Ashford Striders

No races this weekend so parkrun was the order of the day for the Striders that wished to run against the clock.
Ashford saw 32 Striders with Mark Niles taking the No1 spot with 21:47 followed by Terry Sellen with 24:57. The Greens, who used to be blue but are now red, Claire and Dan came through next with Claire finishing in 25:29 and Dan in 25:30. Aimee Donohue took 26:21 to get round followed by Darren Laker in 27:32. George Cromwell finished in 27:57 and Kevin York in 28:17. Dave Helme and Jason Brice finished in 28:31 and 28:38 respectively with Tamsin Ritchie completing the sub 30’s with 29:10.
Amanda James completed in 30:21 just ahead of Sonette Schwartz in 31:26. Rachel Forrester just pipped Peter Broom to the line as they finished in 32:20 and 32:23 and just behind them was Sarah Dewar with 32:29. Leigh Freeman got round in 32:35 and Dee Millen one second later in 32:36. Two more neck and neck’s followed with Martin Whittingham and Michelle Bryant recording 33:38 and 33:39 respectively. Michelle Brice and Vicky Shrubsole couldn’t be separated as they both achieved a time of 33:41 with Lucie Shrubsole hot on their tails with 33:42. Jennifer Watts and Rachel Oliver were the next two Striders over the line with 34:09 and 34:37 followed by Brian Forrester in 35:03. Sharni Copham achieved 35:15 and Sharon Meadows 37:37 with Danielle Moss and Hazel Forrester both completing in 39:47. Tail Walkers Justin Burden and Joanna Whitehead finished the Strider in 1:09:49 and 1:09:51 respectively.
Volunteers at Ashford included Jason Caldwell, Dermot Carr, Mandy Cooper, Don Dewar, Julie Foster, Sharon Gardner, Tamsin Ritchie, Pauline Tallett, Joanna Whitehead and Lynette Whittingham. A massive thanks to you all!
Andrew Maund visited the home of parkrun, Bushy and went round in 21:06 whilst Lee Standen chose Grovelands in Enfield and completed in 31:34. Jamie Penfold and Paul Baker both ran the Canterbury course and achieved respective times of 25:00 and 26:08 and Siobhan Hagan went to Worcester Pitchcroft and completed in 28:35. Ned Golding finished the Fountains Abbey event in 33:34 whilst Rachel Tomsett visited Bedgebury Pinetum and recorded 33:13. Cyclopark was the destination of choice for Lisa Fulcher and she went round in 36:53 and Lisa Gribbin visited Levengrove and recorded 28:14. Justine Wearn and Nicola Crawley were at Swanley with Justine completing in 31:23 and Nicola going round as tail-walker in 52:16. Last but not least for the tourists this week was Hazel Turner who took 25:38 to complete the Ashbourne Recreation Ground event.
Well done to everyone who ran or volunteered on Saturday and I hope you all have a great week,
Report by Andy Found.

Ashford Parkrun
The sun was shining this week in Ashford which saw 274 runners, joggers and walkers attend the 426th Ashford parkrun.
First home for the super reds was Keith Haynes who was just two seconds shy of his PB coming in at 19.47. Keith was followed by Michael Davies in 22.00 and Dan Green in 24.09 and securing a new shiny personal best was Dermot Carr in 25.07. Terry Sellen was next through in 26 minutes exactly closely followed by the first Strider lady Claire Green in 26.09. Celebrating his 50th parkrun with cakes was Graham Troman who finished in 27.08 followed by Don Dewar who completed his fastest parkrun since 2021 in 28.11. David Gadsby was next to finish in 28.32 followed by Amanda James, Catherine Wall and Josh Stephens in 30.31, 30.36 and 31.27 respectively closely followed by Rachel Forrester in 31.28. Sonette Schwartz and Sara Dewar were next through in 32.01 and 33.33 respectively. Finishing neck and neck were Siobhan Hagan and Lisa Gribbin in 34.06. Sharon Meadows was next through in 38.39 followed by Chris Kelly in 40.04. Danielle Moss was next in 40.25 and Hazel Forrester who was secretly celebrating her 150th parkrun in 40.26. Sharni Copham was this week’s tail-walker rounding everyone up in 1.11.55.
Ashford parkrun can’t go ahead without the volunteers and so please do contact them to offer your services in the various roles. Thank you to this week’s hi-viz hero’s Jason Caldwell, Sharni Copham, Siobhan Hagan, Katie Iggulden Exon, Simon Jackson, Danielle Moss, Sam Rivolta, Terry Sellen, Lee Standen, Hazel Turner, Jenny Watts, Joanna Whitehead, Lynette and Martin Whittingham.
Parkrum Tourism
Coldhams Common parkrun
Julie Foster was in Cambridge this weekend and took part in the Coldham’s Common parkrun completing it in 42 minutes.
Mile End Parkrun
Jamie Penfold was a sole Strider in Mile End and completed the parkrun in 24.35
Shorne Woods parkrun
Mark Niles took part in the Shorne Woods parkrun in an impressive 22.12
Folkestone Parkrun
Rachel Tomsett travelled down the M20 to complete the Folkestone parkrun in 38.19
Pensrose Parkrun
Darren Laker was in Cornwall this weekend and completed the Penrose parkrun in 27.09
Bedgebury Parkrun
Andrew Maund completed the Bedgebury parkrun in a fantastic 22.01
Ifield Mill Pond parkrun
Justin Burden, Justine Wearn and Nicki Crawley travelled to just outside of Crawley in West Sussex and completed the parkrun in 23.35, 32.15 and 51.48 respectively.
The Nice Work Summer 10k
Josh Stephens travelled to London on Sunday morning to complete the Nice Work Summer 10K in 58.42. The race took park in Regents Park right next to London Zoo.
The Mount Ephraim 10k
6 Striders ran the undulating course and 11 were supportive marshals. First to finish for the Striders was David Helme in 1.02.30, followed by Lee Standen in 1.03.13. Siobhan Hagan and Michelle Bryant were next through in 1.04.16 and 1.05.28 respectively. Martin Whittingham was next at 1.12.36 with Kirsty Theobald coming through in 1.28.53
Report by Danielle Moss.

