Ashford Striders

Well. THAT was a busy one wasn’t it! I was considering just summarising and writing, loads of us ran and did incredibly well. Once running the weather was fine and actually perfect for us. The end!

But, I guess you all want to know the details! So here goes…
Saturday as we all know is Parkrun day and as is customary, we shall start at home in Ashford’s Victoria Park where Andrew Maund was leader of the Striders pack, striding home in a fabulous 20:26! Adam Booth was next in at 21:10 then Jamie Penfold, breaking in his new Striders shirt, followed in an impressive time of 24:52. Not far behind we had David Gadsby at 27:30 and then Don Dewar at 30:06. First home for lady-Striders was Aimee Donohue at 30:22 and just a second later was Hazel Turner with a time of 30:23! Then we have the lovely Rita Cooke who bagged herself a wonderful PB of 31:14, well done Rita, thoroughly well deserved! (Andy tried to take credit for this but we all know who really deserves the credit!) Anyway, I digress, a mere 2 seconds behind Rita at 31:16 was Rachel Forrester, then Kevan Strand, 32:39; Peter Broom, 32:45; Lisa Fulcher, 32:47; Delia Millen finished in 33:24, then Hazel and Brian Forrester a second behind with 33:25! Amanda Cooper was next with a time of 33:27, Vicky Shrubsole bagged another parkrun towards her 50 before 50 goal and did so in a time of 33:43! Siobhan Hagan completed the 5k in 35:36, Lisa Gribbin in 35:38; Rachel Misson in 35:39 and then neck and neck at 35:40 were Michelle Bryant and Sara Dewar. Leigh Freeman finished in 35:45, Julie Foster 43:25 and finally, the lovely Dani Moss rounded it all off and came in at 57:35!
Massive thanks to Parkrun Volunteers; Jason Caldwell, Dermot Carr, Sharni Copham, Lisa Fulcher, Katie Iggulden Exon, Richard Randle and Lee Standen, as always, if you can volunteer, please do. It’s a lovely thing to do and hundreds of fellow runners will be extremely grateful, as will Parkrun organisers! Thank you!

Parkrun Tourism
We had Striders all over the place! Rachel Tomsett was in Eastbourne and completed their course in 50:47. Nicola Crawley travelled to Margate and did their 5k course in 27:54. Malling was graced with the presence of Justin Burden who crossed the finish in 25:09. Justine and Jason Wearn were at Minster Parkrun and finished in times of 32:01 and 32:06 respectively, and finally, this week’s most travelled Strider was Sally Davidson-Daniel who completed Trentham Garden’s tough course in a wonderful sub 30 time of 29:36!
Ok, Parkrun done, are you all still paying attention?

Sunday Runday! We had races galore and will start furthest away at Southampton Marathon where Claire Green completed the 26 miles in an excellent time of 4:20:33, well done Claire!
Back over this way to Brighton where there was a choice of 10k or Marathon distances to run, we shall start with the 10k-ers! Keith Haynes flew the distance in 42:35, next in was Jason Sanders with 51:13 followed closely by Tamsin Ritchie who had a PB at 51:49! Nicola Crawley was next in at 52:57, Vicky Stevenson at 54:38, Tammy Brooks at 55:14 and then Dermot Carr got a 10k PB with a time of 56:16! Next back was Ian Watson with a time of 56:53, Jo Mason 1:00:19 and just behind was Jayne Hatton at 1:00:57. Michelle Bryant was next with 1:01:21, Nadine Golding with a time of 1:01:50 and finally Justine Wearn crossed the line in 1:02:20.
Brighton Marathon We had 14 runners at the event and lots of PB’s. First Strider over the line was Jason Caldwell with a time of 3:45:44, Jason Wearn was not far behind and completed in 3:52:01, then Kevan Strand at 3:56:08. Next was Rob Wood with the first Brighton Marathon PB, 4:04:02, Paul Dunning, with a PB of 4:12:49, Richard Randle with a PB of 4:29:18 and Jason Kennedy with a PB of 4:36:07! Next up was Andy Found finishing the course in 4:42:02. Just behind Andy and first for the females was Mandy Cooper with a lovely number of 4:43:00! We then have another flurry of PB’s starting with Kay Hunt, who crossed the line with Adam Thomas both with the exact same (PB) time of 4:43:11! Chloe Darling was next in at 4:47, Gayle Bailey finished in 4:48:58 (PB), Siobhan completed her first marathon and did so in an impressive time of 4:54:14 (PB). Lisa Gribbin was next in at 4:58:42 (PB), Rachel Misson at 5:09:24(PB), Dave Helme finished in 5:16:50 and last but definitely not least was Darren Laker who completed the 26 miles in 5:17:06 (PB) Massive well done to you all, this is a huge achievement!
Finally to round off the weekend was London Landmarks Half Marathon, as with Brighton, it was freezing to start but perfect for running and there was even a bit of beautiful blue sky and sunshine! Nigel Hills was the first Strider to finish this half and he did so in a time of 2:01:59, next was Stephen Cleaver, 2:04:24, and then Leanne Clarke got a shiny new PB with a time of 2:17:37! Sharon Gardner (feels weird writing in the third person) got a PB with 2:18:07, Lucie Shrubsole was next to finish with a time of 2:20:07, Scott Hawkins also managed a PB and a time of 2:26:39. Melissa Bowles was next over 2:40:33, Vicky Shrubsole and Caroline Miller crossed the finish line togevva in 2:41:02, Mike Mason, 2:47:24; Gemma Coulstock, 2:47:36; Kirsty Theobald; 2:54:09 and Dani Moss rounded off the race with a time of 3:26:33!
Phew! I left the report as late as possible but if I’ve missed anyone, please message me.
As always, massive thanks to all the runners for giving me something to write about but mostly, a huge thanks to the Striders supporters who just make running a race that little bit more bearable. As has been said by many people before, this club is great! The help, encouragement and support from everyone, for everyone, is second to none. So many of us wouldn’t attempt these races without the club behind us, giving us these crazy ideas!
Have a wonderful week everyone
Report by Sharon Gardner

