NS Poly Grand Prix 8, 26th March 2024

The 8th and final event of the North Shields Poly Grand Prix series proved to be an eventful, and successful, one for Claremont Road Runners.

Although essentially a series of winter runs, the Grand Prix starts with the Blyth Links 10K at the end of August. Events 2 to 7 all use the same course of approximately 3.5 miles on Tuesday evenings from October to March along the seafront at Whitley Bay – so the weather can often play a significant part in proceedings (See GP2, GP3, GP4, GP5, GP6 and GP7). Finally there is a longer run on basically the same course but extended to start and finish near St. Mary’s Lighthouse. (This also doubles up as the Fairburn Cup, but I think that is only open to members of NS Poly.)

All the races are handicapped and runners compete in teams of 8, with Claremont having 3 teams this year. Helped by strong turnouts on every occasion, the 3 Claremont teams were always up with the leaders – indeed each had a turn at the very top. The 3rd Wheelers were in poll position leading up to the final event, though there was some confusion as to the actual team placements due to errors in the initial results spreadsheet – since corrected but not freely available!

So it was on a very cold, windy night that we gathered by St Mary’s Island, all hopeful of a Claremont victory, quietly confident that the 3rd Wheelers could maintain their lead. The run itself was definitely a race of two halves, as we headed up from the lighthouse and along to the Spanish City with the wind at our backs. Climbing up the slope from the darkness at sea level, I think we all knew that the return was going to be tough. We were right! The route back past the Spanish City and along the promenade, and then along the road by the pitch and putt course was fairly brutal as the wind was unrelenting. Race over, most of us then joined the throng heading to Cullercoats Crescent Club for a buffet, raffle and presentation of the excellent prizes.

Lena Lou and Dave Roberts both won t-shirts for placing in the top 3 at one of the races, and then came the announcements of the team prizes. We were told that it was very close, but there had been changes at the top following this last race. Cue slight disappointment among the Claremont contingent when the 3rd Wheelers were announced as finishing in 3rd place. One of the North Shields Poly teams was second and then, to our great surprise, the winners were announced as The Full Claremonty. Disappointment turned instantly to euphoria!

Six of the 8 team members were present to collect the prize. As well as a massive Cup that we can share throughout the year, each team member received a small, glass trophy and a Start Fitness voucher. Refuelled by the substantial buffet and with the pain of racing forgotten, running in the cold and the wind now seemed very worthwhile.

The other Claremont team, Rock’s Stars were 4th, so to have 3 of the top 4 teams out of 36 is a great achievement.

The individual honours in the final race went to Lena Lou (3rd) and Rose Hawkswood (6th) – both members of The Full Claremonty, so highly instrumental in the late change at the top of the team rankings. Jack Shawcross and Mark Anderson both featured in the top ten fastest on the night. A special mention to Julie Cross who, in true Claremont spirit, turned up despite being injured and finished the race even though she had to walk much of it. Well done!

GP8 Results
Position	Team	Runner	Race Time	Actual Time
3	TFC	Lena Lou	0:59:12	53:02
6	TFC	Rose Hawkswood	1:00:30	53:20
29	RS	Rachel Hurdman	1:02:45	41:55
46	T3W	Aaron Mansell	1:03:21	38:11
48	RS	Kimberley Metson	1:03:25	35:55
64	TFC	Nicki O’Brien	1:03:48	37:38
69	J&TH	Aoife Monaghan	1:03:52	39:42
98	RS	Mark Anderson	1:04:17	30:07
106	RS	Laurie Johnson	1:04:23	30:53
113	TFC	Tom Tinsley	1:04:27	34:57
117	TFC	Dave Roberts	1:04:31	36:01
141	T3W	Roberto Marzo	1:05:17 (?)	32:47
142	T3W	Holly Porter	1:04:57	37:27
143	T3W	Isabel Neatrour	1:04:57	34:47
152	RS	Nina Jensen	1:05:03	41:33
155	TFC	Tara Hipwood	1:05:06	43:56
157	RS	Jack Shawcross	1:05:08	29:58
175	T3W	Janet Palmer	1:06:06	49:16
183	T3W	Kat Truong	1:06:51	47:41
186	RS	Paul Robinson	1:07:33	36:23
189	T3W	Alexia O’Rourke	1:08:06	54:06
194	TFC	Julie Cross	1:18:59	54:29

Overall Individual Scores
Position	Runner	Points
11	Rachel Hurdman	461
12	Holly Porter	463
17	Laurie Johnson	525
25	Isabel Neatrour	573
28	Kimberley Metson	580
32	Aaron Mansell	589
35	Mark Anderson	602
37	Dave Roberts	606
45	Alex Harding	623
58	Nicki O’Brien	653
69	Rose Hawkswood	684
72	Janet Palmer	694
78	Tom Tinsley	698
87	Tara Hipwood	716
90	Anneliza Andreadi	732
117	Kat Truong	777
120	Paul Robinson	785
121	Nina Jensen	786
122	Julie Cross	787
130	Lena Lou	802
148	Aoife Monaghan	839
150	Luke Woodend	843
152	Roberto Marzo	846
192	Alexia O’Rourke	953
221	Jack Shawcross	1019

Final Team Rankings
Position	Team	Points
1	The Full Claremonty	1903
3	The 3rd Wheelers	1916
4	Rock’s Stars	1958

Many thanks to North Shields Poly for their excellent organisation throughout the season, and for allowing us to participate in their competition. Roll on next year!