It's not every day that an Olympian visits Wallsend Harriers. It was great to see Ross Murray at training last night who, although being one of athletics' hottest properties right now, took time out of his schedule to come and say hi and to thank the club for supporting him recently. 

It was also an opportunity for our esteemed Club Chairman (pictured, when he was Ross' age) to show off his creative side with one of his poems about our 'local lad done good'. .......

It was a proud day for our very own Bev Gosling who's son, Ross Murray made the Olympic team in the 1500m after finishing 2nd at the trials at Birmingham on Saturday.

Parkrun Success

Andy Graham ran his second consecutive Whitley Bay Parkrun on Saturday and after finishing 2nd last week he went one better to win in a time of 17.30. Andy said after the race,

"I stuck behind Scott Ellis from the Poly for majority of run and seen an opportunity in the last half a mile to pass him and kick on for 1st position. I can't defend my 'title' next week unfortunately as down in Manchester to see the Stone Roses!"

Dan Weatherill, despite having a track session in his legs from the previous night, finished 3rd in 18.29. Over at the Town Moor, Graham Armstrong took in the Newcastle event on his way over to watch son Jack compete in the Northumberland schools championships. Graham finished a creditable 18th in 19.38.


Jack runs well at Northumberland T&F Championships
Young Jack Armstrong represented Newcastle Schools at the weekend in the 1500m and finished 8th in 5.18. Although slightly disappointed not to get a PB he gained valuable experience to compete at this level and his parents Graham and Sue were incredibly proud.


Smart Success at the VAANEE Track & Field Champs

Eric Smart had double success at the VAANEE Championships at Monkton Stadium on Saturday, winning the 100m and 200m in the V55 category. Not even a strong headwind was able to stop the amiable former driving instructor, his times of 13.4 and 26.6 were the fastest in the entire competition, faster than many runners younger than himself.

Well done Eric!

Elswick Harriers hosted the popular Newburn River Run last night, which incorporated the 3rd race of our Summer Road Race Grand Prix series. 

We came away with 4 prizes, plenty of good runs and a good night was had by all.

Tonight sees the 3rd race in the Summer Road Race Grand Prix as Elswick Harriers host the popular Newburn River Run. The start is at 7.30pm and race HQ are at Newburn Leisure Centre.

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The ever improving Jack Armstrong took part in the Newcastle city schools athletics championships at Gateshead stadium on Thursday. Jack had a solid run in the 1500mtrs recording and unofficial time of 5.12 and picked up the bronze medal in the process!

Well Done Jack!

Parkrun Merchants
With the summer races coming thick and fast, some of our runners are also using the Parkrun events to keep in shape and test themselves over a measured 5k. Last Saturday saw the inaugural Whitley Bay Parkrun and three Wallsend athletes toed the line on the 2 lap links course. Andy Graham, after missing Friday's track session thanks to a chinese meal and a load of wine, romped home to a second place finish in a decent time of 17.37..........

It's all to play for in the Summer Road Race Grand Prix after the Blaydon Race as new leader Amy Bannister holds a slender lead over Ruth Marshall and early leader Julie Hind.

As we all know, this year's Blaydon Race was shorter than in previous years and it wasn't until shortly before the start that the information came through that we would be running about quarter of a mile shorter than last year. This did mean that the predicted handicap times would be affected but as most members of the club competed in the famous old race, everyone benefitted equally. 

Scores have also been added for those who ran in the scorching heat of the Edinburgh Marathon/Half Marathon. Amy Bannister, who exceeded all expectations on her marathon debut, showed little effects at the Blaydon and this good form has shot her to the top of the table. With a another big turnout expected at the next race in the series - the Newburn River Run on Wednesday - there will no doubt be more 'movers and shakers' this time next week. Remember, every runner gets a handicap time and points are awarded for those who beat their predicted times. As we head towards Newburn it will be those who show constant improvement that are more likely to beat the handicappers so the incentive is there for anyone to move up the table.

Handicap times for the Newburn race (6.7 mile approx) will be posted before the race. 

Updated table click here

Coach Julie left them all be”hind” (sorry Julie!) as she won the 4th in the Summer Grand Prix series with her fastest ever time  last night.
With PB’s aplenty amongst the 44 athletes running, many of whom had Saturday’s Blaydon Race still in their legs, it was Julie who showed a clean pair of heels over the 2 mile route to hold off the
chasing pack to win maximum points and jump 13 places in the table with only 3 races under her belt.

No allowances were made in the handicapping to take the efforts of the Blaydon into account, but many who did Saturday’s race also ran PB’s in our SGP! It is clear that many are getting quicker race by race and are reaping the rewards of the efforts being put into training by the members themselves and their coaches.
It was great to see new faces like Gary Lewis and Lyle Nicholson doing well and also to see the return to racing of more
familiar faces like our new mums Donna and Emily. But it was also good to see Andy McClean making a welcome comeback to the club.

Well the results are out and HUGE congratulations have to go to the womens team of Danielle Hodgkinson, Stacey Rogers, Vicky Hindson and Becki Newman who stormed to victory in the womens team race at the Blaydon Race - fantastic results ladies! 

HUGE congrats as well go to the men who also took a podium place with a fantastic 2nd place - well done to Yared (how close was that finish for the top spot!!), Harry Coates, Phil Aiston and Chris Smith! Great work guys. The second Wallsend mens team also placed in the top 10 - with Andy Graham, Jordan Middlemist, Dan Weatherill and Lee Kernohan in 6th position. The gadgies of Brian Hetherington, Mick Skeldon, Barry Allsopp and Paul Brown took 8th team spot...well done to all - great racing!

Special mentions must also go to Brilliant Brian Hetherington who was a magnificent 2nd in the V45 category, Barry Allsopp who was 7th in the V50 category, Chrystal Skeldon who 9th in the W40 category and Ruth Marshall who took 10th place in W45. 

Fantastic results - for full results click here