ATHLETICS
NINE members of Teesdale Athletic Club turned out on Saturday, November 25, to take part in the Ravenstonedale 10K in Cumbria.
In total, 169 runners tackled a rather “undulating course” on the roads surrounding the village set amidst a beautiful, scenic backdrop.
The weather was crisp and sunny and, although only about two degrees at the start, woolly hats were soon discarded once runners got on their way.
Three of the TAC team were “graduates” from the Couch to 5K programme which they started last January.
A TAC spokesman said: “All three obtained personal bests on the day. If you told them they would be running 10Ks in under an hour back in January they would be shaking their heads. Well done to them.”
Results: Josh Mawer 39.17 (7th), Nigel Mawer 44.08 (31st), David Raymond 47.57 (54th), Michael Dolderson 49.48 (67th), Ellie Cox 50.04 (70th), Andrew Stainthorpe 58.37 (126th), Carrie Wheeler 59.19 (129th), Karen Dolderson 1.15.54 (168th) and Gail Foster 1.15.55 (169th).
After the race, runners made their way to the village hall for hot soup and bread.
A raffle was drawn (using race numbers as tickets) and prizes included the expected wine, and treats plus some alternative goodies such as firelogs, Christmas cake and a set of step ladders.
There was a lot of hilarity to end the event and all the runners who took part seemed very keen to get this one in the calendar for next year.
Nigel Mawer
![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)
