Gordon Smith Relays 2023

Last night Heaton Harriers had 14 complete teams participating in the Gordon Smith Memorial Relays hosted by Wallsend Harriers at the West Allotment County Park, Silverlink.

With each leg being 2 miles and teams consisting of 3, the best of Tyneside’s running community was on show, with a former Olympian and a recent England Cross Country Champion running in the mix.

A female team consisting of Jo Woodcock, Libbie Read and Ellie Reed was the highest-placed finishers from Heaton in 4th place overall which is an excellent achievement for the club. The women also had a second team of Ellie Clark, Ellen Tullo and Rachel Barnes inside the top 10 as well finishing in 9th place overall showing the strength and depth in our female runners. The fastest Heaton female runner on the night was Jo Woodcock (11:46) who was also 6th fastest overall on the night.

The men’s highest-placed team of David Young, John Sturman and Louis Head finished in 9th place overall. Not far behind in 17th place was the next-highest Heaton team of Eddie Knight, James McKenzie and Glen Rae. The fastest Heaton runner on the night was David Young in 9:56. David was also the joint 7th fastest from all runners on the night.

Well done to everyone who participated. We had some excellent performances out there showing that all that hard work in training is paying off. It was great to have 14 complete teams and 42 members compete for the club on a Wednesday evening. Stay tuned for information on the Weetslade Relays which will be coming soon.