Morpeth Harriers members represent North East at Inter Counties Cross Country Championships

A series of races across the age groups that pits the best runners from across the country against each other as a measure of each area’s strengths, this year’s fixture was held in the splendid parklands of Wollaton Hall, with the North East represented by athletes from clubs right across the region, including not just those in Northumberland but also North and South Tyneside, Newcastle and County Durham.

In what has already been a breakthrough season for Under-13s Heidi Wilkinson and Mason Gaylor both gained selection for the area, with Wilkinson finishing 63rd but second team counter in the Girls and Gaylor 96th but just missing out on the team count for the Boys. The U13 Girls finished 11th of 40 teams, and the U13 Boys fifth of 41.

Oliver Tomlinson ran in the U17s race, coming back 104th in a field of nearly 300 where once again the NE team showed strongly, finishing sixth overall. Like Tomlinson, Tabitha Robson was the club’s sole representative in the U20s, where she finished 102nd and the NE fifth.

The club’s largest contingent was in the Junior U20 Men, where Joe Dixon, Elliot Kelso and Bertie Marr all gained selection. Dixon had a strong run as first NE counter to come home in 20th, leading the team to ninth place. Kelso was 31st and second team counter, with Marr 144th.

The penultimate race of the day, the Senior Women, saw one of the region’s best performances as the six-to-count team placed fourth. Holly Lawrence, in her first Inter Counties since moving to the area, was 88th and fourth team counter, with all six of the NE counters inside the top 100.

The last race of the day, the Senior Men’s, saw competitors having to deal with temperatures that had risen to 19 degrees. This time Morpeth had two representatives in another strong team showing, with Phil Winkler 24th and second team counter and Sam Hancox 100th but narrowly missing the team count. The NE finished, like their women, in fourth place.