by Andy Found
The Striders week of events kicked off on Tuesday evening with the third of the East Kent Summer Relays. This one was hosted by A&D and held at Victoria Park. Striders had seven teams Male and Female involved and everyone did themselves proud amongst a field of extremely strong runners from six different running clubs. The course was 2.06 miles long and Strider results were as follows…
Senior Mens ‘A’
Josh Stephens 14:18
Jack Farrant 12:51
Frank Remigio 11:20
Simon Pharoah 11:27
Senior Mens ‘B’
Pav Jagoda-Souch 16:18
Scott Hawkins 15:12
Matthew Gilbert 14:12
Konrad Gryniewicz 13:49
Vet 40 Men
Andy Found 16:34
Adam Thomas 14:22
Keith Haynes 13:00
Jason Caldwell 13:32
Vet 50 Men
Andrew Cornwell 19:25
Richard Randle 18:59
Phil Lowe 16:16
Senior Ladies ‘A’
Jayne Hatton 17:04
Vicky Stevenson 17:56
Elle Weekes 15:16
Senior Ladies ‘B’
Rebecca James 17:26
Lucie Shrubsole 16:40
Megan Clare 18:48
Vet 45 Ladies
Sharon Gardner 18:59
Vicky Shrubsole 17:59
Carole Thomas 15:20
A massive shoutout to Jason Caldwell who coordinates these superb events for Striders and to everyone who came out to support. The Striders support was extremely loud and hugely appreciated by all the runners ❤️
Friday saw the return of one of the biggest events in the running calendar in the form of our very own Ashford Striders Charing 10K and what a night it was. The whole club came together and did what we do best by producing an epic night of running and fun. The feedback from runners and spectators has been amazing and everyone involved needs to hold their heads extremely high. I can’t thanks everyone enough for their hard work and professionalism which ensured a fantastic evening was had by all. The only complaint we had was by local resident Roger who couldn’t hear his TV but we will take that all day long.
We started with the kids race and the little ones loved it. First across the line was of course Will Pharoah who had been told he was walking home by his non competitive dad if he didn’t win 🙈. Congratulations to Will !!
Onto the main race and some superb Strider results on what is a tough course with ‘That bloody Hill’……
Frank Remigio was first Strider and 7th overall with a stunning time of 38:50, well done Frank !! Adrian Green and his immaculate hair were next with 45:51 and Adam Thomas put in a great shift to come through in 48:13 followed by Terry Sellen in 50:12. Matthew Beasley got a new 10K PB with a great time of 51:13, Well done Matthew and he was followed by Steve Rumsey who also got a PB with 53:35, great run Steve !! Darren Laker was next with 53:57 and then yet another PB run this time by Michael Ruck with 54:40, congratulations Michael !!. Danie Shwartz completed in 55:56 and Kevan Strand went round in 56:03 ahead of Dave Winchester in 56:30 and Justin Burden in 58:28. George Phillips came through in 58:49 with wife Isobel making sure she wasn’t chatting and missing him again like she did last time he ran🤦♂️
Lionel Hammond just scraped under the hour with 58:51 followed by Harry Lockhart in 1:01:44 and Eloise Pegg in 1:01:45 and Mat Norman in 1:04:22. Cara Linen came over the line in 1:10:57 with Donna Hammond next in 1:14:51. Kat Silvester completed in 1:15:13 followed by Aimee Donahue and Josh Stephens both with 1:27:35. Julie Foster completed the Red line up at Charing with a finish time and a huge ovation of 1:30:30
Once again, Well done and Thankyou to all the runners, marshals, etc on a fabulous event ❤️
Well after the fun and festivities of Friday night, life returned to normal on Saturday with Striders dispersing far and wide for their weekly Parkrun fix.
Of course as you all know it was the 14th June on Saturday and the Trooping Of The Colour to celebrate the ‘Kings Birthday’. Actually HRH was born on November 14th so “Stand Easy”. The Trooping Of The Colour is to celebrate the birthday of the Sovereign and is held annually at this time of year in the hope of better weather. The TOTC actually has nothing to do with birthdays so just to educate you all….Regimental flags of the British Army, historically described as ‘Colours,’ are consecrated and display insignia worn by soldiers of the respective unit along with the unit’s Honorary Distinctions or ‘Battle Honours’.
Historically the primary role of a regiment’s Colour was to provide a rallying point on the battlefield, which was vitally important because without the forms of communications available to troops operating on a modern battlefield it was all too easy for soldiers to become disoriented and separated from their unit during conflict. For soldiers to recognise their Regiment’s Colour, it was necessary to display it; this was accomplished by young officers marching between formed-up ranks of soldiers with the Colour held high, which is the origin of the term ‘trooping’. What is today a great ceremonial spectacle began life as a vital wartime parade.
Sorry I’ve gone off track so back to Parkrun….
A total of 47 Striders attended a Parkrun on 14/06/25 , 26 at Ashford, and 21 on tour.
