ARC Weekly Race Report – Week 26 – 29th June 2022

This week saw seven runners take part in the Lambton 10k on the site of the famous Lambton Lion Park.  Luckily for the runners, the lions are long gone.  First back for the club in a time of 56:35 was Trish KAY.  She was closely followed by David STOTHARD in a time of 58:30.  Next back was Eve DOE in a time of 1:07:12 closely followed by Richard TONGE in a time of 1:09:42.  Susan CLARK was next back in a time of 1:15:44 followed by Kathleen TONGE in a time of 1:15:44.  Those were followed by Ian STOTHARD in a time of 1:33:45.

Lambton 10k (1)

Saturday morning was a very busy one for Members with a total of 20 members beginning their weekend with a Parkrun.  The Club was represented at the Prudhoe Riverside, Durham, Redcar, Darlington South Park, Hackworth, Hartlepool, Cotsford Fields, Tyne Green and Leazes Park events.

At Prudhoe Riverside Carley GIBSON was taking part at this event for the first time, finishing the course in a time of 29:57.  At the same time Mandy HEYWOOD was taking part in her 270th parkrun but first at Durham finishing in a time of 29:13. At Hackworth Park Stuart JOYCE finished 4th in a time of 22.01.  Peter TENNICK also took part in his first run at Hackworth finishing in a time of 23:12. In the same event Laura GRAINGER achieved another personal best for the Hackworth Park event finishing as third female in a time of 27:08.

Over at Hartlepool Richard MACFARLANE attended this event for the first time finishing in a time of 25:50.  At the same time Jayne RUDD attended Cotsford Park for the first time finishing in a time of 28:51.  This was also a Personal Best for any parkrun for Jayne and also her 50th parkrun so an excellent achievement.  At Tyne Green Paul DALTON, completed this event for the first time finishing 4th in a time of 18:47.  Claire STRADLING also completed this event for the first time finishing in a time of 24:11 and only seven seconds outside of her personal best.

If you feel inspired to start running or want to run with like-minded people, our sessions cater for people of all abilities.  Every Monday we have a Beginner’s Run that starts at 6:30pm at the Oakleaf Sports Complex at School Aycliffe Lane.  It is a steady run that can be used if you are a beginner, returning from injury or just looking for a social run with like-minded people.  It is a very welcoming session and perfect for anyone starting out.

Every Tuesday we have the main outdoor running session which starts at 7pm.  Usually, we meet at the Sports Complex but there are occasions where we meet somewhere else depending on where the session takes place.  These sessions ae usually interval sessions over various distances and will focus on strength, speed and stamina and is aimed to replicate how you would run in a race.  We do this in 3 groups so that the session can fit around people of all abilities.  Again, ideal if you want to take your running to the next level and build up speed but also good for all abilities and running with like-minded people.  There are some excellent sessions.  On Thursday’s we meet at Shildon 2000 Stadium with the session starting at 6:30pm.  We usually meet at Sunnydale Leisure Centre from 6:15pm with the option for a warm up around the edge of the track.

There are other sessions that some members will organise and Wednesdays there will be some social runs which can be used as a recovery run and it’s also a good opportunity to have a chat with someone as you run.  Those sessions usually start at 6:30pm at the Oakleaf Sports Complex but check out our Facebook page before attending any of the sessions to make sure they are still taking place.  We start all sessions with a gentle warm up although sometimes at the track there will be activities to get you moving as well as our loud speaker playing out everyone’s favourite tunes!.  All sessions finish with a cool down and some static stretches.

We would love it if you came along and tried one of the sessions.  We know that once you do, you will be back on a regular basis and it may be YOU that ends up with your name in our race reports.  The good thing about running is that you can do it pretty much anywhere and it can be free.  Running with others helps keep you motivated and also gives you confidence to push on and do more.  Being active is not only good for your physical health but equally important for your mental health.  All you need to do is turn up for a session and introduce yourself or if you have any queries about the activities of Aycliffe Running Club, or are interested in joining the Club, please visit our website www.ayclifferunningclub.org.uk, or contact the Club’s Secretary, Donna, at ayclifferunningclub@gmail.com