Welcome to this week’s run report, the first one for August, brought to you on the same day as the big yellow ball in the sky made an appearance! Sadly, the same can’t be said for parkrun with the Sun proving to be a tad elusive, although Ashford was blessed, not only with about 30 mins of dryness and a bit of blue sky, but also the sounds, across the park, of a squid with cowbells! (Thank you for your support, Dermot!)
Ashford’s 425th Parkrun was looking gloomy and wet down at Victoria Park, but the rain paused just as the runners took to the start line and stayed away long enough for the majority of the runners to get round the course.
Of the 256 Parkrunners and walkers, we had 28 Striders out in the park representing the club. First Strider through the funnel was Jack Farrant, steaming through in 22:23 and earning himself a shiny new PB in the process! (Apparently, he gets his running talent from his mother!) Coming in next, at 23:06 was Dan Green and then Terry Sellen with a time of 25:02. Stephen Cleaver was next in at 25:37, Graham Troman at 26:32 and 7 seconds behind him was Darren Laker at 26:39. Siobhan Hagan was first lady Strider through, coming through the funnel with Keith Haynes, both in a time of 27:38. George Cromwell was the next Strider with a PB, coming in at 27:42, exactly a minute behind George and with a time of 28:42 was Dave Helme, then just 2 seconds later was Josh Stephens with 28:44. Mandy Cooper finished in 28:48, Tamsin Ritchie in 29:08 and Amanda James was the last sub 30 Strider coming in at 29:59. Jason Brice was next in; 30:01, John Latter at 31:01, Michelle Bryant at 32:08, Leigh Freeman at 32:09 and then, with a lovely PB of 32:29 was Michelle Brice! Sara Dewar came in at 33:05, a second quicker than Don Dewar, who recorded a time of 33:06. Dee Millen was next in at 33:41, Sharni Copham came through in 34:23, Martin Whittingham; 35:24, Justine Wearn at 35:34 and Nicola Crawley completed her first run back from injuries in 35:35! Claire Green was next in at 41:58 and last but by no means least was Adam Booth who was this week’s tail-walker and who completed the 5k in 1:12:36.
Thank you to all this week’s Parkrun Volunteers, Adam Booth, Peter Broom, Dermot Carr, Nicola Crawley, Lisa Fulcher, Simon Jackson, Richard Randle, Terry Sellen, Pauline Tallett and Lynnette Whittingham! Your time and help is very much appreciated!
Parkrun Tourism was in full swing this weekend with several striders braving the weather in locations far and wide!
Justin Burden ventured over to Highbury Fields Parkrun and completed their course in 23:20.
Canterbury Parkrun saw four striders taking on the course, those were Paul Baker; 26:43, Hazel Turner; 27:10, Lisa Gribbin; 31:43 and Rachel Misson; 31:58.
Danielle Moss practically swam around Horsham Parkrun on Saturday but did so in a great time of 41 minutes exactly.
Jennifer Watts travelled to the Netley Abbey parkrun and was soaked through before she started but didn’t let that stop her completing the course in 34:51.
Rachel Tomsett travelled over to Pegwell Bay and finished in 45:34.
Jamie Penfold went to wet, windy and freezing Lancing Green this week and finished his Parkrun in 24:08.
Mark Niles went to Gravesend for the Cyclopark Parkrun and finished in 22:21.
Finally, travelling overseas to the Isle of Wight for the brutally hilly Medina IOW Parkrun, were Jayne Hatton (31:30) and Sally Davidson-Daniel (31:57)
Well done to all you Parkrunners who braved the elements and ran, despite the challenges!

