Louise Breaks 5K Club Record 

Louise Trainor continues to establish herself as one of Darlington Quakers’ leading female runners after breaking the 5k club record for Ladies Vets 40 at the Middlesbrough 5k at the weekend. With a time of 20:16, Louise was 8th lady home in what was a very competitive field.

Newby Hall near Ripon provided the grand starting point for the Yorkshire 10k trail race in which 13 Quakers took part in support of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. Andrew Lambe showed that he is just as much at home on trail as on the fells by completing the off-road course in 43:23, coming in 1st for the Quakers. Julie Wynn and Suzanne Todd, competing in their first event since running the London Marathon, finished in 55:09 and 55:06 respectively.

Switching from country to coast, 10 Quakers took part in the popular Pier to Pier coastal run. The course, starting on the beach at South Shield’s Pier and winding its way over cliff top paths to finish at Roker Pier, saw Ian Hammond and Jackie Nicholls battling it out for 1st Quaker home in 59:18 and 59:19 respectively. 

Darlington Quakers Running Club Celebrate 15 years

Darlington Quakers Running Club celebrated its 15th anniversary in style at a summer ball held at the Croft Spa Hotel. The celebratory dinner dance opened with a rousing speech by Quakers’ secretary, Mike Horan, who attributed the club’s success and 220 plus membership to the dedication of the Quakers’ club officials and training session coaches. Many thanks to Dawn Richardson for organising such a super and memorable evening. 

Quakers felt the heat at the Edinburgh Marathon as temperatures topped 28 degrees. Despite the scorching conditions, Dawn Richardson kept her cool to finish in 3:04:55 which was good enough to see her take 2nd place in female 35 category and 10th female overall. Marathon veterans, Brian Martin and Wayne Bramley, followed one another over the finish line in 3:20:26 and 3:21:32. Also refusing to bow to the heat, Billy Harris (3:38:48), Gillian Harris (5:02:24) and Wendy Colling (4:09:27) achieved personal bests. Making their marathon debuts were: Mark Robinson (3:55:15), Mark Colling (4:22:56) and Diane Gardner (6:13:41). Other Quakers to complete the course: David Todd (3: 28:37), Michael Joyeux (3:29:32), Steve Snook (3:31:42), David Mclachlan (4:24:36), Danny Gordon (4:30:13) and Alex Simpson (6:13:41).  

Earlier in the day, Louise Trainor and Richard Payne took on the Edinburgh Half Marathon course. Louise set a new ladies vet 40 club record by coming home in 1:34:30 while Richard finished in 2:15:45. A number of charities benefited from the Quakers’ valiant efforts in Edinburgh including British Heart Foundation and Cancer Research UK.  

‘Hot and hilly’ would best describe this year’s Salomon Keswick Trail 10k. Not to be daunted by the hot weather, Diane Adkin completed the tough course for the Quakers in 1:14:28, a course which began with a demanding climb over the ridge of Cat Bells before dropping down to the Lakeside path around Derwent Water,. Let’s hope the breathtaking views across the lake were well worth the effort of the climb, Diane!