A field of 135 runners lined up on a cool but sunny Sunday morning to run the 11th Absent Friends Trial Race in almost perfect conditions.
For those who have not had the pleasure of running this race before, it is run in February each year in memory of club members who are no longer with us. It’s approximately 5 miles ran at Cowpen Bewley Woodland Park, Billingham on a mix of terrain, and usually includes plenty of mud! This years race was held on Sunday 10 February 2019.
27 Marsh House Harriers ‘toed the start line’, with representatives from all the training groups. It also didn’t disappoint to attract many pacey competitors from various clubs far and wide.
Our own Liam Aldridge, who is in great shape, claimed overall first place with Andy Chadfield, also in great shape, crossing the line 30 seconds later in 2nd place. Marsh House had five runners in the top ten (4th James Fishburn, 7th Darren Smith and 9th Stephen Roe) a magnificent effort.
Sarah Roe was Marsh House’s 1st lady over the line and 3rd lady overall in the race. Helen Hill pipped Sally Dack to the finish for 2nd and 3rd, with Fiona Roe claiming 4th Marsh House Lady.
Liam Aldridge 
Sarah Roe 
James Fishburn and Darren Smith 
Ian Harris 
Helen Hill 
Fiona Roe 
Andy Chadfield 
Sally Dack
Well done everyone that took part.
Also, a big thank you to Alan Dowson, Race Director for organising the event, all the Marshalls and the team that worked behind the scenes on the day. Without these unsung heroes our races wouldn’t happen.
Also, thanks to Karen Harland for taking so many excellent photos on the day – https://bit.ly/2Eg0jSV
Full Race Results can be found at – https://racebest.com/results/x6z3a
