This 5 mile road race is held at Gosforth Race Course, Newcastle. Unusually, it is run on the inside of the track, i.e. the tarmac strip that the emergency vehicles use when following the horses/jockeys during the races. The track is narrow and quite pot holed but more or less flat. On this particular race day there was a strong cold wind which, due to it being a three lap course, the runners had in their faces three times during the race.

Matty Hynes continued to show his excellent progression by finishing third to runners from Heaton and Wallsend. Dean Moore was our next home, followed by Vic Brudenell who won the first o/40 price and Paul McGough was next in. After a mix up with club vests the men's team took 3rd place team prize.

Results.

M. Hynes 3rd 25.18 (new 5 mile club record)
D. Moore 5th 27.19
V. Brudenell 13th 27.55 (equals Richard Bellamy's o/40 record)
P. McGough 27th 30.28

Well done to everyone who ran the Leeds Abbey Dash 10K.

Here is a report from Victoria Marshall:

Woke up to an alarm at 5.45 am on a Sunday morning, first question that popped into my head was why!!! However got up and met Katie and Rachel and we started our journey into the morning fog. Which I must admit thankfully Rachel was driving rather than me!! We parked up and made the short journey to the race area. Along the way unfortunately Leeds showed its bad side when we nearly all got knocked over by a guy running away who had stolen something closely perused by another 2 guys. All 3 would have done well in the race and probably got a PB!! Nevertheless we continued to the race area, as we got nearer there were a few pubs open, you could see all the eager runners waiting, you could also hear Nell McAndrew shouting '..Come on put your hands together.' as we turned the corner you could see a sea of people all in sync with their hands in the air and clapping to the music. The atmosphere was brilliant. We did our warm up and got in line, everybody we spoke to said this was a PB race, so we had our fingers crossed. My target time for the race was 47.59; I just wanted to get below 48 minutes. I had my pace band ready with me at the start, and pretty much kept to it for the middle of the race, I was quicker at the start and finish. I must admit at the start line my only concern was to beat the guy in the monkey suit stood next to me. The race was fairly flat, clearly marked at each K, it was a little misty/ foggy as we passed the numerous pizza shops and houses. It's not the most scenic route but I liked the way you hit 5k and turn back, you can tell how much you have left for the second half of the race. The second half was quick, there were a few obstacles to manoeuvre around along the way, mainly a bus where it almost came to a physical incident with a few other runners, elbows almost had to be used!! The 8k I'm sure was longer than the organisers let on, it felt like it took forever, and then the 9k went really quick. On the last k I noticed an old man running like, well it was hard to describe really, he looked on his last legs bless him (I'm sure I looked just as bad), he was my target, didn't think I could catch him, but got passed him just before the finish line. I think you always question yourself when you first wake up but you soon answer your own question when you get a race with a good atmosphere and runners who are excited and ebbing each other on. I ended the race with 47.35 which meant I knocked off 46 seconds off my previous PB. I would really recommend the race especially as Rachel, Katie and I all got really good Pbs and I know other people in the club did as well. So it was a brilliant day all round.

Here is a report from Tom Gibbons:

Fog was the order of the day at Leeds Abbey Dash 10k this year. This kept conditions cold - ideal for running as there was no wind at all - but it made the journey down quite treacherous for Wayne who kindly drove Adam Taylor, Nick Simmons, Jon Parker and myself. Although we had to pay to park it was easy finding a space in a private car park quite near the start - council run car parks were supposed to be free but filled up far too quickly. When we got to the start area the only problem with the fog was it hampered our view of Nell McAndrew who was leading the warm up. Nevertheless, this meant our focus was solely on the race which started bang on time at 9:30 and very quickly. I covered the first k in 3:21 and the second in 3:33 and felt surprisingly good. I then settled into my race pace knowing I had banked a good few seconds. Before the race my plan was to try to stick to 3:42 per k so as to break 37 mins and I knew I was on for this if I kept the pace going. I went through 3k in 3:41 and then 4k in 3:51 due to the slight hill climb but I was still confident knowing I had time saved from the first two ks. I hit 5k and the turn in 3:44 and felt good and ready to battle the second half of the race which always seems much easier and quicker in this race which is probably one of the reasons it's so popular. After turning I was looking for nymac vests, thinking Paul and Nick would be in close pursuit but I couldn't see them so I thought they must be right behind me. On the other side I saw Phil Musgrave who must have been at least 100m behind me at this point. Anyway I cracked on, spurred on by a few shouts from Vicky, Katie and Rachel who all ran pbs - thanks girls! I did ks 6 and 7 in 3:40 each and knew I was on for a pb. Around 8k (3:49) I was struggling and some people were passing me including Phil Musgrave who came up on my shoulder very quickly. I tried to stay with him but he kept drifting away. I was still focused on going sub 37 so pushed on through the pain to 9k in 3:37. I managed to catch up Phil at this point and stayed close and then Kev Mcgloughlin came flying past. This spurred me on up the final incline but Phil was drifting away again. At this point I remembered the finish was quite a long way along a final straight so I thought Phil may have gone too early so I kept focussed and waited to the final 75m to start zooming for the finish line. At this point Jon Parker shouted 'go on Tom' and I passed a few people and then did all I could to catch Phil and just finished about half a metre in front of him - only to find out later that he somehow beat me by 10 seconds! Anyway, I was over the moon. My final k was 3:45 and overall finish time was 36:45 - a massive 34 seconds of my pb of 37:19 set at this race last year. I remember seeing the clock at the finish getting closer to 37 and both this and Phil were the reasons I was able to go sub 37 for the first time ever - thanks Phil!

