Newton Aycliffe 10k
21/06/15
The longest day of the year turned out hot, sunny and a bit windy. Great day for a run around
Newton Aycliffe. It was my first time running this race so I didn’t know what to expect.
We picked our numbers up when we arrived, I didn’t really know where I was going and with
3 kids in tow I was pleased to spy Dorothy who pointed me in the right direction! I got my
number and chip very efficiently (number 1 no less!) and joined the huge queue for the toilet.
A friendly Aycliffe helper took pity on me and told me about some “secret” toilets, kind I
thought.
Time for a quick warm up and then off we go. One small lap followed by two big ones. Good
for a recce of the course, bad because you knew the hills were coming again. I thought it was
flat in Aycliffe! Heading in one direction it was obscenely hot, and in the other it was windy
to cool you down. All the marshalls were great, I found them really encouraging. Got to be
quite good mates with one lady on the water station!
It wasn’t the most scenic run I’ve done but to be fair I was too shattered to take any notice of
the scenery. I don’t think I enjoyed it whilst I was doing it but I think that’s because I was
pushing myself and it was hurting! Although most of the people I spoke to afterwards said
they found it tough.
We were rewarded with a welcome bottle of water and a t-shirt, and a nice lady marshall
even took my chip off for me! An added bonus was that the finish was next to a play park so
that kept the kids happy!
Overall I enjoyed it and would like to do it again next year. It was a really well organised race
by a friendly club. Well done to John Grays evil twin John Cray for winning the first male over
50. I think I’m right in saying that he sandwiched the race between two other runs. Special
thanks to Dorothy for taking photos. Our results were:
27th
John Gray
39.42
71st
Helen Adamson
44.31
84th
Paul Wilson
45.20
108th Ian Harris
46.48
114th Stephen Thompson
47.27
139th Louise Dykes
48.52
188th Jill Maddren
53.48
189th Sandra Maddren
53.47
218th Michael Williams
57.22
226th Jacqui Keeley
58.43
248th John Mulligan
1.03.36