Well what an amazing and inspirational weekend of running we have had, I hope all the runners, supporters and volunteers are still feeling the high (if not a little achy and tired)!
Ashford parkrun
First things first, we shall start with parkrun. Keith Haynes was the first Strider to cross the line at our local parkrun in Victoria Park with another amazing time of 20:42 but close on his toes was Adam Booth who finished in 20:44. Jamie Penfold achieved a PB with a time of 23:32, Claire Green went through the tunnel at 24:32 and Terry Sellen crossed the line 5 seconds later in a time of 24.40. Stephen Cleaver achieved a time of 25.40, Nicola Crawley came home in 26:18, next with times of 26:35, 26:46 were Mark Niles and Darren Laker and finishing the sub 27 pack was Jason Sanders who got to the line in 26:51. Vicky Stevenson achieved a finish of 28:48, Chloe Darling ran home in 29:11 and Catherine Wall finished in 30:31. Achieving a PB and getting so close to a sub 30 parkrun was Rita Cooke who ran to the finish line in 30:52. Peter Broom achieved a time of 30:49, next to cross in 34:36 was Jennifer Watts and finally the tail walker pack (some where getting a train to London that night) consisted of Siobhan Hagan (1hr 42s), Rachel Misson (1hr 43s), Lisa Gribbin (1hr 56s), Michelle Bryant (1hr 57s), Rachel Tomsett (1hr 58s), Sally Davidson-Daniel (1hr 1m 14s) and Lisa Fulcher (1hr 1m 21s).
Well done everyone and a big thank you to this weekend’s parkrun volunteers, Kevan Strand, Dermot Carr, Sharni Copham and Lee Standen.
Parkrun Tourism
We had a few striders travelling further afield for their parkrun fix:
Tasmin Ritchie visited Canterbury parkrun and finished in a time of 30:28.
Mandy Cooper ran around a beautiful scenic and picturesque Phoenix parkrun in 32m.
Vicky Shrubsole and Sharon Gardener completed the first of their weekend’s 5k’s at Malling parkrun and finished with times of 33:49 and 33:50 respectively.
Justin Burden took a trip to Greenwich and crossed the parkrun line in 24:59.
And finally Justine Wearn and Jason Wearn got a parkrun in whilst collecting numbers for a special race the next day and completed Mile End parkrun in 29:50 and 29:51.
Howletts 5k
Competing in a local race on Sunday round the beautiful Howletts wild animal park were Jack Farrant who ran in with an impressive time of 23:09 and was followed by Sharon Gardener in 33:28 and Vicky Shrubsole in 34:42.
A huge well done on your race especially with the unapologetic Howletts hill, tackled twice on route.
Virtual London Marathon
Eight striders decided to take on the marathon distance with a virtual challenge. Fantastic achievements all round you superstars!
Staying local was Jamie Penfold who achieved a brilliant PB and completed 26.2 miles in 4hr 24m 20s. Some mean feet achieving a PB marathon distance running solo.
Also remaining local was Angie Craffey who battled through recent injury to still compete virtually on the day and finished her marathon with a wonderful time of 6hr 1m 15s.
The Midnight Marathoners decided to not only tackle their virtual marathon through the night but also travel into the city to complete the London Marathon route in reverse. The team consisted of Siobhan Hagan, Lisa Gribbin, Rachel Misson, Becky Somerford, Hazel Turner and Aimee Donohue who reached their finish at Greenwich Park in 7hrs 30m with the motto of start together, end together. Huge well done ladies, that challenge took some mental and physical determination.
London Marathon 2023
Now we reach the London Marathoners, the day was pretty incredible and very humbling (even if the weather wasn’t overly kind), crowds lined the streets supporting with cheers and claps. Every Strider who was at the start line reached the finish line to collect their well earned medals in inspirational fashions. It takes true grit to take on the challenge of lots of hours, lots of miles and maybe some blood sweat and tears were shed along your journey so you all should be hugely proud of yourselves. You can also say you competed in Mo Farah’s final farewell to the London marathon, iconic. To the first timers, welcome to the marathon club (of course the best running club still remains Ashford Striders).
First home for Striders was Jason Wearn who, running for charity crossed the line down the Mall in a fantastic time of 3hr 48m 20s. Richard Barnes was the next Strider to reach the wonderful sight of the home stretch finished in 4hr 21m 25s. Well done. Dave Winchester who got a little TV fame before the day for his inspiring health and fitness journey achieved a finish time of 4hr 23m 11s which also happened to be a PB Just incredible. Achieving another sub 5hr marathon was our Chair, Andy Found after having completed Brighton just a couple of weeks ago, finished London’s 26.2miles in 4hr 32m 51s. Are you taking a break now?
Richard Coles recorded a marathon PB finishing the route in 5hr 1m 47s. Huge well done for your achievement. Also achieving a PB was Graham Troman who ran the streets of London in a time of 5hr 3m 18s. Just brilliant, well done.
Getting the title of the first female finisher for Striders was Sarah Martins who finished with determination in 5hr 37m 11s. Great time. Lisa Fulcher who seemed to not have a smile leave her face round the whole route finished in a brilliant 5hr 49m 32s. Our golden ticket Martin Whittingham got our clubs spot on the start line, having his name pulled out the hat at the clubs 2022 AGM, completed the amazing race in 5hr 54m 13s, huge well done Martin and thank you. The final member of the Strider family to complete their race in a PB time of 6hr 12m 30s was Sarah George. Congrats.
I hope everyone who competed this weekend have their medals hung high and enjoy some rest, it is much deserved.
Finally a little shout out to all the members that supported or volunteered at water stations and charity cheer points in the city yesterday, the runners really appreciate the boost and the race couldn’t go ahead without the efforts of the volunteers. So well done and give yourselves a big pat on the back.
Report by Kirsty Theobald.
