Northumberland Coastal Run, 21st July 2024
A sandy telegram from Mark Anderson:
“The Northumberland Coastal Run, organised by Alnwick Harriers, has long been a firm favourite in the North East running calendar, always popular with Claremont, forming the basis for the Colin Archibold prize for the first sky blue home in this race.
The run starts on the beach in Beadnell and then hugs the coastline, crossing two further beaches before finishing some 13.5 miles further south in Alnmouth. Wet feet are unavoidable as within the first half mile, the mini-estuary of Brunton Burn has to be traversed.
This year 12 of us took part – 9 arriving en masse on the bus together to be greeted by beautiful warm sunshine, which was only to get warmer.
After the obligatory club photo, we assembled by the start flag and then, rather unexpectedly, we were off. Roberto Marzo got off to a flyer, sprinting across the beach, taking a slightly longer line than the direct one to avoid some of the undulations underfoot – a strategy that clearly paid dividends as he disappeared from sight through the dunes before many of us had got halfway across Beadnell Bay.
I managed to keep Robbie in sight a little longer, at least until Low Newton, but the excesses of the prior weekend’s ultramarathon began to tell on my legs, and he vanished from view, leaving me to try and enjoy the beautiful views of Dunstanburgh Castle, while trying to ignore the pain in my legs.
Avoiding the temptation to stop in Craster for a kipper, I pushed on, admiring the view from the Bathing House at Howick and the deserted beach of Sugar Sands, before joining the road for what felt like an interminably long run into Boulmer. At one point, I spotted a rabbit lying in the road, probably having come to an unfortunate end following a collision with a car, and I pondered swapping places…
As I dropped onto the North end of Alnmouth Beach, I heard a familiar voice from behind, and Sarah Kerr, running very strongly, had arrived to provide me with much needed encouragement. We navigated the rocky terrain (with a minor detour across the top end of the golf course (led by a South Shields Harrier), before the sands stretched away in front of us, with the finish beckoning. Sarah let me beat her to the line and, we settled back to applaud the other runners as they returned.
It was a glorious day for the Coastal Run – showcasing how lucky we are to live so close to such a beautiful coastline. There were some remarkable performances from the sky blues – Robbie was eighth overall and Sarah was second lady and won her age category prize. Claremont had 3 runners finish in the top 20, a feat only matched by Morpeth. We reassembled in the beer garden of the Red Lion for some much needed refreshment. A great Sunday in the most beautiful part of England…”
Special mention to Lynne Cornell, who in her ongoing mission to not admit defeat to her stress fracture, obtained permission from Alnwick Harriers to start early and walk the course.
| Position | Runner | Time |
| 8 | Roberto Marzo (3rd MV40) | 1:31:07 |
| 16 | Mark Anderson (3rd MV50) | 1:38:00 |
| 17 | Sarah Kerr (1st FV45, 2nd Female) | 1:38:04 |
| 71 | Izzy Neatrour (2nd FV35) | 1:52:39 |
| 79 | Anton Mirafsari | 1:54:29 |
| 98 | Sonja Fenske (3rd FV35) | 1:57:37 |
| 99 | Julie Cross (3rd FV55) | 1:57:40 |
| 108 | Nicki O’Brien | 1:58:48 |
| 205 | David Lydall | 2:14:25 |
| 237 | Hazel Juggins | 2:20:25 |
| 257 | Brian Hegarty | 2:22:42 |
| 280 | Tara Hipwood | 2:26:29 |
| N/A | Lynne Cornell (unofficial walker) | 3:42:00 |
