Author: Liz Simpson

A cold and windy morning greeted our parkrunners on Saturday. John Wilson breezed to a new pb and Samantha Gray volunteered at Wynyard. Elsewhere, 22 Striders attended Sedgefield where Jill Abel ran with daughter Katie to celebrate her 500th parkrun. Looks like there was a nice selection of cake on offer at the end.  The venue saw Andrew Beevers get a new pb and Emma Fleming (70%+ age-grading) as 2nd lady home. Reece Atkinson did his 100th parkrun at Carlisle Park (Morpeth). Tom Murphy (70%+ and new pb) was 2nd finisher at Albert - where Glenn Cooper got a 70%+ a-g and Kate Clark was 3rd lady to finish. Rachel Kate pb'd at Hartlepool and Abby Barker got a 70%+ a-g at Keswick. Striders too at Gateshead, Stewart, Darlington, Newbiggin-by-the Sea, Flatts Lane, Fountains Abbey,…

A chilly, crisp morning for the 14 Striders at Wynyard on Saturday. Jim Wright, Rachel Kate, Maxine Buckton and Kirst Alderthay got new pb's. Beth Dang was 3rd lady home. Zaheer Patankar, Steve Mitchinson, Helen Walker and Helen Johnston volunteered. Elsewhere, there were 2 big milestones for David Murphy and Liz Simpson. David completed his 500th parkrun at Flatts Lane. Newer members may not be aware of the contribution that David has made to parkrunning. David was the Tees Barrage parkrun Event Director for years - and his selfless dedication to the role helped improve the health of many people on Teesside. We haven't forgotten - thanks again David. Another Tees Barrage legend, Liz Simpson, celebrated her 450th parkrun at Town Moor. The venue also saw Declan Mcgrath get a new pb and…

The 2023/24 NYSD cross-country season drew to a close at Richmond recently. The following is a review of another excellent season - particularly from the Striders ladies team. 19 teams across North Yorkshire and South Durham participated in the 6 events. SSAC ladies finished 2nd in 2022, 1st in 2023 and recorded another 2nd place finish this season. Striders pushed eventual winners Swadale all the way to the final event. It was so close - and but for a couple of places difference at Summerhill and Emily getting injured at Whitby it would have been another trophy. All the 'close calls' seemed to go Striders way last season so I think the luck has evened itself out. That said, runners up spot is another incredible achievement from the team. In a similar vein…

Five Striders helped with volunteering at Wynyard on Saturday. Those being Andrew Beevers, Gail Robinson, Gareth Maloney, Jim Wright and Kirsty Alderthay. Matty Clarkson and Jennie Johnston got new pb's. Elsewhere, there were 14 Striders at Stewart and 10 at Albert - where Glenn Cooper achieved a 70%+ age-grading. Steve Cotton did his 150th parkrun at Whitley Bay. Izzy Morgan (70%+ and a new pb) was first lady to finish at Fountains Abbey. Craig Morgan also pb'd. Joseph Staton got a new pb at Darlington. Sharon Lawson-Green recorded a 70%+ a-g at Millfield. Rachel Kate was 1st lady to finish at Northallerton as was Emily Palmer at Denton Dene. Abby Barker was 2ndlady home at Irchester. Striders too at Silksworth, Princes (Liverpool), Riverside, Hackworth, Hartlepool, Marshall Drive, Herrington Country and Hamsterley Forest.…

Loads going on this weekend including Sunday's Boro half and the Richmond cross-country. No pb's at Wynyard on Saturday. Hartlepool United fan Kevin Dove looked to be heading for a pb but he was too nervous about the upcoming Pools match. He was right to be nervous... Andy J, Beth D, Dan M, Gareth M, Jim W and Victoria S volunteered. Elsewhere 17 Striders descended on the picturesque Darlington South Park where Izzy Morgan (70%+ age-grading and 2nd lady home) was celebrating her 100th parkrun. Also grabbing the headlines was Emma Fleming. Emma (70%+ a-g and 1st lady home) recorded an all-course pb and a first sub-20-minute time. That's great news Emma and testament to all your hard work in recent years. Declan Mcgrath and Aaron Atkinson also came away…