Rye Summer Series took place on Friday we had several Striders taking part and they had some great results.
Keith Haynes stormed the 10k, with an amazing and well deserved PB, coming in at 39:50! Justin Burden completed the 10k with a PB of 46:49, Dermot Carr also earned a PB with a 10k finish time of 52:51, Josh Stephens had a finish time of 1:01:49 and then, with another shiny new PB was Dee Millen. Dee completed the 10k in 1:08:25.
Finally, to round off the weekend, Richard Randle and Andrew Cornwell both took Part in the London Triathlon, completing the challenge in 3:04:17 and 3:56:14, well done to you all!
That brings to a close this week’s run report, the weather for the next week is looking favourable so hopefully next week we can get back to saying how it’s too warm rather than being drowned rats!
Have a lovely week.
Report by Sharon Gardner.

July is now drawing to a close and we have the last report of the month.
Ashford parkrun
Victoria Park looked a little different for Saturday’s parkrun with the opening of the new park, café and toilets. I know there were a few striders that tested out the new café at the end of the morning’s run/volunteering and I’ve heard the bacon baps are definitely worth a try (photo evidence provided).
Onto the running, Keith Haynes was the first Strider to cross the line in a very impressive time of 20.18 followed closely by Adam Booth in a time of 20.32. Mark Niles came through the tunnel in 22.17, next was Dan Green in 24.00 and Jamie Penfold in 24.45. Stephen Cleaver finished in 25.11 with Terry Sellen running home in 25.25. Claire Green was the first female Strider to complete the 5k route in 25.58. Well done all.
Richard Randle (26.36), Andy Found (27.29), Darren Laker (27.47), Josh Stephens (achieving a PB of 27.53), Scott Hawkins (28.23) and Don Dewar (29.00) completed the sub 30 Striders of the morning. Great running everyone.
Next coming across the line was Amanda James in 30.49, David Gadsby finished in 31.05, Catherine Wall in 31.08 and running in together were Lisa Fulcher and Michelle Brice who both ran in 32.58 and earning Michelle the 2nd Strider PB of the morning. Huge kudos to you all.
Doing it for the girls were Jennifer Watts (33.34), Michelle Bryant (33.48), Sally Davidson-Daniel (35.53), Sara Dewar (34.01), Nadine Lidbury (34.22) and Leigh Freeman (34.24), well done ladies. The Wearns running together finished just seconds apart with Justine Wearn (35.03) pipping hubby Jason Wearn to the post (35.05). Julie Foster completed the course in 40.56 and rounding up the Strider gang for the morning were Danielle Moss in 41.59 and Hazel Forrester in 42.00. Great going everyone.
Thank you to this weekend’s parkrun volunteers. Peter Broom, Jason Caldwell, Amanda Cooper, Holly Forrest, Lisa Fulcher, Sharon Gardener, Simon Jackson, Terry Sellen, Vicky Stevenson and Nicola Crawley.
Now we are into the school summer holidays, the volunteer roster is looking little sparse in places, if you’ve got a couple hours free on a Saturday morning in the coming weeks, please pop your name down to marshal, the parkrun team really appreciate it and I know the runners love the Strider support they receive.
parkrun Tourism
There was a little bit of parkrun Tourism on Saturday but the farthest afield award has to go to Andrew Maund who went all the way to Germany and completed the Schwanenteich parkrun in Giessen with an amazing time of 20.27.
Staying in Kent and remaining close to home was Julia Nicolson who completed Folkestone parkrun in 36.29. Then we had a bunch of Striders who went over to Swanley even doing a bit of publicity and appearing on the Swanley parkrun FB page (photo below). Justin Burden was the first Strider to complete the course in 23.14, followed by Dermot Carr in 25.31, Lee Standen in 30.01, Siobhan Hagan crossed the line in 31.52 and Martin Whittingham finished in 35.19. Finally showing you can also volunteer away from your home parkrun was Lynnette Whittingham who was the morning’s tail-walker with Lisa Gribbin as company completing in 1.02.46 and 1.02.47 respectively. Well done everyone.
East Peckham 10k.
We had Strider representation at one race over the weekend. Michael Davies and Jamie Bartlett both completed the East Peckham 10k in sub 1 hour finishing in fantastic times of 43.50 and 53.49 respectively. Great times guys!
Well done for another great weekend of running whether completing parkrun, races or the clubs long runs, it was a strange weekend of weather (it’s supposed to be Summer right!?) and as always Ashford Striders gave it their all.
Report by Kirsty Theobald.

