Parkrun
Well done Blyth Endurance Group - Ethan Hughes, Michael McPherson, Jamie Hughes and Casey McPherson at Whitley Bay Junior 2K (1.2miles) Park Run in such a strong head wind!
Ethan coming in 3rd out of a field of 106 - smashing his previous PB of 8:27 to 7:42, Michael having a great run at 9:16, Jamie’s first park run 9:34 and Casey smashing yet another PB from 10:11 to 9:54!

Indoors
A round up of Sunday's indoor action. Hannah Wilson opened her indoor season with a strong 200m in Manchester, recording a time of 25.83 - an encouraging start to her season!
 
Millie Train qualified for the Scottish National finals in superb fashion with a final round 11.14m Triple jump PB in the qualifying event in Pitreavie.
 
Superb work from both!

Our biggest ever Celebration night was a fantastic success! Thank you to all involved in making Team Blyth such a fantastic place for young athletes to embark on their athletics journey.

We'd like to say a big thanks also to our trophy sponsors:
All-Round Athletic Development
Cravens
F Southern Ltd
S Southern Dairies Ltd

Saturday

The weekend began with a busy schedule for many of our athletes, with clashing events meaning that negotiating tricky first hour of warm-ups and call room was the first task. First out on track were our U17 hurdlers. Senna Gorvett went in heat 1, and despite a fully committed race, she finished just outside the qualification places. In heat 2 Abi produced a sublime run to record a PB of 9.42s and secure a place in the final. In the final heat, Sadie Parker was a convincing winner, breaking her own club record with a time of 9.07 to qualify fastest for the final, whilst Amber fought back well after a poor start but didnt progress to the final. Next up was Luke in the mens hurdles heat, and he qualified automatically for the final despite a messy run. 

In the field, we had no fewer than 6 girls in the U17 long jump. Amber, Senna, Talia and Hollie all produced consistent jumps, but were not able to progress to the final 8. Abi set a new PB in round 1 of 4.77m to secure an extra 3 jumps, whilst Sadie kicked things off with a 5.55m, before leaping out to 5.60 in the 5th round to secure her 1st ever Northern Championship, with her 2nd best ever performance. 

Back on track, and Isla was up in the 300m heats,  producing a big indoor personal best to qualify for the semi-final. Luke was next up on track in the hurdles final, where her produced a fine performance to take a well deserved silver medal in a new PB of 8.26s. He then moved straight over to long jump where her built into the competition through the rounds, securing a fine gold medal with a 6.55m club record in the final round. 

Back on track and there was heartbreak for Abi as she rolled her ankle whilst warming up on the start line for the 60m hurdles final, meaning she could not start. Sadie went on to secure her 2nd gold medal of the day, in a wild race to the line. It wasn't her best run - but she managed the pressure well.

Isla put in another strong run in the 300m semi-final, before Isla, Talia and Hollie-Anne took part in their 60m heats. Talia set a new personal best despite a stumble out of the blocks, whilst Hollie-Anne set a seasons best to qualify for the semi final. Isla already had 2x300m races in her legs, but just enjoyed being out there competing which was great to see.

The final Field action of the day was the U20 Triple Jump, with Millie Train in action. She went into the comp have set a new PB during the week at Gateshead, and looked to build on this as the competiton progressed. After a modest first series of jumps Millie moved into the bronze medal position at the half way point. In the final round she was bumped to 4th, putting the pressure on her final jump. Could she get back into a medal position? The answer was a resounding "Yes", as Millie produced the jump of her life (so far) with 11.12m, to secure an emotional Silver, her first Northern medal.

​Sunday

It was a quieter day on Sunday, with Luke returning and former juniors-turned-seniors Alfie Ward and Adam Swalwell joing the fray. Luke took 4th place in the shot put with a solid series, however the weekend ended on a less positive note as a hamstring issue curtailed his high jump competition. Alfie Ward produced his longest jump for nearly 2 years to claim silver in the senior mens long jump with a best of 6.58m. Adam Swalwell finished in 4th in his senior mens 200m heat, although did not progress through to the final.

A wonderful weekend of athletics, and by far our most successful ever as a club at the Northern Indoor senior championships. 

​2024 has started with a bang for Team Blyth, with lots of exciting Cross-Country and Indoor action to report on. On the 6th January, a large team of Blyth juniors took on the Sherman Cup at Temple Park, prioritising XC over the local football derby! Ethan Hughes continued his great form with 11th place in the  U11 boys race, with Richard Gormley scoring a top 20 finish, Michael McPherson a fine 29th just ahead of James Dunning in 34th. Casey McPherson produced a strong run in the U11 girls race, finishing in the top 40. James Floyd ran from the fast pack in the U13 boys race, finishing in an excellent 14th place.  Goerge Bryce has one of his best XC results for the club – finishing in 10th place in the U15 race, whilst Jasmine Krzysiak was a strong 28th in the U15 girls race. Its been great to see such a fantastic turn-out at XC this season – lets keep this going!
 
Also on the 6th, Caitlin Creaby travelled to Grangemouth in Scotland for the historic Powderhall New Year Sprint. These are a series of “professional” handicapped races where prize money is on offer. Caitlin started the day by progressing through the rounds in the 90m youth handicap, and she finished 6th in the final earning a £20 prize. Her focus, however, was on the 200m handicap – and she produced a superb display to storm through and take the win and the £100 top prize. Brilliant!
 
Also over the weekend, 3 of our Team Blyth Juniors were invited to attend England Athletics pre-Talent Pathway training days at National Performance Institute in Loughborough. Hannah and Luke (High jump) and Sadie (Long jump) all had the opportunity to work with their peers and learn and develop in an exciting environment. It was a very productive weekend and a great experience for our athletes
 
On Wednesday, our squad of juniors descended on Gateshead college for the latest indoor open meet as we build towards indoor championship season. Alex Robson-Lamb set new PB’s in the shot put and 60m, whilst Alfie Ward ran sub-7.5 in the 60m. Aman set a 3kg shot put PB, and was 2nd in her hurdles heat. Amber produced and electric start in her hurdles, as she continued her prep for Northern Champs, whilst Caitlin fresh from her New Year Sprint win produced a solid 60m. Fearne equalled her PB in the 60m, and set a new best in the shot put, whilst there was a massive shot put PB for Hollie-Anne and a pair of solid 60m runs. India Gorvett continued to build and develop in the shot put and hurdles with consistent runs, whilst Isla made her U17 hurdles debut and she set a fantastic benchmark of 10.27s. Luke broke the U17 club record in the Pole Vault with a huge 3.20m, whilst Millie Train produced a fine series in the triple jump, culminating in a massive new club record of 10.82m. Oscar equalled his PB with 6.36m in the shot put, whilst Sadie’s 9.28m was a solid start to her 2024 in the shot put with a lot more to come. Senna was in superb form, and just a fraction off her PB’s in the shot put and hurdles, whilst Talia made her Gateshead indoors debut, setting PB’s in the shot put and 60m.