Sunderland Harriers put in a solid performance to finish 19th in the Northern Athletics 12-stage Road Relay Championship at Blackpool on Saturday.
While the Wearsiders were never going to challenge the leaders, it was a spirited run by the team which was forced to make a number of late changes to the squad.
Tony Allinson, a 43-year-old veteran, was brought into the team at the 11th hour and he was given the anchor leg for his debut appearance.
He was a bag of nerves before he set off on his 5.2k leg from the Stanley Park track, but soon settled down as he made his way through the crowds in the park on the sunny spring day.
He held onto his 16th position before losing three places in the closing stages, but he managed to keep Sheffield at bay, clocking 20min 38sec for his leg and bringing the nearly 48-mile race to an end.
Steve McMahon opened for Sunderland on the long leg of 9.4k and finished 32nd (32.22) before middle distance specialist Michael Wilson hauled back 12 places with his short leg stint of 16.36.
Ian Dixon pegged back another two spots with a 31.54 clocking on long leg three.
Kevin Jeffress put in the club’s best performance of the day by recording a splendid 16.13 to hoist the Wearsiders to their highest position of 13th on leg four, with the 19th fastest time overall. He was second fastest North East runner behind Gateshead’s Chris Parr.....