Ashford Striders

Good Evening and Happy Sunday Striders! This week we have been lucky enough to have a glimpse of the sun, although still a bit icy this morning!☀️❄️

A reminder to you all, that S&C on Tuesday has now moved to our new venue – Great Chart Primary School! Please remember we will be getting started slightly early, at a time of 19:15…and spaces are limited! Get yourself booked on, and we will see you there!💪

A total of 58 Striders attended a Parkrun on 01/02/2025, 40 at Ashford, and 18 on tour.

ASHFORD PARKRUN

Keith Haynes was first strider across the line with a time of 20:33, followed by Linda-jean Delport with a time of 22:08, and Jason Caldwell third strider, with a time of 22:48.
Simon Pharoah 22:55 and Jack Farrant 23:09 followed after, with Terry (fred) Sellen 23:39, Josh Stephens 24:01 and Dan Green 24:04 not too far behind! Stephen Rumsey 24:58 and Joe Fowler 26:11 (new PB – congratulations Joe!) were next, with David Gadsby 28:01, Harry Scott 28:32 and Scott Hawkins 28:45 next! David Martins completed the course in 29:13. Gayle Bailey finished in 30:13 with Jayne Hatton hot on her heels with a time of 30:19 – I hope you were chasing here Jayne with a strong sprint finish! Getting in under the 31 minute mark was Mark Niles with a time of 30:42. Dave Warner 31:02, Nicola Crawley 31:55 and Catherine Wall 31:58 kept their times under 32 minutes! Next was David Holland 32:09, Carole Thomas 32:44, Lucie Shrubsole 32:45 and George Cromwell 32:46. With a shiny new PB, Lin West finished in 32:56. Congratulations Lin!!
After being unwell, Ross Mcinnes was back with a bang, finishing in 33:09! Amanda James finished in 33:16 with Andy Found hot on her heels in 33:17. Sarah Martins 34:08, Mark Archer 35:28, Jason Brice 36:00, Justine Wearn 36:41 and Jennifer Watts 36:51 were next! Coming across the line next was Martin Whittingham with a time of 39:06, followed by Nadine Lidbury 42:04, Pam Hunt 44:51 and Pauline Tallett 47:22. The Dewar duo were next..Don Dewar finished in 48:12 with Sara Dewar seconds behind in 48:14. Last but certainly not least, we have Robert Harris in a time of 57:02! Well done Everyone!

Ashford had a VIP visitor on Saturday in the shape of Dame Kelly Holmes! Well done to everyone who managed to grab a selfie, and I have to mention the pose that just seems to be contagious!✌️

A huge thank you as always to our volunteers! Jason Caldwell, Nicola Crawley, Sara Dewar, Peter Heckel, Kevan Strand, Dave Warner and Justine Wearn. In charge of the whole event, our very own Amanda Watson was Run Director!

PARKRUN TOURISM

Jamie Penfold completed the Edgbaston Reservoir parkrun in 26:40. Well done Jamie!

A Strider trio headed down to Folkestone to complete parkrun as part of their 10 mile run! Eloise Pegg finished in 30:04 with Chloe Winham and Harry Lockhart neck and neck with a time of 30:05. Well done guys!

Lisa Gribbin completed the Ingrebourne Hill parkrun in 30:59. Well done Lisa!

Peter Broom completed the Margate parkrun in 27:37. Well done Peter!

Rachel Tomsett completed the Newbury parkrun in 31:24. Well done Rachel!

The Fantastic Five took on the course at Shorne Woods Parkrun! First over the line was Lee Standen in 32:57. Both in a time of 35:43 came Victoria Shrubsole and Andrew Cornwell! Delia Millen and Richard Randle were next, with Delia just pipping Richard at the line in times of 36:13 and 36:14.

Neil Wood completed the Stratford-upon-Avon parkrun in 21:55. Well done Neil!

The Hammond’s headed to The Leas Parkrun, Minster. Lionel completed the course in 26:26, followed by Donna in 32:10. Well done to you both!

Celebrating their 500th event; another Strider Trio headed to Tonbridge Parkrun! Sally Davidson-Daniel finished in 38:29, followed by Laura Clark in a time of 43:05, and Justin Burden in 59:00. Great running!

BEDGEBURY 5 and 10 MILER

On a crisp Sunday morning, three striders headed out to the forest to complete a trail run around BEDGEBURY Forest!🌳

Jason Kennedy completed the 5 mile course in a time of 42:34, achieving a seasonal best!

Dave Winchester and Scott Hawkins decided that they’d like to go that one step further and take on 10 miles! Dave finished in a time of 1:23:29, and Scott in a time of 1:52:13. Seasonal best for both!

Well done to the three of you, I hear the course…and hills were tough!

There are so many of you now in full swing of marathon training – this will be the first for some of you, and one of many for others.
I saw something on social media this week that might be a useful reminder for some of you:

‘Bad news, marathon training is tougher than you think. Good news, so are you!’

