November 2011 Club Report
Chris Tarpey completed the five lap Newcastle Town Moor Marathon on 30th October in the fantastic position of 10th overall and 2nd M40 amongst the 127 finishers in the fast time of 3 hours and 8 minutes.
Five Teesdale AC members travelled to the picturesque location of the National Trust's Gibside Estate for their trail race on November 6th. After a cold start, the 435 runners soon warmed up on the hilly course of about 5.75 miles, mainly on tracks round the forest. Geoff Armstrong was 47th in 40.43, Andrew Knox 71st in 52.14, Steve Moss 81st in 43.18, Denise Tunstall 139th in 46.12 and Skye Archer was 178th in 47.34 in her first trail race. The NYSD cross country fixture at Summerhill, Hartlepool on 13th November was surprisingly dry with no water in the usual stream for the 136 runners to splash through. Michael Thompson was 42nd in 38.05 and Steve Moss was 102nd in 43.02.
On Saturday 19th November Tim Sabey ran the tough Tour of Pendle fell race near Blackburn over 16.8 miles with 4,830ft of climb. There was a strict cut off time for the challenging course, and Tim was 178th in time of 3:24:1 amongst the 363 finishers. The conditions were misty overhead and muddy under foot for the Clay Bank West fell race in the North York Moors on 20th November. 132 completed the short 4.2 mile course with 1,020ft climb with some tough hills including the rocky Wainstones. Andrew Knox was 42nd in 40.13, Steve Moss 59th in 41.56 and Skye Archer, adding fell racing to her list of running experiences, 99th in 48.04.
After last year's event was cancelled due to snow, there was optimism amongst the Teesdale AC runners on 26th November with the forecast predicting warm temperatures for the Ravenstonedale 10k. However the Cumbrian weather again delivered a surprise and the 150 runners were buffeted by strong winds and drenched in rain on the scenic undulating course. However, Teesdale AC runners rose to the challenge and achieved some good places, with William Potts 6th in the fun run. In the 10k race Russell Collins came 14th in 39.23, Michael Thompson 25th in 40.55, Andrew Knox 35th in 42.23, Mike Warren 45th in 43.38 and Steve Moss 49th in 43.51.
A date for your diary: the Raby Castle 10k and fun run will be held on Sunday 27th May 2012.