The past couple of weeks have been affected by the weather which has seen a number of races cancelled although some have managed to take place.
On Saturday 9th December, the club travelled to Temple Park in South Shields for the North East Counties Athletics Association Cross Country Championships. In the Boys Under 11 race Elijah McLuckie (10:28) was the sole representative for the club. In the Under 17 Boys race, Max Todd (31:23) was the sole runner for the club.
In the Senior Men’s race, Richard Campbell (53:14), Martin Turnbull (55:06), Richard Holland (1:00:55) and Shaun Dodd (1:01:28) all took part. It was noted that the conditions on the day were treacherous with a lot of mud and some deep puddles to run through which is testament to the effort shown by everyone that took part. Unfortunately, one member had to drop out after one lap with an injury after slipping on the mud.
On Sunday 10th December, two members took part in the Dalton Park Winter 10k with David Stothard (56:36) and Ian Stothard (1:14:09) both representing the club.
On Saturday 2nd December, five members started their weekend with a parkrun on a weather impacted weekend, taking in the Cotsford Fields, Marshall Drive, Bear Creek Greenbelt and Epworth Equestrian events.
At Cotsford Fields, David Stothard (30:46) and Ian Stothard (39:35) both completed the course. Em Flyn travelled to Marshall Drive, setting a new personal best for the course of 35:29. Matt Heron (21:52) took part in the event at Bear Creek Greenbelt for the first time. At Epworth Equestrian, Keith Hatton set a new personal best for the course of 28:04.
On Saturday 9th December, 24 members started their weekend with a parkrun, taking in the Albert, Town Moor, Whitley Bay, Sedgefield, Darlington South Park, Hackworth, Hartlepool, North Yorkshire Water Park and Wynyard Woodland events.
At Albert Park, Dave Stothard (25:48) and Ian Stothard (34:14) both set new personal bests for the course. At Darlington South Park, John Surtees (17:11) finished fourth with Tracey Surtees (20:48) finishing as first lady.
At Hackworth, Anthony Dickinson (20:32) finished second, setting a new personal best for any parkrun of 20:32. At Hartlepool, Danial Tatham also set a new personal best, for any parkrun, of 22:15. Tracey Pickering (30:18) and Cliff Pickering (32:30) both set a new personal best for Hartlepool. At North Yorkshire Water Park, Bernadette Cooper completed the course for the first time, finishing as third lady, in a time of 24:10.
If you are feeling inspired and are interested in joining the club, or want to take your running to the next level, you can turn up for one of our sessions. Our sessions cater for people of all abilities and we would be delighted if you wanted to join us to mark that next chapter in your life with running.
You can find out more by visiting or website or our Facebook page. If you would like to chat with someone, then you can email ayclifferunningclub@gmail.com – Make this the time you get into running and join us to keep it going for many years to come.