Category: Weekly Reports

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Weekly Report

Parkrun

There were some impressive times for Ashford Striders at this week’s Ashford Parkrun, with perfect running conditions. Paul McDonnell was again at the front of the pack for Striders at this week’s run, finishing in 8th place overall and first for the club. Duncan Forbes was the second Strider home in 20:27 and in 12th place overall. Linda-Jean Delport made a return to Parkrun this week setting a time of 22:05 and claiming 31st position and 5th for the ladies overall. She was followed by Justin Burden in 23:33 and 54th place who narrowly edged Alison Waters who finished in 55th place and 8th for the ladies, setting herself a new PB of 23:35.

Josh Whiten was next to finish in a great time of 23:55 and 60th place overall. Frank Remigio (23:55) and Shane Snowwolf (24:41) also finished under the 25 minute mark, with Remigio setting a new PB.

Steve Rumsey was next to finish in 25:48, with Nicola Crawley, also a ladies top 20 finisher in 26:20, and Vicky Stevenson (26:45) who narrowly missed out on setting a new PB. Amelia Letteboer was next home in 27:40 with Tyree Spicer just behind in 27:49. Tamsin Ritchie (28:12), Rachel Forrester (28:42), Justine Wearn (29:06) and Martin Whittingham (29:37) all posting sub 30 minute times.

Rachel Oliver (30:04), Hazel Forrester (30:24) and Brian Forrester (31:02) all ran well for a good week for the club.

Clare Maxlow, Justin Burden, Lee Standen, Libby Matthews and Simon Jackson provided volunteer support.

Kath Atkinson travelled to Eastbourne Parkrun where an impressive run saw her set a time of 24:24. Danielle Moss also took the opportunity to travel and ran at this week’s Chichester Parkrun.

SVN Cake-a-thon 6 hour challenge

Shelly Blake took part in the latest SVN challenge, completing a distance of 21 miles in 5:18:33 on the looping course at Gravesend Cyclopark.

Bewl Water

Dave Hunt continued his Marathon-a-Month challenge for 2019 completing the undulating and challenging Bewl Water Marathon. He finished the course in 5:16:17.

Anna Smith took on the 10k challenge, in her first ever competitive 10k race. She finished in a time of 1:15:00.

Stelling Minnis 10k

A small team of 4 Striders took part in the Stelling Minnis 10k, in the beautiful but challenging countryside run. The large hill at 6k did not prevent some excellent performances however. Alison Waters set her second PB of the weekend, with a time of 49:51 – finishing 4th in her category. Tyree Spicer also set a new 10k PB in 57:26. Lee Standen posted his best 10k time of 2019 in 1:00:49 and Clare Maxlow, again setting a new 10k PB finished in 1:14:55.

IRONMAN 70.3 – Mallorca

James Miller and James Batcheller travelled to the stunning island of Mallorca for the weekend’s Ironman Event. They completed the Half Ironman course, with Miller setting an overall time of 7:15:28 and Batcheller 7:47:00. The event included a 1.9km swim, 90km cycle and a half marathon. Congratulations to both of them on their amazing achievement.

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Weekly Report

Parkrun

34 club members took part in various parkruns this week. At Ashford, Duncan Forbes lead the way home with a new personal best time of 19:45, finishing in 8th place overall. Just behind in 9th position was Aiden Gorham who also ran sub-20 minutes in a time of 19:51. Brian Marsh set a time of 23:06 finishing in 47th place overall. Daniel Forbes (24:13) and Frank Remigio (24:43) were both under the 25 minute mark. Steve Rumsey was next in 25:34, followed by Ian Dunning in 25:39. Tamsin Ritchie was the first lady Strider to finish in 25:55. This week’s event was particularly special for Tamsin, who was completing her 100th parkrun. Reece Corner was next to finish in 27:16 with Jason Sanders next in 28:31, Ellen Forbes in 28:53 and Tyree Spicer in 29:27. Rachel Oliver was next home in 30:03 with Rachel Theobald (30:10), Kevin York (30:11) and Martin Whittingham (31:08) just behind. Mark Archer was next to finish in 35:57 with Danielle MacKenzie in 36:32 and Lee Standen in 36:49.

