The Morpeth

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The Morpeth is the oldest road running event in England, United Kingdom and is traditionally run on New Year's Day.

The event begun in 1904 and attracts serious competitors from all over the country. Originally the distance covered between Morpeth and Newcastle-upon-Tyne was 13.6 miles but was later changed to 14.1 miles in 1983. Only as late as 2002 was the road race standardised to half-marathon distance. The title of most victories belongs to that of Dunky Wright who scored seven wins. Local lad 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.

[edit] Recent difficulties

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 (which was met with much resistance from the current organisers). Nevertheless, the campaigning goes on. At present, Morpeth Harriers host a 11k road race on New Year's Day in which there are over 100 competitors.