NEHL 5: Bronze medals for Wallsend!
The 2009-10 North East Harrier League climaxed at Prudhoe on Saturday 29th March as Wallsend Harriers relinquished their hold on the Mens League title and Sunderland Harriers re-asserted their traditional authority to claim the series victory. Heaton Harriers retained the Womens Championships, with Wallsend's wome capping a fine season to clinch third place in the overall league.
The Prudhoe fixture is fondly perceived as the toughest of all Harrier League venues, with runners skirting farmers fields, plunging down a steep valley side and a brutal climb back up towards the start and finish area. The difficulties were compounded this year by muddy conditions in parts – although one or two runners found this a relief from the normal hard-ground that besets the windswept location.
The men of Wallsend were out in force once again for the Harrier League, as they have done all season, but were powerless to halt the relentless progress of Sunderland to yet another League title – Wallsend’s success last year was the only interruption to an unbroken sequence of eleven Sunderland wins as the Wearsiders impressively dominate this enduringly popular cross-country competition.
Sunderland’s League title was well-deserved, but they were clearly below-par for the Prudhoe fixture – a fact evident to the spectators traditionally gathered at the foot of the testing climb out from the valley bottom. It was the host club Tynedale that proved victorious on the day, with South Shields Harriers runners-up in what has been an excellent season for the South Tyneside club – this result moved them into second-place in the Division One placings.
Wallsend, led home by medium-pack runner Dave Daniels, were 8th in the ten-team Division One competition – sufficient to consolidate their place in the top division for next season. The other five counters for Wallsend were Brian Hetherington, continuing his excellent run of form, Mick Baker, Dave Young, Dave Moir and Barry Allsopp, - all five of whom are veteran runners.
The race was won by Ian Twaddle of North Shields Poly – running from the slow pack – with the fastest time recorded by Jon Archer of Low Fell.
Team Results:
1 Tynedale 121 pts
2 South Shields 141
3 Low Fell 146
4 Heaton 169
5 Elswick 193
6 Sunderland Harriers 214
7 Morpeth 241
8 Wallsend 278
9 Alnwick 312
10 Sunderland Strollers 403
Division One Final League table
1 Sunderland Harriers 11 pts
2 South Shields 14
3 Morpeth 17
4 Low Fell 24
5 Tynedale 27
6 Heaton 31
7 Wallsend 32
8 Elswick 35
9 Alnwick 40
10 Sunderland Strollers 44
In the Womens competition, Wallsend retained a mathematical possibility of winning the League as they went into the final match, but Heaton Harriers launched a sterling defence of the title that they won last year and proved too strong for all of the challenging teams to clinch a deserved league victory.
With Tynedale capturing the runners-up spot on the day, this was sufficient to give them a similar place in the final League table, whilst Wallsend’s fifth place finish meant that they finished the season in third place – a superb performance and a huge leap forwards from the seventh-place of the 2008-09 season.
Laura Murphy was perhaps the pick of an eleven-strong Wallsend team – her 15th place was a excellent performance in the testing conditions. She was ably supported by Vicky Hindson – running from the fast pack – Elaine Liu and Chystal Skeldon as the rest of the team counters.
Jane Mooney capped a first-class season with victory on the day, as well as the fastest time.
Result (top 10 only)
1 Heaton Harriers 24pts
2 Tynedale Harriers 35pts
3 North Shields Poly 71pts
4 Jesmond Joggers 76pts
5 Wallsend Harriers 78pts
6 Alnwick Harriers 81pts
7 Claremont RR 82pts
8 Elvet Striders 82pts
9 Sunderland Strollers 90pts
10 Blyth RC 98pts
11 Saltwell Harriers 249pts
Final League table (top ten only)
1 Heaton 10
2 Tynedale 15
3 Wallsend 18
4 North Shields Poly 20
5 Sunderland Strollers 25
6 Blyth RC 45
7 Elvet Striders 51
8 Gateshead 54
9 Claremont RR 54
10 Sunderland Harriers 59
Pictures are now in the Picture Gallery, my photo album link
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