On Wednesday 29 June, several Members took part in the Darlington Trail Series run 4 with this being a 5k run around West Park. At the time of writing, the results from this race are not available with an update to be provided in next week’s report.
On the same night, two Members took part in the North East Grand Prix at Monkton Stadium. John Firby finished his heat in a time of 9:54.56 for the 3,000 metres with Dez Fielden also taking part at that distance finishing in a time of 10:28.61, breaking another club record for the Male 50-54 category.
On Sunday 3 July the Great North 10k took place with the route starting in front of the Baltic, taking runners on a journey along the River Tyne. David Stothard was the sole representative for the Club coming back in a time of 56:02.
Saturday morning was a very busy one for Members with a total of 23 members beginning their weekend with a Parkrun. The Club was represented at the Albert (Middlesbrough), Town Moor, Highbury Fields, Darlington South Park, Hackworth, Westport, Drumpellier Country Park and Hamsterley, events.
Craig Robinson took part in the run at Drumpellier Country Park for the first time, finishing in a time of 29:00. Over at Hackworth, Stuart Joyce finished 3rd in a time of 21:19. At Westport, Linda McNamee completed this event for the first time, finishing in a time of 32:34.
Peter Jarps competed at Hamsterely for the first time finishing in a time of 24:57. Richard MacFarlane also took part at this event for the first time finishing in a time of 28:41. Another member attending this run for the first time was Donna Jarps finishing in a time of 33:31 followed by Mandy Heywood in a time of 33:37.
At Highbury Park, Paul Dalton, completed this event for the first time, finishing 7th in a time of 18:05, his fastest parkrun of the year. Claire Stradling also completed this event for the first time finishing in a time of 23:51 whilst setting a new personal best for a parkrun.
If you feel inspired to start running, or want to run with like-minded people, our sessions cater for people of all abilities. Every Monday we have a Beginner’s Run that starts at 6:30pm at the Oakleaf Sports Complex, School Aycliffe Lane. It is a steady run that can be used if you are a beginner, returning from injury, or just looking for a social run with like-minded people. It is a very welcoming session and perfect for anyone starting out.
Every Tuesday we have the main outdoor running session which starts at 7pm. Usually, we meet at the Sports Complex but there are occasions where we meet somewhere else depending on where the session takes place. These sessions are usually interval sessions over various distances and will focus on strength, speed and stamina and is aimed to replicate how you would run in a race. We do this in 3 groups so that the session can fit around people of all abilities. Again, ideal if you want to take your running to the next level and build up speed but also good for all abilities and running with like-minded people. There are some excellent sessions. On Thursday’s we meet at Shildon 2000 Stadium with the session starting at 6:30pm. We usually meet at Sunnydale Leisure Centre from 6:15pm with the option for a warm up around the edge of the track.
There are other sessions that some members will organise and on Wednesday’s there will be some social runs which can be used as a recovery run and it’s also a good opportunity to have a chat with someone as you run. Those sessions usually start at 6:30pm at the Oakleaf Sports Complex but check out our Facebook page before attending any of the sessions to make sure they are still taking place. We start all sessions with a gentle warm up although sometimes at the track there will be activities to get you moving as well as our loud speaker playing out everyone’s favourite tunes! All sessions finish with a cool down and some static stretches.
We would love it if you came along and tried one of the sessions. We know that once you do, you will be back on a regular basis and it may be YOU that, ends up with your name in our race reports. The good thing about running is that you can do it pretty much anywhere and it can be free. Running with others helps keep you motivated and also gives you confidence to push on and do more. Being active is not only good for your physical health but equally important for your mental health. All you need to do is turn up for a session and introduce yourself, if you have any queries about the activities of Aycliffe Running Club, or are interested in joining the Club, please visit our website www.ayclifferunningclub.org.uk, or contact the Club’s Secretary, Donna, at ayclifferunningclub@gmail.com