Linda-Jean Delport, Cris Francis, Alison Waters, Greg Johnson and Clare Maxlow provided volunteer support.

Josh Whiten and Justin Burden travelled to Canterbury Parkrun where they completed the hilly course in 24:59 and 25:28 respectively. Shane Snowwolf and Shelly Blake tried the course at Shorne Woods where Shane set a time of 31:14 and Shelly in 35:42.

Nicola Crawley and Kath Atkinson chose the seaside parkrun at Hastings, both competing the course in 27:44. Brian and Hazel Forrester were in Cornwall at Mount Edgcumbe parkrun finishing in 36:22 and 37:12. Rebecca Hurley and Simon Jackson took part in Kent’s newest parkrun at Kingdom, another challenging course, setting times of 29:10 and 29:40 respectively.

The Island Run

Tyree Spicer and Katie Iggulden Exon travelled to the Isle of Sheppey on Sunday to take part in the annual Island Run 10k race. This fairly flat sea front event saw Tyree set another new personal best time for the year, finishing in 57:39, 32nd ladies position and 13th in her category. Katie finished in a time of 1:02:03 in 65th ladies position.

Tonbridge Triathlon

Cris Francis took part in the Tonbridge event, his first at Standard tri distance. He completed the 800m swim in 23:57, the 50km cycle in 2:02:21 and the 10km run 52:49 giving an overall time including transition of 3:26:38.

Tamsin Ritchie competed in the Sprint tri where she completed the 400m swim in 9:14, the 25km cycle in 1:10:06 and the 5km run in 33:45 giving her an overall time including transition of 1:56:42.

Well done to both for their achievements.

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Weekly Report

Ashford Parkrun

This week’s blustery Victoria Park 5k saw 3 Ashford Striders finish in the Top 10 overall, with Paul McDonnell taking 5th place in a superb time of 19:48. Aiden Gorham was 7th in 20:33 with Duncan Forbes just two seconds behind in 20:35. Justin Burden took 44th position overall in 23:25 with Alison Waters, first female home for the club and 9th lady overall in 24:41 in a sprint finish with Cris Francis who also set the same time of 24:41. Steve Rumsey was next to finish in 86th place overall and he achieved a new PB of 25:31. He was followed by Shane Snowwolf in 26:01, Sara Hunt in 29:18 and Lee Standen, in his fastest time this year of 29:42. Another sprint for the line saw Martin Whittingham (30:03) pip Kevin York (also 30:03) to the finish, with Rachel Theobald just behind in 30:04. Rachel Oliver completed the Striders team in 30:44.

Daniel Forbes, Jacob Henwood, Simon Jackson, Tamsin Ritchie and Shane Snowwolf provided much needed volunteer support at this week’s event.

Mount Edgcumbe Parkrun

Hazel and Brian Forrester travelled to Cornwall and took part in the challenging mixed terrain Mount Edgcumbe parkrun. They ran together and both completed the picturesque course in 40:07.

Thurrock Parkrun

Rebecca Hurley travelled to Essex a day ahead of her London Marathon race finishing the Thurrock Parkrun in a time of 30:26

The Fox Marathon

Dave Hunt continued on his 2019 challenge to run a marathon each month with the Fox Marathon in Godalming, Surrey. He completed the course in 5:05:43.

Virgin Money London Marathon

A total of 14 members of the club took part in this year’s big race in London. Many runners were taking part in their first ever marathon, with a mix too of ballot places and those running for charity. Jake Davison was the first to cross the line for Striders in an amazing 3:34:30. It was an impressive first for Linda-Jean Delport who completed the race in a stunning 3:40:16. Also under the 4 hour mark was Gary McIntosh who finished in 3:56:31. Next back for the club was Jason Sanders who finished the race in 4:37:56, with Rebecca Hurley setting a new personal best in a time of 4:44:38. Daniel Forbes came across the line in 4:47:34 with Charlotte Butler next in 4:53:44 and Kath Atkinson close behind in 4:56:17. Nicola Crawley (5:17:05), Rachel Misson (5:44:26) and Scott Williams (5:51;12), all completed their second marathon in 2 weeks, having run the Paris Marathon earlier in the month. Danielle MacKenzie, who secured a ballot place but decided to run for MacMillan, finished in 6:25:23 with Kirsty Theobald posting an almost identical time of 6:25:34. Melanie Payne also completed the run in 7:11:14. Well done to all of those who took on the challenge!

