This report is now sent out prior to the AGM as it saves time on the night, and everyone has an opportunity to read the report at their leisure rather than listen to me rabbit away.

I cannot believe how long ago it was when we first moved from Crook to Shildon it is rather sad to see the facilities now at Pease’s West but clearly it was the right move over 7 years ago to move. Some of the newer members will not know about the history of the club and believe we have always been based at Shildon.

The membership continues to grow and we can longer be termed a little club in recognition we may even be able to claim 2 places at the London Marathon.

For anyone who has joined the club in the last 12 months a warm welcome. This club is all about achieving your personal ambitions from simply wanting to keep fit and run within organised groups to more specific goals. Whilst achieving a PB maybe a personal goal sometimes there are other achievements which require recognition.

For a number of years we held our presentation night at Redworth Hall. We conducted a survey from all club members after the 2024 night and the feedback was for a change in venue. This year in March we will have the presentation night at Bishop Auckland Golf Club. A cheaper option and potentially more central for people to attend. The success of these nights depends on the numbers so please try and attend.

A lot of work goes on behind the scenes and lots of communication is issued about the award process. Unless it is based on specific performance statistics nominations are received and the members vote on these leading up to the presentation evening. In the past the votes were for those attending the presentation evening but we have changed this. A number of new awards have been added as well as the President’s much anticipated award.

The sessions on both Tuesday and Thursday night cannot run without the organisation and planning of these sessions. As a victim of our own success and with increasing numbers we need more volunteers to take either the Assistant Coaching Course or alternatively the Run Leadership Course. This in turn can lead to the full Coach’s role which as a club we are a bit light on.

When we were based at Crook we held a monthly handicap around 2 different courses one for the winter and one once the clocks change. These resumed in the last 18 months and now we have a combined trophy which is in part due to the sponsorship we have with Inov8. They have made everyone very welcome especially in the cold winter months. We do see an increase in the numbers for the handicap and it would be great to see the numbers increase. Remember it is a handicap and not the fastest wins! Gerry has worked extremely hard running the handicap throughout the year and get’s stick for some of the handicap times he dishes out but he is learning on the job.

As I said earlier how do you gauge success but there have been some notable achievements not least within the relay races which have become a firm favourite with the club. It is now apparent with the strength in depth that we can certainly complete with some of the bigger clubs in the NE; Lets hope we can build on this success in 2025.

Late in 2024 we introduced an app which you can enter for amongst other things relays, this was an  initially trial by the club captains  and I know from the past what a job this organising teams and payments etc. This app makes life a lot easier so I urge anyone who is not registered to do so and to register is very easy ask for help if you need it. We now have 95% of members registered.

As the AGM approaches it is not too late to put forward any nominations for any of the positions or to be part of the committee.

Alex Hird has decided to stand down as Men’s Vice captain. Alex has worked tirelessly behind the scenes about getting the club to complete in the T&F arena. We cannot do this on our own due to our lack of strength in depth. Further details will follow in due course but for 2025 we will be joining together with Middlesbrough Mandale and this is an exciting development as a club we have never been involved in anything like this other than the NEMAA events which have been well supported over the years. Alex will be our team manager for 2025 and if you need any further details on NEMAA ask Geoff H.

Catch up with you all soon.

Graham Laverick, Chairman.