This week I volunteered to set up Ashford Parkrun with Edwin. Bright and early (8am) I trundled down to the finish point to find Edwin already hard at work setting up for the event. Lugging the trolley of signs around I was able to take in the new sights of the refurbished park; unfortunately the café wasn’t opening until Sunday but I have to say it was all looking splendid ready for its grand opening. An hour later and the park was ready and waiting for Ashford’s 423 parkrun. As usual a good number of striders took part.
Keith Haynes 20:11
Adam Booth 20:30
Steven Cleaver 25:51
Darren Laker 26:37
Graham Troman 27:15
Josh Stephens 28:55
Catherine Wall 30:51
Adam Thomas 31:07
Rita Cooke 31:17
John Latter 31:39
Rachel Forrester 32:21
Delia Millen 32:50
Sarah Dewar 33:00
Rachel Theobald 33:15
Kevin York 33:16
Brian Forrester 34:08
Lisa Fulcher 34:40
Sharni Copham 35:25
Martin Whittingham 36:20
Amanda James 47:15
Justine Wearn 47:23
Lynette Whittingham 1:06:03
Danielle Moss 1:06:05

A big thank you to Strider volunteers at Ashford parkrun on Saturday; Jason Caldwell, Nicola Crawley, Simon Jackson, Danielle Moss, Julie Nicholson, Terry Sellen, Hazel Turner, Jennifer Watts. (Hope I’ve mentioned everyone) Well done everyone.

Parkrun touring this week;
Canterbury Parkrun
George Cromwell 29:42
Boston (UK not USA)
Peter Broom 30:56
Folkestone Parkrun
Dermot Carr 25:12 (PB)
Lee Standen 29:44
Siobhan Hagan 40:12
Michelle Bryant 40:15
Hackney Marshes Parkrun
Rachel Tomsett 29:48
Witney Parkrun
Mark Niles 23:07
Kingdom Parkrun
Justin Burden 24:00
Lisa Gribbin 33:28
Rachel Misson 34:01
The Leas Parkrun
Tamsin Ritchie 28:27
Amanda Cooper 28:40

Sunday Races
There were Strider representatives at two races on Sunday; Deal Dinosaur 10k (I know this is one of our chairman’s favourites)
Three Striders travelled down to Deal and took on the undulating course. Simon Pharoah came in at 50:26 and Dave and Hazel Winchester came across the finish line in 47:00 and 1:00 respectively. Well done all.

The more local Romney Marsh 10k was well represented by Ashford Striders with Lisa Gribbin putting in an impressive performance to earn herself a fantastic shiny PB of 58:57 – well deserved Lisa on what I hear was a flat but extremely windy course.
Another special mention to Michael Davis who came first in his age category with an eye watering time of 44:09. Amazing!
Other Strider finishing times;
Jack Farrant 49:09
Vicky Stevenson 58:44
Siobhan Hagan 1:00:19
Karen Edwards 1:02:22
Rita Cooke 1:03:37
Michelle Bryant 1:05:06
Dee Millen 1:11:01
Well done everyone, brilliant strong running in tricky conditions.
Have a great week of running everyone.
Report by Justine Wearn.

