The North East Indoor Championships were held in Gateshead at the weekend and Northern Champion, Rachel Bennett from Aycliffe, strolled to victory in her heat in 8.07 seconds only to see her UK ranked No 2 competitor smash the Championship record in her heat in 7.88 seconds.
In the semi final Rachel continued with her recent good form earning herself a place in the final in 8.07 seconds. The final proved to be a titanic tussle with the UK ranked No 2 athlete, as both competitors produced a memorable race which resulted in Rachel claiming a narrow victory equalling her club record and PB in 7.96 seconds to earn North East gold.
Some of the club’s senior members competed in the Ann Johnson Absent Friends Memorial run on Sunday 15th Feb in Billingham. The first Shildon runner home after completing the 5 mile course was Andrea Draper in a time of 42.03, next was Phil Crow in 44.02 closely followed by Michelle Williams in 44.19, with Tanya Williams coming home in a respectable 53.34.
Saturday 14th Feb saw the 100th running of the Hackworth Park parkrun. The organisers were aiming for 100 runners to mark this milestone but were overwhelmed by the response with 242 runners of all ages from all over the country completing the 5km run. Numerous members of the running club competed, volunteered or supported the event. 18 Shildon club runners completed the run with 1 first timer (Emma Flynn) and 2 PBs achieved by Lizzie Wood and Cameron Stainsby. Well done to everyone involved and a huge thank you to everyone who turned out to support. For full results and information as to how you can get involved simply go to www.parkrun.org.uk.
Shildon Running and Athletic Club is open to anyone from the age of 7 upwards providing that the child is in year 3 at school. If you are interested in joining the club then go along for a free tryout session.
For details of club nights and times to suit your age group, check out www.shildonrunning.co.uk or email secretary@shildonrunning.co.uk.
You can also log into Facebook and like our page to see more reports and photos and generally keep up to date with what’s going on in your local club.
Hackworth Park run is open to everyone, is free to enter and takes place each Saturday morning starting at 9am prompt. To register simply go to www.parkrun.org.uk

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