You’re amazing, you’ve got this🙌
I look forward to supporting a lot of you on marathon day!❤️

Well done to you all for another week of great running! See you next week!✌️

We have had it all this week…. Wind, rain, storms and at times even some sunshine but no matter the weather the Striders assemble to pound the streets, parks and hills!!

Let’s start with the highlight of everyone’s weekend, Ashford Parkrun! The icy conditions have finally subsided and allowed Ashford Parkrun to celebrate its 500th event. It was celebrated in style with record 450 runners turning up to run the two laps of Victoria Park.

Now to the timings…….

Simon Pharoah started his weekend with a podium position finishing in 18.19. Jamie Penfold is continuing his comeback with a fantastic PB of 22.31 knocking off a whopping 18 seconds of his previous best. He must have felt Jason Caldwell chasing him down as he finished in 22.51. Dan Green 23.57, Harry Scott 24.35, Mark Niles 25.07, Ian McCutcheon 25.14, Tamsin Ritchie 27.27, Joe Fowler 27.35, Terry Sellen 27.47, Stephen Cleaver 27.59, David Gadsby 29.19 and Stephen Rumsey 29.41 all completed under that magical 30 min mark.

David Helme crossed the finish line in 30.32 closely followed by the mighty five of Chloe Darling 30.35, David Martins 30.45, Vicky Stevenson 30.47, Andy “Coach” Found 30.48 and Kevan Strand 30.55 with Catherine Wall 31.15, and Rachel Tomsett 31.21 not far behind.

Scott Hawkins stuck out his torso to ensure he crossed the line ahead of Rebecca James with times of 32.00 and 32.01. Completing the 32-minute runners were Peter Broom 32.26, Dave Warner 32.38 and David Holland 32.51. Great going!!

Carole Thomas 33.14, Angela Craffey 33.26 were the two runners hitting the 33-minute mark.

Sharon Gardner 34.36, Sarah Martins 34.46, Jennifer Watts 36.07, Dee Millen 36.19, Richard Randle 36.20, Julie Foster 40.27, Ross McInnes, 40.30, Sharon McInnes 40.44, Pauline Tallett 47.36, Sara Dewar 48.35, Don Dewar 48.36, Pam Hunt 54.42 and Sharni Weller 55.32 completed the Striders contingent. Impressive Job!

These events cannot go ahead without all the volunteers so let’s all take a minute to recognise and appreciate how awesome these guys and gals are!!

Striders Park run tourism was also in full flow with 4 events seeing the red shirts running their routes.

Starting with Lionel and Donna Hammond who ventured to Shorne Woods Parkrun and completed the run in 28.39 and 34.48 respectively.

Amanda Watson was the sole runner representing Striders at the busy Battersea Parkrun and got round in 31.04.

Finally, Ingrebourne Hill Parkrun saw Justin Burden 29.08, Justine Wearn 33.47, Nicola Crawley 33.48, Lee Standen 38.27 and Laura Clark 43.11.

Great to see so many Strider’s home and away!

Onto Race Day Sunday with Canterbury being the hottest destination as 19 Striders took part in a rather undulating Canterbury 10 mile road race.

Simon Pharoah was incredibly close to breaking the 1hr mark finishing in a time of 1.01.27. However, this was still a PB for a truly amazing time. Keep it up Simon and that hour mark will be broken in no time.

Keith Haynes picked up a season’s best with a blistering time of 1.08.55. Harry Scott 1.18.54 and Darren Laker 1.26.19 both picked up 10-mile PB’s. Bravo!!

Starting the 1hr 30 min finishers was Emma Konstantinou with a PB time of 1.31.29, Steve Cartwright continuing his fine form with a swift time of 1.35.26 and Gayle Bailey 1.36.10. Seems a sprint finish took place with Eloise Pegg (1.37.24 PB) just pipping Jayne Hatton (1.37.27 PB) to the finish line.

Jason Sanders picked up a season best with a time of 1.38.34 with Richard Randle 1.40.58, Andy Found 1.41.13, Nicola Crawley 1.41.28 and Ash Robinson 1.46.51 also putting in solid efforts.

Mat Norman narrowly missed out on a PB with a time of 1.49.31 pipping Maria Chapman seasons best with 1.49.34 and Megan Clare 1.49.40

Finally, Sharon Mcinnes and Cara Linin had days to remember as they both smashed their PB’s with times of 1.51.19 and 1.51.20 respectively.

Again, apologies for the lateness of the report, however if I have missed a PB shout or your times completely then just let me know and I will update.

Yet again Striders have smashed it out of the park once more and I hope like me, you are all looking forward to the week ahead.

Finally the sunshine seems to be staying put and we have certainly been making the most of it with plenty of weekend/mid-morning and bluebell runs on offer.

