Hartlepool Marina 5 Miler – 28th April 2024
by Geoff Hewitson
A reasonable turnout of 9 Crookites were present for this annual event, much healthier than in 2023 when I was the sole club representative, and 2022 when I think it was just Stan and myself. A less than encouraging weather forecast (to put it mildly) for Sunday morning unfortunately proved to be spot on, and we were greeted on arrival with lashing rain and what felt like a freezing cold Northerly wind. As we took refuge inside the Mecca Bingo emporium race HQ there was a distinct reluctance to venture out to do a warm-up but eventually Jo R, Gerry and myself manage a mile and a half or so, getting thoroughly drenched in the process. Hard to believe that I still felt the need to wear a T shirt under the vest and gloves when we were nearly in May! Jo was similarly attired plus her trademark headband, whilst Gerry had been threatening to keep his coat on(!) but settled in the end for his beanie hat (so managed to keep his hair dry).
Numbers (and T-shirts!) are collected prior to the race, and the start and finish are adjacent to the Historic Quay and Maritime Museum. There is ample free parking close to the start / finish and the whole event is very well organised and marshalled by Hartlepool Burn Road Harriers. Chip timing is used and there was plenty of bottled water at the finish.
The course is a very straightforward ‘out and back’ where basically you run from the start along to the promenade and then head towards Seaton Carew for 2.5 miles. At this point there are marshals to guide you round a cone (sharp U-turn) then it’s back the way you came for another 2.5 miles to the finish. The whole thing is essentially flat, and therefore a potentially fast 5 mile course provided conditions are good and, in particular, no wind. Sunday was not a day for such conditions, however, and although the first half with the wind behind seemed to go pretty quickly, on making the turn it was like hitting a brick wall.
As it’s an out-and-back course, there is an opportunity either side of the turnaround point to see how fellow clubmates are getting on, and give a bit of encouragement to one another. It always amazes me to see how much distance the leaders can put between themselves and the rest of us mere mortals in less than 3 miles. In fact, as I was passing the 2 mile marker on the way out, the leader and second placed athlete were already on the way back. They had taken a mile out of me in the space of 2 miles! Lee T and Wayne P soon appeared, both near the head of the race and looking strong. Next was Harry Rose, a young man who seems to be improving at a rate of knots, followed by Jo Raine and Paul Campbell. After making the turn myself, I was able the give a shout out to Jillian B, Gerry, and Clare Rose.
As far as the final results were concerned, Lee Thompson was first home for the club with a fantastic 6th place finish, followed by Wayne Pearson in 11th overall and 1st MV55. Jo Raine is another of our runners in top form, and put in a cracking performance, finishing 4th female overall and 1st FV40.
Summary of results (214 finishers):
