Ashford Striders

After a week of ice and cold the Striders certainly were on fire this weekend travelling the length and breadth of the country to get a parkrun in.

Ashford parkrun
Despite a few local parkrun’s cancelling due to the weather, Ashford was all systems go with a large Strider turnout. Kevan Strand was the first Strider back speeding home in 23.06, Terry Sellen was close behind in 23.48. Jack Farrant celebrated a new PB on a chilly morning coming in at 23.58. Next through were Mark Niles, Dave Winchester and Ian McCutcheon in 24.03, 24.05 and 25.35 respectively. The second of today’s PBs came from Graham Troman who sprinted home in 26.37, Darren Laker was only a couple of seconds behind in 26.39 and following was Dermot ‘Rocky’ Carr who cemented the third PB of the day with 26.42. Stephen Cleaver, David Helme and Scott Hawkins were next in 26.44, 28.47 and 28.51. Amanda James was the first Strider lady to finish in 29.12, with Jason Brice close behind in 29.23. With the fourth PB of the day in under 30 minutes was Dave Warner in 29.30 followed by Lisa Fulcher, Aimee Donohue and Catherine Wall in 30.49, 31.23. Rachel Theobald and birthday boy Kevin York were next in 31.49 and 31.50. Rita Cooke came in next in 32.20 followed closely by Sonette Schwartz in 32.57. Rachel and Brian Forrester were next home in 33.01 and 33.03. Jenny Watts and Hazel Forrester came through in 34.58 and 36.24. Completing the Strider contingent were Leigh Freeman and Don Dewer in 37.15 and 37.16. Thank you to the volunteers, Jason Caldwell, Simon Jackson, Jason Sanders Lee Standen.
Saturday 28th January will be a sea of red at Victoria Park with the Ashford Striders takeover.

Parkrun tourism
To Kent and Beyond!
Following the cancellation of Canterbury, Tamsin Ritchie hotfooted it to Whitstable and finished up that steep hill in 26.53.
Nicki Crawley went up the M20 to take part in the Mote Park parkrun along with a visit from ex Strider Kath Atkinson with Nicki finishing 30.46. Victoria Shrubsole and Sharni Copham went in the other direction on the M20 for a bit of sea air in Folkestone finishing in 33.09 and 33.14.
Rachel Tomsett headed off to Dartford parkrun completing the course in 31.07.
Justin Burden packed his wellies for Riddlesdown which was under water during the week but luckily, he only needed his trainers and sped round in 29.27.
Following in the footsteps of Justine and Nicki last week, Ian Watson and Mandy Cooper travelled to South London to take on the Burgess course for the first time. For anyone wondering where this course is, it is close to Elephant and Castle. They completed it in 28.06 and 28.42 and certainly earned their breakfast croissants afterwards.
Heading further afield and on their way to the National Running Show in Birmingham, an early morning road trip was required for Siobhan Hagan, Michelle Bryant, Lisa Gribbin, Rebecca Somerford and Rachel Misson who took part at the very misty Ilchester Country parkrun. Siobhan completed the course in 28.20 with Michelle coming in, in 31.52 followed by Lisa, Rebecca and Rachel in 48.24, 48.25, 48.26 respectively.
Also on his way to the Running Show was Martin Whittingham who stopped off at the University Parks parkrun and come in, in 32.49.

Canterbury 10 Mile
A crisp sunny Sunday morning saw the Striders head off to Canterbury to take part in the Canterbury 10 mile. The undulating course bought with it a fantastic amount of PBs.
First to complete the course was Chairman Andy Found in 1.26.54 (PB) who knocked 9 minutes off the same race from last year. He was followed by Nicki Crawley in 1.31.07, Vicky Stevenson 1.31.34 (PB) and Gayle Bailey in 1.32.27. Kay Hunt and Adam Thomas finished together both clocking 1.33.13 (PBs). Jamie Bartlett and Dave Helme were hot on their tails with 1.33.35 and 1.33.53 (PB). Pauline Tallent was next across the finish line in 1.34.44. Following her parkrun road trip Siobhan Hagan knocked an impressive 17.5 minutes off her 10-mile PB and finished in 1.35.14. Coming through next were Aimee Donohue and Mandy Cooper in 1.36.07 and 1.36.59 respectively. Chloe Darling completed the course in 1.39.06 which was a PB for her.
Well done to everyone that ran this weekend!
Report by Danielle Moss.

