Harrier League

Alnwick, Saturday, March 1, 2014

Mudman and Mudwoman

No less than 50 Striders ran for their club at the Alnwick HL on Saturday and what a happy, purple clad family we all made! As well as the runners, there were around another 20 supporters (other striders, plus family and friends) having a great time while cheering their runners on and generally enjoying the wonderful setting. The day was dry, bright with occasional cloud. The course was in excellent condition: some mud but mainly dry and fast! What more could you want?

Helen up near the sharp end ...

To mark such a day the Women’s team smashed their previous record by fielding no less than 23 runners even though one or two regulars were unavailable through injury. There were welcome returns to the fold made by Stef Barlow and Lindsay Tarn and some fierce, determined performances throughout the team. None more so than by Helen Tones who flew to the front of the field and stayed there, although losing a shoe part way round, and finishing in an excellent 5th place. Well done Helen and congrats on your promotion to the medium pack! Fiona Shenton roared back to her form of old finishing 2nd Strider home in 28th place thereby gaining promotion to the medium pack yet again. Competition for the 3rd Strider place couldn’t have been closer with Mandy and Claire racing together for the line. Mandy’s mantra of “get yer heed reet” must have made the difference as she just pipped Claire over the last couple of yards!

There were battles a plenty throughout the field with Striders well involved in the ‘mix’. One marshal was moved to remark “ooh you Striders, there’s zillions of you!” Those zillions put in some notable performances including Sarah and Lucy finishing well up the strong field and taking the fallen tree in their stride. Anita continues to improve with every race displaying the grit & determination required, while Jacquie, although forced to limp downhill, showed a similar amount of ‘guts’ by getting round to the finish. Well done to the Striderettes, the team equalled their best position of the season (5th place) and while not impossible, relegation is unlikely so long as we turn out in our zillions at the final Wrekenton Fixture!

... and Mike near the blunt end.

Striders men were also there in force with 27 of them lining up to start – including Mike Elliott for the first time. This was probably the strongest team we’ve fielded all season and it got its just reward finishing in 4th place – a season’s best and making relegation most unlikely. Rob Everson was the star – leading the team home by finishing in 28th place & thereby gaining promotion to the medium pack. Well done Rob – you deserve it for all that hard work & we’re proud of you! Will Horsley too had an incredible run from the medium pack overhauling all his team mates, except Rob, and, in spite of his dodgy home-made number, securing 37th place. Jerry came in next, passing Adam near the end, with Paul (from the medium pack) and James (with a strong burst on the final lap to take him past me and Gibbo) making up the other counters.

[Mid-] packing well at the Leap over the Log.

But as we all know it’s not just about the ‘counters’ and, as we’ve come to expect, there were some fine performances throughout the highly competitive field. Striders old and new did well including Dave Halligan, working his way higher up the field with every race, Marc Jones showing the form we know he’s capable of and Mike Elliot putting in one of the bravest performances of the day in what is a challenging race environment with ‘no hiding place’. Well done Mike – you did the club proud!

It was a grand day out, not just for the runners, but for their families and supporters as well. Andy James enjoyed his day and now knows why ‘his’ bus was in such demand. Stef Walker can’t wait for next season when she too can join in the fun and thanks to Katy, Carolyn and Camilla for coming along to shout encouragement while injured. What a day, we can’t wait for the 22nd!!

Note: more excellent photos at the links below, from Dougie and Carolyn. Ed.

Results

Men
Pos Name Club Cat Time
1 Graeme Cook North Shields Poly 36:32
28 Rob Everson 40:48
37 Will Horsley *M 41:12
55 Jerry Lloyd 41:40
59 Adam Walker 41:48
153 Paul Evans *M 43:45
155 James Garland 43:48
177 Geoff Davis 44:08
182 David Gibson 44:17
202 Simon Gardner 44:47
207 Dave Halligan 44:55
208 Marc Jones 44:56
218 Graeme Walton 45:13
240 Michael Tait 45:50
245 Michael Hughes 46:02
246 Conrad White 46:04
256 Richard Hall the Elder 46:24
263 Tom Reeves *M 46:36
264 Jon Steed 46:40
268 Mike Bennett 47:00
288 Shaun Roberts 47:44
293 Michael Terry 47:59
294 Michael Downes 48:05
302 Mark Payne 48:30
335 Marco van der Bremer 49:53
351 Mark Dunseith 50:26
365 Alister Robson 51:18
404 Innes Hodgson 54:42
417 John Hutchinson 57:31
425 Mike Elliott 64:39

*M Medium pack – 2m30s handicap.
*F Fast pack – 5m handicap.

427 finishers.

Women
Pos Name Club Cat Time
1 Stephanie Dann North Shields Poly 28:09
5 Helen Tones 31:14
28 Fiona Shenton 32:38
34 Mandy Dawson 32:49
35 Claire Readey 32:50
44 Fiona Jones 33:02
47 Juliet Percival 33:08
61 Rachel Terry *M 33:30
63 Susan Davis 33:36
71 Sarah Davies 33:48
74 Rachael Bullock 33:51
85 Lucy Cowton 34:05
124 Debra Goddard 35:22
138 Stef Barlow 36:33
146 Jan Young 36:51
152 Lindsay Tarn 37:20
169 Greta Jones 38:52
171 Katherine Preston 39:08
174 Barbara Dick 39:41
183 Joanne Porter 40:34
188 Victoria Downes 41:05
189 Kirsty Anderson 41:09
203 Jacquie Robson 44:44
207 Anita Dunseith 46:17
208 Denise Benvin 46:53

*M Medium pack – 2m handicap.

213 finishers.

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