Joined Crook AC: July 1984
5k PB: 17:56
10k PB: 35:50
HM: 80.50
Marathon : 3.14.41 (London 2009)
Favourite Discipline: On the roads, probably 5k. Also, track and field competition
What do you enjoy about Crook AC: The people. We are very lucky to have such a fabulous membership base, and the mutual support and camaraderie is amazing. It’s been said before, but our club is so much more than just a group of people who share a common interest in a particular sport. It’s more like a big family, where members are always there for one another.
What’s your favourite Race?: Many of the races that I would have put on my shortlist of favourites are sadly now consigned to the history books. These would include the iconic “Morpeth to Newcastle New Years Day 14.25 mile”, “Appleton Wiske Half Marathon”, “Norman Woodcock Memorial 6 mile”, and the “Vaux Old Pit Race” which involved 3 and a bit laps round Silksworth on a Wednesday night in late May. The distance was 10.27 km (6.4 miles) – back in the days when they weren’t bothered about races being non-standard in length!
From the current race calendar, I’d probably choose the Blyth Sands Race, with Darlington as a favourite 10k and Sunderland (Silksworth) for 5k.
Proudest moment as a Crook AC Member: There have been so many over the years that it’s very difficult to select just one. As individuals, we’re obviously all proud of our own personal bests and the races where we exceeded all our expectations. However, I think I probably take more satisfaction from the “whole club” achievements over the years. Arguably one of our finest hours as a club was back in the early 1990’s when we finished the NEHL Cross Country season as runners-up in Division 1 to the (at the time) invincible Sunderland Harriers. Since then, however, the club has enjoyed many more successes in team relay events, NEMAA (formerly NEVAC) Track and Field Leagues, cross country, etc, all of which are a source of pride for me.
How/why did you end up joining the club: I’ve been captivated by the sport of athletics from a very early age, and can still remember getting up early before junior school to watch the 1968 Mexico Olympics on our black and white TV. Older members will perhaps recall David Hemery’s gold medal in the 400m hurdles, Bob Beamon’s “enormous” long jump, Dick Fosbury’s unique (at the time) high jump technique, and the Black Power protests by Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 200m medal ceremony.
Opportunities to compete were limited to school sports days and inter-collegiate competitions at University, and in my case, restricted solely to sprint races and jumps. Mass participation events only really started in 1980/81 with the inaugural London Marathon and Great North Run taking place, and it was in the first every running of the latter (1981) that I had my first experience of distance road running. As with many others at that time, I went into it totally underprepared, and was put off for quite a few months afterwards. Having started my first job later that year, I found that several of my colleagues were keen runners (some were of a quite decent standard), and they got me back into training (more seriously this time!) in advance of the 1982 GNR.
I settled into a pattern of doing 3 – 4 half marathons a year, and the times gradually improved from that first painful 1 hour 49 mins to around the 91 minute mark, where I seemed to hit a plateau. Some friends I’d met through sharing the same local pub were members of Crook AC, and eventually persuaded me to come along to one of the Tuesday night track sessions. That first session was unusually short – something like 10 x 300m I seem to recall – possibly because many of the regulars had races coming up later that week. It suited me down to the ground, and as a confidence builder it could not have worked out better. I was hooked from that point onwards and it remains one of the best life choices I ever made!
Just 2 months after joining the club, I did my next half marathon and knocked 4 minutes off that frustrating 91 minute PB to clock just over 87 minutes. After training with the club for the remainder of 1984 and early 1985, I did my next half marathon in April 1985 and knocked another 4 minute chunk off the PB. The rest, as they say, is history!