Once again Saturday provided us with windy conditions and torrential rain. Did that stop Ashford Striders getting in a bit of park running? Of course it didn’t!
Ashford Parkrun
Keith Haynes continued his impressive form and was first across the line representing Striders with a time of 20:53, Andrew Maund was next in 21:17 and in bronze position was Mark Niles 21:42. Paul Dunning 24:11, Hazel Turner 24:19 and Jason Kennedy came through in 24:44. Next braving the elements at Ashford were Tamsin Richie, Jason Brice and Paul Baker running 28:08, 28:59 and 29:33 respectively. Special mention to Paul Baker for achieving a sub 30 personal best. Richard Randle was next home 30:01, Lee Standen, 32:52, Lisa Fulcher 32:52 and Sally Davidson-Daniel 34:00, Delia Millen 36:44 and Julie Nicholson 37:43.
Well done to all of our Strider volunteers, Jason Caldwell, Amanda Cooper, Terry Sellen, Kevan Strand, Dermot Carr and Dave Winchester, thank you for you time.

Hilly Fields Parkrun
A few of our Strider ladies ventured to, hilly by name hilly by nature from what I can gather, Fields Parkrun on Saturday. Siobhan Hagan even though mountainous managed a sub 30 coming across the line in 29:50. Next was Michelle Bryant, 31:31 Rebecca Somerford, 33:08, Lisa Gribbin, 33:59 and Rachel Mission 34:29. Ruth Goddard and Tyree Spicer I assume kept each other company when tackling the tough course as they came in practically together with times of 40:43 and 40:44 respectively, well done ladies.
I hear that copious amounts of cake was consumed after the run, well earned I would say.

Burgess Parkrun
Nicola Crawley and I visited Burgess Parkrun on Saturday so I thought I would add a review to this weeks run report in case any of you fancy a visit.
We left Ashford early (6:30ish) as Nic needed to make a delivery to Borough Market. Burgess park is only around 2k away from the market and as it was so early traffic was light. I would maybe estimate that journey time from Ashford would probably be around 90 minutes maybe slightly less. The nearest tube station is Elephant & Castle on the Bakerloo line. We parked in a residential street right by the park and at weekends it is free (bonus no.1). There is a little café (that sells gorgeous and huge cake) by the start, but there are no inside facilities however there is access to toilets (bonus no. 2). The Parkrun itself is a one lap course, which runs out to a pretty lake, you should see The Shard piercing the skyline which is pretty awesome! Bonus number 3 is that the course is FLAT and run on tarmac (apart from the last 100 meters or so which is across grass). The marshals, as with most parkruns, were friendly and encouraging; the lady banging her drum added a little something different. At the finish there was a mass warm down, that people can join as they finish, which was pretty cool. We would definitely recommend Burgess Parkrun if you want a trip to Camberwell. Nicola Crawley finished strong (as always) with a time of 28:34 and Justine Wearn came in with a time that she was pleased with in 31:51.

Forecast for this week looks chilly but thankfully very little rain. I am hoping the whisper of snow is only a vicious rumour! Just call me Mr Fish, you’re welcome! (maybe a reference for some of ‘our more mature’ runners like me). Enjoy your running this week and stay safe.
Report by Justine Wearn.

As far as I’m aware, the only race this week is the one to your mobile phone to read what will undoubtedly be the highlight of your week! (This report obvs!)
It’s been that difficult first week of the year and we have new members galore! Welcome, I hope that you’ve all had a great week!

