Exhibition Park Cup 5k – 10.00 am 18th August 2013
(race licence no 2013-9557)

Tyne Bridge Harriers are pleased to announce that we will be staging the Tyne Bridge Harriers Exhibition Park Cup on the Sunday 18th August at 10.00. This race was formerly known as the Elswick Cup and was previously staged by Newcastle City Council for a number of years.

The Exhibition Park Cup will be a chip timed race run over a flat fast course starting and finishing with a lap of the Exhibition Park, with a course record of 14:40 the route offers ideal opportunities for PB’s.

An extensive prize list including individual and team prizes will be on offer.

Please Note: Prizes in all categories will be awarded on gun time

A £50 bonus prize will be paid if the Male or Female course records are broken

There is a race limit of 350 Runners for this event. Cost to enter is only £5.00 for club runners and £7.00 for unattached + an 80p admin charge. Online entries are available here: Online Enty

or, alternatively, you can download the postal application form (& save on the admin fee) here: Download Postal Application Form
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The Exhibition Park 5k Road Race has been staged on a course that takes in the Exhibition Park and the Town Moor since 2005, in that time some of the top names in local and national running have taken the honours. For the first four years the title was taken by Ryan McLeod running in the colours of Elswick Harriers. In 2008 Ryan ran a time of 14.34 to set a course record that still stands today. In fact in the eight years that the race has been ran the winner has only failed to break 15 minutes on one occasion. 2008 also saw the largest race entry with a total of 268 runners taking part in the race. In the 2006 race 40 runners broke the 18 minute barrier another demonstration of the potential for fast time on the course. Other race winners include Nick Swinburn and Yarod Hagos who announced himself to North East athletics in 2011 with a storming win in a time of 14.49.

In the Vets category the course record is held by a North East running stalwart in Brian Rushworth with time of 15.15 set in 2006. The women’s record was set more recently, Hester Dix running in the colours of Blaydon Harriers at the time set a course best of 16.58 in 2011.

Weather permitting the course offers genuine potential for PB’s. Although ran in the same vicinity as the Newcastle parkrun the course differs significantly in that runners start in the Exhibition Park and complete a lap of the lake before exiting onto the Town Moor through the gates behind the Museum. The course then heads north along the service road on the Town Moor parallel with the Great North road. Exiting from the moor the route heads up Grandstand Road before re-entering the Town Moor for a long straight run back towards the Exhibition Park, the second half of this section is downhill. The course then takes runners back into the Exhibition Park at the 4k mark with a final lap 1k of the park. Runners finish with a lap of the park including the bandstand and lake before crossing the finishing line. This year, for the first time, the race will be chip timed, ensuring that all runners receive their actual race time with no delays in times from waiting to cross the start line. The race entry has been fixed at £5.00 for club runners and £7.00 for unattached. This will cover the costs of the chip timing and prize list.

The race was put at risk as a result of the budget cuts at Newcastle City Council. Tyne Bridge Harriers were approached by the council to see if we wanted to take over management and organisation of the event. Not wanting to see another popular local race be wiped off the athletics calendar accepted the offer and are keen to see it grow. It is hoped that by having the race as a chip timed event and the low entry fee, runners take part and ensure the survival of the race.

The race is being staged as a part of the Newcastle Fair which will be held on the Town Moor and Exhibition Park between 12th – 18th August, this major event will feature a Farmers Market, stalls, exhibitions and fairground rides.

Race Route

A larger version of the map can be found here
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(UKA Race Licence no. 2013-9557) to be held on Sunday 18th August 2013 with a start time of 10:00

Tyne Bridge Harriers are delighted to announce that their Exhibition Park Cup 5k race route has been officially measured by the Association of UK Course Measurers and been issued with the measurement certificate: Certificate of Course Accuracy : Ref 05/525

EVENT DAY

1. Participants must follow instructions as given from all event officials including race staff, volunteers, medical personnel, security officers and city officials throughout the duration of the event.
2. All participants are expected to conduct themselves in a professional and courteous manner during their participation in the event.
3. Every participant shall be provided with a race number (which will need to be collected on the event day), which shall be conspicuously worn on the front during the event. The race number is to be worn as issued. No participant shall be permitted to participate in the event without the appropriate bib number.
4. The use of iPod’s / earphones / headphones should NOT be used by any competitors during the race.