Morpeth To Newcastle Road Race


The Morpeth To Newcastle Road Race was the oldest road running event in England, United Kingdom and was traditionally run on New Year's Day from Morpeth to Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

History

The event begun in 1904 between Morpeth and Newcastle-upon-Tyne covering a distance of but was later changed to in 1983.
Only in 2002 was the road race standardised to the half-marathon distance.
In 2002 the sponsor pulled out and finance for safety precautions became a serious issue for the host club Morpeth Harriers. The race was moved away from its traditional New Year's Day slot to the second Sunday in January. The last official Morpeth was run in its centenary Year of 2004.
Ultimately the race was cancelled in 2005 and 2006 as safety issues could not be resolved with the local authorities.
In particular the police, who proposed a new route via Dinnington.
At present, Morpeth Harriers host an 11k road race on New Year's Day in which there are over 100 competitors.
In 2016 a new race called Morpeth 2 Newcastle incorporating a marathon and a half marathon took place on 30 October.

Winners

The title of most victories belongs to that of Dunky Wright who scored seven wins. North-East based athlete Jim Alder who represented Scotland in the 1966 Kingston Commonwealth Games and won a Gold medal in the marathon has also claimed five victories in this event.

Morpeth to Newcastle Marathon (2016–).

DateTime Men's raceTime Women's race
30 October 20162:38:08Conrad Franks3:16:14Gillian Allen

North Tyneside to Newcastle Half Marathon (2016–).

DateTime Men's raceTime Women's race
30 October 20161:09:24Abraham Tewelde1:31:22Andrea Banner

Over Half Marathon distance (2002–2004).

DateTime Men's raceTime Women's race
11 January 20041:07:23Huw Lobb1:16:35Annie Emmerson
12 January 20031:07:48David Norman1:15:36Andrea Green
13 January 20021:07:24Dominic Bannister1:21:16Jan Roxburgh