Members of Teesdale Athletic Club joined hundreds of runners in the annual Darlington 3k Junior Run and 10k Race held on Sunday 4th August. Thankfully the weather was a little cooler than the previous few days which was appreciated by the all entrants. There was a great family atmosphere at what is a very well organised event. Crowds of spectators lined the route, through the streets of Darlington, clapping and cheering everyone on, making it a really enjoyable run for all.
The race starts near the market place and consists of two laps on closed roads then finishes back in the market place. Even though it has a couple of inclines it is still a relatively flat course compared to the Club’s training ground of hilly Barnard Castle! The commentator at the end kept everyone going, giving runners a name check and encouraging words, as they crossed the finish line.
In the Junior 3k, Teesdale AC was represented by Jack Wheeler, with a time of 11:28, cheered on by his Mum, Carrie Wheeler and Granddad, Andrew Sainthorpe, who would later run for the club in the 10k, making it a multi-generational team effort.
In the 10k, Teesdale AC was well represented in the Senior females by Ellie Cox, with a time of 44.29 and Francesca Hume, 51:17. Carrie Wheeler also finished under the hour in the female V40 age category with a time of 57:29. In the male Seniors, James Emmerson completed the course in 37.50, whilst in the male V70 age category, Andrew Stainthorpe and Alan Bray recorded times 55:28 and 56:22 respectively.
Stuart Jones, who is one of the run leaders at the Club finished with a time of 48:08 in the male V60 category as part of his first club, Steel City Striders RC.
