Runners old and young tackle trails and...mud!

IN the first Winter Stockton Trail Race, two of Shildon’s young athletes were competing at the Wynyard Woodland Park venue.

First up was Callum Darby in the 2k race finishing in a time of 9:09 in overall 22nd position.

Cameron Stainsby made his debut in the senior’s race completing the 5k course in a time of 20:47 in a fantastic 14th position out of a field of 233 runners.

Members of the Shildon Sprint Group began their indoor season as they attended the first meeting of the Winter Grand Prix Series for Junior Athletes at Monkton Stadium in Jarrow.

In the under 13 girls 60m sprint heats both Leah Rutherford and Amyleigh Hutchinson ran well finishing second in their respective heats both in 9.5 seconds but unfortunately missed out on qualification for the final as the fastest loser.

Georgia Gatiss made her first appearance for the club in the under 15 girls 60m sprint and put in an excellent performance to finish second in her heat in 9.1 seconds thus qualifying for the final. In the final Georgia again performed well against a more experienced field finishing in fourth place in 9.3 seconds.

Maddie Wells and Rachel Bennett were next, both having just recently moved up to the under 15 level, but it was business as usual in the 60m sprint as both girls won their heats in 8.4 and 8.1 seconds respectively. In the final both girls showed their potential at this level running away from the field with Rachel narrowly claiming a hard-fought victory in 8.2 seconds with Maddie finishing second in 8.3 seconds. Georgia Hirst’s hard work in training paid off as she claimed victory in the under 20 girls 60m sprint in 8.5 seconds whilst Scott Michael sprinted his way to victory in the men’s under 20 men’s 60m in 7.3 seconds The evening event concluded with the 600m events where at under 13 level Leah Rutherford put up a spirited performance to finish third in her heat in 2.33.6 whilst in the corresponding under 20 girls event, Georgia Hirst finished first in a time of 2.03.2 Sunday saw the first meeting of the Winter Grand Prix for minor athletes which like the junior series is held at Monkton Stadium in Jarrow. Making her first appearance at Monkton Cody Hall set out her stall in the heats of the under 10 girls 60m sprints and finished in 10 seconds dead.

In the heats of the under 11 girls 60m Kayleigh Readman likewise made her presence known and finished her race in 9.5 seconds and then stepped up a gear in the finals and finished in second place overall in a time of 9.4 seconds.

Kayleigh then took on the 600m race and finished fourth overall in a time of 2.24.3 Members of the Senior group were out in action this weekend at the Maltby 7 mile road race.

First back was David Beadle in a time of 52.08, Ian Rudge 54.49, Andrew Green 55.59, Phil Crowe 57.39, Shannon Ross 58.57, Helen Race 65.17, Peter Lawson 68.02, Natalie Green 74.29 and in her 11th race this year Emma Flynn finished in a time of 80.36 Shildon Running & Athletic Club is open to anyone from the age of eight-plus. If you are interested in joining the club then come for a free tryout session. For details of club nights and times to suit your age group please check out shildonrunning.co.uk or email secretary@shildonrunning.co.uk.

Darlington Harriers & AC

FIVE seniors took part in the Maltby seven-mile road race last weekend. The event, famous for its uphill finish, attracted a full entry list.

Dom Colley was first home for the club in 81st place with a time of 51 mins 5 secs. Val Clarke was only a few seconds behind in 90th place, with her time of 51:40 making her FV55 winner.

Ian Barnes was second MV70 in 189th place with 58:16 and Shirley Gibson was FV60 winner in 198th place with 58:49.

At the previous day’s South Park 5k parkrun, Colin Taylor was in fine form to win the race in 17 mins 52 secs. Mark Milner was 22nd in 21:06 and junior Emma Hart had a great run to finish 27th in 21:15.

Liam Brittle, another junior, finished in 35th place with 21:41 and Dom Colley was 63rd in 23:31, a second ahead of Peter Armstrong. Dave McKenna was 68th in 23:42 and Shirley Gibson was 77th in 24:08. Steve Dauber was 145th in 29:09.

Two members ventured further afield to tackle the Fountains Abbey park run on the same day. Simon Rogers finished fifth in 18:10 and Paul Cook was 12th in 18:49.

Several members also took part in the Town Moor 10k in Newcastle, for which results are awaited.

Harriers train on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Eastbourne sports complex at 6.15pm when new members are always welcome.

Aycliffe AC

HEATON Harriers held there Town Moor Memorial 10k last Sunday at Exhibition Park, Newcastle, a good flat course and ideal for athletes looking for a fast time.

The two women representing Aycliffe duly met the challenge!

In a field of well over 500 Trish Kay finished 329th in 48:38, her fastest time for quite a while, and Susan Clark knocked a massive two minutes off her time from last year, finishing 528th in 60:48.

