Rain on the parade by Dave Moir
We had it all to play for at this final fixture being just one point behind joint leaders Middlesborough and New Marske but unfortunately we didn’t get to complete this day’s events.
We had 2 male athletes entered into every event with the exception of the pole vault, and female athletes into every event with the exception of B athletes for the hurdles and high jump, so we were in an excellent position to secure an overall victory and take one of the promotion slots for division 3 next year. The show of strength and commitment from both TBH and Heaton in fielding this many competitors was very impressive, and I’m very grateful to everyone for turning up.
We had even realised the hammer was extra early so had 4 throwers turn up at 10:30 on a Sunday morning (a time previously unheard of in the Fenwick household) in time for that!!
The day started off with fantastic sunshine, which held out until part way through the Steeplechase. The steeplechase itself is worth commenting on, with Heaton’s Ian Robinson securing a decisive win in the A race and our own Sparrow Morley deciding to give the others a chance by missing the start, and getting to the start line when Ian was about 150m into the race. He then stopped not just once but twice to tie his shoe laces during the race, to finish a comfortable third overall and first in the B race.
The rain had started to fall during this race, and it got much heavier, turning into a thunderstorm (with added hail stones) which cleared the track and field of athletes and officials, but filled the long jump pit with hail, and lanes 6-8 on the home straight with several inches of water. The match had to be abandoned, as it just wasn’t safe or feasible to continue.
We are still waiting to hear the official ruling, but we suspect that the match will be null and void, and the season’s results will be based on the first 3 fixtures, meaning we didn’t get the chance to secure promotion at the final fixture this year.
The journey home was a little lively, taking 2 hours from Jarrow to Gosforth, following a variety of diversions through “the land that time forgot” to avoid flooded roads. I was very relieved to get back in one piece and of course avoid the triple jump and high hurdles!!
Roll on 2013
1 comment
I didn’t have my shoes on when they started the race, haha – was in the stands on the other side of the stadium. 20s on me and a sprint across to the start!