Thursday was Strider’s first official club meet of the year and also saw the biggest ever attendance; groups 1-6 all filled with smiley happy people, chomping at the bit, eager to blow away the Christmas cobwebs and tick off another day in their RED January challenge!
This weekend was Parkrun-tastic! We’ll start with Ashford Parkrun, first across the line was Adam Booth with an impressive time of 20:29, just on his tail was Keith Haynes at 20:37, Mark Niles came in at 21:37, and Terry Sellen at 24:51. Ian McCutcheon was Ashford Parkrun’s 9000th runner through the funnel with an impressive time of 25:28, Justin Burden came in at 25:41 and then with a PB and a time of 26 minutes on the nose was Nigel Hills!
Tamsin Ritchie was our first lady strider to finish in a time of 26:28, Dermot Carr wasn’t far behind at 28:09 and just behind him, and still smiling, was Jo Mason in at 28:21. Jason Brice came through the funnel at 29:05, Jim Wealands at 29:15 and Disco Dave Helme followed him at 29:44. Paul Baker was a first time Ashford Parkrunner and finished with a time of 30:31, followed by Rachel Tomsett with 31:05, Richard Randle with 31:06, Dave Warner with 31:35 and Catherine Wall with 32:01. Rachel Theobald and Kevin York crossed the line with times of 32:21 and 32:22 respectively, Brian Forrester came through at 33:00, Justine Wearn finished at 33:22, Martin Whittingham at 33:49, Lisa Fulcher at 34:41 and last but definitely not least was Emma Matthews who finished at 37:59 earning herself a well deserved PB!
Volunteers included Rita Cooke, Jason Caldwell, Terry Sellen, and Kevan Strand, thanks so much to you all!
On we go to a bit of tourism; Dartford saw 5 of our lovely Striders in attendance! First to finish was Hazel Turner in at 25:28, Siobhan Hagan completed her 60th Parkrun in 29:02, Michelle Bryant came in at 30:11, Lisa Gribbin was 31:28 and Rachel Misson came in at 32:01.
Several Striders ventured to various Parkruns along our blustery coastlines in search of a very refreshing 5k!
Mandy Cooper was flying solo in Folkestone and completed the 5K in a time of 28:31.
Nicola Crawley and Lorna Dewell ventured out to the Walmer and Deal Seafront Parkrun and came in with times of 29:07 and 30:59 respectively.
Last and most definitely not least, in search of the perfect sausage, Peter and Danielle travelled down to Hastings to run the 5k along a very windy seafront! Peter, on his 99th parkrun, came in with a fantastic time of 29:50, Dani finished at 40:51 and as you can see from the image, mission was most definitely accomplished! Well done to all of you Parkrunners!

Finally, many thank yous and well dones to the run leaders and members who ran the unofficial runs this weekend, extra special mention to Richard Randle who seemingly has mastered the very impressive art of walking on water!!
Have a great week everyone!
Report by Sharon Gardner

Happy New Year!
New year means another double parkrun weekend, and the themes for this weekend seemed to be sore heads and mud.
Starting with Saturday, Ashford parkrun as usual saw the largest contingent of Striders getting in their last run of the year. Andrew Maund, one of our newest members, was the first Strider to finish in 20:49. Jack Farrant sped home to earn himself a personal best of 24:03, well done! First Lady Strider was Hazel Turner with a time of 25:03. Next was David Helme with 28:06, Vicky Stevenson 28:08, Tom Bullen 29:19, Nicola Crawley 29:35, Amanda James 29:41 and rounding out the sub-30 finishers was David Gadsby with 29:46. Andy Found finished in 31:12, closely followed by Don Dewar 31:13, then Richard Coles 31:58, Peter Broom 32:18, Catherine Wall 32:38, Martin Whittingham 33:04 and Jennifer Watts 36:31. Siobhan Hagan and Michelle Bryant ran together and finished in 37:39 and 37:40 respectively. Also running together with their son in his buggy were Rachel Theobald and Kevin York with times of 38:23 and 38:24. Gemma Coulstock, making a return to running, came in with a creditable 39:30, with Lisa Fulcher in 39:31.
Club members volunteering at Ashford parkrun were Dermot Carr, Keith Haynes, Lee Standen, Richard Randle, Simon Jackson and Terry Sellen.
Bushy Park parkrun. Justine and Jason Wearn went to London to run at the spiritual home of parkrun and came in together with a time of 34:29.
Tamsin Ritchie and Paul Baker visited the the undulating course at Canterbury, both finishing in 39:49.
Several Striders made longer journeys to their parkrun of choice. Rachel Tomsett took a trip across to the Isle of Wight to run Medina parkrun and got caught in the rain, finishing in 41:59. Heading to East Anglia, Mark Niles ran King’s Lynn parkrun in 21:20. Julie Nicholson headed up north to complete the seafront parkrun at South Shields in a course PB of 36:38, and Aimee Donohue went to the Emerald Isle to run St Anne’s parkrun in Dublin in 24:37 which was her overall parkrun PB – well done Aimee!
Onto New Year’s Day (Sunday) and lots of club members headed out early on the morning after the night before. Heavy overnight rain meant anything off-road would be wet and muddy.
Justine and Jason Wearn were still in London, and this time went to Richmond parkrun finishing in 34:22 and 34:23 respectively.
Maidstone parkrun was using an alternate course due to flooding but that didn’t mean the runners avoided getting their feet wet. The soggy Striders were Graham Troman who finished in 30:35, Sharon Gardner 35:59, Victoria Shrubsole 36:10 and Sharni Copham with 36:26. Also in Maidstone, two Striders ran the drier but tough course at Mote Park. Rachel Tomsett finished in 33:46 and Lisa Fulcher 34:05.
There were a few runners at Whitstable parkrun not feeling 100% apparently but I hope they all held on to their breakfasts. Hazel Turner was first Strider here with 25:56, Siobhan Hagan 29:19, Michelle Bryant 30:57, Martin Whittingham 31:03 and Lisa Gribbin with 32:41.
The wonderfully named Hoblingwell parkrun in Southeast London was a muddy one and Justin Burden slid round in 29:15. Not too far away was Nicola Crawley who was also getting muddy at Swanley parkrun, finishing in 27,44.
Furthest travelled Strider this week was Amanda Cooper who was taking a break in Germany and ran the hilly but beautiful Aachener Weiher parkrun in Cologne in 29:40
The only race this weekend was the Bewl Bubble run held at Bewl Water Reservoir on New Year’s Day. Danielle Moss completed the hilly and muddy 5k route in 46:23 to earn herself a medal and a glass of fizz – very well done Dani!
It’s wonderful to see lots of Striders getting their year off to a great start, I hope you all have a fun, successful and injury-free 2023.
Report by Lisa Fulcher

