It has been another busy week for Aycliffe Running Club which started off with the first in the Darlington Trail 10k series of races and the Baydale Beck 10k on Wednesday 15 May. There was an excellent turnout from the club with 16 members taking part. Richard Campbell (42:37) finished third with Lucy Postle (48:10) and Bernadette Cooper (52:26) first and second female. Also representing the club were Sam Keenan (46:38), Gareth Hamblin (47:37), Daniel Tatham (49:57), Joe Dickinson (57:04), Anthony Dickinson (57:05), Salv McDonnell (57:06), David Stothard (1:01:24), Keith Hatton (1:02:01), Sue Podmore (1:02:02), Cath McDonnell (1:02:22), Carley Cooper (1:04:55), Jean-Pierre Hupin (1:04:57) and Em Flynn (1:15:47).
On Sunday 19 May, two members took part in the Pier to Pier race which sees runner take on a lovely coastal run. The run starts on the beach at South Shields Pier and follows a superb scenic route along the cliff paths past Marsden Rock and Souter Lighthouse. It rejoins the beach at Whitburn and finishes at Roker Pier in Sunderland. Kathleen Tonge (1:16:03) and Richard Tonge (1:17:07) both represented the club.
At the same time, Paul Dalton (1:58:02) completed three laps of the course in the Saturn Running Run to Infinity and Beyond Race, at Durham Rowing Club, achieving a half marathon distance. On the same day, one member took part in the Netley 10k in Southampton, with Lou Mann (1:04:48) the sole representative for the club.
On Saturday 11 May, 37 members started their weekend with a parkrun. At Albert, Angela Sutheran finished as third lady in a course PB of 22:19. At York, Steve Williams and Viv Williams completed the course together in a time of 32:08. Lou Mann (55:04) completed the course at Fælledparken for the first time. At Durham, Richard Holland (26:54) completed the course for the first time. Kevin Greenall completed his 50th ever parkrun at Sedgefield in a time of 32:58.
At Darlington South Park, Jimmy Agnew (20:17) set a new parkrun personal best. Richard McFarlane (32:47) completed the course at The Pastures for the first time. At Jubilee, Dave Blewitt (23:49) set a new course PB. At Carlisle Park, David Stothard (27:06) and Ian Stothard (42:23) completed the course for the first time. Likewise at Chevin Forest, Carley Cooper (33:02) Jean-Pierre Hupin (33:03) and Em Flynn (37:17) all completed the course for the first time.
On Saturday 18 May, 40 members started their weekend with a parkrun. At Riverside, Richard Trowles set a new course PB of 17:46. At Hackworth, Kevin Russell (19:32) finished first in a new parkrun PB, with Rob Young (20:53) third. Melanie Varley (30:19) also set a new course PB. Martin Turnbull (20:48) completed the event at Kraków for the first time. Steve Williams (27:29) and Viv Williams (30:46) continued with their parkrun tourism taking in the event at Oaklands for the first time. At Itchen Valley, Lou Mann (34:01) set a new personal best for the course. Lou also made the most of Whit special event in the Netherland, talking part in the parkrun at Zuiderpark in Hoogeveen, finishing in a time of (29:58).
Tracey Pickering (35:22) and Cliff Pickering (44:06) both completed the course at North Yorkshire Water Park for the first time. Paul Dalton (21:54) and Jayne Rudd (31:47) both took part in the inaugural run at Fulwell Quarry in Sunderland.
If you are feeling inspired and are interested in joining the club, you can turn up for one of our sessions. More information is available on our website www.ayclifferunningclub.org.uk or our Facebook page. If you would like to chat with someone, then you can email ayclifferunningclub@gmail.com. If interested in the Junior Section you can email arc.juniorsection@gmail.com. Make this year the year you or your children get into running and join us to keep it going for many years to come.