NEHL Thornley Hall Farm
The North East Harrier League returned for the start of the 2026/27 season in most un-cross-country-like weather, as the sun shone on the fields and hills of Thornley Hall Farm. This was the third consecutive year that we have started at this County Durham farm and, once again, we were treated to running on very dry ground. In fact, it was so hard that road shoes may well have been the best choice of footwear (not that I had them with me!).
First off was Harrier League debutant Christopher Bell. As Christopher is 11 years old, it seemed logical that he should run in the under 12s race, and so he did. Unfortunately, as the age classification is based on school years, he should have been running with the under 14s. We weren’t the only club confused by the new age groups and rules, so Christopher was one of a number of youngsters to be disqualified. We live and learn.
Correctly running in the under 12s was Dani O’Brien, so she was our first ‘counter’ home. Charlotte Kerr was our other junior on the day, now running (and running well!) in the under 14 category.
We had a 12-strong ladies team, including three Harrier League debutants – Lauren McQuillan, Maria Oranges and Silvia Velastegui-Cortez. All enjoyed the day, so hopefully they will become regulars before the mud arrives and the North East climate does its best to make cross-country racing hard (or more fun, depending upon your outlook!). It was the much more experienced quartet of Julie Cross, Sarah Kerr, Nicki O’Brien and Cate Walker-Johnson who were the four to count for the ‘A’ team, with Sarah and Nicki overtaking the others from the fast and medium packs respectively.
Finally it was the turn of the men. One change this season is that we only need four men to count for the team not six – which was a good job as that was all we had! So the first priority was to make sure that we all got around in one piece, which we duly did. Laurie Johnson had a cracking run to be our team leader, with Dave Nolan, experienced in cross-country from his time at Low Fell but wearing sky blue for the first time in the Harrier League, a couple of minutes behind. This is always a tough course, and I was feeling very tired and dehydrated as I dragged myself over the hills for the third time. So I was very happy to cross the finish line – slower than previous years, but that was to be expected, and I think that I can now look forward to getting back into it over the coming months. Mark Flynn completed the team, and we headed back to the tent for much needed fluid and much appreciated cake.
The Claremont bakers had excelled themselves and there was a bewildering array of goodies to feast on. To quote Lucy Keating “We’re an elite baking club who do a bit of running on the side”.
| Under 12 Girls | ||
|---|---|---|
| Position | Runner | Time |
| 43 | Danielle O’Brien | 13:48 |
| Under 14 Girls | ||
|---|---|---|
| Position | Runner | Time |
| 18 | Charlotte Kerr | 22:39 |
| Women | ||
|---|---|---|
| Position | Runner | Time |
| 72 | Julie Cross | 34:30 |
| 105 | Sarah Kerr | 35:17 (Fast pack, actual time 30:14) |
| 137 | Nicki O’Brien | 36:07 (medium pack, actual time 33:46) |
| 147 | Cate Walker-Johnson | 36:24 |
| 185 | Anna Round | 38:16 |
| 197 | Lauren McQuillan | 38:46 |
| 244 | Jenny Roberts | 42:04 |
| 248 | Gill Milne | 42:06 |
| 294 | Cath Robson | 46:44 |
| 301 | Ann Smith | 48:13 |
| 307 | Maria Oranges | 51:43 |
| 311 | Silvia Velastegui-Cortez | 56:29 |
| Men | ||
|---|---|---|
| Position | Runner | Time |
| 139 | Laurie Johnson | 44:17 |
| 193 | Dave Nolan | 46:28 |
| 278 | Tom Tinsley | 50:44 |
| 340 | Mark Flynn | 56:32 |
