By Alex Hill BBC Norfolk

The City of Norwich Athletics Club train at the UEA Sportspark

The City of Norwich Athletics Club continued their recent success by finishing second in the National Auxiliary Finals in Birmingham.

Two hundred and fifty clubs took part in the competition, which concluded with last weekend's grand final.

"This year has been exceptional for us and hopefully these recent results can continue," said chairman Clive Poyner.

CNAC are now ranked as being one of the top 10 athletics clubs in Great Britain after their recent success.

It's easy to see why CNAC have been performing so well. Being at the club on one of their Tuesday evening training sessions, you really get a sense of the buzz which surrounds the place.

It's a close knit group of parents, coaches and athletes all working together to achieve the best they can.

"There's a really strong team spirit here. Athletes get the chance to come here and train hard, but also have the chance to see their friends and enjoy the social side to being involved in sport," said club press officer Ian McDonald.

Last weekend CNAC competed against the best clubs from Ireland, Scotland and England.

"We can hold our heads up and say, we are one of the best clubs in the UK and it's a wonderful achievement. There's a real buzz around the club at the moment," added McDonald.

Talking to various people around the club, you soon find out that many hours of work and dedication are put in behind the scenes to help things run smoothly.

Lorraine Brown and Jackie Green are heavily involved with the club, working behind the scenes with organising athletes, statistics and officiating in competitions, all of which is voluntary.

"It can be a bit harassing at times with preparing athletes when they're at competitions and the work involves a lot of phone calls and organising, but it's all worth it in the end," said Lorraine.

Clive Poyner is quick to acknowledge that it's a team effort as well.

Team work is the secret to CNAC's success

"There are 450 members in total, so structure is vital and we are highly reliant on volunteers. Added to this, we have a strong committee team who are always looking at the bigger picture for the club and trying to move things forward," he said.

"Of course you also have the coaches and team managers. It's very important we've got a lot of volunteers helping out and without these sorts of people who are willing to put in hours and hours of work, there would be no way we could do what we have done."

CNAC host a junior academy and are continually looking to build partnerships with schools in Norfolk, which gives them access to new pools of talent who can join the club at a young age and develop them through the years.

"It's all about trying to spot the talent, harness it and then get them involved with the right coach to ensure their potential develops," added Poyner.

Young sprinter Cleio Stephenson has been a member of the club for five years and under guidance from coach Mike Utting, has gone on to be the English Schools 100m champion.

"I broke a record the first time i ever stepped onto an athletics track and it's just gone from there. Mike spotted me and asked me to come to training and so I carried on running and it gradually started getting more serious," she said.

Gaining recognition in national competitions also brings with it a lot of cost. For CNAC to continue being able to compete in these sorts of events they rely heavily on sources of external funding.

"At the moment we tend to rely on funding through hosting events such as road races, but if the club is really going to carry on progressing, we do need to get some form of sponsorship which can help out with venue hire, travel etc.

"Any sort of opportunity we could get, we'd gladly talk to those sorts of people," said Poyner.

With the 2012 Olympics just three years away, CNAC could produce Norfolk's best hope of bringing back a medal.

So what's the secret of their recent success?

"It's just simply a team of very good people working hard, boosted with a set of determined and talented athletes," added Poyner.

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