This is crazy, no harrier league, no young athletes league, no open medals meetings, road races or vets league, I am lying in bed at 7:30 on Fathers day, and the lads come running in. Yippee, breakfast in bed???? Not likely, dad, here’s your card, and will you get up now we need a lift to Sunderland for a race!!!!

I am sure you have heard me say this before, and will probably hear it again many times, but it is hard work being a Dad,…. honest.

So I got up at 7.45, left the house at 8.00 half a cup of coffee later, still wondering if there was a fiver in my card that I hadn’t yet opened. I wanted to get there early, because they had sent Adrian the wrong sized t-shirt and we needed to change it. We had also arranged to meet the Taylors at the car park. That didn’t happen either, I woke up about 8:20 as I drove past the turn in Cleadon, so we were late, but Vince fell victim to the road works and diversion ahead sign post, and he was even later. When they arrived, with Maggie and Mick Loraine, I then realised how early it was for us to have beaten them, as they are usually 2/3 round the course when we arrive.

The start was just like a mini Great North Run, with Lisa Shaw, and the century radio crowd, and Mike (Gatesy’s stand in from the three legends, and ’73 cup winner for Sunderland) creating a great little mini atmosphere. There didn’t seem to be as much pushing and shoving at the start either, but Adrian assured me there was. The race was organised to hold a race within a race, one overall race of about 600, and incorporating an 8 to 11 year olds race. Adrian just fitted into that category (12 the weekend after Wales event) and I am really pleased because the first past the post was about a foot and a half taller than him. The way they organised it was the older athletes started and then the younguns chase after them. In this race Birtley had 9 athletes, and I will name them all here something I can’t normally do! Steph, Our Sophe, Ellen Oakley, Clare McConnell, Ade, Robbie, Mark, Lewis and Luke, there you go hope I haven’t missed anyone there.

The announcer warned to watch out for the club runners for Gateshead, Morpeth, Sunderland, and forgot all about Birtley. They were given a stark reminder of the club, as the 8 to 11’s filled 3 of the 6 podium places. Ade was 1st for the boys, with Robbie following him in, in 2nd place, and Ellen was 3rd for the girls. Our Sophe had a great run as a 12 year old in the 12 to 14 age group, finishing 2nd, and Steph who had run the day before came home narrowly missing a medal position in 4th place. BUT why? Why? Why? do they keep saying Sophie Taylor of Chester le Street she had a Birtley vest on!! Sorry, I didn’t see Clare, or Lewis and Luke running, so cannot give a position, but Birtley did do well on the day, and came away with some lovely cups. The funniest thing about the event, was, a big company like Tesco, made the bairns cover their club vests for their photograph on the podium, with TESCO sweatshirts, and then after the photographs were taken made them take them off and hand them back in….bizarre!! Never mind you don’t get to be a big corporation by flaunting your money, but you would think Tesco could have afforded fifteen sweatshirts for all the winners and runners up!!

After the race, it was nice to see the girls all hugging for pictures, Hannah Rank and Sophie actually looked best mates, don’t know if they have met each other before, but maybe related by athletics?? While waiting for the presentations, there was Scotsman came and introduced himself to Ade, I didn’t see him running, but he was in a skirt (Kilt) and with his big legs he could have eaten up the course in no time. You need to see the photo in the album to understand that one.

The senior race was a woman only race, although there was a blonde who looked very much like a brunette male in a wig, and my eyes didn’t deceive me, because the announcer noticed him as well. I don’t quite know why it was a ladies’ only race, it may have been a breast cancer awareness run or something like that but it seemed quite well supported, don’t know how many, I would say a couple thousand or so. Only one runner for Birtley in this one though, well she was there watching her kids so she might as well do it while she was there. Maggie Loraine having a good run, must have been well up in your age group Maggie. The senior race was 10k.

So the racing all done, we went to see a friend we hadn’t seen for a long time but lived round the corner from the course…well of course we did, we had a trophy to show them!!

Tracy was running round Beamish Woods this morning with Lee.

I don’t think I need to play the disclaimer card today I think I have named everyone…but just in case….usual disclaimer applies!

YB