A small field still provides big entertainment

COMPARED to the numbers turning out in road races, the North East Counties 10,000 Metres Track Championship only managed to attract 18 starters.

However, that did not detract from an exciting event at Jarrow’s Monkton Stadium where the men’s title was only decided on the final lap.

The trio of Finn Brodie (Tyne Bridge), Middlesbrough and Cleveland’s Greg Jayasuriya and home-based athlete Jonny Evans were quickly in ascendancy and after the completion of the first kilometre were already 25 metres clear of the rest of the field.

By half-way Michael Joyeux (Quakers) had joined the trio and it was not long before Evans began to drift off the pace.

Entering the home straight for the penultimate time and the welcome sound of the bell, Jayasuriya made a decisive move to the front which Brodie could not match - and the Teessider pulled away to win by just over six seconds in what was his first 10,000m on the track. The women’s race was an all -Jarrow and Hebburn affair akin to a club championship.

Despite the pain on their faces, all four stuck to the task admirably with victory going to Elaine Leslie who finished ahead of team mates Angela McGurk and the evergreen Heather Robinson.

Vicki Thompson, the North East Harrier League women’s secretary, was the one who missed out on a medal but recorded a new personal best by more than a minute.