Autumn Handicap 31st October 2016

Halloween turned out to be a fine, dry night for a run along the banks of the Tyne to Scotswood Road and back. This may have been why we had an excellent turnout of 45 runners – or it may just be that they were avoiding the trick or treaters.

It turned out to be a treat for Jane Evans who fooled the handicapper to walk away with victory in her first ever handicap appearance. Guest Laurie Campbell finished second, comfortably clear of Kenny McCormick in 3rd place, who himself was well clear of the pack.

The Autumn cup final was contested between Sarah Bowen, Rose Hawkswood, Dave Kear and Chris Jones. Sarah took the shield home, narrowly beating Dave and Rose by 7 and 9 seconds respectively. Having run the Town Moor marathon the day before, Chris was understandably a bit further back!

There were some excellent times posted – Jonny Evans was quickest in 22:40 followed by Jonathan Gilroy on 23:43 and guest Stephen Barker in 24:07. (The handicapper admits that he was a bit harsh on the fast lads which is why none of them featured in the top 10. They should be much better placed next time out).

Fastest leader on the night was cup winner Sarah Bowen in a time of 28:27. Rose Hawkswood was second fastest in 28:56, while handicap debutant Sophie Lamb recorded a time of 29:07.

Full results can be found here.