LADIES FIRST: Trish Kay and Susan Clark ran well at Newcastle

On the same day three athletes from the club took part in the Maltby Road Race. This is over 7 miles and is quite undulating.

First home for the club was Robert Young, 74th in 50:18, followed by Sandra Collins, 129th in 54:02 and Dave Mackenzie, 257th in 63:58.

Elvet Striders

STRIDERS were well represented in park runs across the country.

At Goathland, North Yorkshire, as part of the Hardmoors 26.2 Trail Marathon series, marathon veterans Dave Robson (100+) and Melanie Hudson in her 15th marathon this year competed in what was probably the wettest underfoot conditions they have ever encountered.

Quite a few of the trails were like streams and many of the rest were muddy and boggy. It also rained heavily from just before halfway. A very pretty route though and they really enjoyed it.

In the half marathon, first time Hardmoors runner Diane Watson did a face plant in the mud but finished undeterred! Also running were Juliet Percival and Phil Owen.

In August Hardmoors staged a 30-mile ultra marathon the Princess Challenge, with all proceeds going to Scarborough & Ryedale Mountain Rescue team.

This Saturday saw the Hardmoors team hand over the cheque for over £2,000. One of the organisers of the Princess Challenge was Elvet Strider Phil Owen, led by Kelly Jackson of the Hardmoors run series.

In the 10k, husband and wife Lindsay and Helen Rodgers took part, and in Helen’s first Hardmoors event she took a nasty tumble during the first mile but still finished smiling.

Also running were Mark and Anita Dunseith. Mark said this was the most fun race he’s ever entered – running fast down steep muddy descents made for a great afternoon!

In the Town Moor Memorial 10K, a large Striders turn out observed a two-minute silence before setting off on two laps of the town moor. A number of Striders achieved PBs – Laura Jackson, Sophie Dennis, Denise Benvin, Jane Baillie, Rob Everson, Simon Gardner and Karen Hooper. Veteran Conrad White achieved his best time since 2008 at this distance.

At the MoRun, in support of Movember, on theTown Moor, there were 5k and 10k options, with some Striders running in both the Memorial Race and this!

Next Saturday sees the North Eastern Harrier League fixture at Aykley Heads.

Quakers RC

QUAKERS were once again scattered across the region last weekend, with a variety of races on the calendar, including the latest 10K league race.

At the Heaton Town Moor 10K, Andrew Vernon completed the course in 39:31 (PB), followed by Colin Wild (39:34), Rob Gillham (44:08), Sarah Watson (49:54, PB), Phill Hall (49:58), Steven Johnston (50:31), Bridget Stewart (50:33, PB), Pamela Barrass (52:09), James Simpson (55:30, PB), Paul Hutchinson (56:18), Ian Young (56:38), Michelle Boshier (57:33), Lewis Boshier (57:33), Clair Bage (59:11) and Nigel Walker (59:12).

In Maltby, Stephen Moore completed the seven-mile route in 49:25, along with Peter Dods (53:09), Andrew Walker (53:12), Danny Gordon (56:15), David Hood (1:02:23), Colin Smith (1:03:24), Sarah Leach (1:03:35) and Jane Bell (1:31:58).

The previous week had also seen the first of the Stockton Winter 5K trail series, held at Wynyard. First home over the woodland course was Rob Dent in 21:13, followed by David Aiken (23:05), Ewan Henderson (23:25), Paul Roberts (23:45) and Phil Hall (26:23).

In the Saturday morning park runs, Marc Ellis ran at South Park in 18:30, followed by Nick Mason (18:42), Dawn Richardson (19:37), Steven Snook (20:38), David Mclachlan (21:12), Gary Read (21:15), David Whittle (21:26), Ewan Henderson (21:33), Darryn Wood (23:56), Mark Blewitt (25:07), Sarah Watson (25:24), Andrew Vernon (25:24), Rebecca Bowes (26:45), Paula Roberts (27:52), Hannah Robinson (28:01), Lee Morris (28:17), Sally Singleton (28:42), Terri Deighton (29:48), Rob Gillham (30:20), Michael King (30:58) and Ian Bond (44:44).

At Albert Park, Michael Joyeux finished in 16:43, along with Brian Martin (19:04), Stephen Moore (20:27), Lesley Miller (23:31), Phil Hall (23:34) and James Simpson (25:31), while at Tees Barrage, Dave Thompson and John Brant completed the course in 23:37 and 27:38 respectively.

At Sedgefield, Phil Clarke ran in 21:25 along with Paul Roberts (22:11) and Colin Wild (31:07), while Paul and Jeanette Appleton headed to Lincoln, completing the run in 25:35 and 28:00.