By Steven Dawson
It has been another very busy week for Aycliffe Running Club with the return to autumn racing and that means cross country running.
A special mention for one of our Juniors, Will Allison who recently took part in the schools’ cross country and finished joint first.
This means that he has progressed to the County finals on October 24 and we will keep our fingers crossed for another excellent performance.
On Saturday, one member travelled to Kielder to take part in the Kielder 10k, with Steve Williams running an excellent race and getting below one hour in a time of 56:57.
At the same time one of our members took part in the Duathlon incorporating running and cycling. Fresh from Berlin marathon, Trevor Dixon (2:25:49) finished a brilliant third overall.
Sunday saw the return of the NYSD Cross Country League and the first fixture at Acklam.
There were an amazing 38 members representing the club across all age ranges.
In the under 11 boys’ race, Joe Dickinson (7:16), Elijah McLuckie (8:39) and Elijah Turnbull (9:04) represented the club. In the Under 13 boys’ race, Ryan Cooper (11:36) was the sole representative for the club. Luke Walker (11:48) was the sole representative for the club in the Under 15 boys’ race.
In the senior women’s race, Bernadette Cooper (27:00), Emma Lowson (28:33), Sarah Gill (30:48), Shelley Ramsey (32:44), Susan Blackburn-Rees (33:02), Lucy Heron (33:19), Cath McDonnell (33:21), Carley Cooper (33:59), Sandrine Boinet-Hewitt (34:58), Kelly Dickinson (35:11), Anne Kellett (36:47), Melanie Varley (38:00), Em Flynn (40:27), Viv Williams (40:31), Kathleen Tonge (40:31) and Tracey Pickering (44:18) all represented the club.
In the senior men’s race, John Firby (38:54), Matt Muir (42:38), Andrew Sedgwick (44:06), Martin Turnbull (44:36), Ian Payne (45:10), Daniel Tatham (48:16), Martin Sedgwick (49:26), Matt Heron (51:10), Andy Talbot (52:43), Thomas Heywood (56:38), Salv McDonnell (57:43) and Keith Hatton (59:38) represented the club. In the men’s over 65 category Trevor Needham (28:24) finished first and John Burnside (31:04) third, with Steve Williams (33:05), Rob Nicholson (34:21) and Richard Tonge (36:57) also representing the club. In the men’s over 70 race, Kevin Greenall (36:08) was the sole runner for the club.
On the same day, three members travelled to Kielder in Northumberland to take part in the Kielder Half Marathon.
This sees runners run 13.1 miles around the reservoir with some challenging elevation. Representing the club were Gary O’Connor (1:36:06), Kieron O’Connor (1:44:16) and Tamara Kirk (2:03:02).
At the same time, one member took part in the challenging Penshaw 10k which sees runners finish at the top of Penshaw Hill. Jean-Pierre Hupin (1:18:07) was the sole representative for the club.
On Saturday, September 28, 38 members started their weekend with a parkrun.
At Durham, Jimmy Agnew set a new PB of 20:58 in his 25th ever parkrun with Trevor Agnew (23:01) also setting a new course PB. Deborah Kell (27:48) also completed the course for the first time.
At Hackworth, there was a brilliant turnout from the club to see Tony Collins (38:19) complete his 250th ever parkrun, a fantastic achievement.
At Keswick, John Surtees (17:00) finished fifth, with Salv McDonnell (26:15) and Cath McDonnell (28:08) completing the course for the first time.
At Northallerton, Lou Mann (37:59) completed the course for the first time. A special mention for Matt Heron (22:38) who continued his North American journey by finishing second at Duffins Trail in Ajax, Canada.
If you are feeling inspired and are interested in joining the club, you can turn up for one of our sessions. Or visit ayclifferunningclub.org.uk