Seasonal Greetings Striders. This weekend was completely dominated by Parkrun with no races to report and nice to see so many of you out and about making room for the influx of Turkey and Brussel Sprouts.
Judging by some of the fantastic times recorded, I hope you all recovered well with your feet up watching Mary Poppins with a glass of your favourite tipple.
Christmas Eve was the first of the weekend double-header at Ashford and Keith Haynes took the No1 spot with a superb run of 20:10. Mark Niles was next with 22:39 and Adam Thomas took third with 23:26. Terry Sellen was hot on Adams heels but just failed to catch him so had to settle for fourth with 23:46. Hazel Turner was first Strider lady with 24:53 and Justin Burden was next to cross the line with 25:03. Then followed the female trio Nicola Crawley, Claire Hall-Dawson and Aimee Donohue with 25:49, 27:04 and 27:06 respectively. Claire’s time was a new PB for her so well done mate!! Darren Laker was just one second behind Aimee with 27:07 and then Graham Troman and Dermot Carr came through with respectable times of 27:27 and 27:44 which was also a new PB for Dermot so congratulations to him. Richard Randle, in full fancy dress, finished next to Dermot also in 27:44 and just behind him was Siobhan Hagan with 27:49 and once again a new PB for her so well done Shiv. Cristina Adams ran a great time of 27:57 and also set herself a new PB so a huge well done to her and she finished just ahead of Vicky Stevenson who ran 28:25. 28:54 and a brand new PB was the time recorded for Michelle Bryant, congratulations Michelle, and she was followed by Lee Standen with 29:08. Amanda James and David Gadsby completed the Strider Sub 30 list with 29:12 and 29:52 respectively.
Lisa Gribbin crossed the line in 30:23 just three seconds ahead of Martin Whittingham with 30:26. Clare Maxlow ran an impressive 30:46 and got a great new PB to go with it, well done Clare !! Sharon Gardner not far behind her in 31:15. Catherine Wall, Rachel Tomsett and Rachel Oliver completed the christmas eve Strider line-up with times of 31:43, 31:47 and 32:25.
Thanks once again to all the Strider volunteers who gave up their time. These included Don Dewar, Sara Dewar, Lisa Fulcher, Simon Jackson, Rachel Tomsett and Justine Wearn and also a special little mention to Ozzy the latest recruit to the Strider Canine Team who came along to offer his support. We had just the one tourist for Christmas eve and that was Peter Broom who ran the Buckingham event in 31:01.

