MORE than 500 athletes from the very young to the vastly more experienced converged on the dale for the annual Teesdale AC Raby Castle runs.
Clubs from across the North East and North Yorkshire were represented at the event, which was staged in perfect conditions and offered runners the usual challenging course.
In the main event, the 10k, Sunderland Harrier Ian Dixon was first home, while Louise Talman, of Darlington Harriers, won the ladies’ event.
There were top three finishes for Evenwood Road Runners’ Gary Atkinson and Sarah Norman in the 10k, which attracted a field of 255.
In the 5k, Joshua Wraith, of Durham City Harriers was first of the 121 runners to cross the finish line in 18.55mins, while Chloe Fairclough, of Birtley AC, was first female, in 23.30.
In addition to the two senior events, runs for younger athletes at 3k and 1.2k attracted 180 entries.
The 3k was won by William Jardine in 13.28mins, while first female was Grace Carter, who was third overall.
Ten-year-old Teesdale AC runner Aidan Marmont finished fourth in 13.50mins
Race director Skye Archer said the event had gone well.
“It was the first time for chip timing so there were one or two hiccups particularly due to so many registering on the day.
“We could not run the event without help of all the volunteers, particularly The Clique for marshalling, Teesdale AC members and their families, and Up and Running SRG from Darlington that man the water station.
“We were fortunate once again with glorious weather,” she said.
“The range of races meant there was something for everyone which also makes it a real family event, and many took the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful surroundings of Raby to picnic.”
Full results for 5k & 10K are available on the Racebest website – go to www.teesdale ac.com and follow the links.
The date has already been set for next year’s Raby Runs – they will take place on Sunday, May 10.
“We hope to continue to build the event,” said Ms Archer.
![A COUNTY councillor is backing a campaign to get a pedestrian crossing in Staindrop. Frustrated parish councillors in the village summoned their county council representative Cllr George Richardson to their latest meeting to discuss several issues, including the call for a safe way to cross the A688. Earlier this year their request for a crossing was turned down by the county council’s highways officers. Parish council chairman Jonothan Raper described the reasons for the refusal as “spurious” and called on Cllr Richardson to support their campaign. He added: “One of the arguments they made was there is no clear line of desire when they studied the village – well this isn’t a clear line of desire because there isn’t a crossing, people cross whenever they can. “When the lollipop person was there, one of the things I noticed was people would walk all the way down to the lollipop person to cross the road to go to the shop or to go to the school.” He added a problem of parking at the primary school is exacerbated because people are too afraid to walk their children across the road. Cllr Richardson said he had supported previous attempts for a crossing point with the first being made about 15 years ago. He added: “We went fairly well down the road with that and they looked into it. The only recommended place was where the bus stop is and to get the visibility splays, people on the other side of the road would lose their parking. “That didn’t go down well so it just died a death.” Cllr Raper said he suspected the real reason for the officers’ refusal was the cost of installing a crossing. He added that much of the cost could be recovered from savings made on not having to employ a lollipop patrol. Cllr Raper said: “A lollipop person only provides a benefit of crossing for three hours of the day. You are getting 21 extra hours of crossing time [with a pedestrian crossing].” Cllr Richardson said he would raise the issue with the county council’s cabinet member for highways, Cllr John Shuttleworth.](https://teesdalemercury.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/georgeR-120x86.jpg)
