Great North Run - 30th September 2007

The much-anticipated Great North Run was the dominating event over the weekend of 29-30th September, covering the traditional 13.1 miles from Newcastle’s Felling Bypass, approximately 1.5 miles north of the Tyne Bridge, to the sea front at South Shields. Amongst the thousands of competitors taking part in the half marathon, were three Richmond and Zetland athletes, each with a different story to tell from their journey along the well-supported and popular route.

Tony Ditchburn

First across the line was Kelley Haniver, having had a slower than desired run over the first 9 miles, due to her position at the start and number of runners on the course. Undeterred, she worked hard over the remaining 4 miles, as soon as space became available and was pleased to be catching the back markers of the elite women’s race. Inspired by feeling strong in the closing miles, Kelley finished in a fantastic time of 1.25.34, placing her 25th overall in the women’s field, a result she was rightly pleased with. A little further back in the field, Tony Ditchburn was working hard towards the finishing stages of the race, having completed many previous Great North Runs. He had a steady race by his standards, carefully picking his way through the masses of competitors and finishing in a strong time of 1.40.48 on the undulating course. Meanwhile Ruth Suffell was busy tackling the event, which she had trained for over Summer, but when a knee injury flared up after only 3 miles, she decided to carry on, knowing that time was now a secondary factor to finishing the race itself and getting across the finish line. After much determination, resolve and hard work, Ruth was pleased to reach the end in a highly commendable time of 2.39.40 and rightly claim her finisher’s medal, given the constraints of her injury.

Fell Race - Cock Howe & Beyond 23rd September 2007

The previous weekend on Sunday 23rd September, Paul Goad and Jenny Hands were competitors in a quite different event, when taking part in the “Cock Howe And Beyond” Fell Race; an extremely old course, which originates from times when local shepherds used to race to the top and back. The route now covers approximately 6 miles, with over 1130 feet of ascent thrown in for good measure, starting from Chop Gate and climbing steeply to the summit of Cock Howe, where there is then an undulating route over the moor before a very steep and fast descent back down. Jenny ran an excellent time of 52.20 on the demanding course, placing her 3rd lady overall, only 40 seconds behind the winner, first in the Female Open category and 28th overall. Paul meanwhile started his Winter campaign successfully, completing the race in 43rd position overall in a time of 58.16 and 6th in the MV40 age group.