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There were nearly 100 children in attendance for the beach races organised by Blyth Running Club with the support of England Athletics and Northern Power Grid.

The torrential downpour of the previous days had ceased and we were met by bright sun-shine as we patiently waited for the tide to recede so that we could mark the course out. However, we were suddenly enveloped by a thick fog and  by the time the course was laid we couldn’t see the first turning point which was only 100 metres away.

All the races were on the beach and there was a large crowd of spectators and children as the first race was set off by the Northern Power Grid Mascot, Vic Voltage. This was a 200 metre race for the Under 6’s and Vic managed to run the first ten yards before being overtaken by the runners. The first girl back was Zoe Robson with Aidan Gray winning the boys' race.

The under 9’s ran a distance of 400 metres and Rhiannon Hedley was the first girl, while Robbie Cleghorne won the boys' race.  In the under 11 categories the youngsters had to run 800 metres and Jessica Locker of Blyth Running Club was the first girl, while Josh Fiddaman made it a double for Blyth by winning the boys' race. The under 13’s  ran a distance of 1200 metres, with Lauren Robson, not to be outdone by younger sister Zoe, winning the girls' race, while Kieron Hedley also followed his sister into the winners' enclosure by taking the boys' prize. The Under 15’s ran a distance of 1.0 miles and for the second year running Charley Hedley won the girls race with Joseph Woods making it another double for Blyth running club by winning the boys race.

Everybody who ran the race was given a medal and the race winners were presented with trophies by Vic Voltage – who by this time was starting to feel the heat!

In addition, Blyth Running Club member Craig Birch was one of the lucky nominees who were selected to carry the Olympic Torch on its journey around Great Britain. As Craig is at University in Manchester he actually ran with the Olympic Torch in the North West. The torrential rain couldn't dampen Craig’s spirit and enthusiasm on the day.  Describing the atmosphere as electric and amazing, Craig was well supported by family and friends who had made the journey to share in his memorable day. On his return to Blyth, Craig  brought the actual Torch to a Junior training night where the Juniors all had their photos taken with Craig and the Torch.

	England Athletics Online store Click here to visit the Official England Athletics online store. Wear official England Athletics clothing. All 'profits' made are reinvested into the development of athletics in England

CE Electric UK – the company that owns and operates the electricity distribution networks in Yorkshire, northern Lincolnshire and the North-east - is proud to support England Athletics through its corporate sponsorship programme.

John Barnett, Head of Customer Operations, said: “There’s nothing more important to us than giving something back to the communities that we serve.  The England Athletics programme gives young people the chance to keep fit and have fun, whilst offering some of the region’s most promising young athletes the best possible start in their sporting careers.”

You can visit CE Electric UK’s England Athletics micro-site, which includes interviews with some of the region’s young athletes, training plans and a body mass index (BMI) calculator, by visiting http://athletics.ce-electricuk.com/page/index.cfm

CE Electric UK also uses the England Athletics programme to promote its life-saving electrical safety campaign “Stay Away: Stay Alive”, which teaches children and young people to recognise danger of death signs and electrical hazards.  You can access electrical safety-themed games and activities by following the “Fusebox” and “Crucial Crew” links on the front page of the company’s website www.ce-electricuk.com