By Steven Dawson
It has been another very busy week for Aycliffe Running Club as members continue to take part in a variety of different races.
The results are now in from Saltwell Fell Race which took place on Tuesday, July 4.
Representing the club was Martin Turnbull (56:20), Shaun Dodd (69:50) and Sandrine Hewitt (91:05).
On Thursday, July 13, five runners took part in the fourth race in the Muddy Roads series of races and the Pine Forest 5k.
John Surtees (19:45), Matt Muir (20:30), Tracey Surtees (22:11), Sarah Gill (27:17) and Tamara Kirk (27:54) all represented the club. Tracey Surtees continued her excellent form finishing as second female and first female over 30.
Friday, July 14, saw the return of the Durham Festival of Racing and the 5k and 10k Durham City Runs.
In the 10k race, Richard Holland (43:42), Trish Kay (56:20) and third in the female over 60 category, Sue Podmore (59:37), Samantha Harding (1:03:06), Richard Tonge (1:06:37), and Em Flynn (1:08:22) all represented the club. In the 5k race Alan Wlks (26:10), finished second in the men’s over 70 category with Shaun Dodds (26:13) Kathleen Tonge (32:26) and Ian Stothard (36:23) also representing the club.
On Saturday, one member took on a very unique and challenging event completing the Ultra North 55 which is a 55k race starting and finishing in the centre of Newcastle before following the south side of the river Tyne and heading through the Derwent Valley.
This was Carley Gibson’s first Ultra Race and she managed to complete the course in a time of 7:47:27 before enjoying a well earned beer.
On Sunday, seven runners took part in the second race in the Darlington 10k trail Series at South Park.
Richard Trowles (40:12) continued his excellent form, finishing third in the race. Also representing the club were Dave Blewitt (48:31), Daniel Tatham (50:56), David Stothard (57:35), Tracey Pickering (1:09:58), Cliff Pickering (1:18:17) and Ian Stothard (1:28:56).
At the same time, two members took part in the Greener Miles Stanhope 15-mile race, which was a tough trail race around Stanhope featuring over 1,500 feet of climbing. Representing the club were Richard Campbell (2:06:30) and Sandrine Hewitt (3;13:51).
On Saturday, 25 members started their weekend with a parkrun, taking in the Silksworth, Gateshead, Sedgefield, Darlington South Park, Hackworth, Hartlepool, Enniskillen, Jubilee and Wynyard Woodland events.
At Silksworth, Craig Robinson (31:59) completed the event for the first time. At Sedgefield Gareth Hamblin set a new personal best for the course, finishing in a time of 20:17.
At Hackworth, Bernadette Cooper finished as first lady, in a time of 22:51. Kieran Hornsby completed the event at Hartlepool for the fist time, finishing in a time of 23:06. Mark Bainbridge also completed the course in a time of 24:02.
If you are feeling inspired and are interested in joining the club or want to take your running to the next level, you can turn up for one of our sessions. If you would like to chat with someone, then you can email [email protected].