OK, so now onto the Christmas Day:
Keith Haynes kept up his impressive form with a 22:10 finish to take the Strider Christmas number one spot. SANTAstic running Keith you SLEIGHED it (sorry). Jason Wearn put in an excellent shift to take second with 23:50 with Terry Sellen in third with 24:15. Jack Farrant came through next in 25:32 and then Andy Found, sporting his impressive new shoes and lucky Christmas hat, came through in 26:22 and a new PB. Disco Dave Helme could only look on in admiration as he had to settle for sixth place and a time of 27:24 with no hope of catching old Foundy. Hazel Turner celebrated her 50th Parkrun with 28:58 and first Strider lady spot, congratulations Hazel. Richard Randle came dressed as a Brussel Sprout and the extra flatulence inspired him to a 29:01 finish with Graham Troman next through in 30:02. Adam Thomas and Mark Archer were next over the line with respective times of 30:18 and 31:36 and they were followed by Rachel Theobold and Kevin York who were neck and neck in 31:47. Martin Whittingham came next in 32:07 followed by Rachel Tomsett in 32:12. 33.47 was the finish time for Rita Cooke with Siobhan Hagan and Michelle Bryant hot on her heels with times of 34:10 and 34:14. Sharon Gardner crossed the line in 34:25 just ahead of Sharni Copham in 34.34. Justine Wearn started her comeback from injury with 54:07 and was spotted on the course sharing a bottle of bubbly with her dad and tail walker Nicola Crawley. Not sure who led who astray there but great to see you back Justine.
An extra big thankyou to the volunteers for giving up their time to enable the Christmas Day event to go ahead. These included Dermot Carr, Mandy Cooper (excellent job as RD and she managed her speech without getting her mucking words fuddled up despite the heckling), Nicola Crawley, Simon Jackson, Ian Watson and Lynette Whittingham.
Christmas Day Tourism was again in short supply but Three hardy Striders were out and about. Tamsin Ritchie and Paul Baker were up at the Whitstable event and recorded times of 26:02 and 30:34 whilst Peter Broom continued his festive travels by visiting Linford Wood and completing it in 32.14.
Well done everyone on some really impressive performances and lots of new PBs and I hope you have all had a great Festive weekend and look forward to seeing you all at club runs ready to burn off the surplus calories.

Report by Andy Found

Icy conditions meant that the Parkrun at Ashford was cancelled and therefore runners sought other places to get their 5km fix.

Bushy Parkrun Teddington was the venue for the very first Parkrun back in October 2004, founded by Paul Sinton-Hewitt. Three runners made the pilgrimage to this event.
Andy Found was first of the three to cross the line in a time of 27:01. Justin Burden followed closely behind finishing in 27:22, and Nicola Crawley finished in 27:54. The founder was at this week’s event, and of course Nicola isn’t one to miss a photo opportunity.
Folkestone Parkrun four intrepid Striders braved the cold coastal conditions on The Leas. Graham Troman does like to run beside the seaside. His last PB was achieved just over a month ago at Whitstable. This Saturday he ran an even faster time of 26:32. Well done on your new personal best Graham!
Siobhan Hagan finished with a time of 28:16, then Sally Davidson-Daniel came over the line in 32:10 with Martin Whittingham just a second later in 32:11.
Kent Christmas Cracker this 5 mile Betteshanger Country Park near Deal is a great way to celebrate the season, with many donning festive running gear and Santa suits.
Despite the freezing conditions Striders members were out in force. Terry Sellen was first Strider to finish with a speedy time of 38:50. Adam Thomas was next with a personal best time of 41:03. Andy Found also had a great run, crossing the line in 43:29, a PB.
Next came Jack Farrant in 46:21 just ahead of Lucie Shrubsole, who finished with a PB time of 46:25. Siobhan Hagan also earned herself a PB with her time of 46:36 and Amanda James finished in 47:12.
Lisa Fulcher had a cracking race (sorry!), coming in with 49:25, another PB. Next was Rebecca James, 50:50, Kay Hunt, 51:01, Vicky Stevenson, 51:03 and Sharon Gardner, 51:19.
With a time of 52:25, Cristina Adams achieved a new personal best time. Next came Becky Somerford, 53:48, Lisa Gribbin, 53:50, Michelle Bryant, 53:52 and Sharni Copham and Vicky Shrubsole crossing the line together with a time of 54:57.
Well done Striders for getting out there and doing yourself and the club proud this weekend! I hope you’ve all had time to thaw out now.

