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Click the pic to go straight to the relays page, where you can see full info and how to enter. If you're a member of Birtley AC, please check Spond so you can get your name down to race! 
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For anyone not on FB or Spond!  As we don't have access to the school due to an open evening, alternative arrangements have been made as follows:-
We will return to school training on Tuesday 26th November
The annual Remembrance Day races held on the Newcastle Town Moor produced some great performances from all the Birtley AC athletes racing in different age groups. Two U13 girls raced the 3k course and both came away with medals. Poppie Phillipson won in a time that was quicker than her own course record from last year and Izzy Hall had a great race coming in 3rd and quicker than last year. Niamh Phillipson was the only Birtley athlete in the U15 age group, and also quicker than her time from last year for 9th position. After the 2 minutes silence of Remembrance at 11am it was time for the 10k race and the Club was represented by 11 athletes. The race also incorporated the North East 10k Road Championship as well as the North East Masters 10k Championships. Fantastic racing from everyone with Adrian Bailes, Gold and North East Champion and Lewis McConnell Bronze Medal along with a massive 50 seconds PB. 3rd team for the Senior Men which included Adrian Bailes, Lewis McConnell, Alex Bellew and Joe Wallace. Age category prizes also went to Graeme Swaddle and Kelly Bentley. Shout out to Laura Turcato with a 10k PB. Well done everyone, great to watch, a good morning’s work. U13 Girls Poppie Phillipson, Izzy Hall U15 Girl Niamh Phillipson. Senior and Vet athletes - Adrian Bailes, Lewis McConnell, Alex Bellew, Joe Wallace, Phil Atkinson, Ruth Dadswell, Karl Oakes, Graeme Swaddle, Paul Agnew, Kelly Bentley, Laura Turcato     Due to an open evening at the school, there will be no junior training (Dan/Fiona/Ed's groups) this evening. The Joggers and Tommy's group will be meeting at Birtley Swimming Pool - please use the large car park adjacent to Morrisons, NOT the swimming baths parking.
The forecast was rain, and during the drive to the event, it certainly looked like it would be, however the rain stopped, and the warm sunshine that followed was a bonus. And the sun certainly shone on the 6 Birtley AC athletes who travelled to Sheffield. Once again the U15 girls trio of Olivia Murphy, Kitty Graham and Nell Graham pulled on the blue and yellow vest to compete, and they were joined by a Senior Women’s team of Katie Francis, Amber Leigh and Lydia Turner. First off were the U15s, and Olivia, on the first leg, came back in second place, with a time that was second fastest overall. She handed over to Kitty, who had a fantastic leg, working hard, especially up the long (very long) leg sapping hill, holding on for 4th place, when handing over to Nell, and what must be a big confidence boost for her. Nell completed the team with another strong race throughout, and brought the team in for 4th position, only 7 seconds off a podium place. These girls are all first year of their age group and were very near to a medal. Their next team event is the National XC Championships in a couple of weeks time and the comments were “we’re going to be after those teams that were ahead today”. Now that’s a positive attitude 👍. The Senior Women’s team were off next. Katie coming in a strong 14th place to hand over to Amber, who came back in 6th to hand over to Lydia who ran the team through to a well deserved Silver medal. Katie was racing in what was her first Senior event in a Northern Championship and is still in the U20 age group, she put her toe on the line and came away with a medal (the smile was massive). Amber last raced this event in 2015 (still U20) and her primary sport is now boxing, although she’s raced 5 times during 2023/24 for the Club, each time in a relay, competing as a team, she put her toe on the line and came away with a medal. Lydia has had some good success throughout the years, and although only racing a handful of races since 2018 due travelling and living in Australia, she’s raced well this year locally, for your Club, and stepping up to a Regional Championship, she put her toe on the line and came away with a medal, and as a bonus the 3rd fastest leg of the day. Of course it’s not all about medals, there’s only 3 medal positions to race for. The sport is about “taking part” “racing against yourself” “competing” “supporting”. There were 29 teams in the U15 girls and 40 in the women’s, each one having their own race, and being supported by their Club members around the course. These Birtley AC girls deserve a massive big shout out, although the main reason they did race, and represented your Club, was that they really enjoy doing it. Keep smiling, keep positive girls!!  Our popular cross country relays will be taking place next year on the following dates:-
Senior XC Relays (inc. NEMAA & NECAA Champs) January 12th 2025 Junior XC Relays March 9th 2025 Entries will open in December for the senior relays and late January for the junior relays. Why not try and lose that weight BEFORE Christmas - gives you a little wiggle room for December! Our previous courses have proved very popular with the participants, with many of them going on to run regularly afterwards. Running is great for both your body and your mental health, why not give it a go!  Following a very successful first XC of the season, we are hoping that more of you will be inspired to sign up for the Harrier League. Everyone has been invited via Spond, so if you haven't yet accepted your invitation and you'd like to run in at least one of the upcoming matches, please get it done as soon as possible, and definitely by the 9th of October if you want to run at either Druridge or Lambton!
