Gail Foster and Adam Yeadon completed the Scorton Feast Memorial 10k around the setting of Scorton Lakes in this beautiful North Yorkshire village on 20th August.

It was a flat, multi-terrain course changed this year to utilise the pathways and the tunnel under the road. There were plenty of marshals en route, which was very well sign posted. The race was part of a three-day village event. It was a sell-out race as all 150 places had been taken. All the runners got a hot drink and cake. Proceeds of the event were split between Target Ovarian Cancer and Herriot  Hospice Homecare. Adam finished in 22nd place with a time of 47 minutes and Gail finished in 123rd place with a time of 1 hour 17 minutes.

Trudy Layton ran the Ali Brownlee 5K on 30 June. This is a great 5k where everyone feels like a true champion. It starts outside the Riverside Stadium in Middlesborough, heading out past the college and Transporter Bridge before returning and finishing inside the Stadium, where runners come in to the sound of cheering spectators and the tune of Chariots of Fire. It was a warm night with a heavy drizzle to keep runners cool and Trudy finished with a time of 32.58 minutes.

Louise Frank’s, Trudy Layton and Joanne Wall took part in the Blaydon Race. The race is 5.8 miles and follows the route of the horse racegoers in the 1862 Geordie Ridley song. A warm and sunny Friday night saw all 3 ladies cross the finish line together in a time of 01:02:56. The ham & pease pudding stottie and Blaydon Race beer in the goodie bags at the end was well earned!

Organised by Durham Fell Runners the Cockfield Chase took place on Thursday 27th April. Six members of Teesdale Athletic Club took part in the 7km race. It was a cold and wet start to the race but the rain soon stopped .The race is designed as a beginner’s race, with two laps of 3.5km.The first lap is in a group to familiarise the runners with the course. Once the first runner is back the second lap race starts. The course was challenging and scenic with a elevation of 160 metres. There were lots of on the night entries and more female starters than males. Apparently this is rare in fell running.
Participants were asked to bring a prize “anything will do” .If you took a prize you got a prize and along with lots of bottles was a melon, free range eggs and a box of Yorkshire tea. Andy Blackett and his volunteers did a great job but they had some technical problems sorting the results. First female back for the club was Carrie Wheeler who had a great run and is one of the couch to 5k graduates. Her time was 31.34. Followed by Joanne Wall 32.35 and Gail Foster 33.27. First male finisher was Dave Raymond 20.31.Second Stuart Jones 21.15 and third Rhys Foster 24.25. Refreshments were provided by Butterknowle Sea Scouts.

Our new (and returning) runners who started the Couch to 5k graduated at the Darlington Park Run on Saturday 15 April 2023 having completed the nine week course they started in January.

Well done to all those who completed the programme; Andrew Stainthorpe, Jack Wheeler, Carrie Wheeler, Jasmine Cable, Kara Hunter, Ellie Cox, Trudy Layton, Julie Hall (pictured at South Park) plus Georgina McGill and Danny Mawer.

Special thanks also to Judith Rodwell for leading this year’s C25k and to Amanda Petitt and Fiona Turnbull who were part of the coaching team.

The last race in the Cross Country season and open to all club members, although it is ran on the paths in South Park, so not a cross country really! Men’s teams were made up of four runners and the women’s had three. Each runner completed 2 laps of the course (equivalent to 2 miles) before handing over to the member of the team. The course is flat and the shorter distance a little lung busting compared to the usual longer routes of 10K for cross country events.

TAC managed to get a women’s team and a men’s team together for the first time this season, which was great. Weather conditions were good for running with no wind and temperatures of 5 or 6 Degrees although those cheering teams on needed layers on! The ladies raced first with Joanne Wall taking the first leg (21.14), Gail Foster following (19.34) and Erica Dixon completing the third leg (16.27), putting the team in 12th position overall.

Josh Mawer led the mens’ race (11.49), followed by Nigel Mawer (13.12), who handed over to Rhys Foster (14.03) with Stuart Jones (14.08) bringing in the final laps, putting the men’s team in 12th position overall out of the 15 entered.

Gail Foster, Erica Dixon, Rhys Foster and Mark Russell travelled to Whitby Sixth Form College for the penultimate cross-country race of the season, with just the relays at the end of the month left to go.

The team arrived in good time and quickly realised the light breeze coming in off the coast would make standing around a chilly affair, however, it was dry and the ground appeared soft so all four were eager to get going to keep warm.

After the juniors race, Gail & Erica made their way to the start for the ladies laps, both keeping a good steady pace and powering up the embankment by the viaduct. The boys moved around the course taking photo’s and cheering them on; Erica finished in 34:03 followed by Gail in 41:48, both finding the course in fine fettle apart from a short section along the railway line.

By the time it was the boys turn, they had already seen the climb up the embankment and realised it would have to tackled three times, so they set off at a steady pace, intending push on the last lap. Both took advantage of running up the climb, gaining position over those walking and Mark came through in 47:33 with Rhys hot on his heels in 47:38.

A great, challenging course with some superb views as you go around.

Erica Dixon took part in the Cancer Research UK London Winter Run on 5 February at the end of her year long physical programme towards the Gold Duke of Edinburgh award. The event took the runners past famous London landmarks such as Trafalgar Square, Downing Street and St Paul’s Cathedral.

Erica’s time was 51 minutes 33 seconds with a pace of 5.09 minutes per kilometre. She was the 609th woman to cross the line out of 7441 entries. Her overall position was 2844th out of the total 14,000 entries and she raised £152 in sponsorship for the Cancer Research UK fund. 

Well done Erica!

Stuart Jones and Dave Raymond represented Teesdale Athletic Club at Richmond XC on Sunday 5th February. The course was 5.5 miles set over four laps of the old racecourse. The going was good to soft with fine sunny weather.
When the race started, Stuart shot out of the starting gate and pulled out an early lead. This eventually disappeared by the start of the final lap and after shadowing Stuart, Dave managed to sprint the final 50 yds and pip Stuart at the post and win by a short head! Dave’s time was 47:34 and Stuart’s 47:43.

On Sunday 22nd January, Gail and Rhys Foster made the 100 mile plus round trip to run in the Carlisle Resolution 10k race. All 404 places had been booked in advance. Also taking place were Children’s 5k and Adult’s 5k races just before the 10.15 am start of the 10k. Registration was at Carlisle Racecourse with ample parking and excellent facilities. The course was a mixture of quiet roads which were generally flat or gently undulating. The weather was initially bitterly cold with slight drizzle. The ice patches on the route at 2 miles were visible and the marshalls were on hand to advise and direct the runners, to make sure they passed this section without a problem. The race finished directly in front of the racecourse grandstand. Rhys was first back for Teesdale in 54.58 (231st place) and Gail’s time was 1.09.00 and 340th position. Rhys and Gail were presented with a great medal.