Runners set to take over city for Sunderland Runs
Hundreds of runners will be taking part in the Sunderland Half Marathon, 10km and 3km events on Sunday,
The first Sunderland City 10km was held in 2011 with just over 1,500 runners taking part. Over ten years later, the Sunderland City Runs will welcome 4,000 participants to the city streets.
The running events are organised by Olympic medallist and former University of Sunderland Chancellor Steve Cram, who also serves as race director, through his Events of the North company, in partnership with Sunderland City Council.
All three races start and finish at Keel Square, with the longer routes showcasing the city’s streets, parks and seafront. Olympian Alyson Dixon claimed the crown in last year’s Half Marathon, winning the women’s race with a time of 79:03.
The male winner was a visitor from the Outer Hebrides, Lewis Macalpine, of Stornoway Running, who completed the course in 70:33.
The Sunderland City
10km was won by Sunderland Harrier Liam Taylor in 32:17, with Charlotte Penfold, of North Shields Poly, first woman in 34:59.
The 10km starts at 10am and the Half Marathon at 10:25am.
Sunderland Harriers dominated the North
East Masters’ Road Relay Championships at Jarrow, with two victories. The M35 team of Liam Taylor, Stephen Jackson, and Sam Thurlbeck retained the title with a comfortable victory.
They led from start to finish with an overall team time of 26:45, 21 seconds ahead of second place finishers Gateshead Harriers (27:06), with North Shields Poly taking third place (28:47).
It was Taylor who set the team up for success by clocking the fastest lap of the day with a time of 8:37. On the second leg, Sam Thurlbeck ran a steady 9:20 and Stephen Jackson brought the team home with the second fastest time in 8:48.
In the M55 category, Sunderland Harriers claimed their second win for the third consecutive year, with a 40 second victory.
Tim Field got the club off to a great start with a time of 10:11 for the first lap. He was followed by Mike Cherrington (10:56) and Paul Merrison closed the scoring in 10:45.
At the North East Grand Prix at Monkton Stadium, Sunderland Harriers had a number of notable performances from its young athletes.
In the 1500m, Joe Willis chopped six seconds off his personal best time to win in 4:21:80. William Young finished second in 4:37:70, taking seven seconds off his personal best.
In the 300m, current
Under-15s national 100m champion, Celine Obinna-Alo made light work of the step up in distance to claim second place in 40:30 - a time which is the second fastest in the UK this year.
In the long jump, Jacob Waterston leapt to 5.30m to finish third.
Tonight sees the return of the Gordon Smith Relays at Cobalt Business Park, Newcastle.
Sunderland Harriers have five men's teams and three women's teams entered. The men will be looking to retain the trophy.
The A team will be Liam Taylor, Stephen Jackson, and Joe Armstrong. The women will be looking to improve on last year's performance of eighth place. The A team will be Amy Callaghan, Lauren Flaxen, and Grace Carroll.