Birtley Cross-Country Relays, 11th January 2026
The Birtley Relays are generally a chilly affair, falling in early January, but today’s event was the toughest I’ve weathered, on my fourth visit.
Thankfully the snow/sleet stopped soon after we’d arrived, but that still left the strong winds whipping across the Lord Lawson playing field, with no sun to take the edge off. Luckily the 2 lap course measures under 2 miles total, and a couple of short, steep banks aside, is basically flat, so we didn’t have to spend too long battling against the gales.
There were only a couple of tents already set up as we arrived to pitch ours, and during our subsequent wrestle against the wind, another couple of clubs aborted their attempts and retreated back to the sports hall. The tent would go on to buckle worryingly for the duration, but it held firm.
Our single men’s team was up first in the over-35’s race. Luke O’Neill put in a speedy first leg, followed by regular PB-botherer Mark Flynn. I brought up the rear. Having been suffering with flu all week, I resolved to try and make it round without succumbing to a coughing fit, which I did, albeit slowly, with some increased difficulty breathing on the 2nd lap!
The opening straight had us running directly into the punishing wind, and the various switchbacks on the course ensured we got a few more faceful’s as we went round, but nothing as protracted and grimace-inducing as that first bit.
We had 2 teams going in the women’s race, one team of 2 seniors in Ailsa Ralph and Yana Bevan, led by Sarah Williamson, and another full masters team of Nina Jensen, Anna Round and Lucy Keating.
Special mention must go to Ailsa, who committed to taking part in borrowed trail shoes (which as it turned out, didn’t fit, so she just bought some anyway!).
All our runners looked good traversing the snowy course, some even managing smiles for the cameras, Anna actually confessed to having enjoyed it a lot, and Yana bounded up and onwards with a laugh after stacking it down the hill (unfortunately for her, in range of my camera!)
There were drinks and a large array of cakes on sale in the sports hall, but we were also well catered for by Yana’s homemade lemon drizzle, which was gratefully munched as we made our way soggily back to the car park.
| Men | ||
|---|---|---|
| Position | Runners | Time |
| 26 | Luke O’Neill Mark Flynn Laurie Johnson Team Time | 12:10 15:44 13:58 41:52 |
| Women | ||
|---|---|---|
| Position | Runners | Time |
| 25 | Nina Jensen Anna Round Lucy Keating Team Time: | 16:25 17:04 17:24 50:53 |
| 27 | Sarah Williamson Ailsa Ralph Yana Bevan Team Time: | 16:42 18:24 16:21 51:27 |
