Three of our top Under 13 athletes were in action recently as they took part in the Northern Athletics Road Relays in Manchester. Dylan Wilson, Alex Boyer and Daniel Richardson had a difficult decision to make as the event clashed with another one of their favourites, the NYSD Relays at Thirsk. Not having done the Northern Relays before, the boys really fancied giving it a go, so opted for the trip to Manchester instead.
In the spectacular setting of the Sportcity complex, the course itself consisted of 3 x 3.1k legs around the Etihad Stadium (Manchester City’s home ground), and the athletics stadium next door…..and it certainly was a popular event as 45 teams from the North of England lined up at the start.
Leg 1 – Dylan Wilson It was Dylan who was given the unenviable task of getting the boys off to a good start. Unfortunately, things didn’t quite go to plan. In fact, disaster struck, as Dylan got caught up in a tussle at the gun and fell along with a few other runners. He picked himself up from the floor to find himself in last place! Shaken, but not stirred, he dug deep and gradually worked his way through the field to complete the first leg in 5th place – an amazing come back, in a fantastictime of 12:33. Well done Dylan, a tremendous performance!
Leg 2 – Alex Boyer The first leg didn’t get off to the best of starts and there was another hiccup as Dylan handed over to Alex for the second leg. An official hadn’t seen Dylan come into the changeover funnel so held Alex back for an extra few seconds after Dylan had finished! Aahhh! More ground to make up! Thankfully, Alex then produced a blistering run, overtaking Preston, Rotherham and Sale Harriers to move Darlington Harriers up into 2nd place for the second changeover, with only City of Sheffield ahead. Another amazing performance, in a time of 12:21, which turned out to be the =10th fastest leg of the whole day! Well done Alex!
Leg 3 – Daniel Richardson No problems this time! It was a seamless change over as Alex handed the reigns over to anchorman, Daniel, who ran a cracking final leg. He maintained his position for most of the 3.1k but just got reined in by Sale Harriers and Salford Harriers athletes who produced the fastest legs of the whole competition. Still a great result though; he crossed the line in 4th place in a time of 12:49, making a cumulative time of 37:43. Great stuff Daniel, well done!
Overall an excellent performance from the team; and who knows, if it wasn’t for the unfortunate fall and the controversial holding back by the official, on another day, they could have been coming home with a medal! The event was a great learning experience, and the lads are looking forward to doing it all again at the Northern XC Relays on 20th October in Sheffield. We wish them well and look forward to reporting on another successful day
