North East Masters Athletics Association (NEMAA) Track and Field League Meetings 5 and 6 – 31st July 2023 & 7th August 2023
Meeting 5 The penultimate NEMAA Track & Field League took place on Monday 31st July. As was the case with most of July (or so it seemed) it had rained quite a bit during the day, and a particularly heavy deluge in the vicinity of Monkton Stadium at about 5pm resulted in the cancellation of all field events. Here’s the post that appeared on the NEMAA website: “It’s a washout!” "Huge apologies to those athletes who turned up tonight to find that all
Ben Rinnes 5 Tops Hill Race and the Aberlour Stathspey 10 Mile Hill Race – August 2023
by Brad Wight I'm back up in the Highlands on our annual summer holiday to see the in-laws. Last year I chickened out of the Ben Rinnes 5 Tops race and regretted it, so decided to give it a shot this year. The race is an out and back from the Dufftown Highland Games. Straight up and over two very big hills, then up to the top of a mountain, turn round and come back the way you came. To say I
Darlington Junior 3k and Fun Run – 6th August 2023
by Laura Newby Jake and Jack ran their little socks off and completed the Darlington fun run in super hero style. They both completed it with big smiles on their faces and were encouraged throughout by other Juniors/Seniors showing great team spirit and support. Well done boys you both did amazing, keep up the great work! Maisy, Alex and Charlie took part in the 3K. Alex nabbed a PB (16:19) which shows how his hard work in training has paid off. Alex
North East Grand Prix 5 – 26th July 2023
by Alex Hird On Wednesday I was back at Monkton Stadium for the penultimate NEGP fixture of the season. Only me there again, but this time I'd signed up to two events; 1500m and 400m. My 400m race was up first, I had a good draw in lane 3, and I had a good battle down the home straight to finish 2nd in a time of 55.20s, which was a PB by nearly 2 seconds. That doesn't sound like much, but it's
North East Masters Athletics Association (NEMAA) Track and Field League Meeting 4 – 17th July 2023
by Geoff Hewitson The fourth NEMAA Track & Field League meeting took place at Monkton Stadium on Monday 17th July, where once again the weather conditions were generally favourable for competition, (apart from the almost obligatory headwind down the home straight!). Our club had a total of 11 competitors (8 men and 3 ladies) – not massive numbers by any means but at least we’ve managed to field complete teams (and therefore score League points) at every meeting so far. The men’s
Sunderland Silksworth 5K NE Championships – 20th July 2023
by Simon Pickering This was my first time doing this course, and I’d been sold it as a “bloody quick course”. As soon as I saw the first half mile, I understood why. It turned out to be a good night for Crook, with many people getting 5k PB’s. I got there early as I went straight from work and was one of the first to register. Simple enough process. I soon started to get imposter syndrome seeing the height and the
North Yorkshire South Durham Track & Field League – 18th July 2023
by Alex Hird Whilst the majority of our members were in Crook for the club 10K Championships, I headed for Middlesbrough to take part in the NYSD T&F League. This should've been the 4th NYSD fixture of the summer, but unfortunately the first three were cancelled for various reasons. Also, this fixture should've been held at out track at Shildon whilst we vacated to do the club 10K, but following feedback from officials and volunteers the decision was made to switch it
Stanhope Trail Races Half-marathon AKA 15 MILE! – 16th July 2023
by Lisa Donaldson I thought I would sign up for a challenging run for my London marathon training back in March but due to the weather it got snowed off and re-arranged for July time. Ok, no bother, I will use it for my Amsterdam marathon training.… winner!! I knew it was going to be a challenge with 1800ft of climb within the 1st 9 miles but what you read and what you physically do are two different things altogether and WOW,
The Andy Billett Memorial Summer Festival of Athletics – 9th July 2023
by Colin Everson Joe and Alex took part in the C.D.A.N. Summer Festival which is a ‘Quadkids’ type event for young athletes who are members of County Durham clubs. It encompasses all the key aspects of athletics - endurance, speed, agility and strength. The young athletes were in four groups Under 9’s; Under 11’s; Under 13’s and Under 15/ 17’s. They took part in Howler Throws, Long Jump, Longer Runs and Sprints. 79 athletes participated in the event including some of the best junior
North East Grand Prix 4 – 12th July 2023
by Alex Hird Wednesday evening was the 4th North East Grand Prix fixture of the season at Monkton Stadium. The NEGP has been incredibly popular this year, with events selling out within an hour of entries opening. Luckily, I managed to grab an 800m place. My goal for 800m is to go sub 2 minutes this year, but after 10 days of eating and drinking rubbish in Cornwall, I knew it wouldn't be tonight. I was in the B heat, which was super