The international ace turned out for her Morpeth club to run the fastest leg at the popular relays, Hannah Oldroyd starred at the Guiseley Gallop 10k and the Easter festival on Guernsey finished on a high.
There were also great performances at the Massey Ferguson Easter Tractor 10k, Brigham, Crewe and the Hale Village 5 in Liverpool, while Julia Paternain and Verity Ockenden ran storming 5000m races in America!
Weightman ran a superb 10:53 for her 2.2 mile leg at the Elswick Good Friday Relays, a time bettered only by 13 of the men on the Newcastle course (April 19).
The 15:25 and 31:39 5k and 10k ace is in the form of her life in World Championships year.
Weightman’s time – which equates to 4:56 min/mile pace – helped Morpeth finish a clear first in the women’s race, with club mates Cat MacDonald and Jane Hodgson bringing the team home nearly two minutes clear.
Gosforth Harriers were second while Jarrow & Hebburn took third.
The men’s race was also won by Morpeth, albeit with a smaller winning margin of just 11 seconds.
Adam Pratt handed over to James Young, with Joe Armstrong and Phil Winkler ensuring Morpeth won with a very consistent team performance.
The club also filled three of the five top spots on the day with their B and D teams!
The fastest leg of the day was run by second placed Tyne Bridge Harriers’ Finn Brodie, with Gateshead Harriers taking the third spot overall.
There was more impressive racing going on at the Guiseley Gallop 10k, the multi-terrain event attracting a strong field once again on Sunday (April 21).
Ribble Valley Harriers’ Hannah Oldroyd achieved a fine win in hot conditions, taking victory in 40:14, while Leeds City’s mountain running international Emma Clayton was a strong second in 40:51. The pair also finished 10th and 13th overall.
Wakefield & District’s young star Annabel Mason was running her first race of the year here and finished with a 44:33 result.
First across the line in the men’s race was Valley Striders’ Matthew Hallam who took the win in 36:54. Nathan Edmondson of Ilkley Harriers claimed the runner up spot with a 37:15 clocking, while Baildon Runners’ Michael Malton was third in 37:48.
One of Cambridge & Coleridge’s young stars, Julia Paternain, ran a scintillating 16:00.10 at the Virginia Challenge 5000m in Charlottesville in the States on Sunday (April 20).
That time was not only a PB but also a European U23 qualifying time for the 19 year-old, who is studying at the University of Pennsylvania on an athletics scholarship.
Also in superb 5000m form is Swansea and GB’s Verity Ockenden. The GB athlete and poet ran a six second PB to finish a brilliant fourth in 15:40 at the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, California. That time puts her third in the UK rankings for 2019 – well done Verity!
The Hale Village 5 saw decent runs too in the Liverpool heat, with wins for Knowsley Harrier’s Chris Pownell and Vale Royal’s Liz Renondeau (April 21).
Pownell’s time in victory was 26:43, ahead of Rob Owens’ 27:35, while Penny Lane Striders’ Jay Clarke took the third prize in 28:08.
Renondeau was well ahead in first place with a 29:08 clocking. Liverpool Harriers’ Emily Gray was still a strong second in 31:38, with Kirkby Milers’ Carmel Edwards in third with a 32:45 result.
The four day Guernsey Easter Running Festival saw great performances in the event’s 5k on the Friday and the Keith Falla Memorial 4.75 Cross Country race on the Saturday.
Find out who won what in our first report of the weekend here, where you’ll also find a full report on the Isle of Man Easter Festival, which saw Ollie Lockley and Rachael Franklin retain their overall titles.
The Guernsey festival 4×1 mile cross country relays took place on Sunday (April 21), while the festival concluded today with the Easter 10k.
The curiously named Wolf Pack team were exciting winners of the men’s relay, with the team’s Chris Bain, Isaac Powers, Mikey Ingrouille and Joe Yeaman taking a total time of 20:16 to take victory.
Second placed team ‘Louise to the Rescue’ were some way behind with an overall 21:41 clocking, while ‘Jacobs Crackers’ were third just four seconds adrift.
Interestingly, the second team home was the only one in the top nine home with a female runner in their numbers, but then Guernsey’s Louise Perrio is not just any old athlete! No wonder their team name was Louise to the Rescue!
The fastest men’s leg of the day was run by Jacob O’Hara (4:47), while the quickest woman was Alun’s Allstars’ Summer Woodhead with a 5:28 clocking ahead of Perrio’s 5:53 result.
We will add in the hotly anticipated results of the Guernsey Easter 10k as soon as we have them, but for now we can reveal Jacob O’Hara followed up his fastest relay leg with a 10k win alongside Guernsey’s Sarah Mercier!
The Air Products 10k in Crewe was a speedy affair for winners Jonathan Hiley and Stockport’s Kelly Crickmore on Sunday (April 21).
Hiley took the title in 31:23 from Salford’s Karl Darcy (31:27) and Liverpool Harriers’ Ben Russell (32:11.
Crickmore’s time in victory was 36:14, with Susue Chesher taking second in 38:48 and Sale Harriers’ Jenny Evans third in 39:54.
Kenilworth Harriers’ Ben Taylor was first across the line at the Massey Ferguson Easter Tractor 10k in Stoneleigh (April 22) in 32:59 from Leamington’s Callum Hanlon (33:12) and Kenilworth’s Stanley Doxey (34:31.
Leamington’s Kelly Edwards was a fast V40 winner of the women’s race in 37:32 from Northbrook’s Natasha White (38:51) and Leamington’s Natalie Bhangal (39:49).
The Brigham 10k saw wins for Leeds’ Adrian Holliday (33:13) and Cumberland’s Nadia Shaw (40:41) on Sunday (April 21).
Keswick’s Russell Maddams was second in 35:59 while Netherhall’s Paul Coon took third in 36:14. The second woman across the line was St Bees Triers’ Karen Smith in 42:21 with third place going to Cumberland’s Bev Smith in 45:08.
Catch up on all the rest of the weekend’s action in our first report of the Easter break here.
The UK parkrun top ten was once again topped by Birchfield’s London Marathon-bound Hayley Carruthers and Victoria Park Harriers & Tower Hamlets AC’s Paul Martelletti. Find out who else made the top ten in a competitive day’s running here.
Are you a fan of Fast Running? Then please support us and become a patron. For as little as the price of a monthly magazine you can support Fast Running – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.