There was some quite changeable weather to contend with this weekend. In Ashford, the parkrun started off in the rain, but by the end of the event, the sun was coming out and it was warming up.
Andrew Maund was first for the club and 14th overall, finishing in 21:12. Justin Burden came in at 22:57, just ahead of Mark Niles in 23:00. Next we had Jamie Penfold, 24:40, Terry Sellen, 25:14, Darren Laker, 26:51 and Graham Troman, 28:10. Josh Stephens ran a new Ashford parkrun PB with 28:34, then Don Dewar, 28:50, Vicky Stevenson was first Strider lady with 29:10, closely followed by Andy Found, 29:17. Jason Brice completed his 50th parkrun in 29:26, Peter Broom, 31:08, Leigh Freeman, 31:51, Aimee Donohue, 32:17, Michelle Brice with an Ashford parkrun PB of 32:45, David Gadsby, 33:08, Simon Pharoah, 33:10, Michelle Bryant, 33:23, Delia Millen, 33:44, Jennifer Watts, 34:03, Sara Dewar, 34:56 and Paul Dunning, 39:04. Walking the course together were Siobhan Hagan, 1:03:24, Rachel Misson, 1:03:30, Lisa Gribbin, 1:03:32 and Lynnette Whittingham, 1:03:35. Julie Nicholson who was tail walker, finished in 1:11:18.
Our volunteers this week were: Hazel Turner, Jason Caldwell, Julie Foster, Julie Nicholson, Justin Burden, Kevan Strand, Lisa Fulcher, Simon Jackson and Terry Sellen. Many thanks to you all, the parkrun can’t happen without its volunteers!
Several of our serial parkrun tourists were out and about again, including three who visited the off-road course at Orpington. Justine Wearn finished in 30:34, Jason Wearn was next with 30:43 and Nicola Crawley finished in 34:39.
Staying in Kent, Rachel Tomsett completed Great Lines parkrun in Medway in 29:57. Lee Standen finished the challenging trail run at Kingdom parkrun near Penshurst in 33:40. At Mote Park parkrun were George Cromwell with 31:06, and Vicky Shrubsole and Lucie Shrubsole who both finished in 34:31.
Furthest travelled this week was Jo Mason, who went to Brighton’s Preston Park parkrun and finished this popular event in 27:48. Well done to all the parkrunners!
Onto the weekend’s races. On Saturday we had a brand new event, the Wye King Challenge. This multi terrain event had an unusual start time of 2pm and involved a steep climb to the top of the Downs in the 10k race and two long, steep climbs for those taking on the half marathon. Thankfully it wasn’t as hot as it could have been on a July afternoon but it was very windy!
The Strider gents all opted for the 10k distance. Dave Winchester finished in 52.54 and Simon Pharaoh in 1:00:03. Meanwhile, the ladies showed them how it was done by taking on the half marathon. Siobhan Hagan finished in 2:49:02 and Lisa Fulcher in 3:06:12. Well done everyone, some good finishing times for a difficult race.
On Sunday we had representation in two races. The Mid Kent 5 miler takes place in the quiet lanes around Staplehurst and has good PB potential. Keith Haynes was first Strider in 32:01 then George Cromwell, 47:13, Adam Thomas, 51:48, Kay Hunt, 51:49, and Lucie Shrubsole and Vicky Shrubsole both finishing in 53:11. Well done to you all but a particular well done to George, Keith and Vicky for running new personal best times!
Sunday’s second race was the Les Golding Memorial 10k in Herne Bay, another flat race with PB potential. Indeed that is what chairman Andy Found proved by running a PB of 54:26, followed by Gayle Bailey finishing in 1:04:14 and Rebecca James with 1:07:09. Well done everyone!
Report by Lisa Fulcher.