  • Jason Sanders & Nicola Crawley
  • Charlotte Butler
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Weekly Report

Folkestone 10 mile

Aiden Gorham set an impressive pace at the warm sea front event with a net time of 1:10:50. Linda-Jean Delport also ran a superb time, finishing in 1:17:11 which credited her with a 2nd place in the womens V45 category. Jacob Henwood was narrowly behind in 1:17:30. Tyree Spicer ran a new 10 mile personal best in 1:37:47, with Tom Bullen completing the race in 1:43:47, Ellie Osborne 1:48:02 and Mark Archer 1:56:50. Shelly Blake finished the race in 2:02:15 and Toyah Bicker in 2:04:56 to complete the Striders team.

Ashford Parkrun

Paul McDonnell was in good form as he finished the 5k at Victoria Park on Saturday morning in 20:04. He was followed home by Kath Atkinson who not only set a new personal best time of 20:48 but who was also 1st female finisher at this week’s event, and in 16th place overall.

Duncan and Daniel Forbes were next to complete the run in 24:10 61st place and 24:17 65th place respectively. Josh Whiten was just behind in 24:26 and 68th place. Justin Burden was next to finish in 25:02, and he was followed by Steve Rumsey in 25:42. Alison Waters managed a top 20 female place in 26:14, with Cris Francis just behind in 26:17. Nicola Crawley was next home in 27:11 with Rebecca Hurley in 27:13. Amelia Letteboer finished in 27:46, with Mel Cox (28:03) and Mark Archer (29:52) also finishing under the half hour mark. Hazel Forrester finished in 30:19, narrowly ahead of Rachel Theobald (30:20), Kevin York (30:21), Rachel Forrester (30:22) and Brian Forrester (30:29). Rachel Oliver was next to finish in 32:31, with Tamsin Ritchie (32:53) and Toyah Bicker (34:42) also finishing well in the heat. Pam Hunt was this week’s tail walker, with volunteer support also being provided by Linda-Jean Delport, Ian Dunning, Cris Francis, Jacob Henwood, Vicky Stevenson and Justine Wearn.

Parkrun Tourism

A few Striders took the opportunity for some Easter Parkrun tourism. Brian Marsh travelled to the Tamar Trails Parkrun where he finished in 38th place overall and in a time of 24:31.

Katie Iggulden Exon and Danielle Moss travelled to the Medina Isle of Wight parkrun where they completed the course together in 38:00.

Newport to Ryde 7 Mile Trail

Fresh from the Parkrun, Katie Iggulden Exon and Danielle Moss ran the challenging 7 mile trail course on the Isle of Wight where they finished in 1:49:49 and 1:49:50 respectively.

Great Run Local

Kath Atkinson and Ellie Osborne took part in Easter Sunday’s Great Run Local at Kingsnorth, taking on the 5k course. Atkinson set a time of 25:53 while Osborne finished in 31:03.

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Weekly Report

Brighton Marathon

  • Gemma Wicks at Brighton Marathon
  • Cris Francis at Brighton Marathon

A fantastic performance by Cris Francis set the pace for Ashford Striders at this year’s Brighton Marathon, where he set a new personal best time for the distance of 4:03:50. For the ladies, Kyleigh Austen also beat her marathon personal best coming home just behind in 4:07:46. Greg Johnson was the next to finish in a time of 4:26:00, with Vicky Stevenson in 4:29:28. Justin Burden was next in 4:44:39 with Amelia Letteboer next in 4:51:45. Corrie Shackle completed the course in 4:57:12. Maria Chapman (5:04:23) and Reece Corner (5:04:42) came in close together with Gemma Wicks next in 5:18:40 and Carly James in 5:44:44.

