the public out sledging. Come on admit it, I bet I wasn’t the only one on the approach to the hill who tried to convince myself that it wasn’t runners but sledgers returning to the top, a somewhat fleeting lift of spirit before we turned through the gateway and started the ascent. Second hill was a breeze though with quite a nice run into the finish from there.

Excellent result as well – 4th team in Div 1. All time high in terms of NEHL, and enough to see us get off the bottom of the Division following a spirited but pretty disastrous result at Farringdon. Hopefully we can keep this going over the rest of the season. The afternoon was brought to a highly appropriate conclusion with a brew and a kit-kat in the café and a chat with the two Brian’s (Bewick and Rushworth, Sunderland Harriers) and Alan (Elders). To his credit Alan ran the whole race. Whatever happened to just running a lap or two? The word is Geoff gets the shout on this, as Alan said he asked Geoff towards the end of the second small lap if he was doing the whole race and didn’t quite get the answer he was looking for! Anyway, nice brew, tent down and home. Wrekenton on the 13th, South Shields on the 20th, and the Nationals on the 27th. February looks busy, but here’s to some more turnouts like this.