Report by Paul Dunning

Brrrr, winter is definitely upon us! When you wake up to temperatures of -5 degrees, it’s so tempting to stay in bed, so well done those Striders who wrapped up well, got out there and ran this week.
Parkrun
With Ashford parkrun cancelled due to icy conditions, several Striders braved the elements and took the opportunity to visit other parkruns.
A group of made an early start and travelled to London to run the fast, flat course at Victoria Dock parkrun. First Strider to finish was Justin Burden in 24:41, closely followed by Hazel Turner in 24:45. Siobhan Hagan was making her second visit to this parkrun and beat her previous time with 26:51. Martin Whittingham finished in 30:10, then Rachel Tomsett 30:17, Sally Davidson-Daniel 31:35 and Lisa Gribbin 31:36.
Also in London was Amanda Cooper who visited Clapham Common parkrun. Amanda ran the mixed grass and path course in 28:29. Much close to home, Tamsin Ritchie ran Folkestone parkrun in 32:47, along with Paul Baker who crossed the line in 33:01
All the way over on the West of Ireland, Scott Hawkins ran the riverside course of Ballina parkrun in 29:59.
Maidstone Harriers Turkey Run
This is a perfect race for those who love running trails and dressing up! If you run this light hearted 7.5 mile (approximately) trail race, you look out of place if you DON’T wear something festive. The weather on Sunday at West Malling was freezing fog but that didn’t put off these hardy Striders. Richard Randle appeared to be running dressed as a turkey/fairy hybrid, finishing in 1:17:38. Nicola Crawley and Lorna Cheshire came in neck and neck with 1:17:41. Nadine Golding and Pippa Latter crossed the line together in 1:25:43 and Andrew Cornwell finished in 1:29:47.
Santas on the Seashore
Also dressing up on Sunday was Martin Whittingham. Martin ran this charity 5k event on the seafront in Margate organised by Pilgrims Hospices. Every participant gets a Santa suit to run in and Martin completed the event wearing his outfit in 32:51.
Honourable mentions also go out to all those Striders who went out for training runs on Saturday and Sunday in freezing weather.
Well done everyone and take care out there in the snow and ice next week.
Report by Lisa Fulcher

As we stride into December, the sunny runs around country lanes and the seaside jaunts with ice creams and fish & chips seem a distant memory. It maybe hard to motivate yourself to get out the front door for that run in the dark wind and rain but just remember the Strider family have your back. Our lovely run leaders are still putting on plenty of runs at all paces throughout the week, with additional long slow runs at weekends, so get yourself signed up and get out there. We always (well mostly) always feel better when we do.
Parkruns this week were well attended by Ashford Striders as always with Ashford Parkrun displaying a sea of red.

Stop The Press !!! It seems we have another speedy addition to group one, Adam Booth was first Strider home with an eye watering time of 19:59, well done Adam, closely followed by Keith Haynes in 20:12. David Winchester continues to go from strength to strength thrashing out yet another PB recording a time of 21:40. Jason Kennedy was next home 24:47, Terry Sellen 25:01 and Jamie Bartlett 26:38. Hazel Turner brought it home for the girls in 26:45, followed by Jo Mason 28:35 and Kevan Strand (taking it easy this week I notice) 28:45. Amanda James put in an impressive performance this week with a sub 29 ; 28:59, equally pleased with her performance should be Rebecca Somerford with a time of 29:32 well done ladies. Lisa Fulcher and Rita Cooke came through 31:10 and 32:23 respectively. Siobhan Hagan must have surely recorded some sort of Parkrun bingo achievement as her time was 33:33. Sally Davidson-Daniel bagged herself a brand new shiny PB this week sharing a time of 33:41 with Lisa Gribbin, well done Sally on your PB. Rachel Tomsett and Jennifer Watts almost rounds up the strider contingent with their times of 33:47 and 34:36, however we mustn’t forget our London Marathon Strider representative, Martin Whittingham who finished in 51:40.
Thank you to the Ashford Strider volunteers this week: Peter Broom, Dermott Car, Don Dewer, Jack Farrant, Simon Jackson and Terry Sellen.
On their travels this week; Justin Burden continued his pilgrimage of Parkruns and this time travelled to Bromley Parkrun, finishing in 23:55.
Tamsin Richie found herself at Canterbury Parkrun once again and finished in 27:16.
Pegwell Bay was Julie Nicholsons Parkrun of choice (must’ve been chilly) finishing in 34:33.
Another freezing destination was Walmer & Deal Parkrun for Mark Niles and Anna Harvey completing the 5k flat fast course in 21:27 and 30:23 respectively.
Andy Found and Nicola Crawley joined their Tri club buddies at Cyclo-park Parkrun this week, and whilst Mr Chairman was supposed to ‘be taking it easy’ he couldn’t help himself but to try and keep up with his Vicechair, he really should know better. Nicola came home in 28:09, with Mr Found lagging behind in 28:22 !! Better luck next time Andy.
A few Ashford Striders dug out their festive attire and made the trip to Dover for the Christmas at the Castle 5k, Hazel Turner was first strider home 28:32, closely followed by Graham Troman 28:56 and Siobhan Hagan 30:56.
And finally, who would ever want to run 8 miles on a cold Sunday morning in Aldershot, through mud and deep, deep puddles? Three of our crazy striders that’s who. Lorna Cheshire was first home completing the gruelling (but fun, so I’m told ) 8 miles in 1:34:00, followed by Nicola Crawley, 1:44:53 and Andrew Cornwell 1:51:47. Well done you strange, strange people.