Brighton 10K

Kath Atkinson impressed in the 10k event at the Brighton weekend, finishing 3rd in the V40 ladies category in a time of 44:10. Nicola Barton was next for the club in 53:55 and James Batcheller in 56:29. Allison Button and Jason Sanders both finished the race in 1:13:44 with Katie Iggulden Exon completing the course in 1:16:12.

Paris Marathon

Justine and Jason Wearn at Paris marathon

Nicola Crawley was the first Strider to finish in Paris, with a great time of 4:46:22. Justine Wearn came home next in 5:03:11 with husband Jason alongside in 5:03:12. Rachel Misson was not far behind in 5:15:41 and Scott Williams in 5:31:09.

Putney Half Marathon

Tyree Spicer and Rebecca Hurley took part in the Putney Half on Sunday, running together and finishing in 2:04:26 and 2:04:35. Both ladies set new personal best times for the Half Marathon distance at the event.

Ashford Parkrun

It was a busy weekend at Ashford Parkrun with 25 runners from Ashford Striders taking to the park for the Saturday morning 5k. First home for the club in a new PB time of 19:26 and 3rd place overall was Aiden Gorham. He was closely followed in 4th place overall by Paul McDonnell in 19:54 and Duncan Forbes in 20:24, 8th place overall. Josh Whiten was next for the club in 25:03, 69th position overall. Steve Rumsey set a new personal best time in 25:35, putting him in 74th place.

Tamsin Ritchie was the first lady to finish for the club in 111th position and 17th female in a time of 27:20. Mel Cox was next to finish for Striders in 28:01 and 21st female finisher.

Rachel Theobald was next in 28:45 with Kevin York in 28:46 and Mark Archer in 29:03. Martin Whittingham set a new personal best, finishing in 29:28. Rachel Oliver (29:38), Rachel Forrester (29:43) and Hazel Forrester (29:50) all joined him under the 30 minute mark.

Brian Forrester was another club member to set a new PB with a time of 30:07, Sara Dewar was next in 31:40, followed by Toyah Bicker (33:53), Danielle Moss (35:48 – and another new PB), Shelly Blake (36:14), Kirsty Theobald (36:46), Emily Moors (37:13), Ellen Forbes (37:47), Clare Maxlow (39:14) and Pam Hunt (43:44).

Rebecca Hurley was this week’s tail walker. Cris Francis, Ian Dunning, Justin Burden, Kath Atkinson, Linda-Jean Delport also provided volunteer support at the event.

Parkrun Tourism

Nicola Crawley and Jason Wearn took part in the parkrun de Montsouris in Paris ahead of this weekend’s marathon event. They completed the run in 26:11 and 26:12 respectively.

Boston Marathon

Christopher Sardo travelled even further afield to compete in this year’s Boston Marathon. He finished the race in an impressive time of 4:24:07.

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Weekly Report

Ashford Parkrun

Greg Johnson led the way for Ashford Striders at this week’s Parkrun coming in at a time of 23:58 and in 53rd position overall. Kevin York finished next for the club in 24:39 and 66th position.  Alison Waters was 9th lady and 75th overall in 25:04 with Cris Francis in 76th overall in 25:05. Tom Bullen was close behind in 81st in 25:26. 

Tyree Spicer set a new PB with a time of 27:37 and 26th lady overall.  Mel Cox was next to finish in 28:02 and also came in the top 30 ladies.  Rachel Oliver was next in 29:45 closely followed by Mark Archer in 29:55.  Brian Forrester finished in 30:29, Hazel Forrester in 30:52, Martin Whittingham in 33:02 and Toyah Bicker in 49:59. Cris Francis, Melanie Payne and Vicky Stevenson provided volunteer support at this week’s event.

