This weekend saw an unusual all-girl turnout at the Northern XC Relays, which took place at Graves Park in Sheffield. There were some solid performances from the incomplete U15 girls team Maggie and Daisy Graham, while the U20 team of Amy Drummond, Eve Southern and Tess Graham held their own amongst the senior women with a mid field finish. 
However, stand out performances of the weekend came from the U11 girls, with Kitty Graham setting the standard in the first leg for Izzy Hall and Nell Graham to ably follow, with all three girls holding on to pole position to finish the race as Northern U11 Champions - well done to them, and all the young women who competed on Saturday, you did Birtley proud! 

I originally entered to run the Palma 10K in October 2020, but this was cancelled for the obvious reason and the entry was rolled forward to 2021.
We booked our holidays for 2021 and were in a small resort near to Cala Millor – about 70- 80KM from Palma.
The organisation of the race was first class.  I collected the race number and the T-shirt in Palma.  I had to present either a test certificate stating I was Covid free when collecting the race number or proof of double vaccination.
Sunday morning – panic.  Public bus did not turn up and resulted in very expensive taxi across Majorca to Palma.
Sunday morning, the 10K race started at 08:45 from a road adjacent to the Cathedral.  The race was an out and in race along the Harbour on largely flat roads.  There was an incline in the last half a mile or so of the out leg but that was tempered by a similar decline in going back.  The views of the harbour were fantastic and slightly envious of the boats in the harbour. The race finished on the main road opposite Palma Cathedral – it was quite a backdrop.
The heat was not too dissimilar to the UK – a pleasant 25oC steadily rising as the race went on.  The aim of the run was to maintain a steady 12 min mile pace from start to finish which was achieved – to ensure a later run this year over a longer distance would be achievable in the same heat conditions.
Once the race was over a food goody bag was received together with a can of coke and a draught pint of Estrella.
Apologies no photos, but a big shout out to George Routledge of Heaton Harriers who also ran.  Last time I saw George before this was at the Lanzarote 10K in December 2019 – nearly a lifetime ago.
Pat Kelly

Birtley AC will be hosting the annual Durham Boys and Girls Club XC Championships at Lord Lawson on Sunday 17th October. We need lots of volunteers to help the event run smoothly:- marshals for the course, people to help set up and/or dismantle, and help with refreshments which will be sold to raise funds for the club. The event is normally finished by lunchtime, so you don't have to commit to a full day of volunteering! You don't even have to miss out on your child competing, as marshalling will give you a great support point to cheer them on!
Please use the form below if you can help - we can't run the event without you!
To enter your child in the event, use the form at the bottom of the page (also linked HERE)

As we have no access to Lord Lawson on Tuesday because of an Open Evening, the training groups are meeting as detailed below:-
Birtley Joggers and Fiona/Emily's group are meeting at Birtley Baths for a 7pm start.
Gary's group is training in Princess Ann Park, Washington. They are meeting at the St Robert's side road at 18.45 - if anyone needs a lift to get there, Gary has six spaces available and can pick you up from Lord Lawson and drop you back afterwards.
Tommy will also be meeting at Birtley baths at the usual time.
Normal service resumes on Thursday at Lord Lawson. 

We'd like lots of you to step up and enter these relays please! Our mens teams did so well at the Northern Relays that they have won a team place in the prestigious 6 stage event, and there are junior and women's events too, so it should be a great day out for all - however, there is a very short window of opportunity for entries, as we must have your names (and refundable entry fee) by September 30th. Please head to our noticeboard page or go directly to the club shop and get your entries in as soon as possible! 
A coach may be provided, if enough people pay for a seat on it - please book your place here ASAP if you are interested.

Due to a certain virus that shall not be named, the winners of the 2019-2020 Harrier League finally received their awards (over a year late) at a socially distanced presentation at the Start Fitness shop in Newcastle last night. Chris Perkins won the U15 Boys prize, with Katie Francis receiving the runner up award in the U15 Girls category. Darren Purvis came first in the Masters Men category, but was unable to attend, so his award was collected by David Francis, who also picked up the team trophy on behalf of our senior men, who came second overall in league 2. Well done to all - let's hope we can get some repeat performances this season, and even add to the silverware!