Anyone for a leisurely Sunday outing to the Yorkshire Dales? Not likely if you were one of the 27 Darlington Quakers runners who opted to take part in this year’s James Herriot Trail Race in Wensleydale. The 14k trail route (bordering on fell in parts) is a real challenge with its tough climbs and rocky descents, but this did not deter some of the leading Quakers from clocking up some excellent times. Brian Martin, settling nicely back into the super form he displayed last year, was first Quaker home in 65:59 followed by Barry Mahaffey in 69:12 and Billy Harris in 69:54. Lucy Jefferies led the Quakers’ women home in 76:00 with Wendy Colling following in 86:40 and Jackie Nicholls in 90:04. Thankfully, this hard race did have its compensations, not least of which was the superb post-race rendezvous to nearby Leyburn where the party of Quakers had the opportunity to replace the carbohydrates and fluids lost on the hills!

Continuing with their hectic race schedule, Darlington Quakers Running Club fielded 3 teams in the Adidas Thunder Run. The requirement here is that runners complete as many 10k laps as possible in 24 hours either as a solo entry or in teams of 2, 3-5 or 6-8. Armed with head torch for the night running, ‘Team Roy’ McDougall, the Quakers solo entrant, kept his promise to complete 100km (60 mile) over the 24 hour period, while endurance duo Annette Clarke and Dave Thompson completed enough laps to see them take second place in the mixed doubles team event. The team of 8 Quakers, consisting of Michael Joyeux, Anthony Corbett, Nick Watson, Sarah Beadle, Diane Adkins, David Curtis and Mark and Wendy Colling, also were a credit to the club by completing 250 km (150 mile) in 24 hours. A special ‘thank you’ goes to Susan Curtis for supporting ‘Team Roy’ to run 4 of his 10 laps - the equivalent of a marathon.

 Going solo, 'Team Roy' McDougall