As is traditional, we start with Ashford parkrun where we had our usual good turnout from club members. The weather was much improved on last week, dry with sunny spells and not too chilly. Adam Booth finished first Strider with 21:00, followed by Justin Burden 23:50, Jason Sanders 26:03 and Graham Troman 26:05. Amanda Cooper completed an unofficial milestone of 150 parkruns, finishing in 28:01. Next was David Gadsby 28:10, then Pauline Tallett 28:35, Catherine Wall 30:57, Justine Wearn 31:08, Martin Whittingham 31:30, Siobhan Hagan 31:31, Lisa Gribbin 31:33, Rachel Tomsett 31:35, Rachel Misson 31:36, Kevan Strand 32:26, Rita Cooke 32:37, Victoria Shrubsole 33:25. Michelle Brice was this week’s only Strider with a parkrun PB, finishing in 33:27. Delia Millen came in with 34:24, then Danielle Moss 41:39 and Dave Winchester 01:17:16
Volunteering at Ashford this week were Dave Warner, Jennifer Watts, Mark Niles, Richard Randle, Sharni Copham, Simon Jackson and Terry Sellen. Many thanks all of you!
Two Striders went to other Kent parkruns. Lee Standen completed Maidstone parkrun in 59:12 and Sally Davidson-Daniel made her second trip to Tonbridge parkrun, finishing in 48:29
Tamsin Ritchie was holidaying in the Cotswolds and chose Stratford Park in Stroud for this week’s parkrun fix. The weather there was sunny and warm and Tamsin ran the hilly and muddy course in 29:47 Also travelling westwards was Lucie Shrubsole who went to Henstridge Airfield parkrun in Somerset and finished in 30:58
Top tourist prize this weekend goes to Nicola Crawley who went to The Hague in the Netherlands to grab a Z for the unofficial parkrun alphabet challenge. Zuiderpark parkrun seems to attract a fair number of British visitors. Nicola ran this flat course in 27:00

Sunday racing
The clocks went forward on Sunday morning, it must be spring! Unfortunately the weather had other ideas, so our large contingent of racers had to put up with getting up an hour earlier for their races, AND getting soaked. But Striders are not put off by such inconveniences and went out and raced in style.
Smugglers 10k and 5k. Up on the wet and windswept North Kent coast, this pirate-themed race takes place on the flat path between Minnis Bay and Reculver. Our runners enjoyed having their photos taken with pirates and parrots, and the race was started with the firing of a cannon!
Richard Randle was the first Strider running the 10k and earned himself a PB of 0:52:38. First lady Strider Kay Hunt ran a PB of 0:54:48, and Adam Thomas also finished in 0:54:48. Dermot Carr was the next Strider to finish with a PB of 0:57:23, then another PB came from Dee Millen in 1:10:10. Next was Rachel Forrester 1:12:30, Hazel Forrester (unofficially with the best costume of the weekend) 1:14:44, Kirsty Theobald 1:16:12, Brian Forrester 1:17:38 and Danielle Moss 1:26:26. Vicky Shrubsole chose the 5k distance and finished in 32:48
Whitstable and Herne Bay Spring Half Marathon
Along the coast a little, two other Striders also had a successful weekend as both of them gained new half marathon personal bests. Jamie Bartlett’s time was 2:01:43 and Martin Whittingham finished in 2:19:09. Well done also to Lynette Whittingham who volunteered handing out finishers medals.
Hampton Court Half Marathon
Sunday’s furthest travelled racers were also running alongside the water, but this time it was the river Thames. Conditions were more challenging at this race as the recent rain meant that large parts of the course consisted of churned up mud and huge puddles Despite this, two Striders managed to earn themselves new half marathon PBs!
Mark Niles flew round the course in 1:50:18, Siobhan Hagan was next with a PB of 2:13:15, followed by Lisa Gribbin in 2:19:02, Becky Somerford 2:20:40 and Jo Mason 2:20:42. Jayne Hatton was the second strider to PB at this race with 2:20:43 and Rachel Misson finished in 2:27:33.
Well done everyone, it’s great to see so many personal bests this weekend and lots of smiley faces despite the rain and other tricky conditions. I hope everyone is warm and dry now and putting their feet up.
Report by Lisa Fulcher.

I could feel it in my fingers, I could feel it in my toes, as I got out of the car at Ashford Parkrun this week. It was Wet, Wet, Wet. Did this stop an impressive turn out of Ashford Striders I hear you ask? Absolutely, not!
First across the line was Keith Haynes, 20:14 with Andrew Maund just seconds behind in 20:22 and Adam Booth in bronze position with a time of 21:16. Terry Sellen, Hazel Turner and Ian McCutcheon recorded times of 23:51, 25:28 and 25:59 respectively. Next came Richard Randle, 27:10, David Gadsby 28:46 and Jason Sanders in 28:57. Darren Laker and Richard Coles came across the line sub 30 in 29:26 and 29:50. Justine Wearn came home huffing and puffing in 31:32 showing her husband how it’s done, as Jason Wearn lagged behind in 31:39.
Jayne Hatton, Amanda James and Peter Broom splished and splashed their way across the line in 32:18, 32:52 and 33:05 respectively. The Forrester family put in an impressive joint effort; Brian 33:24, Rachel, 33:26 and Hazel 33:29. A flurry of Striders were next to finish; Delia Millen 33:34, Siobhan Hagan 33:35 and Rachel Misson, Sally Davidson-Daniel sharing a time of 33:37 and Rachel Oliver 33:58. Rita Cooke and Michelle Bryant finished close together in 34:20, 34:41 respectively and to round up this weeks Ashford Park Run running participants were Jennifer Watts 36:14, Sharon Gardner 36:42 and Victoria Shrubsole 36:55. Well done one and all.
As always we had Striders volunteering this week and so thanks goes to Dermott Carr, Sharni Copham, Lisa Fulcher, Simon Jackson, Kevan Strand Dave Warner and Julie Nicholson.

