Well I cannot believe I am writing this report so soon after the 2024 report. What a year it has been.

It is impossible to cover all the highlights from the year. Club membership has increased significantly over the year and it seems that we now have a new member just about every week. No pressure on anyone but there are so many events you can participate in from the organised sessions on both a Tuesday and Thursday night. Our main session is on a Tuesday night at Shildon.

After the last AGM it was agreed that an earlier session would start earlier at 5.30 primarily with the objective of helping runners to complete in half and full marathons. These sessions finish at 6.15. We have also held most weeks a stretching session starting at 5.30 as well.

Thursday nights are down at Crook and are aimed around hill sessions starting at 6.00 for a 6.15 start. All abilities the group start and finish together and are supervised by a run leader. In the past the club had a monthly handicap which has now been restarted on the last Thursday of the month with a winter and a summer course. The idea is that it is a points system throughout the year and everyone stands a chance of winning. It is not aimed at the fastest runners so I would urge everyone to give it a go.

Prior to Covid it was decided that there would also be a club championship we listened to members and this has been successful over the last few years, it is not set in tablets of stone and you can decide which events to take part in from a list. Please remember to send details of any events which are not on the list to those who are collating the tables. Again, to make it a bit fairer the competition is split into 2 age groups and split between male and females. Feedback is essential for what is working and any improvements which can be made.

There have also been other sessions organised by members and we need more members to get involved. I know a number have taken the run leader course and if there is any interest from anyone please get in touch. The club will pay the course fee you just need to make some time to do the course on-line and a couple of videos. Don’t feel you are on your own as this is not the case.

The club runs with a lot of unsung members behind the scene and as we continue to expand we do need more members to be come involved. In the last year we have appointed 2 additional welfare officers. The club and EA do have a Code of Conduct which everyone must sign up for. On a negative point we have had incidents over the last 12 months which the club cannot ignore. There are procedures in place and I know we have investigated all of these fairly.

To give just one example some races will allow up to a certain time allow the transfer of entries. If they do not allow the transfer and subsequently you do transfer there are consequences. You maybe suspended by both the club and EA. The club may also face consequences in that some race organisers may also ban any members of the club entering that race in the future. This is not our club policy and is out of our hands. Thinking it through it may create issues over health think about if someone had a serious medical condition around contact details. There are also issues around handicap times with Power10.

However hard the message is clear don’t transfer numbers if not allowed.

Thank you for all those members who are given time to the club I do not normally single out anyone however I do wish to make an exception. Andy Turnell has for a number of years taken the role of editor of Crook Ed, a valuable newsletter of information that is issued twice per month. Andy was diagnosed with cancer in 2025 and his determination and positive attitude should inspire us all. I had the privilege of part running with Andy in November when he completed a half marathon in Durham. A true inspiration to us all.

Just a further point on Crook Ed it is a newsletter which is only as good as the articles we receive. Please just try and submit one article each per year and then we certainly will not be scratching around for content. Don’t leave it to someone else.

This is not the only communication tool we have, facebook and messenger are being used more and more. In 2025 we successfully introduced Spond and this is being expanded and continues to evolve. It is great communication tool and helps especially around the number of relays we as a club are involved in.

Club nights we have introduced a card system for anyone who does not want to pay by cash. If you do pay into the club bank account can everyone please ensure that you identify what the payment is for. As I previously mentioned as the club expands it goes without saying that the club has more transactions going through the bank account.

We believe the club continues to provide value for money and has tried to give back to members with subsidies to both events and social functions. One example was the subsidy for the bus to the XC at Alnwick. We have held membership fees at the previous levels despite increases by EA and subject to approval at the forthcoming AGM there will be no increase in 2026.

After the 2024 presentation evening we held a survey and listened to what the membership wanted resulting in a change of venue to Bishop Auckland Golf Club.

The presentation evening will be on Saturday 15th March in 2026 at the same venue and provides good value for money at £25 per ticket which includes a 3 course meal. Most of the awards are voted by you the members rather than by a committee. Not all the awards are for the fastest and there is recognition for all abilities. This is a seriously important point as the club is not elite and caters for all and encourages all abilities.

In addition to the Thursday night session at Crook there is also a junior club which meets at Shildon starting at 7.30pm. The time is not ideal but there is nothing we can do about this.The junior section is run separately and has a waiting list which goes to show how successful it is.

We do need more people to step forward and take an active role with coaching which will allow the club to expand further.

As the club continues to expand we now have strength in depth across a number of age groups which allows us to be able to complete with some of the bigger clubs in the area particular around XC and relay events. We have lost some members over the last 12 months which is of course disappointing and we would like to think and believe we have lots to offer as a club.

We will not encourage like some clubs runners from other clubs to leave and join Crook.

I know we have a lot of members who have only been with the club for a short period of time and runners from the past will not mean anything. We have a log of club records going back many years and sadly in 2025 Derek Littlewood who held a number of records and Allen Purdham died.

This report would not be a report without including comments about Parkrun which is not just a fringe event where a few daft souls get up on a Saturday morning and run around a park. I have said in the past we have increased our membership on the back of parkrun. In late 2025 we introduced a Parkrun cup which I know a number of you have entered. It will interesting to see how this pans out and we would welcome feedback on how this is structured.

It is never too late to be part of the committee and this will be one of the agenda items at the forthcoming AGM. Unusually for a running club all the committee members with the exception of the treasurer are currently active runners. Feedback, any help and expertise you can provide will continue to make this club grow and ensure it remains the friendly club we have all participated in throughout the years.

Graham Laverick, Chairman.