Author Archives: David Levison

Montenegro 70.3 – brief race report

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Great location, excellent course, warmish swim, flattish bike, very flat run, superb organisation, very good value and a good holiday opportunity too.

8 reasons to consider entering Ocean Lava Montenegro in 2018 (and there’s a relay option if you’re a runner so no excuses)

Even the gear lever on my TT bike falling off the first time I went to use it couldn’t spoil the race. Yes, at 28 degrees the run was a tad hot but the free beer at the end (and hot meal) helped no end.

Me doing the Ponteland “авион” as they call it here

If you’re seriously interested in doing this next year then please get in touch with me – I think it would make a great club trip.

 

 

 

 

Northumberland Half Marathon Race Report

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Venue – A very windy Kirkley Hall

Event – A very windy half marathon

Taking part – 362 windswept runners

Weather conditions – err, have you not been paying attention?

 

17 Pont Runners took on the wind (did I already mention it was windy?) and rain of the Northumberland Half Marathon on Sunday morning with some great results all round and a few PBs too.

Only other thing to mention is that it was a bit windy.

 

 

 

 

Pos Name Net Time Category Cat Pos Gen Pos Pace
9 Aaron HOYLE 01:21:23 SEN 8 9 3:51 min/km
20 Paul O’NEIL 01:28:48 SEN 16 20 4:12 min/km
50 David LEVISON 01:35:59 V45 8 48 4:33 min/km
52 Neil WARD 01:36:13 V45 10 50 4:33 min/km
56 Daniel BARRY 01:36:30 SEN 29 53 4:34 min/km
65 Roland BROWN 01:38:17 V45 14 61 4:39 min/km
66 Chahal MAVINDER 01:38:36 SEN 32 62 4:40 min/km
81 Abby DORANI 01:40:42 SEN 2 7 4:46 min/km
100 Alex NEWELL 01:42:24 SEN 44 88 4:52 min/km
115 Alison GUADAGNO 01:44:17 V40 7 17 4:57 min/km
122 Elliott WARD 01:45:33 V50 6 104 5:00 min/km
150 Nick WINSLOW 01:48:46 V55 5 127 5:10 min/km
180 Nicola MATTHEWS 01:53:18 V40 12 32 5:22 min/km
232 Nikki RENTON 02:01:30 V45 6 54 5:46 min/km
261 Helen O’NEIL 02:06:26 V35 12 72 6:00 min/km
268 Amelia DAKIN 02:08:07 V50 7 77 6:04 min/km
320 Lynne MIDGLEY-WARD 02:17:49 V45 15 106 6:32 min/km

Alnwick XC Race Report

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Well that’s it for another year. Time to hose down those spikes, grease the threads (stops them getting stuck you see) and put them away until we can do it all over again in about 8 months’ time.

And so it was that beside the River Aln our 2016/17 Cross Country season came to a great end in excellent conditions (the Met Office having got this one horribly wrong thankfully).

A really great turnout from the club saw the men going in to the race with the slimmest of chances of getting promoted although sadly the attempted road block of the A1 (to stop other teams getting to the race) was thwarted and they had to settle for third. Both the men and women must be in with a great chance of promotion next year however.

Special shout outs to Abby Dorani and Aaron Hoyle for both producing storming runs and therefore affording themselves the pleasure of the fast pack next season (Abby is currently using her legal training to see if she can extricate herself from this rule but it looks doubtful). It’s also going to be a promotion to the medium pack for David Stroud next year.

The cakes/sausage rolls/pizza were (as always) calorifically splendid and for those able to attend the evening social there were some additional awards to recognise the various efforts and achievements of club members throughout the season.

Final special mentions to Heidi Findlay for falling over and if anyone has the time to teach Chris Kenyon how to properly tie a shoelace it would be much appreciated.

If you’ve never done cross country hopefully the link to the video below gives you an idea of what you’re missing out on.

Cross Country in 1 minute

Herrington Park XC – Race Report

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A new race venue – Herrington Park

A race in the mud – what a lark

Lots of runners and New Year banter

Time to run off the excesses of Santa

 

Juniors first – growing in number?

Ladies next – no time to slumber

Great racing ladies – have you heard?

Division 3 – position third

 

Then the men, first race for Andy

Lots of new watches on their handy (groan)

Races done, cakes and a sarnie

This beats revising eh Abby Dorani?

 

 

A few weeks to rest and no need to panic

Thornley Hall Farm then off to Alnwick

With some good turn outs and magic potion

We might just be in with a chance of promotion

Wrekenton Cross Country – Race Report

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Ah yes, Cross Country has returned.

Freezing cold temperatures and mud up to your waist but hang on a minute, what was that big yellow thing in the sky? And what was that strange substance called “dry ground”? Also new for this season are chip timings in your race number – making it extra important that you don’t lose it/wash it during the season.

Wrekenton was the venue for the first race of the 2016/17 season and despite clashing with a number of other races this weekend, it was a very good turn out from the club with 10 ladies and 13 men taking part. Both teams are already looking capable of achieving promotion this year with hopefully some even stronger performances to follow over the coming few races.

Special shout outs to all the first timers – Abby (promotion to the medium pack in your first race, great stuff), Elaine, Sarah, Claire, Caroline, Tim (1st time for us anyway), Alex and Duncan – hope I haven’t missed anyone.

Special mentions also to Martin Hallissey on a rapid return to the fast pack (he’s got potential that bloke – you heard it here first!) and Matty Bell for his incredible powers of decisiveness over what shoes to wear. Thanks too to all the kids and other club members that came along to cheer us on.

After race cakes and drinks were as splendid as ever – and it’s only 7 days until we get to do it all over again at Druridge Bay when hopefully lots more team members can also be there. Photos of “aeroplanes” etc. all available to view on Facebook.

Cold and muddy? Not a chance.

Leeds WTS Triathlon

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“I’m just going to go and enjoy it and make sure I don’t do anything stupid before IronMan Canada”

Now then, where’s my bike?

My famous last words before this weekend’s Leeds Triathlon. As some of you may have seen on BBC2, the annual UK round of the World Triathlon Series was held in Leeds this year and gave “age groupers” like me the chance to swim, bike and run the same course (well almost) as the elite athletes. Logistics for the event were a bit cumbersome as you’d expect with well over 5000 entrants but an early start in Wave 10 meant I was away without too much trouble. The water was downright warm so I was pleased to take it steady and still be out of the 1500m swim in just under 28 minutes. Unlike the elites, our transition involved a 600m run and packing our wetsuits into bags which we then had to carry to the bike mount line so my normally slow T1 transition was for a good reason this time. Then it was out onto a great bike course with some fast downhill sections as well as tough(ish) climbs.

Need to work on my IronMan shuffle

After a fairly good 40km bike leg I managed to somehow do a somersault over my handlebars at the dismount line. Having paused for a few seconds to count up my arms and legs (all still attached) I set off on the run – adrenaline clearly masking the damage to my wrist and the various other cuts and bruises.

The 10k run was a great experience as even though it was only 9:30 am, the route was already lined with noisy spectators cheering us on. Each lap took us through the grandstand area and we finished under the same clock as the elites (albeit with a much higher time on it). Thoroughly recommended event to all club members if it returns to Leeds next year especially as there are beginner and sprint distance races too.

Medal and also my special prize of genuine Leeds gravel rash