Parkrun Tourism

Striders members took opportunities to travel to other parkruns this week. Tamsin Ritchie ran at Malling where she finished in a time of 31:53.  Justin Burden and Josh Whiten both ran at Folkestone Parkrun.  Burden, in 33rd position overall, set a time of 22:58 – a new PB for this event.  Whiten, in 55th place overall, also set a new PB for the course in 24:11.

Rebecca Hurley travelled further afield to Paris where she ran the Parkrun de Montsouris. She finished in a time of 27:07.

Kent Spring Marathon and Half

  • Jason Sanders and
    Allison Button
  • Kirsty Theobald and
    Danielle McKenzie
  • Reece Corner
    and Mel Cox

Ashford Striders provided the majority of the marshal support at the annual Kent Spring Marathon and Half Marathon event in conjunction with Nice Work, which took in the beautiful scenery around Charing, Westwell and Hothfield. This challenging course included a section of the Pilgrims Way together with some undulating sections on the local lanes. A total of 35 club members were well positioned around the course to cheer on the race entrants and to witness a new Marathon course record being set.

Striders own Pam Hunt took on the challenge of the Half Marathon event, where she set a new personal best time of 3:00:22.

Paddock Wood Half

Jon Mitchell ran at Paddock Wood where he finished in a time of 2:02:02.

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Weekly Report

Ashford Parkrun

Ashford Striders were out in force at Victoria Park this Saturday for this week’s parkrun with some excellent times being set. Aiden Gorham was first to finish for Striders and 8th place overall in 19:38 with Paul McDonnell in 17th also setting an excellent time in 20:36. Jason Wearn set a new PB in 21:58 securing 30th position overall. Brian Marsh in 43rd place finished in 23:01 with Justin Burden shortly behind in 23:12 in 51st place. Josh Whiten was next to complete the course in 25:35. Nicola Crawley, 21st female finisher, was the first lady for the club in 26:58, followed by Justine Wearn (27:19) and Mel Cox in 27:29. Daniel and Ellen Forbes finished in 28:29 and 28:30 respectively, with Ellen’s time being a new PB. Tamsin Ritchie (29:24), Vicky Stevenson (29:37) and Mark Archer (29:48) all finished under the half hour mark. Rachel Oliver (30:11) was next past the finish line followed by Brian Forrester who set a new PB of 30:16. Lee Standen (31:20) and Martin Whittingham (31:37).

Kirsty Theobald, Carly James, Cris Francis, Greg Johnson, Ian Dunning, Jason Sanders, Linda-Jean Delport, Pam Hunt, Rachel Forrester and Simon Jackson provided volunteer support at this week’s event.

Parkrun Tourism

Gary McIntosh travelled to Greenock parkrun where he finished in 21:59 in 26th position overall.

Cranleigh 15 Mile

Kath Atkinson set the pace for Striders at the Surrey marathon warm up event, finishing the 15 mile race in 1:56:01. Nicola Crawley was next for the club in 2:23:39, and Justine Wearn was close behind in 2:28:31.

SVN Funky Pants Challenge

Jason Sanders, Charlotte Butler and Rebecca Hurley took part in their marathon warm up race at Gravesend Cyclopark in the SVN Funky Pants challenge event. They all completed 4 laps (21 miles) of the course. Sanders set a time of 3:22:44 with Hurley and Butler finishing in 3:54:12 and 3:54:19 respectively.

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Weekly Report

Smugglers 10k

Several Striders headed to the coast this weekend for the inaugural Smugglers 10k race in the sunshine on Sunday 24th March.

Jason Sanders was first to finish for the Club in an impressive 51:42, with Simon Jackson next to finish in 53:07. Liz Gaskin-Payne was the first female finisher for the club in 54:09 with Rachel Forrester setting a new 10k personal best in 55:11. Rachel Oliver nudged in just under the hour mark in 5:58. Libby Matthews and Hazel Forrester also set new personal best times with 1:03:37 and 1:05:24 respectively. Brian Forrester completed the race in 1:09:41, with Lee Standen next to finish in 1:10:05 just ahead of Tyree Spicer (1:10:07), Katie Iggulden Exon (1:10:08) and Louise McDonnell (1:10:08). Allison Button finished in 1:17:32 alongside Kirsty Theobald in 1:17:33.