So that concludes this weeks run report. Well done everyone for getting out there this week. Please remember if you find yourself lacking motivation to lace up those trainers, there are always plenty of like minded people within the Strider family to help you find your running mojo.
Have a great week of running everyone.
Report by Justine Wearn.

On Friday evening Ashford Striders hosted its AGM and Christmas Party, and what a great night it was!
With the membership now up to 192 people we can all be extremely proud of all that has been achieved this year.
Among the prizes and awards being given out we were very happy to welcome Rick Newman as an honorary member of Striders. Rick has lost his sight in his right eye, and has approximately 15% field of vision in his left eye. Since being diagnosed with glaucoma in 2017, he has started running and has raised thousands of pounds for Kent Association for the Blind. We’re so happy to welcome you to Striders Rick – keep up the running and the great work you’re doing!
Ashford Parkrun
After the celebrations of the Christmas party I imagined that there would be a few sore heads on Saturday morning. Despite this, 32 Strider members made their way to Victoria Park for the weekly 5km run.
Keith Haynes continued his great form and was first male Strider to cross the line in 20:24. Next was Mark Niles, 21:21 and Jason Caldwell, 22:14.
Dave Winchester had a good run, coming in at 23:34 with Jason Wearn not far behind, finishing his 50th Parkrun at Ashford in 23:47. Terry Sellen ran a great time of 24:07, first in his age category.
Next was Richard Randle, 25:48, Adam Thomas, 26:41 and Darren Laker, 27:03.
Graham Troman was definitely one that may have had an excuse to stay tucked in bed, but he ran a stonking time of 27:04, a new PB. Well Done Graham! Cristina Adams was first Strider female to finish, also achieving a fantastic run, knocking a massive 43 seconds off her previous best, giving her a new PB time of 28:03.
Ian McCutcheon also finished in 28:03 closely followed by Dermot Carr, whose time of 28:12 was just one second outside the PB he set the week before.
Nicola Crawley came in with a time of 28:34, then David Gadsby, 28:49, Amanda James, 29:13, Jason Brice, 29:14, Amanda Cooper, 29:29 and Andy Found, 29:58.
Michelle Bryant finished in 30:34 with Dave Warner running hard on her heels crossing the line in 30:43, his best time so far this year.
Siobhan Hagan was next with 31:16, then Rita Cooke, bolstered by being voted one of the best newcomers and most improved runners at Striders this year, finished in 31:44, a shiny new PB, beating her previous best 3 years ago by 25 seconds. Congratulations Rita on a great weekend of achievements.
Reece Corner finished his 25thParkrun in 31:52, followed by Rachel Theobald, 32:14, Kevin York, 32:15 and Peter Broom, 32:16.
Sue Abbott achieved her best time of 2022 so far with 32:51, Jennifer Watts was next with 34:31, then Danielle Moss continued to improve her times with a 40:04, another best time for the year so far. Next was Tyree Spicer finishing in 40:05 and Rachel Tomsett with 44:15.
Well done to you all, and thanks to Simon Jackson for taking the time to volunteer at Parkrun this week, as you so often do.
Parkrun Tourism
Just two Strider members ventured further afield for their Saturday morning 5km run.
Justin Burden travelled to Folkestone, achieving a very good time of 23:24 and Lee Standen was in Oxford for the University Parks parkrun, finishing in a time of 28:24.
Well done guys!
There were no races attended on Sunday, but hats off to those who joined training runs to play in the puddles on what was a very soggy morning.
Great work as always Striders!

