Marathon effort by Sue

Sue Jones, York Acorn/Lloyds /TSB Clubwoman of the Year, went to New York to run her first marathon and finished well up the field of 31,000.

She completed the course in 3 hours 30 minutes 43 seconds and finished in 3,517th place.

Julie Bushell of York Acorn was the third female home in the 50 mile off-road round Rotherham challenge race. Her time was nine hours 29 minutes.

The muddy route started at Brampton and followed the boundaries of Rotherham. Sharon Gayter won the women's race in a time of just over eight hours. Kenra White was second, in 8hr 50min.

Nick Ford of York Acorn finished in the top 40 in the men's race, timing 10hr 55min.

Mike Raynes led five Acorn teammates home in the Abbey Dash 10 kilometres road race at Leeds in 33min 54sec. He was followed by Dave Elliott in 41-10, and over-50 veteran John Tattersall in 42-12.

Times of other York Acorn runners were: Norman Stevens 43-50, Sandra Hood 47-10, Julie Hills 53-40.

In the Scarborough 10km road race Elliott was the first Acorn runner to finish, timing 40min. Women's team captain Joanne Simpson was next of the Acorn finishers, in 43-53, two seconds ahead of teammate Julie Simpson.

In her first race as an Acorn club member Karen Innes clocked 54-06. Times of other Acorn runners were: Catherine Fleming 46-57, Agnes Wojciechowicz 51-28, Julie Hills 54-8.

York Acorn finished in the top thirty teams out of ninety in the Calderdale Way Relay held near Halifax. Teams of twelve run in pairs over six legs totalling fifty miles and incorporating over 5,000 feet of climb.

The race began from Copley in waterlogged conditions but Acorn's leading pair of Mike Raynes and Martin Kirby produced a superb run to finish at Cragg Vale in 17th place in a time of 77 minutes.

Ged Hemblade and Kev Walker took over the baton for a leg which included an ascent of Stoodley Pike. They lost four places but were timed at a creditable 72 minutes.

Veterans Pete Hammond and John Duston completed the short uphill leg from Todmorden to Blackshaw in 47 minutes, dropping five places.

International duathlete Colin Hawxby and Jerry Barnes took over across the moors to Wainstalls and despite having to run through water a foot deep in places they gained one place and timed 79 minutes.

Martin Lawn and Graham Thresh ran well to time 72 minutes on the hilly fifth leg, and university-based Tim Daniel and Mike Goodson pulled back another place on the mainly urban last leg from Shelf to Copley.

The Acorn team's time of seven hours 16 minutes was nearly an hour faster than the previous year.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.