SUNDERLAND 5K SILKSWORTH PARK Thursday July 10th 2025 – Report by Ken Smith
It is no surprise that the Northern Athletics 5k championship was again hosted by Sunderland Harriers at their popular 5k road races at Silksworth.
The number of entries for a mid-week road race is staggering. They have two senior races and one junior race with a total of 442 athletes entered.
The new junior race had 29 athletes.
The women and vet 50 plus men had 174 entries.
The senior men plus vet 40 to 49 had 238 entries.
And the quality of competitors is outstanding.
The Women had 2 below 17 minutes another 3 below 18 mins and a further 5 below 19 minutes.
The men had the winner below 15 minutes a further 19 below 16 minutes.
All this on a new and improved course that had to be organised in a week due vandalism on a bridge. Well done Jimmy Johnson and the team at Sunderland.
The weather was superb the earlier heat had subsided and there was no wind.
The women’s race got underway at 6.45 on the measured 5k course starting on the track with 300m before climbing the hill and out off sight. The new one lap course was still undulating, but with the start and finish on the wide track surface and improved spectator visibility fast times were expected. As is usual in this road running crazy section of the country expectation of the locals were high, but in the open women’s race, Megan Stenhouse from Rugby and Northampton A/C was first back in 16.45.
For the Northern Athletics championship all the remaining athletes were from Northern Affiliated Clubs. The N.A winner was Lydia Turner from Birtley A.C.in 16 mins and 52 seconds, 2nd was the Houghton Harrier &A.C athlete Charlotte Dillon, 17.06 and bronze medallist Ava Leadbetter 17.50.
The women’s team race was quite close, but the host club were worthy winners with their first 2 athletes coming in 10th and 11th and the third counter just finishing ahead of the third member of the Jarrow team, which gave Sunderland the team gold and Jarrow the team silver.
Third placed was Elswick Harriers who finished just 1 point ahead of the Crook & District.
So now for the men. Look around before the start, amongst the many local vests were 3 of the blue and yellow vests belonging to Leeds City Athletes.
3 athletes had made the trip up from Leeds and with three to make a team, you knew they were here to challenge the locals for individual as well as team medals. The race started as per the women with 300m on the track then the pull up the hill and turning out of sight of the track. There remained a group of 10 or so athletes bunched together at the front as they reached the top of the hill.
The next time the athletes appeared they had completed that long drag up the hill and were turning left down the slope to complete the 300m to the finish. It was not just one Leeds City vest that appeared first, there was also one in 2nd place some 5 m behind with a Tyne Bridge vest following in 3rd place. As with the women, the leader’s positions remained unchanged down the hill or on the track, perhaps this was the effect of the long drag up the hill beforehand. So a Leeds City 1, 2, Ed Bovingdon winning in 14.59 with Angus Cole 2nd 15.05. but where was their 3rd athlete.
Well he was not too far behind in 13th position sufficient to ensure Leeds City won the team gold. Third placed athlete was Tyne Bridge’s Zak Kettle 15.09. With team gold resolved it remained to be seen who picked up the remaining medals. Lynne Marr fortunately had been working out the team positions and her calculations were confirmed by the results provider later. Leeds had 16 points, but Morpeth had sneaked into 2 team place with 4th, 5th and then finally 16th position leaving host club Sunderland who packed well finishing 10th 11th and 12th to collect the Bronze.
In the presence of Kevin Carr Sunderland have always been amongst the team medal winners at this event. They have never failed to win at least 1 team medal and usually two. This year it was the women who won the accolades.
Many thanks to Sunderland for allowing N.A. to use the race as their championship, and to Jimmy Johnson and his team for sorting out a superb course in a week.
Northern Athletics Results
Women
1st Lydia Turner Birtley A.C. 16.52
2nd Charlotte Dillon Houghton Harriers 17.06
3rd Ava Leadbetter Newcastle University 17.50
Teams
1st Sunderland Jessica Fox, Grace Carroll, Jennifer Tomlin 37 points
2nd Jarrow & Hebburn Alex Sneddon, Jenna Killock, Michelle Thompson 49 points
3rd Elswick Harriers Imogen Nicole Bungay, Rachel Dodds, Felicity Smith 64 points.
4th Crook & District 65 points.
Men
1st Ed Bovington Leeds City 14.59
2nd Angus Cole Leeds City 15.05
3rd Zak Kettle Tyne Bridge 15.09
Teams.
1 Leeds City Ed Bovington, Angus Cole, Ben Gillham 16 points
2 Morpeth Harriers James Tilley, Joe Dixon, Connor Marshall 25 points
3 Sunderland Harriers Jake Ridding, Liam Taylor, Stephen Jackson 33 points
4th Tyne Bridge 46 points