On their travels this week were; Tamsin Richie, who once again graced Canterbury with her presence and came home in 28:33.
Martin Whittingham continued his impressive form and completed Malling Park run in 30:02. In search of more ‘parkrun bingo’ accolades were parkrun bingo nerds, Justin Burden and (you’ve guessed it) Nicola Crawley, they travelled to Bethlem Royal Hospital park run, which was compared to ‘old school’ cross country with lots of mud and lots of fun. Justin recorded 27:24 and Nicola 27:28, impressive times for muddy conditions!
Sunday
There were a few Strider representatives at Canterbury Riverside 10k with some impressive times being recorded. Richard Randle was first strider across the line in 53:12. Jason Sanders and Lorna Cheshire came in next; 57:44 and 58:50 both personal bests for them, well done!
Did Catherine Wall and Michelle Bryant run together? Their times were 1:03:41 and 1:03:42 respectively with Catherine bagging herself a shiny new PB, whoop and well done. To round off the Striders was Dee Millen who continues to go from strength to strength with her running finishing in 1:11:10. Well done everyone.

And finally, on this Mothering Sunday, a quick shout out to ALL of you awesome Strider women who continue to show up everyday to this crazy thing called life. We are all smashing it, even if it doesn’t seem like it sometimes.

Report by Justine Wearn

parkrun
This weekend there was no Ashford parkrun for Striders to grace their presence at so it meant a bit of tourism happened and we saw Striders here there and everywhere. I feel a little like this is a Where’s Wally, Where’s a Strider kind of run report this week!
Folkestone parkrun
Staying the closest to home were four striders who travelled a couple of junctions down the M20 to Folkestone parkrun taking on the flattish route along The Leas. Tamsin Ritchie was first home in a time of 27:14, followed by Mark Archer in 30:28, Lee Standen in 31:24 and completing the pack was Clare Maxlow in 33:49.
Bedgebury parkrun
Dee Millen, Richard Randle and Dermot Carr decided to take a trip to the forest Saturday morning – and what may you find in the forest, the Gruffelo! The 5k route is very hilly in places but the three of them completed the course in 28:00 (Dermot) , 28:08 (Richard) and 35.27 (Dee).
Maidstone parkrun
Going the other way up the M20 was Andrew Maund who travelled to Maidstone parkrun and finished the 5k course in an impressive 20:41.
Mote Park parkrun
Just across town to Andrew was Graham Troman who completed the picturesque 5k route round Mote Park with a PB in 25:52. Beautiful on a Winters morning.
Sittingbourne parkrun
Rachel Tomsett decided to travel to Sittingbourne parkrun which follows a route around Milton Creek Country Park and finished the course in 31:31. For those that are interested in visiting Sittingbourne parkrun there’s a Greggs right next to the park for end of run pastry goodness.
Tonbridge parkrun
Flying the Strider flag at Tonbridge parkrun Saturday morning was Sally Davidson-Daniel, crossing the finish line in 30:49.
Dartford Heath parkrun
Carrying on the Kent parkrun theme was Nicola Crawley, Justine Wearn and Andy Found who went along to Dartford Heath parkrun. The trio went round the woodland trail paths in 27.07, 32:53 and 33:34 respectively.
Pegwell Bay parkrun
Running on a mixture of gravel paths and offroad at Pegwell Bay Country Park, Victoria Shrubsole and Lucie Shrubsole found themselves crossing the finish line at exactly the same time of 38:02.
Southwark parkrun
Now we’ve moved out of Kent into the Capital and three striders took the train to Southwark parkrun. Justin Burden completed the 5k in 24:18, Siobhan Hagan crossed the line in 27:09 and Michelle Braynt finished in 30:13.
Worthing parkrun
Taking the Strider red to West Sussex was Danielle Moss, who got a refreshing start to the day at a cold Worthing parkrun finishing in 40:17.
Well done all for getting up that little bit earlier on a Saturday morning to still get your parkrun fix in. We had Strider presence at two races this weekend.

Brett Lydd Half Marathon and 20 Miler
Always a tough race due to the weather conditions that seems to come with the Lydd Half and Lydd 20mile, but we had a great bunch of Striders attend running and supporting doing us proud. The sun even came out to play at one point which not so sure that’s happened at the Lydd races before!
First for the half marathoners we had Simon Richter who finished in 2hrs 01min 14secs followed by Rachel Phillips who crossed the line with another Strider on board – Rachel and Bump finished in 2hrs 10mins 14secs. Emma Matthews who completed her first half marathon at Lydd (what a half to choose) finished in 2hrs 47mins 06secs.
Next the crazy lot who chose to endure the windy conditions of Lydd for a little longer were the 20milers. Jason Caldwell brought the 20milers home first in a time of 2hrs 37mins 35secs followed in by Kevan Strand who also kept it under the 3hr mark finishing in a time of 2hrs 48mins 45secs. Jason Kennedy finished the flat but gruelling route in 3hrs 14mins 22secs (PB), Gayle Bailey also got a PB and crossed the line in 3hrs 29mins 06secs, chairman Andy Found ended the race in 3hrs 31mins 57secs and finishing the Strider pack was Darren Laker who crossed the line in a PB of 3hrs 43mins 55secs.
A big well done guys, a tough run on the race calendar but you got it done!
Paddock Wood Half
Four striders took to the undulating Paddock Wood Half Marathon to get their well earned medal at the end.
Keith Haynes was the first Strider back in a time of 1hr 31mins 01secs (PB), followed by Richard Randle who got his fastest ever half in a time of 1hr 53mins 41secs, Dermott Carr got a PB and crossed the line in 2hrs 10mins 40secs and finally Ian Watson ended the Strider red in 2hrs 18mins.
Go Team Red for another fab weekend of running with only 3 weeks left until Brighton Marathon and London Landmarks Half, we also had some brilliant club LSR in double digits as well as some using the official races as training. Taper starts soon guys…keep it going!
Report by Kirsty Theobald.

