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There were a number of strong Parkrun performances on Saturday, with John Butters first home at Druridge Bay in a time of 17 minutes 28 seconds and Lindsey Quinn second female in 21:24.

At Blyth, Richard Johnson came in over a minute and a half of the rest of the field in 16:24 with Anthony Liddle third in 18:25 and Rachelle Falloon first female finisher and 7th back in 18:52.

Closer to home, veteran Alistair Macdonald was 2nd over the tough Carlisle Park course in a time of 20:45.

The following day Lindsey Quinn was in action again, completing the 5 mile Ingram Hill Forts trail race where she was 2nd female finisher in 44 minutes 1 second, beaten by only seven seconds by Claire Fairburn with Gary Wales winning overall in 33:57.

Younger sister Catriona Macdonald meanwhile took part in the Yetholm Hill Race over an eight-mile course which incorporated 2500 feet of climbs and six hills in the Cheviots, including a punishing ascent of The Curr.

Not only first female finisher, Macdonald was also remarkably fourth overall in a time of 1 hour 22 minutes with father Alistair 11th in 1:35, the race itself won by Andrew Cox of Moorfoot in 1:17.

Morpeth Harrier and Northumberland Fell Runner member Richie Hughes placed second in 1:20.

This Thursday’s Blaydon Race sees the 40th anniversary of the race, run for the first time since 2019 and with a new start on the Quayside, taking the runners West along the banks of the Tyne before a climb through Newcastle Business Park to join the traditional route along the Scotswood Road.

*A stunning performance by the Alnwick Harriers women saw them monopolize the podium at the Druridge Bay 10k.

Leading the way was Carole Page (46:46, F60) with yet another world class performance, closely followed by Rosie Davison (47:52, FSen) and Lisa Baston (48:28, F40).

There were also strong performances from the remainder of the women’s team, including Rachel Davidson (51:09, FSen), Jennifer Knight (52:57, F40), Linda Patterson (59:14, F40), Tess Allan (1:06:53, F50) and Lorna Stephenson (1:22:33, F50), with all the runners pushing hard up the beach into a very spicy headwind!

The Alnwick Harriers’ men also posted strong runs with Steve Carragher (38:22, M40), Steve Patterson (39:12, M40), Liam McDonough (40:01, MU16) and Euan Friend (44:47, MSen) finishing third, fourth, sixth and thirteenth, respectively. Masters made up the remainder of the team, with good runs from Paul Dellbridge (55:05, M50), Steve Cowell (55:48, M50), Ian Stephenson (57:52, M60) and George Williams (1:01:55, M60).

In the juniors 2.5K race, Alnwick Harriers Aimee McDonough (12:03, FU14) and Harry Knox (08:51, MU16) both posted very impressive runs to win the female and male races respectively.

*The Northumberland Coastal Run is being held on July 24 – details on Alnwick Harriers’ website.