Rye Harbour Ekiden Relay
Two teams from Ashford Striders took part in the well-supported relay event at Rye Harbour Nature Reserve on Friday evening. The teams of 6 had a variety of distances to run, starting with a 5k, then distances of 2.5k, 7.5k, 2.5k, 2.5k and a final 1k sprint.
Of the 49 teams taking part, Striders Team A achieved 10th position with an overall time of 1:32:20. Kath Atkinson set the pace for the first 5k first leg in 21:19, followed by Alison Waters who ran the 2.5k in 11:57. Jake Davison took on the 7.5k lap in 32:34 with Linda-Jean Delport’s 2.5k in 11:36 and Cris Francis 10:46 for the same distance. Jacob Henwood was second fastest overall for the 1k final leg in 4:08.
For the Striders Team B, Vicky Stevenson ran the 5k first leg in 27:28, followed by Tamsin Ritchie’s 2.5k lap in 13:21. Shane Snowwolf ran the 7.5k leg in 39:28 with Amelia Letteboer (2.5k) in 13:52 and Jason Sanders (2.5k) 11:50. Toyah Bicker ran a 1k PB in 6:38 to bring home the team. The team were placed 32nd and achieved an overall time of 1:52:33
Ashford Parkrun
Paul McDonnell continued to set the pace for the club at this week’s Victoria Park 5k, coming in at 19:39 and in 8th position overall. He was followed by Duncan Forbes in 10th who set a time of 20:36. Brian Marsh was next to finish in 22:44 which placed him 37th overall. Linda-Jean Delport claimed 7th place for the ladies and 59th overall with a time of 23:54. Justin Burden set another consistent time of 24:23 placing him 67th overall. Reece Corner finished next in 27:07 with Amelia Letteboer (28:26, Helen Weeden (28:32), Martin Whittingham (29:29), Rachel Theobald (29:50) and Kevin York (29:51) all came in under the 30 minute mark. Rachel Oliver was next to finish in a time of 30:07 followed by Hazel Forrester in 30:23, narrowly ahead of husband Brian who set a time of 30:38. Mel Cox finished next in 33:03, with David Gadsby (33:42), Jon Mitchell (33:59), Toyah Bicker (36:34) and Sarahjane Knight (52:37). Clare Maxlow was this week’s tail walker, with Lee Standen (his first time as the Ashford event’s Run Director), Jamie Bartlett, Rachel Forrester, Shane Snowwolf and Josh Whiten all providing valued volunteer support.
Parkrun Tourism
Tamsin Ritchie travelled to Malling where she ran the 2 lap lakeside course in 47:01. Ian Dunning ran at Folkestone, coming in at 26:28 and Nicola Crawley took an epic trip to Cornwall Parkrun (New Zealand!) where she ran in a time of 27:38.
OCR Elements
Jason Sanders took on the 3 lap water obstacle course on Saturday in Tunbridge Wells. The challenging course with numerous obstacles along the route covered a distance of 24km which he achieved in just under 5 hours.
Mount Maunganuhi 10k
Nicola Crawley took part in the scenic race in New Zealand, setting a time of 55:17. This placed her 33rd of 210 female entrants and in 1st place for her category.