We will start with Park Run as usual but not at Ashford as we had two striders that travelled over to Amager Fælled park run in Denmark to celebrate Ascension Day on Thursday 9th May.

Nicola Crawley finished in 27:18 with Justine Wearn, chasing down or being chased by a half naked hunk, to finish in an aesthetically pleasing 31:31.

After a night of Northern Lights spotting for those of us who either got the memo or stay up late anyway a total of 44 Striders attended a Parkrun, 31 at Ashford, and 13 on tour.

Simon Pharoah was first strider across the line with a personal best time of 19:50, followed by Keith Haynes with a time of 20:18, and Mark Niles third strider, with a time of 21:25

They were followed by

Terry (fred) Sellen 24:35, George Phillips 25:09, Kevan Strand 25:20, Harry Scott 25:25, Alice Foulger was first lady strider home with an impressive time of 25:48, Josh Stephens 27:17, Jason Brice 28:41, David Gadsby 29:00, Daniel Forbes 29:04, Jo Mason 29:18, David Helme 29:32, Darren Laker 30:38, Andy Found 30:41, Catherine Wall 31:36, Michelle Brice 31:42, Tamsin Ritchie 32:06, Robert Harris 32:13, Mathew Norman 32:51, Delia Millen 33:17, Sarah Martins 34:07, Brian Forrester 36:26, Hazel Forrester 36:46, Sara Dewar 37:59, Leigh Freeman 38:00, Jennifer Watts 41:39, Lee Standen 41:41, Danielle Moss 43:01, Carole Thomas 44:15.

Thanks to all the Ashford Striders volunteers this week at Park Run. It can’t go ahead without the volunteers and Ashford Park Run is getting busier and they’re struggling to get the volunteer positions covered. If everyone did it once every few months we’d be fine.

Parkrun Tourism

Nicola Crawley and Justine Wearn, still in Denmark decided one Park Run wasn’t enough and so went on to complete the Amager Strandpark parkrun as well with Nicola finishing in 26:44 and Justine Wearn in 30:08.

Harry Lockhart completed the Bexley parkrun in 24:21.

Jamie Bartlett completed the Canterbury parkrun in 30:31.

Justin Burden completed the Colchester Castle parkrun in 24:28, Alongside Laura Clark who finished in 35:54 with Lisa Gribbin in 38:08.

Claire Green completed the Dover Waterfront parkrun in 24:26.

Amanda Cooper completed the Folkestone parkrun in 29:12.

George Cromwell completed the Maidstone River Park parkrun in 29:21.

Daniel and Sonette Schwartz completed the Poppintree parkrun in 27:03 and 30:34 respectively.

Jamie Penfold completed the Shorne Woods parkrun in 25:06.

This week started with a Bank Holiday Monday and so there was a race to attend. Richard Randle and Dee Millen headed over to Whitstable to complete the Furley Page Whitstable 10km. Both managed to knock it totally out of the park and grab themselves a PB with Richard finishing in 50:11 (Dee said no one mention the 11 seconds) Dee stormed across the line in 1:07:35 just before the rain clouds closed in.

On Saturday we had Elle Weekes competing in the Brighton Backyard Ultra. This is an event that see racers completing as many laps as they can but they are restricted to 1 hour per lap. Elle had the heat and hills to contend with on course but still managed a very impressive 5 laps totalling 21 miles!

Sunday saw a couple of events with Strider attendees.

First up was Rob Harris who made his way over to Maidstone for the Maidstone Riverside 10 Miler, Rob finished with a course PB of 1:38:44.

Rounding up this week’s events is Jason Kennedy who took part in Nuclear Fit which is a Hybrid event over 6km of distance including lots of different challenges. Jason completed this in 1:01:17.

As always please shout if I have missed anyone off or any details and I will, of course, amend it.

Keep everything crossed the sunshine stays, have a great week everyone.

We’ve not had much in the way of official races this week but what we’ve lacked in quantity, we’ve more than made up for in quality, but more of that after the parkrun results!

Ashford Parkrun run report

Adrian Green was first Strider across the line with a PB and a time of 20:09, he was followed by Adam Booth with a time of 20:17, and Keith Haynes with a time of 20:25.

They were followed by; Harry Scott 23:33, Terry Sellen 23:48, Mark Niles 24:47, Robert Harris 25:40, Josh Stephens 26:26, Scott Hawkins 26:29, Emily Maund 27:09, Stephen Cleaver 27:45, Jamie Bartlett 28:07, David Gadsby 28:24, Jason Brice 29:24, Jo Mason 29:47, Rebecca James 29:54, Andy Found 29:55, Nicola Crawley 29:57, Stephen Rumsey 30:21, Justine Wearn 31:24, Cathie Wall 31:50, Dave Warner 32:28, Leigh Freeman 33:07, Vicky Stevenson 34:02, Rita Cooke 34:22. Raechel King earned herself a lovely PB with a time of 34:24, we then had Mathew Norman 34:26, Jennifer Watts 34:48, Sally Davidson-daniel 45:56, and Rachel Tomsett with 45:57.