I hope you are all fit and well after the Summer Social. Fair play to all those that got up and ran this morning with or without a hangover.
This weekends action started on Friday with a few Striders visiting Rye for the Summer 10K series. Justin Burden led the way with a 52:54 finish followed by Richard Randle in 55:51. Dermot Carr was next through in 57:53 then Dee Millen with 1:10:30. Well done to you all !
Saturday saw Simon Pharoah take on the Whitstable/Herne Bay 10K and despite a few technical hitches along the way still managed a respectable 1:00:33 finish. Well done Simon !
Justin Burden was in action again on Sunday. This time he tackled the Asics 10K in London and a superb 49:18 finish rounded off a great weekend of running for him.
Sunday also saw a more local event as Woodchurch staged its annual 5 & 10 mile races. Steve Greatorex had the race of his life as he completed the tough, hilly 10 mile route in an astonishing time of 1:19:41 to bag himself a new 10 mile PB. An outstanding performance Steve, well done . Nigel Hills was first through in the 5 mile race with an impressive 41:48 followed by Karen Edwards in 51:39 and Holly Forrest in 1:05:55. Lisa Fulcher also took part as the tail runner but due to the ten milers overtaking the last of the 5 milers she didn’t have to complete the course and finished in style in the Nice Work van. Well done guys !!
Parkrun was busy as usual on Saturday but stifling heat and humidity obviously slowed everyone down a tad and PBs were hard to come by. At Ashford Keith Haynes took his usual pole position with 20:01 followed by Jason Caldwell with 20:55 and Adam Booth in 21:22. Cherith Wright put in the performance of the day to take the first Strider lady place and a new PB with a very creditable 23:40 finish, congratulations Cherith, group 1 awaits you on Thursday. Terry Sellen was next through in 25:45 followed by Vicky Stevenson in 29:06. Andy Found came through in 29:07 just ahead of Scott Hawkins who completed the sub 30 line up in 29:50. Mandy Cooper was bang on the 30 min mark with David Gadsby next in 30:39. Catherine Wall and Amanda James were the next two Striders with 30:59 and 31:01 respectively followed by Jason Brice and Rita Cooke with 31:36 and 32:40. Peter Broom recorded a 32:50 time less than a minute ahead of Rachel Forrester in 33:47. Michelle Brice celebrated her London Ballot success with a time of 33:48 just ahead of Martin Whittingham in 35:05. Rachel Oliver got round in 35:19 followed by Don Dewar and Brian Forrester in 35:45 and 36:48. Lisa Fulcher finished in 37:38 closely followed by Jennifer Watts with 37:41. Hazel Forrester and Julie Foster completed the Strider lineup with times of 42:22 and 54:26 respectively.
Strider Volunteers at Ashford this week who always deserve our thanks were Jason Caldwell, Julie Foster, Lee Standen and Kevan Strand.
Parkrun Tourists were out and about once again this weekend with Tamsin Ritchie completing the Canterbury course in 30:51. Great Lines in Medway welcomed Mark Niles who went round that in 25:56 while Kate Stroud took on the Folkestone course and completed in 26:51. Leigh Freeman travelled to Malling and recorded a 37:23 time whilst Nicola Crawley and Justine Wearn chose Uckfield with Justine completing in 33:31 and Nicola going round as Tail Walker in 54:18. Squerries Winery saw the biggest influx of Striders and Justin Burden was the first of them in 24:34 followed by Hazel Turner in 25:51. Siobhan Hagan and Dermot Carr were next through with 30:35 and 31:34 respectively followed by Lisa Gribbin in 32:20. Two more lucky London ballot place winners Rachel Tomsett and Michelle Bryant completed the Strider field with 34:32 and 38:19.
Well done to everyone who ran, volunteered or supported this weekend and I hope you all have a great week.
Report by Andy Found.

Ashford parkrun
As we entered July, the circus was in town and the clowns would have been awoken from their slumber with the footsteps of the 234 runners, joggers and walkers that took part in Victoria Park. As usual the super Striders were representing in good numbers with 3 celebrating milestones. Well done to Jamie Penfold on his 25th and Lisa Gribbin and Michelle Bryant for reaching 50 parkruns.
Keith Haynes was the first of the Striders to finish in 19.46, just 2 seconds shy of his PB, closely followed by Adam Booth 20.24 and Jason Caldwell 20.52. Cherith Wright was the first Strider lady through and bagged herself a shiny PB in 23.55. Hot on her heels was Jamie Penfold 24.35 and Terry Sellen 25.48 followed by Graham Troman 27.48 and Mark Niles 28.02. Dave Helme completed the course in 29 minutes dead, followed by Amanda Cooper 29.10, Justine Wearn 30.13, Rita Cooke 30.18 and Amanda James 31.00. Lisa Gribbin was next through in 31.18 closely followed by Martin Whittingham 31.24, Rachel Misson 31.25, Dee Millen 32.32, Leigh Freeman 33.21 and Michelle Bryant 35.56 and Holly Forrest 37.20. Danielle Moss park-walked in 49.08 and Julie Foster completed the Strider line up as tail-walker in 57.38.
Huge thank you to the volunteers – Dermot Carr, Sharni Copham, Don Dewar, Julie Foster, Terry Sellen, Kevan Strand and Rachel Tomsett.

Parkrun Tourism
Striders managed to cover the North, South, East and West of the country with their parkrun tourism this week.
Whitstable parkrun
Paul Baker and Tamsin Ritchie followed the Bacon Butty Brigade to Whitstable and finished in 25.38 and 30.15 respectively.
Chippenham parkrun
Brian Marsh travelled outside of Kent to Wiltshire and completed the Chippenham parkrun in 24.49.
Riverside parkrun
The furthest tourist this week was Simon Pharoah who travelled to County Durham and took part in the Riverside parkrun in 25.53 as a warmup to the Great North 10K.
Chelmsford parkrun
Siobhan Hagan travelled East to Essex and completed the Chelmsford Central parkrun in 28.27.
Pontypridd parkrun
Going in the opposite direction to Wales, Hazel Turner completed the Pontypridd parkrun in 25.03.
Folkestone parkrun
Nicola Crawley and her sling tailwalked at Folkestone parkrun, 53.01.
Malling parkrun
Sonette Schwartz made the journey up the M20 to complete Malling parkrun in 31.31
Uckfield parkrun
Getting the letter U for the parkrun alphabet, Justin Burden completed Uckfield parkrun in 24.24.

