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County councillor runs for the sports foundation

The Northern Echo recently reported:

'A county councillor and forum coordinator will swap suits for shorts next month in aid of a former Prime Minister's charity.

Rob Yorke, councillor for West Auckland, and Angelina Maddison, co-ordinator of the Bishop Auckland and Shildon Area Action Partnership (AAP), will complete the Great North Run on Sunday, September 19.

The pair are looking for sponsorship as they aim to raise money for the Tony Blair Sports Foundation. Also running with them will be AAP board member Alan Boddy and 13 staff from the South Durham Enterprise Agency of which Cllr Yorke is chairman.

Cllr Yorke is no stranger to the Great North Run having completed the 13.2 mile in the past two years for the charity.

Angelina also completed the run from Newcastle to South Shields 10 years ago when she was overtaken by the Wombles.

She said:

"I am doing seven miles every other day so hopefully this time I'll finish before the Wombles. It'll be fun doing it with Rob, he can share my slipstream.

"There is a serious side to it as well and that's to raise money for this fantastic charity which helps young people get involved in sport."

Cllr Yorke, who gets up at 5am to train before a day at work, said:

"The Tony Blair Sports Foundation is all about getting more children active by recruiting and training more sports coaches. They organise a lot of events and clubs in Wear Valley, from football and tennis to rowing and basketball. I'm hoping to do it in a reasonable time but the main thing is to raise as much money as we can. I'll be happy so long as I can beat Angelina's Wombles and the guy who always runs dressed as a banana."'

To sponsor any of the runners, visit the JustGiving site