Congratulations to all our London Marathon runners - whether you reached your pre-race target or not, it's an awesome feat !

Special mention to our membership secretary Dave Thompson who broke his own club vet 55 record by almost five minutes with a time of 3:25:49. Well done Dave !

Quakers Running Club Championship: Event 3 - Mermaid 10k

The Quaker Running Club Championship continued at the popular Mermaid 10k race. With defending champion Brian Martin looking for his second 50 pointer of the season and former champion Peter Smith continuing his return from injury. Four runners, including Peter, Mark Colling, Ben Bourne and Scott Green top the table after completing all the Championship events thus far. Both Jefferies ladies and Diane Vaughn look to be close in the position of top Lady.

With multiple personal bests being ran on Redcar sea front, some great times were put onto the board! How many points did you end up with?

Click here to download the Quakers Running Club Championship Update Event 3: Mermaid 10k

To view the championship update, you'll need a PDF reader. If you don't have one installed you can download a free version of FOXIT reader. 

The popular Tees Forest Trail Race Series kicked off on a warm Thursday evening with a massive amount of Quakers present at the start line, leaving me wondering how many went to training at the South Park?

The first race was around the scenic Preston Park, source of many school trips and days out as a child, with a slightly modified course from previous years. This year, the course was meant to be exactly 5km and my Garmin beeped satisfyingly on 5km at the end.

Parking at the event was plentiful, although I did a “Phil” and opted for the train and job route to the race. With registration in the cafe for a very reasonable £3 and free tea and coffee, it certainly was a great start to the series. Unfortunately due to a mix up, there was only one, very grim and burnt out, toilet which led to the start of the race being postponed a few minutes whilst the line went down.

The race started with a bang and the front runners quick sped off! There was a lot of weaving through runners before we got onto the trail; the ground was firm and dusty and those wearing road shoes benefited. Running through trees, muddy paths and grassy ridges makes a welcome change from roads and pavements and we were treated some lovely scenic views. A quick hill/step combo caught a lot of runners off guard with runners opting for their preferred method of climbing, however there was no respite as this was merely the end of the first lap.

After another quick lap, the finish was in front of the old house where the spectators clapped in the finishers. Spot prizes were given out and a lot of very grateful people enjoyed their clementines!

Overall, this was a fantastic race – quick, varied, challenging, well paced – which was a great introduction to trail races for some of our newer runners and a great return to the Tees Forest Series for our more experienced runners. I personally enjoyed my free cup of tea and eagerly look forward to the next race through Guisbrough Forest on the 29th April (Starting at the Pinchinthorpe Visitors Centre, Nr Guisborough). See you there!

Sarah takes the plunge!

Tough at the Top for Darlington Quakers!

Once again, the Darlington Quakers’ endurance runners proved they are unafraid of scaling the heights. On Sunday 11th April, Annette Clarke, Charlie Bogg and Dave Thompson of the Quakers Running Club took part in the challenging ‘By Lake, Ridge and Wainwright’ mountain run which saw them cover 23.5 miles and climb 7,750 feet in a very respectable 6hrs.46mins. This circular course which starts and finishes at Rosthwaite in Borrowdale takes in the beautiful but tough climbs of High Spy, Hindsarth, Robinson, Haystacks, Honister Hause and Dale Head. The event, which was organised in memory of one of the route’s co-founders, Eileen Knopfel, raised money for CancerCare.

Well done Annette, Dave and Charlie!

PB for Anthony

This the last call for anyone interested in taking part in the Thunder Run 2010. To be held over the weekend of 31 July/1 August at Catton Park in Staffordshire, this is a 24 hour relay race with each leg being a 'circular' route of 10km in length. The course is totally off-road being a mixture of grass tracks, farm paths and woodland - fully signed and marshalled.

One team member must be on the course at all times - changeovers taking place at the end of the 10km route only although more than one consecutive lap can be undertaken if desired. Each team member must complete a minimum of one leg during the race. Teams can be of any size between 5 & 8 members.

Included in the entry fee is on-site car parking, camping and toilets. A massage team are available, for a donation, and on-site caterers will be there for the sale of food throughout the event.

We currently have five definites and the same number interested and I am hoping to get the entries off in the next week or two as the event is filling up.