Another great week of Strider running with parkrun’s, marathon and half marathon training runs and a few races. A reminder that Ashford parkrun is not taking place next week (Sat 11th March) so start deciding now on an alternative. Also, another cancellation for your diary will be due to the King’s Coronation, so there will be no parkrun on 6th May.
If you are free on the 16th April, we are on the lookout for marshals for the Kent Spring Marathon, so please get in touch if you would like to be involved.
Ashford parkrun
As usual a great strider parkrun turnout this week and first back on home soil was Keith Haynes who sped round in 20.05, closely followed by Andrew Maund who clocked up a PB in 20.12. Adam Booth was next through in 21 minutes dead, followed by Terry Sellen, Mark Niles and Jason Kennedy in 23.41, 23.44 and 25.37 respectively. Tamsin Ritchie who was hosting the Bacon Butty Brigade’s away day was first Strider lady back in 26.08. Richard Randle and Dave Winchester finished neck and neck in 26.13. Hot on each other’s heals was Jason Sanders and Dermot Carr in 27.02 and 27.06 respectively. Paul ‘Bacon’ Baker celebrated with a new PB coming through in 27.38. David Gadsby and Kevan Strand followed in 28.15 and 28.35. Gayle Bailey and Amanda James were next over the line in 28.44 and 28.53. Celebrations for Sally Davidson-Daniel with a new PB and sub 30 in 29.26 with Jason Brice following in 30.09. Chairman Andy followed of which was the end of a 17 mile training run that had started at daybreak in 31.01. Catherine Wall, Amanda Cooper, Justine Wearn and Darren Laker were the next red shirts through in 31.40, 32.04, 32.18 and 32.24. Continuing with her PB success, Dee Millen was next through in 32.39, closely followed by Jayne Hatton and Sharon Gardner in 32.44 and 32.52. Clare Maxlow and Brian Forrester with strong finishes in 33.02 and 33.33. Another fantastic PB from Michelle Brice who finished in 33.37. Don Dewar, Leigh Freeman, Vicky Shrubsole and Lucie Shrubsole were next through in 34.23, 34.32, 34.44 and 34.44 respectively. Finally, a huge congratulations to Rachel Tomsett with a fantastic achievement of 250 parkruns and 250 volunteer credits who completed the Strider turnout in 38.48.
Thank you to the Strider volunteers this week, Rita Cooke, Sharni Copham, Sonette Schwartz, Lee Standen, Dave Warner and Jennifer Watts.

Parkrun Tourism
Maidstone parkrun
Making the relatively short journey and going in the opposite direction to the Bacon Butty Brigade, Peter Broom and Danielle Moss travelled to the riverside route of Maidstone parkrun. Peter completed the course in 31.05 which Danielle finishing in 41.04.
Canterbury parkrun
Nicki Crawley was on the road with Ashford Tri Club and she completed Canterbury parkrun in 27.44.
Swanley parkrun
After this trip to Swanley parkrun, Lisa Fulcher just has one more Kent parkrun to complete. She completed Saturday morning in 35.24
Jersey Farm parkrun
On their hunt for a J for their alphabet, Justin Burden, Siobhan Hagan, Lisa Gribbin and Martin Whittingham travelled by train and bus to St Albans in Hertfordshire with cheer squad Lynette Whittingham. Justin completed in 26.15 with Siobhan, Lisa and Martin finishing in 30.12, 30.53 and 31.14 respectively.

Dartford Half Marathon
Paul Dunning was the solo Strider at the Dartford half and completed the 13.2 miles in 1 hour 47.39
Maidstone 10k
Julie Foster was another sole Strider at the Maidstone 10K
Eastbourne Half Marathon
Martin Whittingham was the 3rd lone Strider at a different race on Sunday. Martin travelled along the coast to take on the Eastbourne half marathon in 2.23.21.

Away from running Striders enjoyed a night out on Saturday night thanks to Andy and Jason Wearn who are marathon fund raising and raised £2,000. Well done everyone, I’m sure the sore heads were worth a great night. Doesn’t everyone scrub up well!
Report by Danielle Moss

Sorry guys but No History lesson this week…I know how disappointed you will all be.
Lets start with Ashford Parkrun for a change. Not sure why this one is so popular but Striders galore flock here week in week out and Saturday was no exception.
Keith Haynes maintained his position as fastest Strider with a fantastic 20:13 finish. Andrew Maund chalked up a new PB to finish second with a blistering 20:28.
Could this be the man to de-throne Mr Haynes ?…Time will tell. Third spot was claimed by Dave Winchester as he continued to recover from recent injury with 24:30 and then came Stephen Cleaver with 25:30. Richard Randle put in a great shift to finish in 25:47 which was only fifteen seconds off his PB. If Richard beats his PB next week he’s promised to wear a mankini to the charity event in the evening. Only one second behind Richard was Terry Sellen with 25:47 and then came Dave Helme with 26:37. Jason Sanders recorded his fastest time this year with 26:50 followed by our first lady Strider this week, Mandy Cooper with 28:12. Jim Wealands crossed the line in 28:19 and he was followed in by Scott Hawkins with 28:54. Amanda James achieved a respectable 29:06 and she completed the list of Strider Sub 30s.
David Gadsby chalked up a 30:30 finish and Sally Davidson-Daniel had an excellent run to set herself a new PB of 30:41, Great running Sally !!
Never one to be outdone, Rita Cooke also achieved a new PB with 31:40, Well done Rita !! Kevan Strand got round in 32:30 as he too continued his comeback from injury and then Dee Millen recorded yet another PB with 33:07, Great running Dee !! Rachel Oliver completed in 33:38 followed by Lee Standen with 33:52 and Jennifer Watts in 34:18. Vicky Shrubsole was next Strider over the line with 34:50 with Leigh Freeman next in with 35:10. Ash Robinson, Danielle Moss and Julie Foster completed
the Ashford Strider line-up with times of 37:25, 42:15 and 45:18 respectively.
Volunteers at Ashford included Jason Caldwell, Dermott Carr, Simon Jackson, Mark Niles and Terry Sellen. A big thanks to all of you.

