On Saturday 18th March, Alan Wilks took part in the North East Masters Athletics Association British Masters Cross County Championships at the Rising Sun Sports Ground in Wallsend. Alan finished third in the Male Over 75 category in a time of 32:25 which is excellent considering he was racing against others from across the entire country.
On Friday 17 and Sunday 19th March, two runners took part in the Dark Skies@Kielder series of races with the 14 mile and 10 mile races. This was a chance to run a loop of the infamous Bull Crag under starlight for the 10 mile race with Keith Hatton completing the course in a time of 1:55:11 and Carley Gibson finishing in a time of 2:00:26. In the 14 mile race, this saw a different route this year and an ‘out and back’ route along the reservoir which still included over 1100 feet of ascent. Carley Gibson finished in a time of 2:44:49 with Keith Hatton finishing in a time of 2:58:15. An amazing achievement from both runners to complete two gruelling races in the dark.
On Saturday, 18 members started their weekend with a parkrun taking in the Highbury Fields, Sedgefield, Darlington South Park, Hackworth, Hartlepool, Blyth Links, Jubilee and Wallace NE UK events.
Angela Sutheran competed at Highbury Fields for the first time finishing in a time of 25:44. Over at Hartlepool, Jayne Rudd completed the course for the first time finishing in a time of 35:58. At Jubilee, Tracey Pickering completed the course for the fifth time and set a new Personal Best for the course finishing in a time of 32:11. Cliff Pickering also completed the event in a time of 34:02.
Carley Gibson completed her amazing weekend of running by completing the event at Wallaceneuk for the first time, finishing in a time of 30:10.
If you are feeling inspired and are interested in joining the club, you can turn up for one of our sessions. More information is available on our website www.ayclifferunningclub.org.uk or our Facebook page. If you would like to chat with someone, then you can email ayclifferunningclub@gmail.com. Make this year the year you get into running and join us to keep it going for many years to come.