Athletics

Rob Cole celebrated victory in the penultimate round of the North Yorkshire and South Durham Cross-Country League at Hartlepool on Sunday.

Rob took command on the testing, five-and-a-half mile course at Summerhill to win by 16 seconds in 31 mins 42 secs. U-20 runner Paul McNally was next home for the club in 17th place and Warren Vauro was 20th. Middlesbrough's other counters were Graham Bell, Steve Honeyman and Mike Shaw for a fifth-place team finish.

Meanwhile, the Middlesbrough A team finished sixth in the Gosforth Road Relays the previous day. International duathlete Paul Lowe was their fastest runner, with good support from Nathaniel Williams, Vic Brudenell and Jonathan Skidmore. The B team of Gary Burnip, Ian Hodgson, Andy Laing and Mike Vickers finished 24th.

Scottish Championships

Peter Vickers (Middlesbrough AC (Mandale) won the silver medal in the Scottish U20 60m championship in Glasgow. He clocked 7.03 missing the gold medal by a one hundredth of a second but it means he has gained medals of all colours this winter with a record breaking two gold medals in the North-East championships, a bronze in the North of England championship and a place in the AAA finals.

His training partner Chris Jones, better known as medallist in 400m and long jump, competed in the 60m and 200m at U17 level and came away with personal bests of 7.37 and 23.46. Both teenagers made the grand prix final last year as two of the top U20 athletes in Great Britain and will both be eligible again this season when they will be hoping to improve on last year's placings.

Shildon Athletics

OMarch 1 the club competed at the fifth North Yorkshire and South Durham Cross County fixture held at Hartlepool, with an all-round club performance from all athletes.

Results: U13 Boys Simon Hewitson 9th 13.03. U15 Boys: Matthew Hewitson 7th 12.07m Jalal Thompson 11th 12.54. U17Men: Matthew Lomax 1st 23.25. Senior Men: Malcolm Ingram 34th 36.50; John Dennis 43rd 37,26; Adam Ingram 47th 37,59; John Gibson 104th 48.21.

U13 Girls: Abby Suffield 2nd 12.52. U15 Girls: Abby Wilson 2nd 12.57; Natalie Cross 16th 15.14. Sen/Inter Girls: Natalie Owens 12th 20.15.

The same weekend the club's sprinters competed at the Bank of Scotland U17 and U20 indoor championships at the Kelvin Hall Glasgow, with personal bests from Adam Rogers in the 60m and John Burns in the 200m.

Results: U10 Men 400m: Richard Turner 3rd 60. 17. U17 Men 200m: John Burns 4th 25.59. U20 Men 60m: Adam Rogers 4th 7.58. U17 Women 60m heat: Catherine Turner 2nd 8.32.

Semi Final: U10 Women 400: Gemma Brown 4th 64.74.

Anyone interested in athletics can come and try with no obligation to join at the Stadium 2000 Sunnydale Leisure Centre, Shildon on Monday and Wednesday evenings 6pm or contact Secretary Mr N Stockley on (01388) 776083/029645 for further details.

Thirsk and Sowerby Harriers

Hartlepool was the venue for the sixth fixture in the NYSD Harriers Cross Country League. William Hayward came 13th in the Under 13 boys and always runs with enthusiasm. There were eight lady Harriers taking part in their event, which was won by Catherine Hare of Loftus AC in 17.45 minutes. Catriona Gaudie was the first of the Thirsk and Sowerby runners, in 8th place, in 19.34 minutes. Angela Hayward came 10th in 19.58, and was the 2nd V1 lady. Caroline Pollard, in her first cross country race for the club, was 13th in 20.19, Jill Soper 21st in 21.37, Pat Kirby 24th in 22.34, Nicola Thorpe 31st in 24.25, Pamela Sherlock 39th in 28.02 and Marian Codling 40th in 29.56. The Ladies Team finished in an excellent 1st place ahead of Scarborough and Richmond and Zetland.

When it came to the men's race there were only 3 men from Thirsk and Sowerby, which was disappointing after previous showings,and badly affected their team placing. 117 men did finish, and the race was won by Rob Cole of Mandale in 31.42 minutes. Richard Hall did well as usual, finishing in 14th place in 34.31, Richard Soper 73rd in 40.44 and Alasdair Thorpe 87th in 43.26. The next fixture is at Richmond on March 16th, when it is to be hoped more men will be running. The following week is the next event in the Club Championship, the White Horse Wander Fell Race, when we will expect a good turnout.

Quakers RC

Alasdair Tatham and Ian Scott both had terrific runs at Pocklington's Snake Lane 10 mile road race on Sunday, 23 February. Alasdair finished 5th overall out of 587 competitors in a time of 55:20, followed by Ian who was 15th overall in 57:18 taking the 2nd over 45 prize.

The final Castle Eden Walkway Handicap will be held on Sunday, 9 March . The handicap race covers 5.5 miles of public footpaths and bridleways on the Castle Eden Walkway. Start time 10.30am from The Castle Eden Walkway Visitors Centre, near Thorpe Thewles, off the A177. £50 in series prizes. Competitors must be at least 16 years of age on the day of the race. Entry fee £4 per race (unattached £5 per race).

The first of the Quakers Durham Fell Challenge Series commences shortly. The first out of the 7 events is Doctors Gate Hill Race will be held in Hamsterley Forest on Sunday, 30 March. The race commences at 11.00 am and covers 5.5 miles over 1102 feet of climbing. Registration/start is at the Grove Cark Park, all parking charges are included within the race entry fee. There is also a junior 2 mile fell race starting at 10.30 am.

The Quakers Running Club train on Tuesdays and Thursdays evenings, 6.30 pm from Hummersknott School, Darlington. All abilities welcome. For further details see www.quakersrunningclub.co.uk