Parkrun Tourism was once again high on some peoples list of priorities for a Saturday morning and Rugby was the venue of choice for Martin Whittingham which he conquered in 30:18.
Justin Burden chose Beckenham Place and got a respectable 25:17 finish whilst Lucie Shrubsole represented the club at Moors Valley event and she finished that in 31:58.
We had four lady Striders at Pegwell Bay and Hazel Turner continued her recovery from illness to cross the line first with a great time of 23:30. Siobhan Hagan followed with 26:20 then came Lisa Gribbin and Rachel Misson with times of 29:40 and 29:46 respectively.
Saarf Landon was the venue for Nicola Crawley, Justine and Jason Wearn as they visited Catford Parkrun. Nicola whizzed round the mixed terrain course in 26:19 with Justine finishing in 31:11 and Jason in 31:13.
Over in the Emerald Isle, Aimee Donahue chose Porch Field event and recorded a great time of 24:31.
Just the one race to report on this week and that was the SVN Chinese New Year Challenge. Kay Hunt and Adam Thomas took on this and both completed the 23 miles in 04:33:02.
Well done to everyone that ran, volunteered and supported this weekend, you all did yourselves and the club proud.
Report by Andy Found.

What a lovely weekend for running, and run we did! Parkruns home and away, races and plenty of sunny training runs for upcoming marathons and half marathons, lovely to see all the photos of such happy striders.

As always we’ll start at home, on Saturday, for Ashford Parkrun where Keith Haynes came in first for striders in 20:31, next was Mark Niles with 20:50 followed closely by Andrew Maund in 20:53. Terry Sellen was next in with a time of 26:10 and not far behind was Jason Brice with a shiny new PB of 26:29 well done Jason!! Nicola Crawley was first Lady Strider coming in at 26:48. Kevin York came in at 28:35, David Gadsby 10 seconds behind at 28:58, Tamsin Ritchie at 29:37 and Scott Hawkins at 29:43. Next in we saw Amanda James at 30:23 and then with a second between them was Sally Davidson-Daniel and Dermot Carr with times of 30:55 and 30:56 respectively! Delia Millen exactly matched her previous PB and came in at 33:32, I’m sure that’s a challenge that can be ticked off on a running app?! Then came Rachel Forrester; 33:38, Jennifer Watts; 34:45, Hazel Forrester; 34:46, Michelle Brice; 34:51 and then Ash Robinson finished the fabulous 5K with a fabulous time of 36:23!
Once again, a huge thank you to all of this week’s Parkrun volunteers; Lisa Fulcher, Simon Jackson, Tamsin Ritchie, and Kevan Strand, if I’ve missed anyone, apologies, let me know and I’ll add you in! Volunteers are always needed so that Parkrun can go ahead, if you’re able to help out, please do volunteer and you’ll get a shout out on here, what more could anyone wish for?! (Shout out to Sharni who was down to marshal but went to the huge length of fracturing her foot/leg in three places just to get out of it!)
Saturday also saw many Striders touring near and far for their Saturday morning 5k fix. Off to Maidstone were Lisa Gribbin who ran the course in 40:10, Rachel Mission; 40:14 and Ruth Goddard; 40:29. Well done ladies!
Wanstead Flats was graced with the presence of 5 of our lovely members; Hazel Turner coming in first for Striders with a time of 25:01, Justin Burden with 25:47, Siobhan Hagan was in at 28:33, Lee Standen with 28:47 and Martin Whittingham with 31:01.
Justine and Jason Wearn travelled over to Sittingbourne for their Parkrun with Justine finishing in 31:09 and Jason in 31:12.
Finally, the furthest travelled Striders Parkrun tourists were the Dewars. Sara and Don completed their 5k at Conwy Parkrun both coming in neck and neck with a time of 34:48!
Sunday saw a few races attended by runners in red! (That’s Striders, in case you thought it was a Chris De Burgh follow up single!)

Deal Half Marathon
Pauline Tallett was the sole Strider in attendance, completing the course in a very impressive time of 2:15:04. Well done Pauline!

Dymchurch 10k
Dymchurch hosted a lovely, friendly, well supported but what seemed like a vintage race on Sunday morning, no chips (except the ones that you buy yourself with salt and vinegar at the end) and so race times are Strava times, there are supposed to be official times within 48 hours so for now, we will use the Strava times and celebrate the event for what it was, a lovely, sunny, seaside 10k run!
We had 5 Striders running, Kay Hunt and Adam Thomas coming in together with a time of 56:34, Rita Cooke celebrating her birthday and a 10k PB of 1:01:57 (Well done and Happy Birthday Rita!) and finally Vicky Shrubsole and Sharon Gardner came in together… and carried on running (Strava was slightly short for the Local Landmarks virtual 10k that was also being completed in conjunction) their time was 1:08:19!

Finally, and last but most definitely not least, I am aware that Lisa Gribbin, Ruth Goddard and Rachel Misson travelled all the way to Cardiff for an Ultra but I’m yet to receive their official Race times. the Ultra itself is a massive achievement so well done ladies! I will update the report with times once I receive them
Well done to everyone getting some miles in their legs this weekend, it really is great to see! Have a great week!
Report by Sharon Gardener

The 2023 race season is really starting to warm up! With two local races to choose from and lots of Striders training for marathons and half marathons this spring, it’s not surprising that lots of our runners were out there this weekend earning medals and PBs! A particular well done to those who partied the night away at the club’s Valentine Charity Evening on Saturday night, and still made it to the start line the next morning.

Chase the Moon 10k
An unusual start to this week’s report as the first race on the menu was on Wednesday evening. Siobhan Hagan and Lisa Gribbin travelled to London to run 10k in the dark around the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Siobhan bagged herself a fantastic personal best of 54:58 and Lisa got a sub-1 hour by the narrowest of margins with 59:59. Well done ladies!
Ashford parkrun
Parkrun numbers are often down if there’s a local race the next day, despite this there was good turnout of runners in red. Terry Sellen was this week’s first Strider with a time of 24:40. Next was Simon Pharoah, finishing in 24:58, then Ian Mccutcheon 25:16, Kevan Strand 28:44, Jason Sanders 29:58 and Martin Whittingham 30:35. First Strider lady coming in with a personal best of 30:55 was Sally Davidson-Daniel, then Jason Brice 31:12, Rita Cooke 31:47, Delia Millen also bagging a PB with 33:32, Leigh Freeman 33:33, Tamsin Ritchie 34:51, Jennifer Watts 35:18, Lee Standen 35:18 and Sara Dewar 41:16
Thanks to this week’s volunteers: Darren Laker, Jason Caldwell, Julie Foster, Lisa Fulcher, Mark Niles, Richard Randle and Terry Sellen.

