Gosforth Harriers and Athletic Club

Congratulations to all juniors and seniors who represented Gosforth Harriers at the National Cross Country Championships on Saturday 22nd Feb.

Full results are available at http://www.englishcrosscountry.co.uk/news/saucony-english-cross-country-nationals-results-2014/

Well done to our runners who competed in the Durham Relays, Sunday 12th.

It was particularly good to see Marie Handyside in her first race for Gosforth Harriers and Florence McPate having a storming race in her first senior outing for the club.

full results are now available at http://www.durhamcityharriers.org.uk/index.php?p=1_58

There are some photos in the gallery (good ones from Gaslamp (thanks)), and others on the GHAC facebook site.

Well done to all those who braved the weather to run for the club in the Royal Signals relays Saturday 

Congratulations especially to those turning out for the club for the first time- Sarah Seymour, Nina Hart, Martin Lloyd, and those who stepped in at the last minute.

 the full results can be found here

 We have been awarded £180 from the Wish Sport appeal to buy equipment for the U11s.  Thanks to all who collected tokens from the Chronicle- especially Mrs Lundgren who seems to be a particularly avid reader of newspapers.

Many thanks to all who helped out at the bag-pack at ASDA this Saturday.  Your efforts have brought in an amazing £707.49 which will go towards our club attendance at the National cross country championships.  Special thanks to Gordon Paterson and Sam Purves and family who did more than their fair share.

The final placings in the summer grand prix are as follows:

Men: 1st Kevin Thomas (464.9), 2nd Richard McQuade (383.0), 3rd John Musgrove (369.9)

Ladies: 1st Sarah Rees (387.9); 2nd Fiona Waugh (338.2), 3rd Susan Croney (313.6).

see dedicated page

This week we are saying goodbye to John Musgrove who is leaving Newcastle to take up a job in China.

Although John has only been a member of the club for a relatively short time, he has become a stalwart of the vet mens team turning out to race in fair weather and foul!

In under a year John has reduced his RunBritain handicap from 14.5 to 6.8. John is also the current holder of the veteran mens mile trophy.  We all wish John success in his new job.

Congratulations to John Musgrove and Sarah Rees who led the Gosforth men and ladies home in the Beadnell to Alnmouth coastal run.  A lovely day with just enough of a fret to cool us along the way.

561 male runners

326 female runners 

Well done to all the ladies who competed in the Anita Nott race on Monday evening. 

 Special congratulations to Angela who was first in her age group category and to Sarah and Juliet who were 3rd in their categories.

Thanks also to those who made a special effort to come and cheer us on.

Congratulations to the Gosforth Harriers who raced in the BUPA Great North 10K event in Gateshead last Saturday.

  Well done everyone

Congratulations to all who ran for the club in the Weetslade relays.  The full results (teams and individual legs) are now available. 

Special mention to the A team (Finn, Rachael and John) who came 6th and to Rachael who was fastest senior lady.

Brave runs from five Gosforth Harriers at the Hadrian's Wall Half Marathon, 16th June 2013.

Well done to all who ran the Blaydon race Saturday 9th Joon.

Some storming runs in the sweltering heat.  Preliminary results below:

Total: 2174 male runners

Total: 1289 female  runners

Great performances from the under 13 and under 15 girls at the NE track and field championships 25-6/4/13.  Results included...

U/13 Girls       800m               1st    Rhian Purves (new club record)

U/13 Girls       1500m             2nd   Rhian Purves

U/15 Girls       1500m             3rd   Chelsea Williamson

U/15 Girls       3000m             3rd    Helen Blades

Congratulations to Rachael Lundgren who has broken the GHAC 5k road record at the Newcastle Parkrun on 27th April with a fantastic run of 18.55. Rachael also broke the club track 5000m record in a time of 18:49:12 at the British Universities & Colleges Sport Championships  Bedford 4th May 2013. Well done Rachael. 

Meanwhile,  Rhian Purves has shaved nearly 2 seconds off her best for 800m to lay down a new club 800m record of 2:27:69.  Well done Rhian.

Well done to the magnificant 13.5 who completed the coast to coast over the bank holiday weekend. I'm sure more photos will surface over the next few days but here is one from Tynemouth, dipping the front wheel into the water to mark the end. 

 A big thanks to all who have contributed in making this a fabulous weekend.

Congratulations to all who made it a great Gosforth showing at the Parkrun Saturday.

Jack Reed was first man (17:25) and Rachael Lundgren was first lady (18:55). 