At Ashford Adam Booth was first Strider across the line with a time of 21:38 followed by Keith Haynes with a time of 21:52, and Jack Farrant third strider, with a time of 22:22
Linda-jean Delport was First Lady Strider with 22:31 followed by Mark Niles 23:12 and Neil Wood 24:31. Terry Sellen celebrated his 400th Parkrun with 25:11, Congratulations Terry on such a magnificent milestone 🙌. Darren Laker achieved 25:54 followed by Daniel Schwartz 28:03, Don Dewar 28:25, Josh Stephens 29:24 and David Martins 29:25. Amanda James completed the sub 30’s finishing in 29:47.
Carole Thomas completed in 30:31 followed by Ross Mcinnes 31:49. Marion Fitzpatrick achieved a new PB with 33:23, great running Marion 🙌 !! and she was followed in by Robert Harris with 33:46.
Birthday girl Sarah Martins went round in 34:45 (that was her time not her age, she’s much younger than that !!) just ahead of Justine Wearn 34:49 and Lin West 34:52. Great to see Paul Diddams back running and he achieved 35:51, Well done Paul !! Pauline Tallett notched up a 35:55 finish with Rick Newman celebrating his 25th PR in 44:18 and his guide Sharon Mcinnes celebrating her 50th PR in 44:19. Tailwalker Julie Nicholson completed in 59:41
Huge thanks to the volunteers at Ashford as usual. Along with Julie Nicholson we had Julie Foster, Lisa Fulcher, Steve Rumsey and Hazel Turner.
Parkrun Tourism
Jamie Penfold visited the Brooklands parkrun and completed it in a great time of 23:03.
Scott Hawkins led the way at the Dover Waterfront parkrun and achieved a brilliant new PB with 23:59 🙌. Great run Scott and well done for honouring the ‘winner buys the teas rule’. Elle Weekes was next Strider through at Dover in 25:50 and yet another PB for the ever improving and less moaning Rebecca James who completed in a fab time of 27:53 🙌 neck and neck with Andy Found who was eternally grateful for not getting his ear bent all the way round !! Jayne Hatton somehow managed to match her time to the second from her previous visit to Dover with 28:34 and Maria Chapman completed the Dover Waterfront parkrun Strider lineup with 33:30.
Amanda Watson and Hubby Ian were on Honeymoon and decided it would be a good idea to run near a recently erupted volcano and Amanda completed the Etna parkrun in a Seismic time of 36:36. It was obviously Lava at first sight for the pair of them and they are a Magma-nificent match ❤️.
Chloe Winham was the sole Strider at Folkestone parkrun and completed in 28:44 with Rachel Tomsett visiting the Great Lines parkrun, Medway and finishing in 30:49. Lee Gribbin completed the Leybourne Lakes parkrun in 27:50 a couple of minutes ahead of his mum Lisa Gribbin who went round in 29:42.
Justin Burden and Laura Clark were at the Maidstone River Park parkrun and finished in respective times of 28:51 and 45:40.
Isabelle Froissart continued her comeback from injury and completed the Orpington parkrun in 29:39 whilst Tamsin Ritchie and Sprocket completed the Polkemmet Country parkrun in 28:50.
We had a quartet of Striders at Royal Tunbridge Wells.Lionel Hammond led the way with 28:47 He was followed by Delia Millen in 38:10, Donna Hammond in 39:08 and Nige Terry 39:49.
Last but certainly not least Simon Pharoah completed the Walmer and Deal Seafront parkrun in 18:15 and actually got first place 🥇. Congratulations on a great run Simon !!
Saturday also saw the return of the Dirty Rotten Scoundrels event. A 10k race through rivers, mud and obstacles of all kinds which some strange people see as fun 🤪. Chris Littlejohn was first Strider to complete and he managed a course PB with a great time of 1:26:21, well done Chris. Dan Green was next with 1:30:43 followed by Matthew Beasley in 1:41:21. Kay Hunt got a course PB with 2:17:45, well done Kay and she finished at exactly the same time as Adam Thomas. Angie Craffey completed in 3:43:40 just ahead of Michelle and Jason Brice in 3:44:00 and Chloe Darling in 3:44:27. Well done to all of you and great to see you back out running Chloe. Everyone at the club wishes you and your family well 😘
Michael Davies was in action on Sunday at the Offas Dyke 15 mile race on the hilly English/Welsh border. Despite taking some time en route to dive into the stinging nettles Mike completed in 2:29:00 winning his age group category.
I wasn’t sure whether to include this last one on Saturday or Sunday as she started on one and finished on the other but anyway congratulations to Henrike Grund. This amazing lady took on the South Downs Way 100 mile race and finished it in 25:57:09. An incredible show of determination, fitness and slight madness. Well done Henrike that is a wonderful achievement ❤️
Well done to everyone on a fantastic week. Runners, Marshals, Supporters have all been top notch which is why the status of this running club is up there with the very best 😍
Don’t forget to get yourselves on Spond and signed up to this weeks fun. We have the Non Tech run on Monday which is always good fun and then Neds run on Tuesday. Apparently there is something new at S&C this coming Tuesday and we are going Al Fresco so come along with your mat and find out what the surprise is 🤔
Finally don’t forget to sign up for the Striders Social at the Club on 28th June. It’s completely free (apart from the booze) to members and will be a great night for all. It’s on Spond so no excuses, be there or be square !!
Have a great week everyone ❤️
