Amsterdam Marathon – 15th October 2023
by Lisa Donaldson Well where do I begin? It has been one hell of a weekend to say the least. This was my 2nd marathon for this year and 3rd overall, was so desperate for that Sub 3:30 after running London back in April 2023 and knew I didn’t push myself then, so there was defo more to be had!! We got to the airport Friday afternoon where we met Laura and Sam, a few airport drinks were had but not by
Great North Run – 10th September 2023
by Brad Wight Where to start? Safe to say from both a running and a weather perspective it was a right mixed bag! All week the weather forecast was looking far from ideal for distance running. Brendan Foster wrote to runners saying “Sunday will not be a day for PB’s.” Well, what does he know? I’ve counted NINE personal bests in the results, and there may be more as some of our newer members registered without a club name. At the front end, starting
Elvet Striders Willow Miner Trail Race – 26th July 2023
by Geoff Hewitson History This fairly long-established local race has undergone a number of changes over the years. Club members of a certain vintage will no doubt remember it by its original name of the “Rose Tree 5”, after the pub in Shincliffe where the post race buffet and presentation was held. The latter was moved to a new venue (the Court Inn) some years ago and the race renamed the “Court Inn Clamber”, though still using the original ‘two and a
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
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
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,
North East Masters Athletics Association (NEMAA) Track and Field League Meeting 3 – 3rd July 2023
by Geoff Hewitson The third NEMAA Track & Field League meeting took place at Monkton Stadium on Monday 3rd July. Although we were fortunate that the weather stayed dry, there was a cold headwind down the home straight, which didn’t help the 100m athletes and also made for a tough finish to the 400m!. Our men's team had a reasonable turnout of 8 competitors, but for the second successive meeting, the ladies only had the bare minimum of 3 competitors necessary to
NEMAA Fixture 2 – 5th June 2023
by Geoff Hewitson The second NEMAA Track & Field League meeting of the 2023 season took place last Monday evening, once more in near perfect weather conditions. The men's team had a reasonable turnout of 9 competitors, including a welcome return to NEMAA competition for Jason Marr. A combination of unavailability and Kimberley being struck down with Covid at the 11th hour meant that the ladies only had the bare minimum of 3 competitors necessary to constitute a team. The men’s team
Blackhill Steelworks Relays – 17th May 2023
by Geoff Hewitson Over 50 teams took part in this popular mixed team format relay on the site of the former Consett Steelworks. The course is a challenging loop of approximately 2.1 miles with the notorious hill coming near the end. Our Club has enjoyed a great deal of success in this event, having either won it or finished in the top 3 on several occasions. In 2022 we finished runners-up and were the overall winners the previous time it was