Parkrun tourism
8 parkruns hosted Ashford Striders on tour this weekend.
Rachel Tomsett was all the way up in Scotland, taking in the beautiful scenery of the Cairngorms at Aviemore parkrun. She finished the course in 42:01. Paul Baker ran the undulating Canterbury parkrun for the second time, earning himself a course PB of 29:59. Danielle Moss travelled to the Cotswolds and completed Chipping Norton School parkrun in 47:01
Amanda Cooper travelled down the motorway to Folkestone and finished in 28:11. Going in the opposite direction were our Chase the Moon runners, at Mote Park to bag a number for the Fibonacci sequence challenge. Siobhan Hagan beat her previous best time on this course with 28:57 and it was Lisa Gribbin’s first time there, finishing in 30:52
Jack Farrant ventured up North to run at Prudhoe Riverside parkrun on the bank of the Tyne near Newcastle. Jack finished in a time of 22:51. The flat course at Victoria Dock parkrun in London was the choice of Nicola Crawley and Justine Wearn this week. Nicky finished in 26:24 and Justine’s time was 30:11. And last on the list of tourists is Justin Burden who went to Wimbledon Common looking to tick off number 777 in the Nelson challenge. He wasn’t the only one as Wimbledon had more than 3 times its average attendance this week! Justin isn’t used to his finishing position being in the 300s, his time was 26:21.

Ashford & District 10k
This race around the country lanes to the West of Ashford is a firm favourite of Ashford Striders members and it always sees a good turnout of red, despite the infamous hill around 3k from the end! Lots of Striders who weren’t running turned out to support and Facebook was flooded with photos from different points around the course. In typical Strider style, everyone stayed to support their teammates until the last Strider had finished.
The results are as follows, good to see so many personal bests despite the hill:
Keith Haynes 0:41:33
Mark Niles 0:42:49
Dave Winchester 0:45:57 – PB
Jack Farrant 0:48:37 – PB
Paul Dunning 0:49:11 – PB
Terry Sellen 0:50:01
Nigel Hills 0:50:37
Simon Pharoah 0:50:48
Richard Randle 0:51:17 – PB
Stephen Cleaver 0:52:23
David Helme 0:53:27 – PB
Graham Troman 0:53:36
Chloe Darling 0:54:05 – PB
Vicky Stevenson 0:55:22
Scott Hawkins 0:57:30
Siobhan Hagan 0:58:52
Michelle Bryant 0:59:33
Becky Somerford 0:59:37
Amanda James 0:59:52
Lisa Gribbin 1:00:11
Jayne Hatton 1:00:50
Karen Edwards 1:01:55
Alison Rice 1:04:25
Peter Broom 1:05:23
Rebecca James 1:05:35
Dee Millen 1:10:20 – PB
Brian Forrester 1:11:56
Leanne Howard 1:13:29 – PB
Hazel Forrester 1:13:46
Julie Nicholson 1:15:46 – PB
Julie Foster 1:32:39

Headcorn Half Marathon
Not far away in the country lanes of Headcorn, this race saw a good turnout of Striders, especially those who needed a longer race for their marathon training plans. Once again, every Strider was cheered across the line by teammates who were supporting or had already finished.
At the time of writing the official results hadn’t been published, provisional results are as follows, with lots of provisional PBs reported:
Hazel Turner 1:51:18
Kevan Strand 1:51:21 – PB
Andy Found 1:59:38 – PB
Gayle Bailey 1:59:57 – PB
Jamie Bartlett 2:04:40 – PB
Mandy Cooper 2:04:58
Darren Laker 2:05:07 – PB
Cristina Adams 2:09:35
Adam Thomas 2:11:50
Kay Hunt 2:11:50
Sarah George 2:38:01 – PB
A fantastic week of running everyone, well done.
Report by Lisa Fulcher.