Wayne had the performance of the day coming in at 36:15 and beating his pb by over a minute, despite having toothache meaning lack of sleep and a tough drive down! I was with him for the first 2k but then he gradually got further away and I couldn't see him in the second half of the race so he must have ran a negative 5k split. Wayne was rewarded after the race as none other than Nell McAndrew came past asking him if he'd had a good race of which his answer was "yes" having knocked a good chunk off his pb.

17 nymacers ran in total and times were as follows:

Victor Brundell - 33:23
Wayne Bouttell - 36:15 PB
Kevin Mcgloughlin - 36:38 PB
Phil Musgrave - 36:35 PB
Tom Gibbons - 36:45 PB
Paul McGough - 37:30
Nick Simmons - 37:55
Dave Ainsley - 38:54
Stefan Mcgloughlin - 39:14
Catherine McShane - 43:56
Sharon Gayter - 44:13
Carl Gaskin - 44:24
Victoria Marshall - 47:35 PB
William Gayter - 47:39
Adam Taylor - 52:10 PB
Kate Coulson - 53:01 PB
Rachel Hodge - 54:40 PB

Some fantastic times there! Well done especially to Rachel Hodge who beat her pb by over 3 minutes!

Tom

Here is the 2011/2012 fixture list complete with the NiteNav fixtures. It will be constantly updated so please keep sending fixtures / corrections in to me on nymac2011@hotmail.com. It will soon be moving to its dedicated place on the fixutes page. 2011/2012 fixture list

I have developed a Cross Country Championship format for 2011/12 and this involves points for attendance at events and bonus points for placing in NYMAC Category as well as bonus points for 1st, 2nd and 3rd in overall NYSD Category.

The formal will be as follows:
10 points for running NYSD event, 15 points for running any championship event (North East, Northern and National).
10 points for the 1st NYMAC in category (Senior Man, Vet 40, Vet 50, Vet 60, Ladies, W35, W45, W55 etc)
Bonus Points for any NYMAC coming 1st, 2nd or 3rd overall in their category.

Example...Paul Bentley, has 23 points so far having completed 1 NYSD, 1st NYMAC overall and 3 bonus points for 1st Senior Male in the NYSD.

I will be publishing a spread sheet of results after each event. Prizes will be awarded to all categories.

Cross Country Championships

Next NYSD is at Summerhill, Hartlepool on the 13th November.

Next Championship Race is the North East Championships at Cramlington on the 10th December.

STOP PRESS - it was agreed at the AGM that two extra fixtures would be reinstated back on the fixture list - I am awaiting further details.

Please let Andy Pearson know on 07525496163 or email andrewpearson935@btinternet.com if you are planning to go to Scarborough or you wish to enter the North East Championships in Cramlington.

Thanks

Andy Pearson

Cross Country Manager

The full fixture list is on the cross country fixtures page

The following is a link to info about Tom Gibbons beginner's group : website

For the Castleton Show race report click here

For the Roseberry Topping fell race report click here

For the Guisborough Grunt fell race report click here

For the The High - La Ultra race report complete with excellent photos attached click here

Bransdale 2011 race report click here and for the results click here

Lyke Wake 2011 race report click here and for the results click here

Gribdale Gallop fell race report click here

Cleveland Way 2011 results click here and for the report click here

For the Glen Clova Half Marathon click here

For Wayne Bouttell and Jonathan Skidmore's Maltby Race reports and photos Click here

For Doug Welsh's Kielder marathon race report click here

For the Men's 6 stage results click here

For the Women's 4 stage results click here

For the Great North Run race report & personal accounts of the race click here

For a Boro 10K nymac group photo click here

For the Boro 10K race report click here

For reports on how the Boro 10K race went from nymac members click here

For a selection of boro 10K photos click here

For the race results click website

For the Ray Harrison 10k race report click here

For the New Marske Autumn 5K race report click here

For more excellent reports from Tom Wall which include the Newton Ayciffe 10k, Redcar Summer Coast Road 5k, the Victorian 10k, another Darlington 10k & the York Millennium Bridge 5k race click here

Darlington 10K race report click here

For some excellent reports from Tom Wall which include the Hartlepool Marina 5, Redcar Spring Coast Road 5k, the Mermaid 10k & the Middlesbrough 5K click here

Kilburn Feast race report click here

Redcar Half marathon report 2011 click here

Huddesfield 10K 2011& the National Road relay 2011 reports click here

Castleton Show Run 2010 report can be found here

Maltby 7 2010 Report can be found here

Leeds Abbey Dash 10k 2010 Report can be found here

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