On Saturday 12th March, Christine Whitford and Dave Raymond travelled to the delightful village of Dent in Cumbria to take part in the 2022 Dentdale Run. The race has a choice of two distances, 8 or 14 miles and is set on undulating roads in the scenic Dentdale valley. With cool but dry and sunny weather on the day making for perfect running conditions Christine completed the 8 mile course in 1h:28 and Dave completed the 14 mile course in 1h:51. A well earned and welcome hot drink,cake and sandwiches awaited the finishers after they crossed the line.
The challenging Stanhope 10K Trail Race took place on Saturday 5th March, organised by Greener Miles Running, with four members of TAC taking part. This was an eco-friendly event – there were no disposable cups, no t-shirts or medals, but instead one of the items in the finishers pack was a packet of mixed flower seeds to encourage bees. The mandatory kit list included a foil blanket and mobile phone which gave an indication of the challenge in store. Registration was at Stanhope Showground at Unthank Park with the event starting a short walk away. The first section was across a couple of fields below Ashes Quarry before climbing up a road and then on to a track, which went down and then up East Lane to Collier Law, a total of 1,200 feet ascent. Despite the blue sky and sun it was very chilly at the top of the moor. After a short flat section it was downhill, carefully crossing the road and on to a very tricky, stoney/rocky steep lane. The next section was in woodland and at times was only a single, very muddy path, with one section having a very steep drop to a waterfall – great care and concentration needed. Finally it was back into Stanhope and across the main road past the swimming pool and over the footbridge and alongside the river to the finish. Rhys Foster was first back in 1:15 and 28th place. Barbara Crawley crossed the line in 60th place in 1:30, Gail Foster in 1:45 and 82nd place and Amanda Pettitt finished in 1:51 and 89th place
Mums and sons were the order of the day on Sunday 20th February as Gail and Rhys Foster, and Alison and Steven Mounter crossed the Pennines to take part in the Wetheral Three Villages 5 Mile race. The race started at Wetheral Community Centre, with the wind and rain easing, and quickly descended out of the village before steadily climbing to the country lanes which led to the village of Scotby. Once through Scotby the run continued to the third village of Cumwhinton before turning back towards Wetheral and the finish line at the Community Centre. It wasn’t too long before the weather deteriorated and driving rain and wind left us all wet through but the runners kept going regardless. Rhys was first of the four to cross the finish line in 47.13, followed by his mum, Gail, in 55.49. Steven finished in 56.09 with his mum, Alison, close behind in 56.19.
The unusually named ‘Bloodaxe Challenge’ was held on Sunday 13th February, taking place in the middle of the Jorvik Viking Festival. It is named after the notorious Viking King – Eric Bloodaxe. Teesdale Athletics Club members Janet Stables and Mandy Harrison travelled to the York Sports Village to take part in the event, running on the 1km cycle route. Both ladies have participated in this event three times previously and love the fact that it is an all-inclusive event. Being in February, the weather conditions are always challenging and this year was no exception. Janet says her hat wouldn’t stay on her head, it was so wet! It is a two hour event and participants can do as much or as little as they wish. This year Janet and Mandy covered 8.3 miles in 1 hour 44 minutes.
On Sunday 6th February, four members of Teesdale Athletics Club attended the sixth round of the NYSD cross country season, this time hosted by the Richmond and Zetland Harriers at the Old Racecourse in Richmond. With stunning views across the valley, there was a bitterly cold wind blowing but the sun was shining for our pre-start photo. However, as the ladies started to assemble for their race start, the skies darkened and some of the team tents were blown away, giving a real indication of the turn in the weather. The course started with an uphill challenge with a strong head wind to make conditions trickier. As runners reached the old grandstand the second half of each lap was a steady downhill with a tail wind giving time for recovery before turning once again and starting the climb back into the wind. As the ladies were heading towards their finish, after completing two 2.5K laps, and the men were lining up to start their race, a hailstorm added to the already freezing conditions, with driving hail making the men’s uphill section an even greater challenge. With conditions worsening the organisers thankfully shortened the men’s race to 3 laps. Tricia Child finished the race in 35.39, Alison Mounter in 37.54, Dave Walters finished in 34.58 and Dave Raymond in 42.16.