Run Whitstable 5

Further along the coast, Martin Whittingham was the lone Strider taking part in the Run Whitstable 5k on Sunday 24th March. Having already set a new personal best for 5k at Ashford Parkrun the previous day, he completed the race in another new personal best time of 28:43.

Hastings Half Marathon

Reece Corner took part in the Hastings Half Marathon on Sunday 24th March, which he finished in 2:14:02.

London Landmarks Half Marathon

It was a day for the ladies at the London Landmarks Half Marathon on Sunday, with Corrie Shackle, Maria Chapman and Danielle Moss all taking part in the race. Shackle and Chapman ran together and set the same time of 2:09:12. Danielle Moss, in her first ever half marathon race, came home in 3:10:04

Danielle Moss with her finisher medal at the London Landmarks Half Marathon.

Ashford Parkrun

Jacob Henwood and Duncan Forbes battled it out at Victoria Park on Saturday morning, with impressive performances of under 20 minutes to finish in 8th and 9th place overall, Henwood in 19:55 and Forbes in 19:58. Justin Burden finished in 37th place in 23:18, with Alison Waters 58th overall and 9th female in 24:47. Steve Rumsey was next to finish in 78th place in a time of 26:06, with Rachel Theobald securing a place in the top 20 female finishers in 26:43 and Kevin York in 26:44. Mark Archer was next in 28:16 with Reece Corner (28:44) and Mel Cox (28:52). They were followed by two members setting new Personal Best times with Rachel Oliver in 29:18 and Martin Whittingham in 29:36. Ellen Forbes came in at 29:59 with Pam Hunt in 37:11. Lee Standen was this week’s tail walker in 1:02:02. Brian Forrester, Linda-Jean Delport, Rachel Forrester, Simon Jackson, Hazel Forrester and Rebecca Hurley all provided worthy volunteer support.

Tamsin Ritchie ran at Tonbridge Parkrun this week, finishing in a time of 28:15.

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Weekly Report

Ashford Parkrun

Aiden Gorham led the way for Ashford Striders at this week’s Ashford Tri-Club takeover at Ashford parkrun, finishing strongly in 20:09 and 12th position overall. Duncan Forbes was 22nd overall and second home for the club in a time of 21:02. He was followed by Jason Wearn who narrowly missed out on a new PB in a time of 22:26 – 42nd place overall. Greg Johnson was 53rd overall in 23:20, with Justin Burden hot on his heels in 56th place overall with a time of 23:26. Alison Waters was the first lady home for the club in 29th position and 11th female finisher setting a new PB in the process of 24:18. Cris Francis, pacing, finished in 26:57 with Steve Rumsey next in 27:01. Rachel Forrester continued her consistent form, also coming close to a new PB in 27:26 and 26th female overall. Jamie Bartlett set a time of 27:41 with Vicky Stevenson (27:45) and Rebecca Hurley (27:52) close behind. Mel Cox came in at 28:08 with Rachel Theobald (28:25), Kevin York (28:31) and Josh Whiten (28:41) all finishing in under 30 minutes. Mark Archer was next for the club in 31:10 with Hazel Forrester (31:25) pipping husband Brian (31:37) to the finish. James Batcheller, also pacing, came in at 31:50. Danielle Moss set a new PB time of 36:25 accompanied by Katie Iggulden Exon in 36:26 and Lee Standen in 36:41. Kirsty Theobald finished in 38:49. Ian Dunning provided volunteer support.

Parkrun Tourism

At Folkestone Parkrun, Rachel Oliver finished in 30:21 setting a new personal best time for the course. Tamsin Ritchie ran at Sedgefield parkrun, coming home in a time of 27:46

Endurancelife Marathon

Kath Atkinson and Dave Hunt took part in the tough EnduranceLife marathon in Sussex on Saturday, in tough and windy conditions. Atkinson set an impressive time of 4:44:29 for the course, with Hunt finishing in 6:04:16.