Report by Paul Dunning.

This weekend’s running endeavours started at midnight Saturday morning when Ruth Goddard and Rachel Misson lined up at the start of Escape from Meriden. This is an event that starts from a village at the centre of England and the challenge is to choose your own route to get as far as you can on foot within 24 hours. Ruth and Rachel planned to reach at least 30 miles as the crow flies to claim a silver medal and they achieved this, completing 37.5 miles. A fantastic achievement – self navigating a route mostly in the cold and dark, very well done ladies!
Later that same morning saw club members lining up at the start lines of parkrun across Kent and further afield. Our local Ashford parkrun was well attended as usual and once again Keith Haynes was the speediest Strider finishing in 20:16. Close behind was Kevan Strand who ran a new PB of 20:28, then Jason Caldwell 21:21, Terry Sellen 24:27, Adam Thomas 25:16, Richard Randle 26:00 and Jamie Bartlett 26:53, Vicky Stevenson was the first female Strider to finish this week, completing her 200th parkrun in 27:02. Andy Found was next with his bandaged wrist in 27:53, then Dermot Carr with a new PB of 28:11. Amanda Cooper ran 28:15, followed by Jason Sanders 28:26, David Gadsby 28:29, Justine Wearn 29:44, Jason Wearn 29:47, Jo Mason 30:05, Sharni Copham 30:57, Peter Broom 31:38, Martin Whittingham 31:40, Jennifer Watts 32:55, Sue Abbott 33:24, Clare Maxlow 34:36 and Rachel Tomsett with a fast walk of 48:23.
Julie Nicholson, Lee Standen, Lisa Fulcher, Sharon Gardner, Simon Jackson and Terry Sellen were the Strider volunteers that helped make this week’s Ashford parkrun happen.
Justin Burden just needed to run Dartford Heath parkrun to complete all of the Kent parkruns, so he visited this trail event with a small group of Striders and finished in 25:02. Accompanying him were Hazel Turner 25:52 and Michelle Bryant 31:04.
Several other Striders attended a range of Kent parkruns. Sally Davidson-Daniel finished Royal Tunbridge Wells parkrun in Dunorlan Park in 39:25. Tamsin Ritchie ran the clifftop course of Margate parkrun in 34:20. At Folkestone parkrun, Dave Warner crossed the line in 30:04. Mark Niles made his second visit to Malling parkrun and beat his previous time in 21:31.
On the other side of the Thames, Siobhan Hagan visited a very muddy Hackney Marshes parkrun, finishing in 27:26. Furthest travelled this week goes to Nicola Crawley, who was in Germany on a very cold morning and ran Obersee parkrun in 25:41. Nicola was the first lady to finish – out of a total field of just 10 runners! Well done Nicola!
Also taking place on Saturday was the Sussex Downs Half Marathon. A hilly and muddy race through lovely Sussex countryside, it was attended by two Striders. Becky Somerford and Cristina Adams ran the race together and finished in 3:12:56 and 3:12:59 respectively, which was a PB for Cristina. Well done, both of you!
Finally to the only race attended by Striders on Sunday this week, Ashford Tri Club’s 666 Trail Run. The race is named for a 6.66 mile route through King’s Wood in Challock, however in the world of trail running, posted distances tend to be rather approximate and it was actually nearer 7 miles. This was a challenging, muddy race, taking in many of the steepest slopes in the woodland, two of which could only be scaled with the help of a rope! Striders finishers were Tamsin Ritchie 1:12:02, Richard Coles 1:18:39, Jason Sanders 21:03, Lisa Fulcher 1:35:10 and Amanda Cooper 1:35:27. Well done everyone!
Some great running as always Striders, especially with all the rain we’ve had recently making anywhere off road into a mud bath! Keep up the good work.
Report by Lisa Fulcher