NECAA Track & Field Championships – 13/14th May 2023

by Alex Hird

Over the weekend, the 2023 North East Counties Track & Field Championships were held at Middlesbrough Sports Village.
The highlight of the weekend was having team GB athlete Richard Kilty (aka the Teesside Tornado) in attendance. He broke the North East 100m record on the Saturday, and returned on Sunday to take gold again in the 200m.
I entered the 800m on the Sunday, and due to only 9 entering, I made the final automatically!
It was an extremely strong field, with 7 of the other 8 all posting quicker times this year than what my PB is.
Despite this, the first lap was a fairly slow one for the whole field. I clocked 63s for the opening 400m.
A few of the athletes saw the time as the bell went, and the field started to spread out as they front runners kicked on.
I was sat in 7th but managed to take a place coming off the bend. Crossing the line in 2:06.51
Not podium for me this year. A little bit disappointed with the first lap, but within a second of my PB.