A cold, crisp and bright winters day greeted 12 Striders at Wynyard on Saturday. After negotiating the potholes on the lane leading to the carpark - 3 Striders found the course itself a bit more to their liking. Mick Fawcett got a new pb, Holly Taylor was 3rd lady home and Oli Hall was 3rd finisher. Kirsty Alderthay and Joanne Wood volunteered. Elsewhere, 10 Striders attended Hartlepool with Tom Murphy and Phil Baines in exceptional form. Both came away with all-course parkrun best times and 70%+ age-gradings. Nice work fellas. Helen Mcilvenny also achieved a 70%+ a-g. A further 9 Striders at Albert where Caroline Horton got an 80%+ a-g and Jane Stohrer a 70%+. Glenn Cooper (70%+ a-g) pb'd at Darlington as did Zoe Cornforth at Flatts Lane and Phil Smith…

Our runners enjoyed more exceptionally mild February temperatures this weekend. Just the one pb at Wynyard and that went to Jim Wright. Gail Robinson and Kirsty Alderthay volunteered. Elsewhere, 11 Striders went to Hartlepool where Declan Mcgrath got an excellent all-course pb. Great running Declan. Helen Mcilvenny, Jane Stohrer, Oli Hall and Michael Meggs achieved 70%+ age-gradings. Helen was 1st lady to finish and Oli was 3rdfinisher. Caroline Horton got a 70%+ a-g and Izzy Mogan was 1st lady home at Stewart. Abby Barker was 1st lady home at Flatts Lane. Steve Cotton (70%+) recorded a new pb at Whitley Bay. Suzanne Brodie had a run at Caffarella in Rome. Striders too at Albert, Silksworth, Town Moor, Durham, Sedgefield, Redcar, Darlington, Cotsford Fields, Fountains Abbey, Northallerton, Denton Dene, Morecambe Prom,…

It was a return to The Tees Barrage on Saturday. I wasn't there so it would be great to see a write-up and a few photos on the website from someone who was. Elsewhere, Karen Clark got a new pb in her 150th parkrun at Hartlepool. The venue saw Izzy Morgan (70%+ age-grading and 2nd lady home) get a big all-course pb - just a whisker from a sub-20 time. Tidy work Izzy. Albert Park saw Rachel Kate record an all-course pb. Nice one Rachel. Caroline Horton got a 70%+ a-g. Dan Meucci and Beth Dang got new pb's at Woodhouse Moor as did Sarah Cotton at Rising Sun and Craig Morgan at Harrogate. Striders too at Prudhoe Riverside, Gateshead, Sedgefield, Redcar, Stewart, Hackworth, Crichton, Skipton, Blyth Links, Cleethorpes, Flatts Lane, Shrewsbury and…

Paul’s weekend report… t was the penultimate cross-country event of the season on Sunday and the club-league parkrun at Flatts Lane on Saturday. Following on from Andy J's report - we had 43 runners, Helen J volunteering and a sprinkling of supporters for another successful club-league run. Of those 43, 14 were first-timers at the venue. Was it as hard as you imagined? Conditions were great and we were aided by a friendly team of local volunteers. It's a pretty tough course with a lot of uphill running but I think everyone got round in one piece. It was Sandra Stabler's 50th parkrun. Glenn Cooper, Kris Allen, Phil Baines, Kevin Dove, James Heslop and Zaheer Patankar recorded new pb's. In terms of finishing places we had a rare (if ever?)…

Another bright and breezy weekend for our runners. 13 Striders attended Wynyard where Aaron Atkinson got a new pb and Abby Barker was 2nd lady home. Beth Dang, Dan Meucci, Kirsty Alderthay and Steve Mitchinson (with a very muddy dog) volunteered. Elsewhere, 15 Striders saw a couple of milestones at Sedgefield. Mick Fawcett completed his 400th parkrun and Ian Gray his 100th. I've known Mick a while - he's a top bloke and this cements his place as the King of Sedgefield. Tara and Christain Oxley got new pb's. Christopher Lovell made it to 50 parkruns at Redcar. Zaheer Patankar continued his great form with another all-course pb at Albert. Nice work. Michael Meggs (70%+ age-grading) was 3rd finisher. Tom Holland pb'd at Darlington and Sarah Winter was 3rd lady home at…