Teesdale Athletics Club
SINCE the mid-1980s, following the inception of the club in 1984, as part of the annual Meet Weekend, in Barnard Castle, Teesdale Athletics Club organised The Barny Meet ten mile and four mile races on the Sunday morning each year.
However, back in 2001 the club had to cancel this popular event due to an outbreak of foot and mouth.
In 2002, the police then advised that full traffic management was now required as the runs were on public highways, but with a £1,800 price tag to do this, and entry fees being only £5 at the time, it was agreed that the risk of covering the costs was too great, and so it meant the end of the annual ten and four mile races.
In 2003, a chance encounter with Lord Barnard led to him agreeing to the club hosting a 10K race in the grounds of Raby Castle.
That year, with the cancellation of the previous races, the club was struggling financially and Lord Barnard very kindly gave access to the grounds for free, a gesture that ensured the race went ahead and became another popular event for the club over the following years.
And then Covid struck.
The event had to be cancelled in 2020 and again in 2021, for obvious reasons, but 2022 sees the 10K and 5K races returning to Raby on Sunday, May 29.
Working closely with staff at Raby Castle, a new route has been planned and is due to be officially measured this week.
Entries have gone live on the Racebest website, medals have been ordered and marshalls booked.
The club hopes that the return of the races to Raby Castle will be ongoing for many years to come and look forward to seeing runners, old and new, back at Raby Castle this year.
Alison Mounter