Great North 10k
Simon Pharoah completed the AJ Bell Great North 10K in 48.21 which is a 10K PB for him. The route had to be rerouted at short notice to ensure that it could go ahead due to a motorway closure caused by a fire!

Cliffe Woods 5 mile
Michael Davies and Jamie Bartlett, who achieved a personal best, travelled to the Hoo Peninsula to take part in the Cliffe Woods 5 miler. They completed the course in a fantastic 35.15 and 43.03 respectively.
Report by Danielle Moss.

Good evening fellow Striders, I hope that you are all well and enjoying the beautiful weather on this, the last Sunday of June; where did that time go?
We’ve once again had a week full of maximum effort and amazing achievements and I will begin the recap with, of course, Ashford Parkrun.
It was a hot Saturday Morning and Ashford saw 210 attendees at the weekly gathering with over ten percent of those being Striders! First to cross the line for Team Striders, and in 6th place overall, was Keith Haynes, coming in at an amazing 19:59, Justin Burden was next in at 23:28, Jason Wearn finished in 24:09, Brian Marsh; 24:17, and Terry Sellen 24:48. Now, you may have read something somewhere about Parkrun record being broken by a Team GB Olympic Runner, Andy something or other? Well anyway, that’s not important. OUR Andy gained a new PB at Ashford Parkrun yesterday. He was, and I quote, ‘Blowing by 4k but held on for dear life at the end’! Andy Found, new PB; 25:31! Next through the funnel and first lady strider was Hazel Turner; 25:44, Simon Pharoah was just behind at 25:58. Graham Troman finished in 27:26, Jason Brice; 28:04, and then Gayle Bailey was the last of our sub 30’s finishing in 28:13. Sonette Schwartz was next in at 30:18, then Rita Cooke; 30:35, Amanda James; 30:47, Aimee Donohue; 31:17, Catherine Wall; 31:28, Martin Whittingham; 31:48 and then Peter Broom at 33:30. Dee Millen completed her Parkrun in 33:44, Rebecca Somerford; 34:03, Rachel Misson; 34:07, Jennifer Watts; 34:33, Lisa Gribbin; 36:16 and then Birthday Girl, Siobhan Hagan came in at 36:17. Michelle Bryant completed her 49th Parkrun in 36:18, Dermot Carr was 36:20 and then we have the lovely Dani Moss finishing things up with 44:28!
Volunteers this week included Jason Caldwell, Terry Sellen, Lee Standen, Kevan Strand, Pauline Tallett and Lynnette Whittingham, thank you all so much for giving up your time so everyone else can run. As always, if you can volunteer, please do, it’s so good supporting your fellow runners and is really rewarding!
There was a fair bit of Parkrun Tourism this week, starting with Canterbury Parkrun where 89 runners and walkers took part. We had three members representing the club and first to finish for Striders was Paul Baker in at 27:30, Tamsin Ritchie was next at 29:53 and Jamie Bartlett finished in a time of 30:34.
Mark Niles was solo Strider at Pegwell Bay, and he finished the course in 29:53.
Rachel Tomsett ran the Lullingstone Parkrun in 37:33.
Further afield, over at Jersey Farm Parkrun in St Albans, were Justine Wearn and Nicola Crawley. Justine completed the course in 31:52 and Nic, who volunteered as a broken collar-boned, one-armed Tail-walker, completed it in 1:03:47.
Lisa Fulcher ventured over to Mote Park for their Parkrun and completed it in 38:27.
Finally, and furthest travelled, was Leigh Freeman who was in Holyrood, Edinburgh and finished the mountainous Parkrun there in a time of 33:48. Well done all of you.