We had over 26 runners including first timers (Graeme Goldsmith (19:48), Katija Hunt (24:24), Eleanor Fletcher (24:33), Lucy Brown (26:03), Mary-Ann Doyle (26:04), Thomas Kershaw (26:33), Caitlin (tbc), Juliet Fletcher (30:00).

There were new PBs for Daniel Cartwright (18:51), Rachael Lundgren (18:55), Gareth Driscoll (19:44), Richard McQuade (21:05), Freddie Reed (22:46), Gordon Paterson (24:02), Sarah Rees (24:44), Sasha Gartside (26:05) and Donna Broxup (26:22).

All thanks to Colin for some quality spring training. 

Some pictures now available here. 

The winners of the inaugural Winter Grand Prix competitions are confirmed as Tom Coates and Sarah Rees.

Tom finished with 834 points fending off strong challenges from Finn Brodie who was runner up with 772 and Kevin Thomas who was third with 663 points.

Sarah finished with a total of 470 points with Sasha Gartside (435 points) second and Fiona Waugh (350 points) third.

Thanks to all who took part.  

Details of the summer Grand Prix are now available on the dedicated page.

Inter-Counties Cross Country Championships 

Congratulations to the five Gosforth Harriers who represented the NorthEast in the Inter-Counties Cross Country Championships in Birmingham last Saturday.  Strong perfromances in a national class field.

Results

Senior women

146/291                31:57     Rachel Lundgren

U20 women

89/145                  24:51     Beth Larby

101/145                25:18     Harriet Buswell

U13 girls

114/305                12:39     Rhian Purves

well done lasses!

Gosforth Harrier Jed Russell is to leave the club as his family are moving from Newcastle to Inverness.  Jed has been with the club for 5 years and during that time has trained with great commitment and competed consistently in cross country and on the track. 

Most recently Jed was first in the U15 boys at the Alnwick Harrier league meet- a great way to wrap up his Gosforth Harriers career.

We wish Jed and his family all the best for their new life in Scotland.

Well done to all competitors in the Nationals.  Full results available at english cross country

Some photos already uploaded. 

Gosforth had teams out in the senior men and veteran women categries for the Royal Signals relays at Hetton Lyons country park on Sat 16th Feb. The men were 34th out of 56 and the women 48th out of 52. Fastest legs (2.22 miles) were Jack Reed (11:51) and Sarah Rees (17:28). Full men's results are here. Women's results here.

A grand day out as you can see from the photos in the photo gallery.

Gosforth Harrier Stuart Norman is leaving Newcastle for (alpine) pastures new in Innsbruck.  Stuart has been a member for 4 years and has turned out to run for the club whenever his knees have allowed!  Gosforth Harriers would like to thank Stuart for all his efforts for the club and wish him and his family all the best for their new life in Austria.

NB. Stuart is the current leader of the winter Grand Prix- now's your chance to overtake him 

 Prost!!

Prize winners from Heaton Harriers Memorial Roadraces......
From left to right, top to bottom:

Sarah Rees, winner of the Over 55 Ladies category, receiving a voucher. Harriet Buswell, 3rd place U20 lady. Beth Larby, 1st place in the U20 Ladies race.

Chelsea Williamson, 2nd in the U13 Girls race. Rhian Purves, winner of the U13 Girls race. (Katya Hunt was in 7th place, but did not attend presentation).

Rhian, Chelsea & Katya also won the team trophies in the U13 Girls race.

Pictured throughout, Head Coach, Colin Haggie.

Professor Sir Alan Craft, a member of Gosforth Harriers for over 30 years, took part in the Olympic torch relay on 14 June 2012 in Northumberland. As a key figure within the world of childhood cancer, he was a founder member of UKCCSG, now CCLG and a past Chairman.

Professor Sir Alan Craft was Sir James Spence Professor of Child Health at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne and a Consultant Paediatrician at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle until his retirement. He set up and directed the oncology service for the North of England for many years.  He developed a particular interest in bone tumours, playing a leading role internationally in this area.  He has held many positions of authority at a national and international level, including Secretary General and President of SIOP (International Paediatric Oncology Society) and President of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.

 He received a knighthood in 2004 for services to medicine.  In his spare time Alan has always been a runner, competing in The Great North Run since its inception and regularly pulling in marathons.  Since retiring in 2009, he has thrown himself into the role of Chairman of the Scouts Association.

Great to see everyone on Boxing Day. Thanks to all that helped out and supplied drinks and things to eat. A particular mention goes to the Danials family for their biscuits dressed in Gosforth Harrier colours.

The event also saw the introduction of the new training top now available for £8 in all sizes. 

Results available here.