Phil Healey Tag

by Phil Healey The morning of the event we were on the road again very early to Carlisle Castle for a 7am start time. Due to some poor co-piloting & a stop to get some photos, we nearly missed the start, as we got to the start line everyone had gone off. According to the Marshall at the start line we had 30 seconds to get off before the road sweeper came through & we would be disqualified. The three of

by Phil Healy From 5 stops over a 400m distance (One Lap) to 42.4km Non-stopThe event was organised & marshalled as you'd expect for such a big race, athletes from around the country & across the globe had congregated to participate. The great atmosphere amongst the runners was evident from warm up to the start line & continued all along the 26.2 mile (My Garmin logged 26.46 mile). The course is generally flat & down hill section, the naughty incline everyone

by Brad Wight Another cracking club day out despite the downpour which managed to soak everything inside our once waterproof tent… The U11 lads were off first with Joe Hall Junior completing the 1km race in 5:20, he looked so determined on the long downhill finish, teeth gritted just like his dad at a NEMAA sprint! The U11 girls were next up, Eleanor Shaw and my youngest daughter Adelaide making their XC debut alongside Meadow Winham. All three slogged up the hill then

by Brad Wight What an unbelievable turnout for Crook! 66 runners across 14 teams with all age categories represented. More runners than any other club! The organisers weren’t joking when they responded to our entry submission with “I’m beginning to worry I haven’t ordered enough numbers.” Alistair Hart had to run with a hand drawn number and I noticed a few XC numbers being re-cycled too! The first race of the day saw the Women, Veteran Women (over 35) and V50 men

by Geoff Hewitson This annual event was traditionally held on a January Sunday morning in Durham for many years, when it was known as the Cathedral Relays. Towards the end of 2018 the long-standing host club (Durham City Harriers) pulled out of organising the event at which point Birtley AC stepped in to take it over, and moved the venue to the Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy in Birtley. It was held here for the first time in January 2019. The

by Brad Wight One of the things I've loved most about this club since joining three years ago is the team spirit and camaraderie at team relays and cross country meets. There’s something about bad weather that amplifies this and Saturday was no exception, we had some good individual and team results and as far as I know, everyone really enjoyed the day! After a quick detour to South Shields parkrun, we had the tent set up in time for the first

by Geoff Hewitson Described on the race entry form as “A beautifully scenic, always inspirational, often challenging, approximately 5 mile handicap race along the sands between Blyth Harbour and Seaton Sluice Harbour” (wouldn’t disagree with any of that) 2023 was the 63rd running of what is one of the region's oldest races. Despite lots of expressions of interest, ultimately there were only three Crookites in this year’s race - myself and “Sands Race debutants” Lisa Donaldson and Phil Healey. The start time

by Andy Turnell We submitted 3 teams for this relay as not many people came forward, so we had 1 senior ladies, 1 masters men and 1 senior men, after a few rearrangements we had our complete teams ready to tackle the not so easy course. As relays go, I would say this is the toughest you’re going to get with the XC conditions under foot and for someone who wasn’t actually racing this event and only spectating, the mud was unreal

by Lisa Donaldson I booked this event in May as soon as the tickets were available because I just needed that medal in my life and after doing the “runs and roses” one back in March I knew it would be a good base line to maybe try for an Ultra as you don’t count the miles but the laps you do (doesn’t seem that bad then) so my mind was already set to just push that little bit further, even

by Geoff Hewitson History Hosted by Elswick Harriers, this is one of the longest established road races in the North East, in name at least. The event has undergone several changes of venue and distance throughout it’s long history. Most older runners will remember it as a 6 mile race, mostly up and down the minor road that runs through the centre of High Gosforth Park. Increased development of sports facilities within the park, such as the golf driving ranges and outdoor