On Sunday, Jason Kennedy took on the 18th Midsummer Munro Half Marathon which, I am reliably informed, is Britain’s Toughest Half Marathon. With elevation gains/losses of 3000 feet, it’s not for the faint hearted! Jason completed the half in 2:41:17, well done.
Today also saw three of our members running the North Downs Run. Hazel Turner, Lisa Gribbin and Siobhan Hagan braved the Brutal 30km in 30 degree heat and conquered it in times of 3:51:49; 4:14:49; and 4:14:51 respectively, well done ladies.
A special mention goes to Rick Newman who took part in the Metro Blind Sport Games in Mile End Stadium yesterday. Rick competed in the 100m, 800m, Javelin and Shot Put, achieving a Bronze and a Gold for the latter events. Fabulous Rick, well done!
Finally, I feel a very special mention should go to the Oceans 23 Team that includes a couple of our very own Striders. Richard Randle and Andrew Cornwell were part of the relay team swimming across the channel to raise money for British Heart Foundation. Training for this has been ongoing for a couple of years and consisted of Sea Swims in freezing cold waters in the middle of winter…Brrr! The 21 miles was completed yesterday in 15:54:00. This is an amazing achievement, and you should be so proud of yourselves!
Well, that’s all for this week, well done to all who went out and clocked up some steps, whether official events or not, you’re all superstars! Have a brilliant week.
Report by Sharon Gardner.

It’s certainly summer now with typically British warm and sticky weather over weekend, ending with a bit of cooling rain. Unusually, this week’s report starts with a Wednesday evening race. Pauline Tallett was on the Cornish coast and took on the Bude Lifeboat 10k, finishing in 1:03:13. Well done Pauline!
Onto Saturday and plenty of Striders were sweating it out around Ashford parkrun, not surprisingly there were no personal bests this week! Keith Haynes was first Strider and 10th overall with 20:25, Jason Kennedy, 25:34, Dave Winchester, 25:36, Darren Laker, 26:52, Graham Troman, 26:55 and first lady Strider Vicky Stevenson with 28:02. Pauline Tallett, back from her trip to Cornwall, finished in 28:18, Don Dewar, 29:23, David Gadsby, 29:31, Amanda James, 30:25, Sharon Gardner, 31:11, Peter Broom, 31:38, Jennifer Watts, 33:37, Victoria Shrubsole who was running her 50th parkrun and finished in 33:49, Lisa Fulcher, 33:51, Lucie Shrubsole, 33:51, Rachel Theobald, 34:05, Kevin York, 34:06, Delia Millen, 34:35, Ash Robinson, 37:06, Sharni Copham, 38:10, Hazel Forrester, 41:58, Nadine Golding, 56:19 and Nicola Crawley, 56:20. Bringing up the rear were this week’s volunteer tail walkers Terry Sellen and Rick Newman.
The other Strider volunteers at Ashford were Andrew Maund, Jason Caldwell, Jason Sanders and Kevan Strand, thank you all for volunteering!
Mark Niles headed to Mote Park parkrun in Maidstone this week and finished in 24:27. Further away but still in Kent, Jason and Justine Wearn went to Squerries Winery parkrun for a challenging trail run, finishing in 32:44 and 32:47 respectively.
A small tourist group went to Mile End parkrun in London, they were: Justin Burden, 23:45, Dermot Carr, 26:49, Siobhan Hagan, 27:44 and Lee Standen, 32:07. Further away still were Daniel and Sonette Schwartz who visited the countryside near Oxford at Abingdon parkrun, finishing in 26:51 and 31:09 respectively. Finally, all the way up in Aberdeen parkrun was Catherine Wall who ran the seafront course in her best overall parkrun time of 30:08.
There were some seriously impressive challenges completed by Ashford Striders members on Saturday, made even more challenging by the hot and humid conditions. Firstly a crazy bunch took on the Dirty Rotten Scramble 10k trail obstacle course at Hole Park. They took on challenges such as wading through water, swims and climbs, working as a team to get round. The results are: Paul Baker 1:56:56, Tamsin Ritchie 1:56:59, David Helme 2:25:00, Adam Thomas 2:25:17, Jack Farrant 2:25:18, Kay Hunt 2:25:19, Richard Coles and Tammy Brooks both with 2:25:20 and Chloe Darling (time TBC). Well done all of you!
Amanda Cooper was in Dorset and completed the Giant’s Head Marathon. This is a tough, hilly trail race with good views of the Cerne Abbas Giant hill figure. Her time was 7:17:23, very well done Mandy!
Lorna Cheshire ran the Clifftop Challenge along the South Kent coast, completing the 15 mile distance in 2:44:32 – well done!
Two of our awesome ultrarunners took on Race to the King, a challenging trail race over the South Downs from Goodwood. Lisa Gribbin and Rachel Misson ran the 50km run together and finished in 8:39:00, fabulous running ladies!
Lastly, the sole Strider racing on Sunday this week was Adrian Green, who ran the Sackett 10k by the coast in Thanet. He did extremely well, winning the V60 Male category in 43:18. Awesome run Adrian!
Congratulations to every who managed a run/bike ride etc this weekend!
Report by Lisa Fulcher.