16th July – Run for Tony & Tom

It is with great sadness we found out on Thursday that one of our friends and club members Tony Holland had sadly passed away.

Tony was a relatively new member to the club, in his second year with us, but was a massively popular member of the running scene in the North East having owned a running shop in Cramlington before opening Let’s Run in Stokesley, with his partner and friend of the club Shelli Gordon, as well as being very active in the Fell and Hardmoors race scene.

Anyone who ran with with Tony would see immediately just how much of a passion for running he had and that he left it all out there, there were no half measures.  His love and enthusiasm for running shone through and he genuinely cared about everyone, taking just as much time, if not more time, to talk to those at the back of the pack as those that were winning races.

Although we would see Tony on the track and road it was off road running that he loved, so what better way to remember him then with a fell run.

Monday also sadly marks 4 years since we lost Tom Wall, one of our coaches. Tom was another big character who was well recognised and well thought of on the local running scene.  With a great passion for running, second only to his love for Boro, and a genuine interest in how everyone was doing he has been greatly missed.  Tom wasn’t really a fan of the off road but whenever he did run off road he did it with smile on his face and bags of enthusiasm.  Gone but not forgotten.

There is a run on Monday night, 16th July.
Meet at 6:30pm at the Tourist Info car park in Great Ayton.

Club vests or Hardmoors t-shirts, if you’ve got them.

I’ll be raising a glass to Tony & Tom in the Royal Oak afterwards if anyone fancies joining me.