Thanks once again to all of our wonderful Parkrun volunteers, who this week included; Don and Sara Dewar, Terry Sellen, Jason Caldwell, Nicola Crawley, Justine Wearn, and Pauline Tallett. Please do volunteer if you can, your contribution is valued by many!

Parkrun Tourism

Tamsin Ritchie completed the Canterbury parkrun in 33:58.

Jamie Penfold and Dermot Carr completed the Dartford Heath parkrun in 25:16 and 26:55 respectively.

Rick Newman completed the Dover Waterfront parkrun in 42:06.

Elle Weekes was in Folkestone and completed the Folkestone parkrun in 27:13. 

Lee Standen completed the Lancing Beach Green parkrun in 30:45.

Hazel Forrester and Dani Moss were in Maidstone and completed the Maidstone River Park parkrun in 37:21 and 43:54 respectively.

Elise Brown was in Malling and completed their parkrun in 26:13.

Isabelle Froissart was in Swanley for their parkrun and completed that in 29:26.

Justin Burden and Laura Clark were in Margate, Justin finished in 25:24 and Laura came in at 37:11.

We had several of our wonderful members over in Belfast taking on  Queen’s parkrun. Daniel Schwartz was first in at 28:53, Mandy Cooper was next with 32:28 and Sonette Schwartz was finished in 38:53.

Last on our list of adventurers was Julie Foster, who was in York and completed their parkrun in 41:34! 

Belfast Marathon

As I mentioned earlier, there wasn’t a vast amount of races this weekend but there was a big one! Belfast City Marathon took place today (5th May). Starting at Stormont Estate and finishing in Ormeau Park. Three of our members were among the record number of entrants in this year’s race.

Daniel Schwartz was the first of our finishers, coming in at 4:27:17, Mandy Cooper was next in 4:58:40, and Sonette Schwartz finished her marathon (which incidentally was bought for her as a gift!) in 5:16:45. Amazing running all of you! 

That’s it for this week’s run report, the weather, albeit still changeable, is definitely looking brighter and feeling warmer so get out there and enjoy the delights of the great outdoors. Have a lovely bank holiday and a wonderful week all! ❤️

Saturday saw the first Striders parkrun takeover of the year at Ashford with pacers, cake and a plethora of volunteers. Thank you to everyone who came along and showed what a great club we are (but we already know that!)

With pacers ranging from 20-40 mins those who paced did an amazing job, on this occasion, Keith Haynes got the closest within 2 seconds of his pace, but it was a close call with others only 3-4 seconds out. Excellent work!

Our parkrun roll call this week is:

Adam Booth was first Strider across the line at Ashford parkrun with a time of 19:34, followed by Keith Haynes with a time of 21:58, and Terry Sellen third Strider, with a time of 23:43. 

They were followed by: Harry Scott 23:45, Mark Niles 23:57, Kevan Strand 24:13, Jason Kennedy 24:47, Jamie Penfold 25:10, Daniel Schwartz 25:11, Josh Stephens 25:26, Aimee Donohue 26:09, Nicola Crawley 26:27, Scott Hawkins 28:11, David Gadsby 28:21, Stephen Rumsey 29:26, Darren Laker 30:08, Christopher Wicks 30:42, Jason Brice 30:48, Catherine Wall 32:05, Jim Wealands 32:17, Paul Baker 32:48, Tamsin Ritchie 32:57, Rita Cooke 34:23, Lee Standen 34:26, Jennifer Watts 34:28, Justin Burden 34:31, Laura Clark 34:32, Lisa Gribbin 34:33, Rachel Tomsett 35:00, Martin Whittingham 35:19, Sonette Schwartz 35:41, Sally Davidson-daniel 35:56, Elle Weekes 36:29, Sharon Gardner 37:57, Leigh Freeman 38:06, Holly Forrest 40:47, Julie Nicholson 46:38, Pauline Tallett 1:04:34 and Sharni Copham 1:04:35.

Parkrun Tourism

Michael Davies completed the Folkestone parkrun in 22:21, Isobel Phillips completed the Holyrood parkrun in 26:06, George Phillips completed the Holyrood parkrun in 26:44, Delia Millen completed the Moors Valley parkrun in 33:55, Richard Randle completed the Moors Valley parkrun in 33:59, Justine Wearn completed the Tetbury Goods Shed parkrun in 31:14, Jason Wearn completed the Tetbury Goods Shed parkrun in 31:17, Angela Craffey completed the The Leas parkrun, Minster in 31:27 and Danielle Moss completed the Walmer and Deal Seafront parkrun in 42:25

After the excitement of London last week, many of our Striders were taking a well deserved rest. For those that were not, a few races were undertaken this weekend.

