ON Saturday, January 4 a small squad of AJAC athletes took part in the Yorkshire Cross Country Championships on a tough course at Lightwater Valley.

In the U13 Girls, Grace Derry was first home for AJAC in 21st place with a time of 10:14, Isla Wilson finished in 32nd place with a time of 10:46 and Amelie Winter finished 40th in a time of 11:10. In the U13 Boys, Sam Degazon finished 21st in a time of 09:36, Caleb Stanley finished 53rd in a time of 10:18 and Archie Cann finished 73rd in a time of 10:52.

Following on from that, on Sunday, January 5, AJAC were delighted to have special guests Scott Lincoln, Colin Hutson and Julie Hutson at their weekly training session at Knayton to formally hand-out their NEYDL winners’ medals as well provide some fantastic funds towards the running of the club.

Local accountancy firm Colin Hutson Accounting Limited provided some financial support to AJAC in 2020 and Colin and Julie got a fantastic reception from the kids at training.

Colin said: “We love supporting local causes and are really excited to be involved with AJAC.”

After the presentation of the medals, nine-time British Champion Scott Lincoln held a Q&A session which really captured the attention of the group, with questions ranging from how high his calorie intake was when training to how did was he able to handle the nerves when competing.

Scott said: “Focus on having fun and trying your hardest whether in training or competing – the results will come in the end.”

AJAC thanked Scott, Colin and Julie, and wished them all the success for 2020.

Two other highlights for AJAC in recent weeks were Kate Hill smashing her personal best by 42 seconds at Darlington South Park Parkrun, finishing tenth in 09:26, and head coach Glen Hilton finished 7th overall and 1st VM45-49 at Fountains Abbey Parkrun on January 4 with a time of 18:22.