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
North Yorkshire South Durham Track & Field League – 18th July 2023
by Alex Hird Whilst the majority of our members were in Crook for the club 10K Championships, I headed for Middlesbrough to take part in the NYSD T&F League. This should've been the 4th NYSD fixture of the summer, but unfortunately the first three were cancelled for various reasons. Also, this fixture should've been held at out track at Shildon whilst we vacated to do the club 10K, but following feedback from officials and volunteers the decision was made to switch it
The Andy Billett Memorial Summer Festival of Athletics – 9th July 2023
by Colin Everson Joe and Alex took part in the C.D.A.N. Summer Festival which is a ‘Quadkids’ type event for young athletes who are members of County Durham clubs. It encompasses all the key aspects of athletics - endurance, speed, agility and strength. The young athletes were in four groups Under 9’s; Under 11’s; Under 13’s and Under 15/ 17’s. They took part in Howler Throws, Long Jump, Longer Runs and Sprints. 79 athletes participated in the event including some of the best junior
North East Grand Prix 4 – 12th July 2023
by Alex Hird Wednesday evening was the 4th North East Grand Prix fixture of the season at Monkton Stadium. The NEGP has been incredibly popular this year, with events selling out within an hour of entries opening. Luckily, I managed to grab an 800m place. My goal for 800m is to go sub 2 minutes this year, but after 10 days of eating and drinking rubbish in Cornwall, I knew it wouldn't be tonight. I was in the B heat, which was super
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 Championships – 17th June 2023
by Alex Hird Saturday saw the 2023 NEMAA Championships take place at Monkton Stadium, Jarrow. As always, this is a great chance to win medals on the track & field stage. I turned up mid-way through the competition, and immediately I was shocked at the lack of numbers around the place. Normal NEMAA meetings appear to be packed, this was far from that. Maybe a badly timed event with it being Father’s Day weekend? Or, as one of the organisers put it,
North East Grand Prix fixture 3 – 14th June 2023
by Alex Hird It was a cracking summers day on Wednesday, with temperatures in the mid 20’s. It was not however a great evening for athletics, as it was just too warm! Anyway, enough of me twisting, I’d entered two races for this fixture. First up was the mile. When I looked at the start list for this race, I was abit anxious as I had the slowest PB from all 16 runners, but I saw this as a chance to get
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
North East Grand Prix Fixture 2 – 24th May 2023
by Alex Hird Wednesday evening saw the 2nd North East Grand Prix fixture of the season at a sunny Monkton Stadium. I was in the 800m, along with young Matty Richardson from the junior section who was making his competitive track and field debut. My heat came first, and I ran a season's best of 2:06.16 Still some work to do for me to get below 2 minutes. Matty lined up a few heats later, arriving right after his school cricket match. This was his
North East Masters Athletics Association (NEMAA) Track and Field League Meeting 1 – 15th May 2023
by Geoff Hewitson The opening NEMAA Track & Field League meeting of the 2023 season took place last Monday evening in near perfect weather conditions for the time of year. Despite a couple of late withdrawals, the mens team still had a healthy 10 competitors, including NEMAA debutant Danny Oakley, and the welcome return of Percy Parkin after an absence of a couple of years from NEMAA competition. The ladies squad was much thinner on the ground with only 4 competitors