Travelling down to Dorset, Richard Randle and Dee Millen took part in the Garmin UK trail running festival. A tough off road route saw Richard complete the marathon in a seasons best of 4:33:59, while Dee completed the half marathon in 2:54:56.

Billed as the flattest marathon in the UK, Rachel Misson took on the Boston UK Marathon, finishing in a time of 5:16:28.

Closer to home, Josh Stephen’s took on the Colchester Stampede 10k in 51:44.

We’ll done to everyone this week who, ran, walked or volunteered. Someone keeps telling me that Spring is supposed to arrive soon! Here’s hoping for a few sunnier, warmer and far less windy runs now we have some longer evenings.

Great running Striders!

Hello Striders and congratulations to everyone that ran this weekend. Saturday as usual was Park Run day and Striders were out and about getting in their weekly 5K fix. 

Ashford saw Adam Booth leading the Strider pack with a superb 18:40 finish with Keith Haynes taking second place in 20:48. Jason Caldwell stretched his legs in preparation for his Sunday race with 22:50 and Hazel Turner took the first Strider lady title with 24:50 followed by Emily Maund who celebrated a new PB with 26:39.  Dan Shwartz completed in 27:16 just ahead of Josh Stephens in 27:59. Rob Harris and Andy Found completed in 28:04 and 28:32 respectively just ahead of David Gadsby in 28:35. Chris Lacey ran a new PB time of 29:03 and Amanda James took 29:09 with Steve Ramsey and Amanda Cooper completing the Sub 30 list with respective times of 29:31 and 29:35.

Catherine Wall finished in 31:42 whilst Sonette Shwartz and Jason Brice battled it out in 33:02 and 33:03. Leigh Freeman finished in 33:22 ahead of Martin Whittingham in 34:05 and Brian Forrester in 34:43. Jennifer Watts and Hazel Forrester completed the Strider lineup with 35:28 and 35:48 respectively.

A big thanks as usual to all of the volunteers which this week included Michelle Brice, Don Dewar, Peter Heckel, Simon Jackson, Terry Sellen and Carole Thomas.

Out of Ashford we had David and Sarah Martins at Maidstone Riverside and they completed in 31:06 and 33:31 whilst Lee Standen took on the Oakhill event and finished in 32:45. Kevin Strand was in London for the Gunnersbury event and finished in 25:18 whilst Tamsin Ritchie opted for the coast and completed Whitstable in 32:43. Great Lines in Medway welcomed Dee Millen and Richard Randle and they recorded times of 32:04 and 32:05 and Dermot Carr completed Tonbridge in 26:40. Mark Niles took 21:58 to complete the Hove Promenade event whilst at Chalkwell Beach we had Justin Burden, Laura Clark and Lisa Gribbin finishing in 24:37, 34:22 and 34:23. Lisa Fulcher completed Thames Path, Woolwich in 52:07 and finally down at Dover Waterfront Nicola Crawley finished in 24:55 and Justine Wearn in 29:33.

OK so now onto the main event of the weekend and plenty of Striders were among the 65,725 participants for the TCS London Marathon 2024. An estimated £67,000,000 was raised for charity and I know our competitors raised a fair sized chunk of that !!

Adrian Green was our first member to cross the line in an outstanding time and new marathon PB of 3:28:10 which may well get him a Good For Age place next year. Rumour has it he was so nervous he packed his kit bag 17 times the night before so that in itself is a record to be proud of. Well Done Adrian !!

Fabio Baiardo was next over the line with a superb 3:50:47 finish and a new marathon PB and he was followed by Jason Caldwell in 4:06:55. Well done to you both !!

Linda-Jean Delport ran as a Gel Feeder for a man called Andy Roberts who set a world record yesterday for completing the course wearing 20KG of Chainmail. He beat the current record by 28 Minutes so massive well done to him and to Linda for supporting him and still getting a cracking time of 4:22:22

Tara Graves had a fantastic day knocking over 20 minutes off her previous best with a finish time of 4:15:12. Absolutely brilliant run Tara !!

Vicky Stevenson took on her first London Marathon but third marathon in total and recorded an outstanding time of 4:41:31. Brilliant consistent running Vicky !! Not far behind Vicky was Lisa Gribbin who, despite running Brighton Marathon just two weeks ago managed a marathon PB time of 4:44:07, fantastic running Lisa !! Jamie Bartlett completed his first ever marathon after having to defer last year in an equally impressive time of 4:50:31.

Rachel Misson added another marathon to her already impressive list with a super time of 5:16:14 and Rachel Tomsett took on her first marathon completing the course in 5:33:44. Massive well done to both of you !!

Also taking on their first marathons were Lucie Shrubsole and Michelle Brice. These two ran the whole course together and supported each other throughout and were rewarded with an outstanding time of 5:37:37. Congratulations to you both !!

