Harriers relish muddy conditions at Lambton cross country

Rain over the previous weeks had created plenty of mud on the course, but it made for ideal cross-country conditions.

A brilliant result for Helen Waugh, on her first cross country outing for Alnwick Harriers, saw her finish second overall in a time of 30:42.

The remainder of the ladies’ team results were : Jo Clemmit 39:23; Diana Weightman 39:47; Jen Knight 40:36; Emma McGee 41:47; Linda Patterson 49:05; and Tess Allan 51:35.

The men’s team also had a great race. Aaron was first home in 49th place and Jim fastest from the medium pack in 43:36.

Racing for the U11s, Finley and Luca finished in 22nd and 29th positions in a big field.

In the U13 girls’ race, Alicia finished in a superb fifth place and Emilia, running from the fast pack, finished in a great 16th.

Liam was the cluib’s only U15 boy racing but finished 10th and was third placed fast packer in an excellent time of 13:04.

In the U15 girls’ race, Farren ran a great 12th place and Aimee 36th.

Finally in the U17 women’s race, Lilia and Lily Mae ran well in a strong field to finish 24th and 40th respectively.

Six Harriers ran in the Castles Half Marathon at Bamburgh. It was a pretty misty day, but the weather was mild and thankfully it stayed dry and the wind was pretty light.

Most agreed that the course felt harder than it looked on paper, with plenty of short climbs to keep the runners interested.

There was not a bad turnout with 284 completing the course on what were supposed to be closed roads, but the odd car appeared every so often. There were some great category results from five out of the six Alnwick Harriers who competed:

1:35:59 Keith Geldert (1st V55); 1:50:44 Jo Clemmit (3rd V50); 1:50:52 Mel Steer (4th V50); 1:51:19 Tony Jackson (19th V50); 1:55:12 Karen Mather (1st V60); 2:11:13 Bridget Peberdy (6th V60).

Just a reminder that the date for the 2023 Northumberland Coastal Run has been set for Sunder, September 17.