It is going to be a big event with a lot of overheads to cover - and this is reflected in the entry fee of around £35 - £40 per person depending upon the size of the teams. As the entry form asks for chest size and it is part sponsored by Adidas, I am expecting a running top of some description as a momento !

All costs - such as entry fees, transport, maybe tea/coffee/milk etc that we take with us will be split equally amongst all participants even if we have more than one team and the team numbers are unequal.

It is certain to be a great event - how many people have ran in the dark with headtorches (or handtorches), or ran 10k then some hours later ran another one ! It will be something to talk about for some time afterwards.

If anyone is seriously interested in taking part or has a question then please let me know as soon as possible. (I know it sounds silly but bear in mind the entry fee will be needed when I send the enrtries in). E-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Event website is  http://www.tr24.co.uk/

Good Friday’s Mermaid 10k attracted a huge turnout of Quakers to Marske seafront, where over-65 legend, Danny Gordon, ran 47:09 to take 139th place and decimate his own club record.  Michael Joyeux was the first home from the club, clocking a personal best of 37:50 to finish 28th in a field of 275 runners.  David Todd (32nd, 38:32) was the second Quaker followed by Brian Martin (46th, 39:37) and Billy Harris (75th, 42:13).  Louise Trainor (89th, 43:31) was the club’s leading lady, while Diane Vaughan (117th, 45:19) had another good run and took third place in the F45 category.  New personal bests were set by Jackie Nicholls (157th, 47:59), Mark Colling (154th, 47:53), Wendy Colling (167th, 48:27) and Michelle Boshier (208th, 50:51).  Also representing the club were Andrew Lambe (77th, 42:33), Scott Green (93rd, 43:51), Peter Smith (95th, 43:56), Ben Bourne (112th, 44:50), Ian Hammond (124th, 45:44), Peter Rowley (133rd, 46:19), David Curtis (134th, 46:27), Daniel Crane (168th, 48:28), Martin Mullen (177th, 49:02), Abbie Hull (192nd , 50:04), Jeff Marriott (193rd, 50:09), Julie Jefferies (196th, 50:18), Julie Whinn (224th, 53:17), Sandra Park (228th, 53:29), Nigel Walker (235th, 54:44), Carol Penney (236th, 54:50), Diane Adkins (246th, 56:45), Sally Singleton (252nd, 57:27), Alan Prest (260th, 59:49), Ian Davison (263rd, 61:22) and Susan Limbert (266th, 62:38).

Dave Thompson’s latest long distance escapade was spent running 26 miles through muddy fields and woods near Doncaster.  At the Easter Eggstravaganza, the 58 year old veteran put in another resolute performance, to take third place with a time of 4 hours and 39 minutes.

Louise Trainor took part in the inaugural Kilomathon, running 26.2 kilometres between Nottingham and Derby, which she completed in 2:01:46.  The promising athlete also ran the East Hull 20-miler, where she won second prize in the F35 category, after crossing the line in 2:36:26.

Nick Mason and Richard Payne returned to Albert Park, clocking 19:56 and 26:15 respectively, at Saturday’s 5k time trial.

Steve Snook (117th, 41:35) was the highest placed Quaker at Sunday’s North Tyneside 10k, finishing ahead of Mark Colling (641st, 50:37), Jeff Marriott (643rd, 50:40), Wendy Colling (669th, 51:05), Vicky Wilson (776th, 52:23), Andrew Wilson (777th, 52:24), Anneli Simkiss (970th, 55:30), John Whinn (991st, 55:52), Julie Whinn (1000th, 55:59), Carol Penney (1145th, 57:44), Sally Singleton (1146th, 57:45), Diane Adkins (1180th, 58:20), Gillian Robinson (1410th, 62:44) and Nigel Walker (1456th, 64:10).

Sunday also saw the first running of the Helmsley 10k Challenge, where the organisers were pleased with an entry approaching 300.  Andrew Lambe made it around the multi-terrain course in 54:11 to finish 43rd.  Abbie Hull came 121st in 52:31 and Anthony Corbett was 162nd in 55:41.

Quakers meet at Carmel School on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6:30pm and welcome runners of all abilities.