With the marathon and race season in full swing both Striders runners and supporters were out in force across the country flying the red flag. With a plethora of smiles & sunshine and cheering & celebrations it was an action packed weekend. So without further ado, here are the results…
First up on home ground we had Ashford Parkrun where 35 Striders donned their sunglasses for some springtime sunshine at Victoria park. Jack Farrant was first Strider across the line with a time of 21:10, followed by Mark Niles with a time of 23:01, and Terry Sellen third Strider, with a time of 23:57. Next up was Daniel Schwartz 25:19, Jamie Penfold 26:22, Richard Randle 26:28, Aimee Donohue 26:38, Scott Hawkins 27:03, Adam Booth 27:37, David Gadsby 27:53, Stephen Cleaver 28:23, David Helme 28:24, Rachel Phillips 28:57, Amanda James 29:13, Jason Brice 29:58, Hazel Turner 30:11, Andy Found 30:56, Stephen Rumsey 31:06, Catherine Wall 31:41, Sharni Copham 32:03, Tamsin Ritchie 32:40, Robert Harris 33:20, Leigh Freeman 33:22, Rita Cooke 34:24, Rachel Oliver 34:35, Brian Forrester 35:21, Michelle Brice 35:27, Ash Robinson 35:28, Martin Whittingham 35:53, Sonette Schwartz 36:40, Elle Weekes 36:40, Jennifer Watts 37:27, Hazel Forrester 37:35, Rachel Tomsett 38:11 and Julie Foster 42:12. A special shout out to the Striders Parkrun volunteers who helped make the Ashford Parkrun magic happen!
13 Striders members decided to set early alarms and head further afield for some Parkrun Tourism, first up we had Kay Hunt who completed the Bedgebury Pinetum parkrun in 29:30, Harry Lockhart completed the Bexley parkrun in 26:02, Darren Laker completed the Eastbourne parkrun in 26:43, Lisa Fulcher completed the Hampstead Heath parkrun in 51:21. A trio of runners took on Lloyd Parkrun, Croydon with Nicola Crawley in 33:20, Justine Wearn in 33:28 and Jason Wearn in 33:32. Taking in the scenes of Leybourne Lakes, Raechel King completed the Malling parkrun in 33:31.No the only Strider to embrace lake Parkrun scenes, George Phillips completed the Mote Park Parkrun in 24:53. And last but not least, a crew of Striders attended Southend Park with Justin Burden in 25:16, Lee Standen in 28:30, Laura Clark in 37:24 and Lisa Gribbin in 41:05.
Kent Spring Marathon & Half Marathon
This popular Kent Spring race sees a two-lap marathon and a single lap half marathon, covering the undulating, quiet, wide lanes outside Ashford in Kent plus a short section on the Pilgrims Way. Undulating being an understatement for some elements of the course! But Striders were out in force both running and volunteering for this highlight of the Kent Spring racing season. Taking on the half marathon distance the first Strider in was Keith Haynes in 1:32:40 (course PB), followed by Dan Green in 1:47:03, Alice Foulger in 1:56:26 (PB), Eleanor Weekes in 1:59:31, Rob Harris in 2:11:07 (course PB), Claire Green in 2:15:35, Stephen Cartwright in 2:18:09 (PB), Jayne Hatton in 2:19:20 (course PB) and Dee Millen in 2:35:01 (course PB).
A big congratulations to our three ladies for winning the team prize – Claire Green, Jayne Hatton and Eleanor Weekes. And a big thank you to all the volunteers who donned their red attire and took to the course to provide cheering and support to those taking part.
Manchester Marathon
The Manchester Marathon is known for its famous flat route, and incredible atmosphere. It is the 4th most popular in Europe with over 30000 runners. And amongst those runners was our very own Chloe Darling taking on the 26.2 distance challenge with a course personal best time of 4:44:47.
Easter Duathlon
Hosted at Cyclopark, Gravesend, this duathlon takes shape as a 5k run, 20k bike ride, finished with a 5k run. Lorna Chesire took on this demanding challenge and completed the course in 1:48:52.
Well that’s a wrap on the running/racing action for this week. A big congratulations to anyone who has smashed their run challenges and best of luck for anyone heading into their race week!
