A canny mix of Bounders were at the seaside basking in spring sunshine on Sunday for this great multi terrain 10K along the cliff tops of South Shields. It was also the North East Masters multi terrain 10K championships too so a good bunch of club runners lined up on the promenade at 11am where a minutes silence was observed to remember those that died in WW1 before the race started.

A nice start to the race long the sea front before a gentle climb onto the cliff tops to start a series of 2 laps of the main course before a fast downhill finish back along the sea front with a lap of gypsies green stadium track to finish. The route underfoot was pretty good with a mixture of track, trail and grass. Once on the tops there was no escape from a fairly breezy wind that made hard going back along the leas twice!

The Bounders did excellent overall with both the men`s and ladies teams finishing 2nd, Patrick Duffy bagging the Vet35 prize money along with a gold medal as part of the North East Masters along with gold and 1st Vet 40 prize money for Leanne Robertson and a silver and 2nd Vet 40 for Ian Young.

A great race with a choice of t shirt or mug all for a tenna thanks to all at South Shields Harriers for organising an excellent event. Deffo a one for next year unless of course you are part of the Bounders marathon posse heading to London!

Thank you as always to all the Bounders supporters/photographers who made the trip across to South Shields.

Full results Sand Dancer 2014

The latest trophy was added to the Bounders collection last Thursday evening when the Men`s XC team were presented with the 3rd Division trophy by league officials at the Start Fitness shop in Newcastle. The men led the division all season and were 4th best performing team overall. A big well done and congratulations to all the Men that have represented the club over the winter. It`s a team event XC and everyone has played their part in winning this trophy for the club. It shows just how much the club has progressed in recent years and bodes well for the future.

Also picking up an award on the night was our very own Sarah Lister who finished runner up in the Veteran Woman Grand Prix. She was beaten by the leagues best Veteran lady Elaine Lesley of Jarrow & Hebburn AC who just happens to be an England Vet. I am sure it wont be long till we see Sarah in an England vest too.

Members of Blackhill Bounders were once again winning medals last weekend over at Wallsend. This flat fast 5K course was run in near perfect conditions with lots of runners posting PB`s. Chip timed and ran in the memory of the late Wallsend Harriers Chairman Terry O`Gara it also incorporated the North East Masters 5K road championships. It`s definitely one for next year and is a perfect leg stretch for all those in training for spring marathons. Thanks to all over at Wallsend for a smashing event.

Bounder Results

Patrick Duffy 1st Vet 35 Gold

Leanne Robertson 2nd Vet 40 Sliver

Full results go to http://www.runbritainrankings.com/results/results.aspx?meetingid=101339

Wow what a season, thank you so much to everyone of you that took part in the XC Harrier League. To think that only a few years ago we had to press gang people into running for the club most of the time not having enough to count for teams. We don’t have that problem anymore with record numbers representing the club across all the divisions.

Last season the 2 remaining juniors moved up into the senior division so a lot of work has been done by Stewy Bell and his team to get some new recruits to step up to XC. They have all performed superbly over the season with lots of support from their parents and the seniors from the side lines.

Moving onto the lasses who began the season well picking up silver medals in the Davison Shield. Sarah Lister & Leanne Robertson were also considered for selection for the England Masters after their personal performances for the club a true reflection of their own achievements and putting the club on the map. Record numbers took part over the course of the season however some big counters were missing for certain races and the lasses had to sweat a bit in the final fixture to confirm their position in Division 1 for next season.

Finally the lads convincingly won the 3rd Division title after leading it for the majority of the season. Some fantastic personal performances from the likes of Patrick Duffy, Stewy Bell and Jordan Bell making his debut for the seniors and getting promoted to the fast pack in consecutive races. A huge turnout, to many to mention, at each race from across the board for the men resulted in them winning the league and being tipped to go on and be future division 1 champions!

A big thanks must go to the support team of Joy & Colin, Stewy, Ian and Sarah the team managers who not only come along to every fixture and support us 100% there are also things like the tent and flag to transport to each venue and put up and take down, numbers to allocate, and the registration of all the club athletes. The team spirit and camaraderie is what makes XC in our club so successful. No matter what standard you are you will always be made to feel welcome and part of the team.

Well done everybody keep up the good work for next season!

All final results are now on the Harrier League website http://www.harrierleague.com/results/

This Saturday is the last fixture in this seasons Harrier League and there is lots still to play for. The Men are hoping to wrap up the division 3 title, the ladies are looking to confirm their place in division 1 for next season and the juniors will finish the season on a high with more taking part this season than ever before. We were only on this course last month for fixture no4 so there will be the usual mud and small hills to cope with hopefully not as much wind this time around to deal with! As always there will be car sharing to the event with plenty parking at the venue. Check the Bounders facebook page for further details. Once the XC is complete there is a function on for the whole league at the fed brewery tickets must be purchased in advance make sure you keep your race number as it will be used in a raffle draw on the night. On behalf of the club thanks to everyone that has taken part this season its been a cracker with some fine performances to note. Special mention to those that come along to support and help out with putting the tent and flag up. Well done to all keep up the good work!

With this being the last fixture of the season the Harrier League officials are extra busy and have asked to pass on the following important information so please take note!

Any registrations get them in early because we’ll be really really busy on the day….

For more info go to the Harrier League website http://www.harrierleague.com/index.php