Following an epic battle with North Shields Poly, in which the lead swapped several times, Tyne Bridge Harriers’ Veteran Men’s team were eventually pipped to the post and had to settle for 2nd place. The team, consisting of Kenny MacMatty Tomlinson, Sean Kelly, Paul Hilton, Keith Smith and Steve Cairns, all received a Silver medal for their efforts and well deserved congratulations from their team-mates.
Congratulations to North Shields Poly on a fabulous victory and to 3rd placed team, Morpeth Harriers.
On a bright, warm day, the competing teams from across the North East couldn’t have wished for better running conditions, and the 2 lap course around Hetton Lyons Country Park proved once again to be a fantastic setting for a great day’s racing.
Starting things off was the Senior & Vet Women and Vet 50 Men race, with Tyne Bridge finishing two teams in the Senior competition (29th and 51st) and one team in the Veteran’s competition (32nd). Well done ladies and congratulations to race winners Durham (Men V50), Jarrow & Hebburn (Senior Women) and Elswick (Vet Women).
After the completion of the ladies & Men’s V50 race, it was time for the Senior and Veteran men, and once again the club were out in large numbers. The first team back for the club, finishing in 7th place overall, were the Senior A team. But just a few places behind them, finishing in 11th place overall, were the aforementioned Vet’s A team. The Senior B team finished in 47th place, the Vet’s B & C teams in 36th and 55th places respectively and an incomplete Senior C team – comprising Henrik Aicher, Steve Allerdyce and Scott Wilkinson – also played their part in a fantastic day for the club.
Congratulations to Morpeth Harriers for their terrific victory in the Seniors race, with Sunderland Harriers 2nd and New Marske 3rd.
TBH Teams and times:
Royal Signal Relays
| Team | Leg 1 | Time | Leg 2 | Time | Leg 3 | Time | Leg 4 | Time | Leg 5 | Time | Leg 6 | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wsen A | Catherine Willis | 15:09 | Claire Miller-Grossett | 15:37 | Annette Kelly | 16:42 | Megan Parkin | 15:30 | ||||
| Wsen B | Anji Close | 16:47 | Lizzy Clamp | 17:43 | Danielle Rutherford | 22:02 | Stephanie McFarlane | 19:40 | ||||
| Wvet A | Lucy Matheson | 14:34 | Julie Shaw | 16:31 | Katrina Matheson | 17:18 | Kerry Reed | 16:03 | ||||
| Msen A | Tony Carter | 11:24 | Paul Turnbull | 12:03 | Stu Collier | 12:40 | Darryl Davison | 12:15 | Simon Kristiansen | 12:21 | Marc Fenwick | 11:07 |
| Msen B | Sparrow Morley | 12:07 | Guy Rintoul | 14:20 | Nicholas Pearson | 14:31 | Mick Hancock | 15:19 | John Hurse | 13:19 | Andy Lisle | 13:17 |
| Msen C | Henrik Aicher | 15:02 | Steve Allerdyce | 17:01 | Scott Wilkinson | 18:43 | ||||||
| Mvet A | K Mac | 11:44 | Matty Tomlinson | 12:36 | Sean Kelly | 12:31 | Paul Hilton | 12:05 | Keith Smith | 12:14 | Steve Cairns | 11:15 |
| Mvet B | Mark Hall | 12:30 | Alan Wallace | 14:29 | Andy Harrison | 13:23 | Stuart Dickson | 15:22 | Simon Pryde | 12:54 | David Daniels | 12:41 |
| Mvet C | Keith Rooney | 15:06 | Mal Steel | 16:18 | Chris Parkin | 15:43 | Dave Anderson | 16:58 | Ron Murray | 15:40 | Kevin Cheetham | 16:17 |
Full results can be found here and photographs of the event here
What a fine looking bunch
An even better looking bunch
my favourite shot of the day: Mark Hall in flow flight
6 Responses
great report as usual David what a cracking day the atmosphere among theTBH camp was tremendous and what about the support it was top drawer i dont think Mickey(and the yorkie) Denise, Gill and Becky moved from the side of the path during the whole event cheering each and every TBH as they passed with the volume defintley raising a few bars when completing the 2nd lap Well done everyone
It was a fantastic day, with everybody giving their all for the club. But undoubtedly the highlight of my day was seeing the reaction of everyone around me when an enormous cheer echoed around Hetton Lyons country park. And the cause of the cheer? the Tyne Bridge members encouraging Kevin (Cheetham) finishing his stage of the race. It emphasised what the club is all about.
Anthropologists consider that running is the oldest form of play known to humans. I don’t know if early humans had team relay races but the Signals were a brilliant day of fun. The travel to the venue (we got a bit lost!), meeting your friends, shouting encouragement to your team mates and marvelling at the fastest runners were the precursor to standing on the line waiting to give your all for TBH…It’s hard to beat. A superb venue for this historic event in the north-east running calendar, its more scenic than when I first ran in this event in the 1990’s – the Team Valley Trading Estate – well organised and suited to spectators. Highlights this year were; Watching Lucy fly on the first leg for our Ladies’ Vets, Kenny give his usual 1000% with Mark looking as strong as ever and Stevie Cairns showing us what ‘eyeballs out’ running really means and, as DD has already said, the huge support from the side of the road. Brilliant organisation from Denise and Paul (an often unrecognised contribution). It was also wonderful to watch the battle between TBH and North Shields Poly on the final leg. I watched it alongside TBH and NSP runners – great craic and friendship between the two camps and congratulations to our friends at NSP. All in all, everyone there was a winner.
Another great day in the history of our club. Yet another medal for our vet men. Only downside, the sesults don’t include incomplete teams, why? These people ran and recorded a time so why no mention officially – strange!
Hi Ron, I’ve shown the Men’s Senior C Team in the table but unfortunately couldn’t find any times for them in the official results.
Apparently, the names of runners who ran in incomplete teams are shown in the results for each individual leg