Training

Whatever your ability, rest assured there will be a place for you at our weekly club training sessions, which take place all year round (weather permitting). The main session for Senior athletes is on a Tuesday night from 6pm, and for Juniors it’s a Thursday night from 7.15pm.

Newcomers and beginners are always welcome, so why not come along and give it a try. You’ll receive a warm, friendly welcome and you can sample the sessions for the first couple of weeks for free and without any obligation. With over 50 members turning up to the track sessions every week you can be sure to meet some likeminded individuals. Whether you are in it for the fun, to improve fitness or challenge your personal bests these sessions are sure to bring about the progress you are looking for.

Fun is the name of the game for our Juniors with age ranges from 5 to 16 years. Activities and Junior relays keep the young athletes involved from the moment they arrive.

Regular events for Juniors are held throughout the North East where they can represent Crook AC in track, field and cross country.

Some of the older Junior members who are showing particular promise will be invited to train with the Seniors by agreement with the club coaches and if it is deemed that they will gain more benefit from this.

Track sessions on Tuesday nights involve a series of alternate “efforts” (reps) and recoveries. The total effort will usually be about 3 miles (occasionally longer) – examples of some typical track sessions are:

• 12 x 400m with 100m recoveries
• 6 x 800m with 400m recoveries
• Pyramid: 200m/400m/600m/800m/1000m/800m/600m/400m/200m with half distance recovery (maximum 400m)
• 8 x 3 minutes with 2-minute recoveries (on the whistle)

Ideally the recoveries should be done at a steady jog but don’t worry if you need to walk – it’s more important that you recover sufficiently to maintain the quality of the efforts. After you have done a few track sessions you will get to know people and find out who is of a similar ability to yourself. It’s much better to work with a small group where you take turns to set the pace during the efforts.