ATHLETICS DIARY
IT’S a known fact that entries for popular road races are snapped up immediately they come on stream and last weekend’s Brass Monkey Half-Marathon was certainly no exception.
Within 40 minutes of entries being released, all 1,750 places were taken and many of those among the fortunate ones were athletes from the North East.
The long-standing, well-organised race, hosted by the York Knavesmire club, has proved to be one of the quickest half-marathon courses in the country so it’s no surprise that competitors travel from far and wide to the Yorkshire venue.
So, on a cold, frosty morning the fast and not so fast set off in pursuit of posting a decent time at the start of the new year.
Twelve months ago Tracy Millmore stormed home to win the women’s race in 47th place overall recording 77min 16secs and she had no difficulty in retaining her title this time round though slightly disappointed after crossing the line in 72nd place in a time a couple of minutes slower.
The Birtley athlete had been suffering from a sickness bug prior to the race and thought she had got over it but obviously she hadn’t, which reflected on her slower time.
“Possibly, on reflection, I should not have run for I suffered after the race with my breathing,’’ said Millmore, who is still confident that the hiccup will not hamper her build-up to the London Marathon.
While Millmore was downbeat after her run that certainly wasn’t the case for Jarrow and Hebburn’s Alex Sneddon who was delighted with her second place in 80:01 which was a new pb by over a minute and her quickest half-marathon for six years.
Before the birth of her family, Elswick’s Judith Nutt was a regular Brass Monkey competitor and in 2006 posted her best-ever finish of third place in 78:56.
Now, regaining some of that lost form, the Tynesider took the over-40 award after finishing in fifth place, this time round in 82:56.
And to cap a fine day for the region, Magda Grinsdale (Tyne Bridge) also managed a top-10 finish, clocking a two-minute improvement for seventh place in 84:26.
In the men’s race, Grinsdale’s Tyne Bridge team-mate Tom Charlton finished fifth in last year’s years race but, with over a minute improvement to 69:22, made it onto the podium with an excellent third place finish.
Morpeth’s Karl Taylor, making his debut in the race, also knocked over a minute off his previous best halfmarathon time while Durham City’s Matthew Hornsby with a two-minute improvement was the fastest vet in the race after crossing the line in fifth place in 71:08.
Now, attention turns to a number of races nearer to home with the most popular events like the Great North Run, the Blaydon Race, the Beadnell to Alnmouth Coastal Run and the Kielder Half-Marathon and Marathon.
All four events sell out quickly so would-be entrants will have to get their skates on to make sure of getting a place. ■■THE next fixture of the Gateshead College Indoor Athletics series takes place tomorrow night with a 6.15 start.
There are 60m sprint and 60m hurdles events as well as triple jump, high jump, pole vault and shot put. Entries on the night with registration open from 5.30pm. ■■THE North East Masters’ Open Cross-Country Championships take place adjacent to Darlington Rugby Club on Sunday, February 4.
There are two races on the programme with the women (35 and over) and men 65 and over tackling 3.5-mile at 12.30pm which is followed at 1.15pm by the Men (35-64) contest over 5.25miles.
Entries, which close on January 29, go to: Paul Bentley, 12 Rookhope, Rickleton, Washington, Tyne and Wear NE38 9HW. ■■THE penultimate fixture of the Start Fitness North East Harrier League series takes place at Thornley Hall Farm, Peterlee on Saturday, February 10.
As usual a ‘Try Cross-Country’ events for 9-11-year-olds opens the proceedings at 12.15pm with the rest of the timetable unchanged. ■■THE North Eastern Counties Indoor Track and Field Championships, supported by Start Fitness, takes place at Gateshead College Indoor Athletic Hall on Saturday/Sunday, February 17/18.
The Championships, which also incorporates the Cumbria equivalent and the NEMAA Championships, gets underway at 10am both days and entries, online at www.race-results.co.uk, close on February 3. ■■THE North Eastern Counties Road relay Championships, supported by Start Fitness and hosted by Houghton Harriers, takes place on Saturday, February 17 at Hetton Lyons Country Park, Hetton-le-Hole.
There are two relays on the progamme with the four-stage 2.22-mile event for senior women, veteran women (over-35) and veteran men (over-50) opening proceedings at noon.
The six-stage senior men and veteran men (over-40) over the same course and distance, closes the action at 1.15pm.
Entries, which close on February 5, go to: Graham Hall (Championship Secretary), 12 High Street West, Redcar, Cleveland TS10 1SG.