On Sunday 23rd January 2022, 8 members of Teesdale Athletics Club made the trip over to Carlisle Racecourse to take part in the Carlisle Resolution 10K and 5K races. The organisers, Sport in Action, were celebrating the 10th anniversary of the 10K run and there was an excellent turnout.
First off was the 5K race with Andrew and Steven Mounter competing. The run started with an uphill climb before turning onto quieter lanes and finishing back at the racecourse. Steven had a strong finish beating his Dad by 15 seconds to finish in 34:22, with Andrew crossing the line in 34:37.
The 10K race started a few minutes later with competitors making their way uphill for a good 3 kilometres. The course then turned off onto lanes but continued to be undulating throughout. After another long hill up to the 9K mark, the race turned back towards the racecourse with a welcome downhill section before turning into the finish line in front of the racecourse grandstand. First home for Teesdale Athletics was Alan Bray in 51:42,followed by Dave Raymond in 56:50, closely followed by Louise Franks in 56:51. Eleanor Buck crossed the line in 60:16, Christine Whitford in 64;37 and Alison Mounter in 69:56.
Congratulations to both Louise and Eleanor who gained personal bests on the day.
The 5th round of the NYSD cross country competition took place at Ormesby Hall on Sunday 9th December. A fairly flat course, this should have been a relatively speedy race under normal circumstances but it was not to be. Because of the recent rain, the 6 members of Teesdale AC who travelled to the event were greeted with a sea of mud, especially around the start and finish areas. After the junior races, which churned up the surface even more, the women completed two laps of the course, and found staying on their feet challenging. As the course made its way out along the field, the surface improved slightly and when the course turned down into the wood, the ground was thankfully much firmer. The men fared worse as theirs was the final race and they had three laps to complete. Because of the conditions, the course was shortened and NYMAC have to be commended for putting on an excellent race under the challenging conditions. First back for TAC women was Louise Franks 38.28, second Judith Rodwell 40.58 closely followed by Tricia Child 41.19. For the men first back for TAC was Nigel Mawer 44.36, second David Raymond 47.34 and Peter Wilcox 49.40.
The first race of 2022 took place on 2nd January 2022. Four members travelled to Hartlepool on a fine but cool & breezy Sunday to compete in the Stuart Pailor Memorial Race.
The scenic 5.5 mile course had a bit of everything: starting and finishing on tarmac with farm tracks, challenging steep descents & ascents through the beautiful Nesbitt Dene and even a disused railway line.
Dave Raymond finished first in 44:44, followed by Barbara Crawley in 54:14, then Amanda Pettitt in 1:05:04. Unfortunately Judith Rodwell took a tumble near the start and was unable to complete the run.
The last race of 2021 took place on Tuesday 28th December 2021, four members, supported by family and friends, travelled to Ripon to take part in the Jolly Holly Jog. The fog and rain just cleared for the start of the 10k race organised by Ripon Runners. This year the race had a new start and finish at Hell Wath Nature Reserve, with the multi-terrain course taking in Studley Deer Park and Fountains Abbey.
The volunteer marshals did a great job at keeping the runners on track along the way. Great scenery, steep inclines and muddy, slippery conditions made for a challenging and interesting run.
First home for Teesdale Athletics was Rhys Foster with a time of 57:28, followed by Eleanor Buck in 1:11:33, Judith Rodwell in 1:13:46 and Gail Foster in 1:18:36. Judith was the first veteran female across the line in her age category. Eleanor, Gail and Rhys were all running their first 10k runs representing TAC.
On Sunday 19th December 2021, 13 members of Teesdale Athletics Club travelled to Barton, nr Darlington, to take part in the annual McTaggart Trot. The race is organised by Darlington Harriers and raises valuable funds for St Teresa’s Hospice in Darlington. This team event sees teams of three run together over a cumulative distance of 11 miles. At 4 miles one member drops out, then the second member finishes at 7.5 miles with the remaining team member finishing the full 11 miles. Fancy dress is a must and there were santas, snowmen and elves in abundance! Well done to Fiona Turnbull, Louise Franks, Dave Raymond, Steven Mounter, Jane Mardon, Gail Foster, Joanne Wall, Erica Dixon, Christine Whitford, Alan Bray, Melanie Pullman, Judith Rodwell and Alison Mounter, who all braved the freezing fog and bitterly cold temperature. The teams were supported by Janet Stables who gave us all plenty of encouragement and much appreciated lifts from the various stops back to the village hall.