Ashford Parkrun
Many of the runners from Ashford Striders were competing in this weekend’s half marathon and 20 mile races however that didn’t stop them from being out in force at Victoria Park for this Saturday’s parkrun.
Duncan Forbes was again the first home for the club in 14th position overall and 2nd in his category in a time of 20:20. He was followed by Justin Burden who was 52nd overall in 23:57 and Cris Francis, 68th overall in 24:44. Alison Waters was next to finish in 73rd overall and 7th female, in 25:04. Nicola Crawley came home in 88th position and 13th female in a time of 25:39.
Tamsin Ritchie was 22nd female finisher in 27:01, followed by Josh Whiten securing a time of 27:29, with Rachel Forrester next who was also inside the top 30 ladies finishing in 27:40. Rachel Theobald (29:45), Kevin York (25:46) and Stephen Rumsey (28:47) were next to finish for Striders, with Martin Whittingham also posting a sub-30 minute time in 29:47. Mel Cox finished the run in 30:15, followed by Rachel Oliver in 31:21. Hazel Forrester (31:53) was the next club runner past the line, followed by husband Brian Forrester (32:05), Libby Matthews (32:27), Tyree Spicer (32:27), Simon Jackson (32:29) and Toyah Bicker (37:56). Jason Sanders, Kath Atkinson, Lee Standen and Mark Archer were all volunteers at this week’s event.
Vitality Big Half
A small number of Ashford Striders took part in the Vitality Big Half on Sunday in London, having the privilege to run in a field containing elite UK athletes and taking in some of the sights of the London Marathon route.
Despite the strong winds on the course, the some of the team set new fastest times with many finishing under the 2 hour mark. Cris Francis ran a new personal best time of 1:44:15 for the 13.1 mile distance, with Daniel Forbes being the next Strider to finish, achieving a time of 1:53:18. Alison Waters, running for charity, also ran a new half marathon personal best in 1:54:21, and Nicola Crawley too came in under 2 hours in 1:58:21. Simon Jackson posted a time of 2:01:47 with Katie Iggulden Exon finishing the race in 2:34:42.
Lydd Half Marathon and 20 Mile
A wild and windy Lydd was the venue for Sunday’s other big races, where many club members took part to build up to their spring marathons.
In the half marathon, Linda-Jean Delport finished strongly to post a time of 1:42:15. Tyree Spicer set a new personal best in 2:07:51, closely followed by Rebecca Hurley in 2:10:54. Toyah Bicker, running her first half marathon, completed the race in 2:32:36.
In the 20 mile race, Jake Davison set an impressive time of 2:39:52. Christopher Sardo was next for the club in 2:51:37. He was followed home by Kyleigh Austen who was next to finish in 3:01:36, with Jason Sanders close behind in 3:05:03. Greg Johnson was not far back in 3:09:44, with Justin Burden just 3 minutes behind in 3:12:44. Corrie Shackle completed the run in 3:20:25 closely followed by Vicky Stevenson in 3:20:54, Reece Corner in 3:33:52, Gemma Wicks in 3:35:20 and Charlotte Butler in 3:36:25. Carly James, recovering from injury, went on to complete the race in 4:31:03, with Danielle MacKenzie in 4:42:33 and Kirsty Theobald in 4:43:25 completing the Striders team.