Paul’s move to Harriers proved a winning switch
Paul Merrison joined Sunderland Harriers in 2006 in order to compete for a club with a strong endurance veterans’ section.
The former Wallsend Harrier wanted to be involved in a high-flying outfit who would be chasing national and area medals.
He was already an athlete with a tremendous record as a veteran after making his de but and winning his first England cross country vest in 2000 at Navan, Ireland.
And following that he went on to winning further vests in 2004 and 2005 before he linked up with Sunderland and winning four more vests.
In his last appearance in 2018 he had his best performance at Swansea where he finished third in the Over-60 championship. In the team events he has won five gold and two silver medals.
He said :“My first team race for Sunderland was the British Masters Cross Country Relays at Farringdon, in which Sunderland were victorious.
“Then came a team gold in the British Masters Cross Country Championships at Mansfield, led by the brilliant Brian Rushworth and team bronze in the British Masters Athletics Federation Road Relay Championship sat Sutton Park, both in 2007. These performances told me that I had made the right move in moving to Sunderland.
“In the same year I broke the Over-45 club record on the track in winning the North East Masters Athletics Association 10k track championships in a time of 34.11.
“In my vets career of over 20 years I have won 41 North East Masters medals including 23 gold, 18 North Eastern Counties medals including eight gold and thirteen British Masters/Veterans medals including five gold.’’
Apart from his internationalraces the performance she is most proud of is 12th place at the age of 42 in the North Eastern Counties Championships at Hartlepool in 2000, recording the sixth fastest time in the World for 2001 in winning the British Masters’ Track and Field Over-40 3000 s/chase in a time of 9.39.9 at Eton and winning the British Masters Cross Country Championships Over-55 gold at Glasgow in 2014.
All these performances have been achieved by a lot of hard work on the training track where he runs six sessions per week which includes a long, slow distance run of up to 1hr 45mins, two quality sessions ranging from hill reps, fartlek, intervals and short tempo runs. The rest of his training runs are steady/ recovery runs between 30 and 45 mins. All done on his own on the roads and country.
M err is on first got involved in athletics in 1978 in his second year at Newcastle University. He was 20 and had moderate success competing in two British Universities Cross Country Championships for the B team.
“Our star runner at the time was Kevin Forster who went on to compete in the 1988 Seoul Olympics at the marathon and who won the En sc he de, Toronto and Stockholm Marathons plus two second place finishes in the London Marathon.
“After University I returned to my home town of Bolton joining Bolton United Harriers in 1982.
My breakthrough race was the Lancashire Cross Country Championships at Liverpool in 1983 when I finished 38th in the senior race. In the same season I helped Bolton win team gold at the East Lancashire Cross Country Championships, finishing 17th.
“In the following season I progressed from finishing in the thirties in the 1982 Red Rose League to finishing as high as sixth, I was now living and teaching in the North East but travelling to the North West to compete for Bolton.
“Around this time, in a rare appearance on the roads, I finished 30 thin a time of 30.39 in the Gateshead 6 mile International Road Race. In 1984 I helped Bolton defend their East Lancashire Championshipteam title and in the summer I recorded PB's of 1.56.8 (800m) and 3.53.4 (1500m).
“In the autumn of 1984 I joined my local club Wallsend Harriers. My first race for the club was a 20th place for the team in the National Six Stage Road Relays in South London. My best performances in my first spell at the club (1984 1988) were PB's of 53.09 in the Tynemouth 10 mile, 31.36 in the Chorley 10k, 14.58.3 for 5k on the track, 8.36 for 3000m and an 18th place in my first North Eastern Counties Cross Country Championships at Durham in 1986.
"That was followed by 55th in the Northern Championships at Bolton. In 1987 I led a Wallsend Harriers team to their first senior team medals in the North Eastern Championships at Silksworth when the club finished third team.
The former primary school teacher added :“I left Wall send Harriers in 1988 to team up with my good friend, Peter Saint at North Shields Poly. In 1989 I helped the club make history by winning their own Clive Cook son Cup race for the first time in the races 61 years existence. the race was won by Steve Cram.
“I took up the steeplechase in 1990 and broke the club record in a time of 9.26.6. In 1991 I was selected to represent the North East in a three-way match versus Cumbria and Lancashire finishing seventh in the 2000m steeplechase.
“I re joined Wall send Harriers in 1995 and started my journey as a veteran athlete in 1998.
“In 1999 this was the year of my first success as a veteran when Wallsend Harriers won the British Veterans Cross Country Championships in Norwich. I was sixth Over-40.
“In the summer he won a bronze medal in his first British Veterans Track and Field Championships in Edinburgh. He recorded a time of 9.48 for the steeplechase, his fastest time in five years. In the summer I competed in the World Veterans Championships held in Gateshead. Finishing 17th (5 th for GB) in the World Cross Country and sixth in the final of the 3000m steeplechase.
“My next target is to win my eighth England Masters Cross Country International vest”