Ashford parkrun
As always let’s start at our home turf where we had wonderful representation. Keith Haynes lead the pack for Striders and achieved a fantastic PB in a time of 19.27 you are literally flying. Adam Booth was next to cross the line in 19.40, followed by Dan Green in 22.18 and Justin Burden in 22.36. Terry Sellen ran through the final tunnel in 24.10, Daniel Schwartz got a time of 24.30, Josh Stephens got our 2nd PB of the morning in a fab time of 26.54. Well done! The next bunch of Striders finishing were Christopher Wicks (27.02), David Helme (27.14), Scott Hawkins (27.31), our first lady home Tasmin Ritchie (27.36), Amanda James (29.46) and rounding up our sub 30s for the morning was Simon Pharoah (29.53). Rita Cooke, Mike Mason, Rachel Oliver and Dave Warner achieved finish times of 30.39, 32.37, 32.42 and 32.59 respectively. A flurry of Striders came next and must of dominated that finish tunnel, Jason Brice achieved 33.10, Chris Kelly 33.20, Jennifer Watts 33.24, Michelle Brice 33.29 and Peter Broom 33.33. Husband and Wife duo Brian and Hazel Forrester finished next with Brian just pipping Hazel (35.12) to the post with a time of 34.32. Lisa Fulcher achieved a time of 35.21, the 3rd PB of the day was achieved by Laura Clark (37.43) well done Laura, Siobhan Hagan (running with her daughter) finished the 5k route in 39.54 with Dermot Carr being their running cheerleader and finished in 40.16. Rounding up Team Striders at Victoria Park was Danielle Moss finishing in 43.30. Fantastic running everyone.
A big thank you to this weeks volunteers Michelle Bryant, Jason Caldwell, Sharni Copham, Julie Foster, Sharon Gardener, Simon Jackson, Tasmin Ritchie and special recognition goes to Lee Standon who reached his 100th parkrun volunteer credit. Without the hi-vis hero’s there will be no parkrun so huge appreciation to everyone who gives up their time on a Saturday morning to allow everyone to run.
parkrun Tourism
Striders were definitely out and about with lots tying in a parkrun before Sunday race day.
Local county parkruns were finished by George Cromwell at Walmer and Deal in 26.16 & at Dover Waterfront were Mark Niles who completed the route in 22.03 and Mandy Cooper who finished in 27.23. Amazing running by all.
University Parks was completed by Lydia Huntley in 24.47, Brandon Country Park by Claire Green in 39.51. Teignmouth Promenade was finished by Richard Randle (27.25) and Dee Millen (33.16). Fantastic times everyone and impressive tourism.
On to the guys who didn’t think their booked races on Sunday were enough so decided to visit parkruns on the way to or local to their races, dedication there guys. Lisa Gribbin and Rachel Misson stopped off at Ifield Mill Pond on the way to the Loch Ness Marathon where their Strider tops were recognised and club praised following last weeks Ashford takeover. Lisa finished in 31.18 and Rachel completed the 5k in 31.37. Rachel Tomsett and Angela Craffey were both taking a trip to Wales for the Cardiff half marathon. Angela finished the Penallta parkrun in the Welsh valleys in 33.31. Pontypridd was run by Rachel Tomsett in 36.54. Finally Nicola Crawley and Justine Wearn won the award for farthest afield parkrun this week, they were in the Netherlands for Singeloop Breda 10k so partook in Waterakkers parkrun both achieving top 10 finishes in 28.44 (Nicola) and 29.46 (Justine). Hugely impressive by all!
Rhino Run 5k
There’s not often a race briefing has to include be aware of escaped animals but when it involves running around Port Lympne Wildlife park then better to be safe. Four Striders took part in the very hilly 5k but the views, animals and medal all made up for the 2nd half’s continuous hill. Dave Winchester was the 1st Strider to finish in 27.57, George Cromwell was next across the line in 30.42, Kevin Miller achieved a chip time of 33.55 and Kirsty Theobald got a finish time of 43.11. Well done all.
Tonbridge 5k, 10k, Half
A group of Striders travelled over to Tonbridge with no one picking the 5k option but we had representatives in both the 10k and half distances.
Martin Whittingham chose 10k, finishing the distance in 1hr 20.02. Completing the half during the beautiful sunny Sunday and achieving sub 2hrs PB in 1hr 58.32 was Dermott Carr. Amazing! Siobhan Hagan got a time of 2hr 13.23, David Helme finished in 2hr 17.37, Michelle Bryant knocked minutes of her half time and obtained a PB of 2hr 30.14 and lastly but no means least Sally Davidson-Daniel completed the route in 2hrs 39.50. Just fantastic!
A big high five to Lynette Whittingham for volunteering at Tonbridge, each and every runner appreciates the support.
Singellhopp Breda
Over the waters in The Netherlands – Nicola Crawley & Justine Wearn completed their strong ‘rennen’ for the weekend finishing the popular 10k in 1hr 06.26 and 1hr 07.50 respectively. Not sure the after run snacks were too popular with the ladies though.
Maverick Terrex Series
Completing Goodwood on 2 legs rather than 4 was Jason Kennedy who ran the trail distance of 15k at the Maverick Terrex series. Jason crossed the finish line on the Goodwood course in a time of 1hr 26.59. Well done.
Cardiff Half Marathon
Cardiff half marathon was celebrating their 20th anniversary this year. Flying the flag for Ashford Striders were Rachel Tomsett and Angie Craffey who decided to tackle the hilly course and achieved times of 2hr 29.03 and 2hrs 49.18 respectively. Great running ladies.
Loch Ness Marathon
Not sure if Nessie was spotted or not but Lisa Gribbin and Rachel Misson were completing the Loch Ness Marathon. Both crossed the line together in an exact same time of 5hrs 16.56. The marathon girls continue to smash it.
That completes the weekend’s line up. I hope everyone has had a fab weekend and all are proud of their achievements whether it was at parkrun, races or runs of their own accord. The sun will continue to have his hat on in the coming week so remember to keep up the hydration and enjoy.
Report by Kirsty Theobald.