Right put the kettle on and settle comfortably because with not many races being attended this weekend I thought I would do a bit of research into the parkrun venues that our members featured in and I came up with some surprising facts.
Ask any Ashfordian what their home town is famous for and some might tell you that Kate Bush was a pupil at Ashford School. Others might tell you that Patsy Byrne who played Nursie in Blackadder attended Highworth School or some might say that Bob Holness the TV presenter gained his knowledge from the Norton Knatchbull school. The majority though will tell you that Ashford is most famous for its railway links and is one of the best connected towns in the UK. People alighting a train at Ashford International have in fact a short ten minute walk to Victoria Park, home of Ashford Parkrun and on Saturday they would have seen enough runners in red to fill the 07.40 to St Pancras.
Keith Haynes appears to be fully recharged and fuelled up after his recent injury problems as he went off like the Eurostar and completed the 5K track in 20:16 to claim the Strider top spot. Andrew Maund also put in a great performance to record a 20:33 finish and Mark Niles completed a superb sub 21 Strider trio with 20:52. Hazel Turner cruised round like the Orient Express to claim the first Strider lady spot with 24:40 and Terry Sellen just didn’t have enough steam in his engine to catch her and had to settle for 24:41. Richard Randle proved that age is no barrier. His first Parkrun in his 7th decade and like a pristine locomotive whistled round to a fantastic new PB of 25:27. Two younger models followed in Richards tracks but were unable to catch him but still recorded shiny new PBs they were Graham Troman and Jason Brice and they screeched to a halt in 25:57 and 26:30 respectively. Remember Stephenson’s Rocket ? Well google it if you don’t. It was the first steam engine to reach a speed of 30mph and was built by George Stephenson. Over the years name spellings change so i’m assuming that Vicky Stevenson is a distant relative and tried to emulate Great Great Great Uncle in-law twice removed George for speed and managed to pull it off with a superb 26:40 finish. Dermott Carr must have been representing Larnrod Eireann (Irish Rail before you get on google again) and he was just a second behind Vicky but still set a new PB for himself with 26:41. Strider newcomer Claire Green was next through with 26:48 and then Siobhan Hagan who as we know is no stranger to the railway came through with yet another PB of 27:33. Scott Hawkins, Amanda James and Michelle Bryant completed the Sub 30 timetable with finishes of 29:05, 29:17 and 29:38 respectively.
Adam Thomas was the next red through in 30:04 which incidentally is the exact time it takes to get from Ashford to Margate by rail (what a small world we live in !!) and he was followed by David Gadsby with 30:54 and Martin Whittingham with 31:14. Rita Cooke was the next runner from the Strider Stock over the line and she completed the round journey in 31:55 and then followed Rachel Forrester in 32:18 and Sonette Schwartz in 32:28. Rachel Theobold and Kevin York came through in 32:31 and 32:32 and then we had Victoria Shrubsole through in 32.59 (I bet you are really glad that you share your name with a famous London train station eh Victoria ?). 33:01 was the finish time for Sally Davidson-Daniel and she just about pipped Rachel Tomsett with 33:07. Brian Forrester finished in 33:22 and then a brilliant new PB for Dee Millen with 34:07 which no doubt sparked huge celebrations in the Randle/Millen household as it capped off a PB double for the couple. (Richard will probably be in his 8th decade by the time you finish reading this ). New member Ash Robinson kept up the PB theme with a shiny new one for his time of 35:06 and Kevan Strand continued his rehab with 35:11 followed by Jennifer Watts with 36:28. Another Strider coming back from injury was Sara Dewar and she completed in 36:58 (great to see you back Sara) and last but by no means least were Julie Foster and Michelle Brice with 45:53 and 48:29 respectively.
Of course special thanks to all the volunteers. Striders amongst them were the two station masters Simon Jackson and Jason Caldwell along with Sharni Copham, Don Dewar and Dave Warner.
Ask any Deal-onion (A person from Deal, not an item of local produce) what is Deal most famous for and they will instantly tell you whilst puffing their chests out with pride that Deal was the birthplace of Signor Blitz. Who is that ? I hear you ask. Well Signor was a famous magician born in 1810 and who done his final disappearing act in 1877. Well in a world full of small coincidences Saturday marked the exact 146th year and 8th day that Signor passed away and Dealonions were obviously out in force to celebrate this momentous occasion but little did they know that they were in for a special treat. At Deal Parkrun on Saturday our very own Membership Secretary the magical Peter Broom arrived with his pretty young assistants and stole the show from poor Signor as he was celebrating his 100th Parkrun. Like a true wizard Peter pulled out his wand and stunned the crowd with a fantastic 31:06 finish. Hazel Forrester followed on with 35:49 and Danielle Moss 43:09. Dealonions were so impressed with this double celebration that from now on Feb 4th will be known in the town as Signor Broom day.
Ask any resident of Shorne what their hometown is famous for and you will probably get met with silence because nobody of note hails from the area and it has had a very quiet time in the history books. But….If you dig a bit deeper you will find a certain someone called Trevor who hailed from Shorne but was actually born on a local farm which was owned by the Crackling brothers Clive and Crispin. Trevors claim to fame was that he was the oldest pig in the UK until he passed (wrapped in a blanket) in the seventies at the grand old age of 22. The legend that is Trevor remains in the heart of Shorneadites to this day and locals will tell you that writer John Sullivan was so touched by the story of Trev evading the market for all those years that he gave Del Boy and Rodney their surname as a tribute to him.
Shorne Woods Parkrun obviously hold Trevor close to their hearts with Strava Segments ‘Apple Sauce Ascent’ and ‘This little piggy didn’t go to the market’ named in his honour. Well after paying their respects to Trevor, Nicola Crawley and Justin Burden got down to the business of running and Justin Streaked round in 26:16 and Nicola not far behind in 27:52. One word of advice if you visit this venue is that there is no first aid tent so remember to take your own oinkment.
Ask any Smoggy (a person from Middlesborough) about the history of their hometown and most will mention ship building but those more in the know will tell you that the safety match was also invented here and with this obviously in mind Tamsin Ritchie and Paul Bacon Baker made the long journey up there for a double visit to the Stewart Parkrun and the local Swan Vesta factory. (Im so glad that Paul didn’t go to Shorne Woods or the locals would have given him a knighthood) Tamsin struck first with a 26:33 finish and Paul couldn’t quite match her but still managed an impressive 30:31.
Ask any Bracknellite what Bracknell is famous for and everyone bar none will tell you that it was indeed the setting for Harry Potters house as Pickett Close was transformed into Privet Drive for the world famous films. Local residents at Bracknell parkrun got very excited on Saturday as word spread that two celebrity runners were in town so they braced themselves for the arrival of Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. Little did they know that the two guest runners were actually Jason and Justine Wearn who had stopped off on their way to Oxford. Never mind Bracknellites, Jason and Justine are celebrities in our eyes if not yours and they still stole your show with great times of 32:22 and 32:23 respectively before going off for a game of Quidditch.
Southwark in London is known as the Borough and has been a market area since Saxon times. Its close proximity to London Bridge made it a haven for criminals and ladies of the night but nowadays its probably more famous for its popular Parkrun which was why Lee Standen paid it a visit on Saturday. Keeping a close eye on his car wheels, wallet and phone Lee stole the show with a great time of 32:34.
Have you ever wondered who William Harvey was ? Well I can tell you. Bill was a 17th Century physician who discovered the circulation of blood. With the hospital in Ashford being named after him many people would summise that he came from the town but he was actually born in Folkestone in 1578. Obviously this interesting fact was the main reason for Aimee Donohue to choose Bills local Parkrun or maybe she just wanted to run with her family who were in the area…Who knows ? Either way the reason obviously inspired Aimee as she flew round the course and that never-ending slope certainly got her blood pumping as she recorded a great time and PB of 25:02
Ask any Mallingian an interesting fact about Malling and they will undoubtedly tell you that West Malling is built upon the site where the first ever cricket match was played in Kent back in 1705. Well Lisa Fulcher bowled up on Saturday and stumped the locals with a fine innings at Malling Parkrun finishing in a creditable time of 33:46 not out !!
Anyone Still Awake ?? You will be pleased to know that Minster was the final tourist destination this week. Other than the parkrun the only place of note for Minsterians to gloat about is Minster Abbey which is the oldest inhabited building in the UK. Dating back to 1027 it is still a place where a community of Nuns call home. Lisa Gribbin and Rachel Misson are running sisters so this was always going to be destination of choice for them to feed there tourism habit (had to get that one in somehow). Both ladies recorded sub 30s with Lisa finishing in 28:47 and Rachel in 29:14.
Well done to all you parkrunners and volunteers this weekend and we now move on to the races where I will spare you the history lessons.
Bedgebury Forest held its annual 5 mile and 10mile races on Sunday and we had representation in both. Jason Kennedy took on the longer event and recorded a great time of 1:22:25 whilst Cathy Wall opted for the 5 miles and was equally impressive with a time of 53:06. Well done to you both. Five hardy Striders took on the London Winter 10K race and first over the line with a 10K PB of 54:16 was Chloe Darling and she was narrowly ahead of Kate Stroud who also recorded a new PB with 54:44. Great running right there ladies !! Third Strider place was shared between Adam Thomas and Kay Hunt who finished neck and neck in 56:20. Vicky Shrubsole completed the Strider line-up in the capital with another great performance finishing in 1:06:57.
Well Done to you all and I hope everyone has a great week.
Report by Andy Found.

