Morpeth Harriers lose out on top three place by less than six seconds at English Cross Country Association Relays

Held at the traditional venue of Berry Park, Mansfield, the competition pits many of the best cross country specialists in the country against each other over a challenging course.

Morpeth’s men were headed by Alex Brown on the hell-for-leather first lap, with Brown clocking 16:01 for the 5k stage and coming home in 42nd place.

They moved up the field significantly on leg two however, with Scott Beattie running one of the day’s fastest times of 14:47 to take them into 15th place.

Phil Winkler moved them up a further six places on leg three to get them into the top 10 with his clocking of 15:31.

A barnstorming last leg of 14:30 by GB international and European Under-23 gold medallist Rory Leonard had them knocking on the door of a medal, losing out by less than six seconds to third place Cambridge and Coleridge AC.

Leonard did at least have the consolation of running the day’s fastest leg, and also setting what looks like a new course record.

Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers won in a cumulative time of an hour and 10 seconds, with Bedford and County AC second in 1:00:29.

Morpeth had the pleasure of being the first club from the whole of the north of England.

The club’s Junior Men were also represented in the three stage, 9k race, won by Radley AC in 26:38.

Morpeth’s team of Elliot Kelso who, in his first outing as an Under-20, clocked the team’s fastest time of 9:31, with Ethan Bond recording 9:49 and Bertie Marr 9:36.

The team finished a very respectable 30th of 83 complete teams.

The following morning action moved to Gosforth Park with the annual staging of the Norman Woodcock Relays.

The event is now a mixed relay for teams of three that must include at least one woman, a format that has replaced the traditional straight race which, historically, has been won by all the big names of north-east athletics, including Mike McLeod, Brendan Foster and Steve Cram.

Morpeth picked up the team prize, coming home first in a time of 25 minutes and 38 seconds, only four seconds ahead of long-term leaders Heaton Harriers, with Tyne Bridge third in 25:44.

In his first relay outing, a nervous Liam Ramsay had a fine run to clock 8:25 for sixth place.

Poppy Buck moved the team up three places with the day’s third fastest female time of 9:10 to hand on to last leg runner Tom Balsdon.

Back from a long spell out with injury, Balsdon executed his run perfectly, clocking the day’s fastest time of 8:03 and only taking the lead in the last 100m for a very much enjoyed win.

There was also a prize for the club’s Over-60s team of David Nicholson, Pam Woodcock and Neil MacAnany, who finished second to North Shields Polytechnic Harriers.

The club’s Senior B of Andriy Volkov, Robyn Bennett and Dave Stabler came 12th. Stabler’s 8:41 was the day’s third fastest Over-40 time.

Morpeth’s Over-40s of Richard Glennie, Sophie Ward and Jason Dawson also ran well, finishing 29th out of 87 complete teams.