Melissa Dawkins also ran her debut marathon yesterday and got a time to be proud of in 5:56:33. Well done Melissa !!

Finally a big well done to Karen Edwards who completed the Virtual London Marathon by walking the route in reverse with her sister. Starting at midnight she completed in 7:43:25.

A fantastic day all round for runners and spectators in London yesterday and every one of you did yourselves and the club proud with your efforts in both fundraising and running. Well done to you all !! 😍

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!

Well what a weekend that was! Ashford Striders were out in force this weekend at various races at a variety of distances and courses. We are so proud of each and every one of you.

I shall start with Parkrun. 

A total of 43 Striders attended a Parkrun on 06/04/24.

Keith Haynes was first Strider across the line at Ashford parkrun with a time of 20:33, followed by Alice Foulger with a time of 24:30, and Claire Green third Strider, with a time of 24:53

They were followed by: Josh Stephens 25:12, Harry Lockhart 26:16, Robert Harris 27:28, Richard Randle 27:33, Simon Pharoah 28:35, Christopher Wicks 28:52, Jason Sanders 29:48, Jason Brice 29:51, David Gadsby 29:58, George Cromwell 30:21, Jamie Bartlett 30:42, Vicky Stevenson 31:13, Jayne Hatton 31:15, Daniel Forbes 31:16, Amanda Cooper 31:32, Catherine Wall 31:55, Lucie Shrubsole 32:00, Stephen Rumsey 32:31, Dave Warner 32:33, Leigh Freeman 35:35, Rachel Oliver 36:08, Rachel York 36:37, Kevin York 36:39, Jennifer Watts 37:26, David Helme 37:27, Michelle Brice 37:28, Hazel Forrester 37:57, Holly Forrest 39:32, Julie Foster 40:28

Parkrun Tourism

Josh Whiten completed the Canterbury parkrun in 32:19, Mark Niles completed the Chevin Forest parkrun in 25:57, Tamsin Ritchie completed the Hartlepool parkrun in 28:02, Mark Fairbrother completed the Mersea Island parkrun in 27:29, Nicola Crawley completed the Mole Valley parkrun in 36:35, Justine Wearn completed the Mole Valley parkrun in 36:35, Lisa Gribbin completed the Osterley parkrun in 32:53, Justin Burden completed the Osterley parkrun in 33:02, Laura Clark completed the Osterley parkrun in 35:45, Sally Davidson-Daniel completed the Trentham Gardens parkrun in 33:07, Lee Standen completed the Victoria Dock parkrun in 29:35.

As ever parkrun cannot take place without volunteers so please if you can head out and try to volunteer as well I know the teams appreciate it. 

Also on Saturday Daniel Schwartz was the lone Strider taking on the Easter Ultra Challenge Windsor completing the historical 25 km in a fantastic time of 2:47:00.

I would like to start Sundays array of races with Brighton Marathon because (we believe) a first for Ashford Striders and a sub 3 hour marathon! Adam Booth absolutely stormed it home for a 2:54:58 PB Marathon – amazing achievement Adam.

Next in with another PB performance, and his first marathon, was Simon Pharoah with 3:40:45, followed by the stealth Strider Steve Greatorex who managed to dodge almost all cameras with a time of 4:07:34, Kevin North flying in with another PB this week to complete his marathon in 4:09:57. Hazel Turner looking pretty in pink crossed the line in 4:33:19. Speaking of stealth next was Dermot Carr who tried to throw everyone off the scent pretending his was running the 10km when he was, in fact, heading for a PB of 4:48:57 in his first marathon! Lisa Gribbin completed her first of two marathons this month in 4:58:22, followed by Jack Farrant quite literally sprinting home with a very first marathon time of 5:07:00 PB. Rachel Misson came home with 5:14:09 closely followed by Dave and Hazel Winchester who completed their marathon in 5:14:40. ‘Disco’ Dave Helme lapped up the support on route with 5:15:33 with Darren Laker on his tails with a PB of 5:16:02. I was convinced Scott Hawkins was having far too much fun as he was so happy every time we saw him and with good reason, Scott claimed a fantastic PB of 5:18:58. Angie Craffey was our final Strider home with her self proclaimed ‘bad day’ in a very respectable time of 6:05:34 to not only earn a PB but to cross the line with a huge smile on her face. Well done all. 

While in Brighton two more Striders decided they would like to run too and so took park in the Brighton 10km race. First up with a PB time of 52:31 was Aimee Donohue, followed by Sharon Gardner, who was busy climbing mountains, in a fantastic time of 1:02:53.

Next up two Striders travelled up town to London to take part in the London Landmarks Half Marathon. This beautifully scenic race takes you through London crossing paths with some of its most famous landmarks.

First up to finish was Jason Sanders in a time of 2:08:29 and continuing his PB performances was Ash Robinson scoring a great PB of 2:24:53! 