Saturday 28th January 2023 and Victoria Park was a sea of red with the Ashford Striders Ashford parkrun takeover. What a special event for our takeover as it was also Ashford’s 400th event since beginning at the park in October 2013!
Striders provided all the marshals and volunteers for Saturday’s event, even providing pacers for a variety of times and supplying all important cake to the wonderful runners and walkers.
Ashford parkrun
Alongside all the cheers, claps and encouragement on the side lines by the Striders, we also had some impressive runs from members. Maybe the in-house competition of closest pacer to their time wins extra cake helped.
First through the finish for Striders was Andrew Maund with an incredibly speedy time of 20.34. Next through was our 1st pacer of the morning, Adam Booth coming in at 21.35 (pacing 22mins). Jack Farrant continued his PB streak going from strength to strength with a new PB time of 23.01, well done Jack and Mark Niles (pacing 24mins) finished in 23.46. Hot on the heels of our 25mins pacer was Keith Haynes with a finish time of 24.57 and first lady home was Hazel Turner finishing in 24.58, being only 2 seconds off her pacing time (25mins). Justin Burden came in at 25.31, Ian McCutcheon in 25.37 (pacing 26mins), Disco Dave Helme in 26.35 (pacing 27min) and Jason Brice in 27.32. Our 28mins pacer, Darren Laker finished in 28.08, Scott Hawkins achieved a time of 28.42 and our 29min pacers Mandy Cooper and Claire Green crossed the finish line only 1 second apart with times of 28.48 and 28.49 respectively. Michelle Bryant was next through the finish tunnel at 28.58, Dave Winchester (who decided he would rather give his daughter a great time at parkrun by accidentally using her barcode) and Kevan Strand remained side by side all route and crossed together with a time of 29.02. Rachel Tomsett got a time of 29.18 then Andy Found and Vicky Stevenson (both pacing 30mins) came home with the exact same finish time of 29.32, what a great pacing pair! Achieving a fabulous sub 30 PB was Rachel Misson finishing in 29.42. Great running!
Next finishing was Catherine Wall in 30.27 followed by Jason Sanders (31.10), Lee Standen (31.16) and Adam Thomas and Kay Hunt (both finishing in 31.34). We then had our 32mins pacers Siobhan Hagan finishing in 31.50 and winning the title of closest pacer to their time was Jason Kennedy finishing in 32mins on the dot!!! Impressive pacing Jason, hope you picked up a 2nd cupcake! Rita Cooke crossed the line in 32.08, Sally Davidson-Daniel secured a PB with her time of 32.49, brilliant running, Lisa Fulcher got a time of 33.32 (pacing 34mins) and also bagging herself a PB was Delia Millen with her time of 34.35, well done. Angela Craffey came through the finish tunnel in 34.57 and then at her first Ashford parkrun achieving a time of 35.03 was Melissa Dawkins, what a great morning to try out your first Ashford parkrun. Michelle Brice got a time of 35.03, pacing 36mins were Victoria Shrubsole and Sharni Copham achieving close times of 35.46 and 35.47 respectively and the final Striders PB of the morning was achieved by new member Ash Robinson with a time of 36.25, well done and welcome to the club! Claire Hall-Dawson came so close to her pacing time of 38mins with 38.03, Joanna Whitehead finished in 42.19, Rick Newman in 42.35 and Jo Mason as guide runner finished with a time of 42.35. Closing the striders pack was Lisa Gribbin whom was the morning’s tailwalker and ended the parkrun in 55.32.
Phew, well done everyone for some great running and huge congratulations to all the pacers who really put in the efforts to get runners home as close to their time as possible.
Thank you to all the Strider volunteers that braved the cold Winters morning setting up, marshalling, handing out leaflets, scanning, timekeeping and manning the cakes, there’s so many of you to mention individually but you know who you are and your time was very much appreciated by all.
Finally, thank you to all involved at the club for helping to make Ashford Striders first parkrun takeover of the year a successful and fun one. Here’s to more throughout 2023.
Parkrun tourism
With so many Ashford Striders heading to the local parkrun, we didn’t have any members travelling further afield this weekend.
Races
There were no races this weekend to report but the calendar is looking busy as the year goes on and we have exciting news for Ashford Striders, 2023 will bring our first ever associated race! Watch this space with details to follow very soon! This will definitely be one to ensure you have on your race calendar!
As the first month of the year draws to a close, huge well done to all the members that took part in RED January (very fitting) and to all Striders, keep up the great work, the amazing club encouragement and happy running into February!
Report by Kirsty Theobald.