There are also invitations outstanding for the Northern XC Relay Championships (accept by 6pm on 10th Oct) and the National XC Relay Championships (same closing date as Northerns) Lots of you might not be aware that a former Birtley AC member made her Olympic debut in Paris at the end of July. Kate Waugh was one of the athletes chosen to represent Britain in the women's triathlon team, this was her first Olympic selection but will undoubtedly not be her last. Several Birtley members, including Kate's former coaches Tommy Millmore and Ed Lown, travelled to Paris to cheer her on from the sidelines, and Kate was very appreciative of their support, as shown in her own words below:- Somehow I’ve gone from running around in the dark (well it wasn’t always dark) on Tuesday and Thursday nights with Birtley Athletics club to running around the sights of Paris with thousands of people watching. How did that happen? Was it an accident? Well it wasn’t exactly an accident but it definitely wouldn’t happened if I hadn’t been part of the grassroots sport in the north-east. Being part of a club like Birtley quite literally changed my life. That’s because I’d never have made a podium, never have got an invite to represent England in a cross-country, never experienced trips to run in some out-of-the-way places & realise how much I liked it!    Team Birtley in Paris! Instead of standing on the sidelines waiting for your child to take part in their session, why not consider enrolling in a coaching course (paid for by Birtley AC) so you can actually TAKE the session? We are always on the lookout for new coaches, particularly in field events (throwing and jumping) and it's a very rewarding role to take on, as you watch the youngsters under your care improve and grow as athletes. Without coaches, the club couldn't exist, so please consider taking on this vital role - if you'd like to know more, please have a chat with any of the coaches on our usual training nights, or email [email protected]
Please click here to donate via our Just Giving Link Birtley Athletics Club York to Birtley via People’s Kitchen 136 miles continuous relay 15th/16th June 2024. The relay will start 12pm at York Castle and follow National Cycle Routes through Yorkshire, Teesside, County Durham and Newcastle, calling at the People’s Kitchen before heading to the finish at Birtley Golf Club some 24 hours or so later. There will be at least 24 legs of various distances and terrain, each leg will have one (or more) runners, accompanied by two cyclists and met at each change over point by the following mini buses.
To make this event a success we need as many Club members, family and friends to help, either running a leg and cycling or supporting along the route. Also the aim is to raise as much money as possible towards this year’s chosen charity. See Spond for further information and updates. This year’s relay event is to raise funds for The People’s Kitchen, Newcastle. Checkout their website https://peopleskitchen.co.uk/about-us/ MAKING LIFE BETTER FOR VULNERABLE PEOPLE The ways our Friends are forced to live are incredibly hard. They might be sleeping rough, or recently placed in housing with no belongings. Many of them don’t have access to nutritious food or have no support system around them. The People’s Kitchen is their safe haven. We are a constant for people whose lives can be chaotic. We make life on the streets a little easier by sharing hot meals and packages of clothing, toiletries, food, mobile phones and sleeping bags. We work with services to enable people to move off the streets and then we provide food, furniture and bedding to our Friends when they move into their first home. We also offer friendship and professional services to improve mental wellbeing.  We hope to see lots of you there to help celebrate all of our athletes' achievements over the last year or so, but it won't just be a case of handing over cups and medals. We're planning a fun evening with food, games and prizes, music and dancing.
On Saturday 4th May 2024 we're back at our usual venue, the Catholic Club in Birtley, so it's easy to get to, as well as being within walking distance for a lot of you (so leave those cars at home and have yourselves a little drink or two). There will be a buffet following the presentation, and an opportunity to take part in various games - bring plenty of change with you! Tickets are £5 each you should have received an invite via Spond - you can also message Zoe or Val if you need more tickets than you have invites for, and they'll send you a payment link. Doors open at 7pm for a 7.30pm start - get there early for a good view of the proceedings (or the closest seats to the bar...) Our annual general meeting will be held at the Catholic Club in Birtley on the 15th April at 7pm. At the meeting we will be appointing key committee members and setting fees for the following year. All members are welcome to attend. All roles can be chosen on the Spond app by accepting the appropriate task. An agenda will be linked here shortly.
A big thank you to everyone who turned out for our XC relays this year, either competing, officiating, volunteering, or supporting. The weather was kind to us as conditions were cold, sunny and more than a hint of mud - perfect cross country weather! Results are available on this link Birtley XC Relays all results 2024.xlsx with screenshots eventually being on our results page once any corrections have been made.  Pic courtesy of Russell Dickinson Deane |
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