Matlock runners produce fine relay displays at Darley Park

The delightful setting of Darley Park on the banks of the River Derwent was the setting of Friday evening’s event.

The park is the setting for a late summer prom concert and the junior Matlock quartet of Joe Hallas, Sam Allen, John Webster and Cameron Orr produced their own classical performance to win the combined age 64 category and finish ninth overall.

This was a fine result considering a total of 148 teams competed overall, including strong opposition from other local running clubs.

All runners raced over the same 2.2 mile course and Orr produced one of the fastest individual times of the evening in recording 12 minutes 20 seconds over the undulating terrain.

Not to be completely overshadowed by the younger generation, the veterans team of John Birch, Martin Lea, Jim Thorneycroft and Simon Croft managed to sound a fanfare of their own by winning the combined 200-year age group and finishing 16th overall.

The third team of Chris Hallas, Rob Allen and Greg Woodward competed in the combined age 160 category and raced to an excellent second place in their group and 14th overall.

The loss of a key runner through an unfortunate injury during warm up led to Hallas having to get the baton round twice, losing only a handful of seconds on his second run despite giving it maximum effort on the first leg in attempting to keep pace with his son, Joe.

Matlock AC members compete in numerous individual races and team events throughout the year,

The club holds training sessions at the Arc Leisure Centre on Monday evenings at 6pm and Thursday evenings at 6.30pm.

Visit the Matlock AC website at www.matlockac.org.uk for details of training schedule and races.