Good evening, and Happy Chinese New Year to you. Striders were back out in force, running races and Parkruns galore!!
Sadly Ashford Parkrun was cancelled so Tourism was in full flow! There were Striders everywhere and I’ll start from the top at Bromley!
First in was David Martins with 28:09, then was Mandy Cooper – 29:34, Nicola Crawley was next with 30:28 followed by Nadine Lidbury – 31:38, Justine Wearn – 31:39, Andy Found – 31:40, Sarah Martins – 32:07 and Lisa Fulcher – 48:03
Scott Hawkins was in Ipswich, completing their Parkrun in 27:53.
Dermot Carr and Michelle Bryant were in Maidstone and completed that Parkrun in 29:26 and 34:36 respectively.
Tamsin Ritchie was over at Canterbury and finished her 5k in 31:27.
Adrian Green flew round Margate’s course in 20:37.
Folkestone were graced with the presence of six of our members – Dan Green – 20:51, Don Dewar – 28:17, Kevan Strand – 30:00, Sharni Copham – 30:50, Sally Davidson-Daniel – 32:10, and Sara Dewar, who came in at 33:16.
Elle Weekes is in Australia and took part in the Menai Parkrun, finishing in 26:57.
Rachel Tomsett was at beautiful Bedgebury and finished in 39:10.
Clapham Common saw four of our members; Justin Burden was first to finish in 25:05, followed by Katie Fox – 35:12, Siobhan Hagan – 35:13, Laura Clark – 38:48
Peter Broom and Hazel Forrester were at Cyclopark Parkrun and they finished in 33:32 and 35:33 respectively.
Next was Ilfield Mill Pond Parkrun where Daniel Schwartz finished in 25:13 and Sonette Schwartz finished in 32:48.
Mark Niles was at Mote Park and finished in 22:56.
Last but not least, we had several Striders down in Dover for their Parkrun at Dover Waterfront. Richard Randle led the way, finishing in 27:53, Ash Robinson, continuing his fine form, came in at 28:21, then came Lisa Gribbin with 29:48, Rachel Misson – 30:16, Dee Millen – 32:34 and finally Raechel Kind came in at 33:04.
Saturday also saw the last Cross Country Race of the Season where Striders had four brave souls representing us in Bromley – the course was a tough one with two laps and our representation did us proud! As did our shiny new tent! (Gazebo!)
First Strider home was Jack Farrant, working those spikes and sprinting over the finish with a time of 38:33, just behind was Jason Kennedy with 40:52 and then in the ladies team were Jayne Hatton, completing her first Cross Country in 54:42 and Lisa Fulcher in 55:54 – very well done to you all!
On Sunday was the Victoria Park Half in London where we had several of our own taking part! Michelle Bryant finished with a PB in a time of 2:29:14 and Lisa Fulcher finished in 2:36:31!
We also had the Headcorn Half Marathon where we had a huge representation, and some smashing PB’s! Keith Haynes was first in for us with a PB and a time of 1:30:12, Simon Pharoah was next with 1:40:11 and another PB! Richard Randle, also with a PB came in at 1:54:36. Next we had Dermot Carr – 2:00:09, Jamie Bartlett – 2:00:26(PB), Peter Heckel – 2:04:56, Vicky Stevenson – 2:07:40, Mandy Cooper – 2:11:48, Darren Laker – 2:12:29, David Martins – 2:23:51(PB), Dee Millen – 2:41:50(PB), Sarah Martins – 2:45 and then our very own VIP, Holly Forrest who finished the race with the ferocity of an asteroid, in 3:01:48! Some amazing performances there, well done!
So here we are, have a great week everyone and don’t forget that next week marks the annual day for showing love, yes, pancake day! Remember, toss carefully and be very careful squeezing those lemons, we don’t want any accidents!