Back along the coast Adam Thomas and Kay Hunt decided they were going to take on the Southampton Marathon to quote Kay the course was ‘Windy and hilly but a lovely route. Really well organised and so much support. Still not entirely sure how I feel about 2 laps!!’ Kay and Adam completed the marathon together in a time of 4:50:31. Well done to both of you.

Kate Stroud travelled over to Berlin to complete the rather warm Berlin Half Marathon in 2:30:00 – well done Kate.

Finally we had a gaggle of Striders over in Paris to complete the Paris Marathon!

Completing her first marathon with an amazing PB time of 4:23:05 is Eleanor Weekes. Next up Sarah and David Martins also earning a PB of 5:31:50 and David’s first marathon! Lorna Cheshire was the final Strider home in Paris with a fantastic time of 5:32:00!

What a weekend. Well done to everyone who ran and raced! To everyone who was able to go and support in the various cities thank you – it really means so much so see friendly faces in the crowd! 

Happy Easter everyone! Here’s your weekly run round up to read whilst you are munching on your Easter eggs – if you have any left by now!

On Good Friday, the traditional start to Easter weekend is the Folkestone 10 mile – a flat seafront race between Hythe and Folkestone. As Easter is early this year, the weather was unusually cool for this race and the runners had to manage a headwind on the return leg.

Keith Haynes was the first home for the club in 1:12:19, next was Kevin North, who earned himself a PB of 1:25:10. Justin Burden was third Strider with 1:26:48, close behind was Richard Randle with a PB of 1:26:55 and Aimee Donohue also with a new PB of 1:28:59. Adam Thomas and Kay Hunt ran together and both finished in 1:36:24. Dermot Carr, in his trademark crazy headwear finished in 1:32:35, Charlotte Housden was next with a PB of 1:39:40, closely followed by Karen Lavender in 1:41:05, Rob Harris in 1:42:12, and Jason Sanders in 1:43:38. Dee Millen continued a run of recent personal bests with another of 1:53:59, Angie Craffey finished in 1:54:14 and Laura Clark came home with a personal best time of 2:01:17

Jamie Penfold was the sole Strider to travel to London for the RunThrough Victoria Park half marathon. He continued his return to fitness coming in just under the 2 hour mark with 1:59:22

On Saturday, weather conditions were good at Ashford parkrun which had its second-highest ever attendance. The 33 Striders completing the course were:
Adam Booth with a time of 19:12, followed by Simon Pharoah with a time of 20:33, and Jack Farrant third Strider with a new parkrun PB of 20:35. They were followed by Keith Haynes 21:26, Mark Niles 21:49, George Phillips 23:49, Isobel Phillips finished with a course PB of 24:10, Christopher Wicks 25:23, Jason Kennedy completed his 25th parkrun in a time of 25:24, Scott Hawkins 25:55, Josh Stephens 26:50, Daniel Schwartz 27:07, Richard Randle 27:21, Darren Laker 27:30, David Gadsby 27:33, Jamie Bartlett 28:49, Jo Mason 30:10, Ian Mccutcheon 30:10, Harry Lockhart 30:11, David Helme 31:15, Jason Brice 31:37, Robert Harris 32:00, Stephen Rumsey 32:18, Amanda James 32:27, Delia Millen 33:42, Dermot Carr 34:36, Clare Maxlow 34:47, Rachel Oliver 35:27, Martin Whittingham 35:38, Michelle Brice 35:39, Sara Dewar 36:43, Jennifer Watts 36:57 and Lisa Fulcher 37:25.

The Strider volunteers who helped make the event happen this week were: Jason Caldwell, Don Dewar, Julie Foster, Peter Heckel and Terry Sellen

Onto parkrun tourism, those staying close by in Kent were Andy Found (29:21) and Justine Wearn (30:47) at the Cyclopark parkrun in Gravesend, Nicola Crawley completed the Folkestone parkrun in 25:57, Jamie Penfold completed the Mote Park parkrun in 28:02 and a trio of Striders went to Tonbridge – Lisa Gribbin in 32:50, Laura Clark with 39:09 and Justin Burden in 45:59

A little further away was Kevan Strand who went to Gunnersbury parkrun in West London, finishing in 31:16. Sharon Gardner made her third visit to Prudhoe Riverside parkrun near Newcastle Upon Tyne and ran a course PB of 31:23. And finally Cherith Wright was once again over at cEcos parkrun in Northern Ireland, finishing in 23:53

No races for club members on Easter Sunday but many were up early after the clocks changed to get in some long runs. Enjoy bank holiday Monday, all those who aren’t working and enjoy your tapering those who are running marathons in the next few weeks!

Good evening all, happy Sunday! It’s been a beautiful, albeit cold (and slightly changeable!) weekend and you’ve all been out there putting the miles in for your various challenges, whether they are training runs, races, parkruns, or just-for-fun runs!!