Sage Reading Half Marathon

Justine Wearn and Libby Matthews travelled to Reading to take part in this year’s race, following disappointment last year when the event was cancelled due to snow. They shared joint chip times of 2:25:56 which earned Matthews a new personal best time for a half marathon race.

Ricki Savage Thanet 20 Miler

Duncan and Daniel Forbes both took part in this marathon warm-up event, with Duncan setting a sub-3 hour time of 2:50:28 and Daniel completing the course in 3:27:49.

Hampton Court Palace Half Marathon

Jacob Henwood and Pam Hunt were the Striders representatives at this year’s race. Henwood, competing in his first ever race at this distance, finished in an impressive time of 1:32:08. Hunt also set a new half marathon personal best finishing in 3:03:42.

Well done to all of those who ran this weekend.

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Weekly Report

Ashford Parkrun

Many of the runners from Ashford Striders were competing in this weekend’s half marathon and 20 mile races however that didn’t stop them from being out in force at Victoria Park for this Saturday’s parkrun.

Duncan Forbes was again the first home for the club in 14th position overall and 2nd in his category in a time of 20:20. He was followed by Justin Burden who was 52nd overall in 23:57 and Cris Francis, 68th overall in 24:44. Alison Waters was next to finish in 73rd overall and 7th female, in 25:04. Nicola Crawley came home in 88th position and 13th female in a time of 25:39.

Tamsin Ritchie was 22nd female finisher in 27:01, followed by Josh Whiten securing a time of 27:29, with Rachel Forrester next who was also inside the top 30 ladies finishing in 27:40. Rachel Theobald (29:45), Kevin York (25:46) and Stephen Rumsey (28:47) were next to finish for Striders, with Martin Whittingham also posting a sub-30 minute time in 29:47. Mel Cox finished the run in 30:15, followed by Rachel Oliver in 31:21. Hazel Forrester (31:53) was the next club runner past the line, followed by husband Brian Forrester (32:05), Libby Matthews (32:27), Tyree Spicer (32:27), Simon Jackson (32:29) and Toyah Bicker (37:56). Jason Sanders, Kath Atkinson, Lee Standen and Mark Archer were all volunteers at this week’s event.

Vitality Big Half

A small number of Ashford Striders took part in the Vitality Big Half on Sunday in London, having the privilege to run in a field containing elite UK athletes and taking in some of the sights of the London Marathon route.

Despite the strong winds on the course, the some of the team set new fastest times with many finishing under the 2 hour mark. Cris Francis ran a new personal best time of 1:44:15 for the 13.1 mile distance, with Daniel Forbes being the next Strider to finish, achieving a time of 1:53:18. Alison Waters, running for charity, also ran a new half marathon personal best in 1:54:21, and Nicola Crawley too came in under 2 hours in 1:58:21. Simon Jackson posted a time of 2:01:47 with Katie Iggulden Exon finishing the race in 2:34:42.

Lydd Half Marathon and 20 Mile

A wild and windy Lydd was the venue for Sunday’s other big races, where many club members took part to build up to their spring marathons.

In the half marathon, Linda-Jean Delport finished strongly to post a time of 1:42:15. Tyree Spicer set a new personal best in 2:07:51, closely followed by Rebecca Hurley in 2:10:54. Toyah Bicker, running her first half marathon, completed the race in 2:32:36.

In the 20 mile race, Jake Davison set an impressive time of 2:39:52. Christopher Sardo was next for the club in 2:51:37. He was followed home by Kyleigh Austen who was next to finish in 3:01:36, with Jason Sanders close behind in 3:05:03. Greg Johnson was not far back in 3:09:44, with Justin Burden just 3 minutes behind in 3:12:44. Corrie Shackle completed the run in 3:20:25 closely followed by Vicky Stevenson in 3:20:54, Reece Corner in 3:33:52, Gemma Wicks in 3:35:20 and Charlotte Butler in 3:36:25. Carly James, recovering from injury, went on to complete the race in 4:31:03, with Danielle MacKenzie in 4:42:33 and Kirsty Theobald in 4:43:25 completing the Striders team.