As is traditional, we will begin with Parkrun results.

Ashford Parkrun

A total of 35 Striders attended a Parkrun on 23/03/24 , 21 at Ashford, and 14 on tour.

Adam Booth was first Strider across the line with a time of 18:22, followed by Dan Green with a time of 21:32, and Mark Niles, with a time of 22:49

They were followed by Terry Sellen 24:02, Kevan Strand 24:03, Jamie Penfold 24:18, Alice Foulger 25:23, Daniel Schwartz 25:43, David Gadsby 28:08, Scott Hawkins 28:10, Stephen Cartwright 29:40, Robert Harris 31:10, Dave Warner 32:07, Stephen Rumsey 32:38, Leigh Freeman 34:00, Don Dewar 34:01, Kate Bushell earned herself a lovely new PB and came in at 34:36, Jason Brice 35:39, Raechel King 35:43, Lee Standen 35:43, Julie Foster 40:21.

Parkrun Tourism

Cherith Wright completed the Antrim parkrun in 24:06, Harry Lockhart completed the Bexley parkrun in 27:14, Sally Davidson-Daniel completed the Highbury Fields parkrun in 36:07, Justin Burden completed the Royal Tunbridge Wells parkrun in 26:49, Richard Randle completed the Royal Tunbridge Wells parkrun in 29:34, Tamsin Ritchie completed the Royal Tunbridge Wells parkrun in 32:22, Lisa Gribbin completed the Royal Tunbridge Wells parkrun in 32:48, Amanda Cooper completed the Royal Tunbridge Wells parkrun in 35:14, Delia Millen completed the Royal Tunbridge Wells parkrun in 38:27, Laura Clark completed the Royal Tunbridge Wells parkrun in 40:33, Lydia Huntley completed the University Parks parkrun in 27:50, Nicola Crawley completed the Valentines parkrun in 27:04, Justine Wearn completed the Valentines parkrun in 30:04, Sarah Martins completed the York parkrun in 32:14.

As always, a massive thanks to the Parkrun volunteers, our members volunteering at Ashford were; Peter Broom, Jason Caldwell, Simon Jackson, Don Dewar, Lisa Fulcher, Dermot Carr, Peter Heckel and Carole Thomas – your efforts are appreciated, thank you!

Saturday also saw the very temptingly named SVN Cakeathon! This is a timed event down at Samphire Hoe where you complete as many laps of just over 3 miles as you can within the 6 hour time limit. As long as you complete at least one lap you are a finisher and earn yourself the world’s biggest medal (not officially verified!) as well as the best race goody-bag ever (it includes crisps and chocolate!).

We had 14 Striders who braved the horrendous sea gales, 13 of whom were taking part and one very supportive member – Holly, AKA Support Penguin! As already mentioned, the cold winds were harsh but the sun did shine…and the hail fell briefly, although that did nothing to deter the determination of our members, some of whom were using this as part of their marathon training.

Andy Found completed 2 laps, or just over 10K, Ned Golding, Vicky Stevenson, Rebecca James, Vicky Shrubsole, Sharon Gardner, Andrew Cornwell, and Jayne Hatton all completed 4 laps, the equivalent of a half marathon, Alex Wingrove completed 5 laps, or approximately 16 miles, Jamie Bartlett, Lucie Shrubsole and Rhiannon Little completed 6 laps which was about 20 miles and then last but certainly not least, Josh Stephens completed his 3rd marathon distance this month running 8 laps! Well done all!

Sunday there were two events, firstly we head down to Hasting for the Hastings Half Marathon. Again, the sun shone but the sea winds were biting! Keith Haynes came in first with an incredible time of 1:38:00, followed by Scott Hawkins who achieved a PB and a superb time of 2:15:08, Mandy Cooper ran a great race and was next in at 2:16:47, and then Dee Millen with yet another PB, finished in 2:34:19! Brilliant!

Finally was the aptly named Trosley Park challenge, there was a 5k and a 10k option although the 5k option was apparently a closely guarded secret until you were already committed…!  There is a segment on Strava called the Trosley Death Steps, and this pretty much sums them up, both sets, the down ones and the up ones…Anyway, 6 brave Striders’ Souls took part in what was the last ever Trosley Park Challenge. Adam Thomas finished first in 1:14:47, then Kay Hunt in 1:14:48, then, the newly formed band ‘The last of the 10k-ers’ all came through (almost) together – Sharon Gardner’s trainer went over the line at 1:32:15 and Caroline Miller, Victoria Shrubsole and Sharni Copham all finished at 1:32:16!

And so we are done for another week! Next week is Easter weekend and also, the clocks finally change by an hour – I’m not committing to which way because I’ll over-think it and confuse myself! There’ll be more light in the evenings though and we won’t need to wear lights on our runs soon! Have a wonderful week everyone and enjoy your tapering, Marathoners!