Category: Run reports

Number 2 in the cross country season : Whitby : a favourite among some of us who have been doing these for a few years. As the number of people coming to the cross country continues to increase ( which is great) and most people were up for fish and chips in Whitby after we decided to book a bus, so 15 of us met at club 09.45 with several more meeting us there. The forecast was cold & windy but dry until mid afternoon, so when it started raining before we even got there we knew it was going to be 'fun'. What came next was hail rain and sleet with some very nice rainbows thrown in and occasional dry spells just to try and lure us into a…

David Holmes became the newest Strider to gain the black tee shirt at parkrun when he completed Stewart Park this week. We also had runners at Albert Part, Sedgefield, Blackhill, Tees Barrage, Flatts Lane and Hartlepool. Two PBs to report, Angela Cox at Tees Barrage and Liz Jordan at Flatts Lane. It's not a race but... Sarah Winter was again first female finisher at Tees Barrage with Lisa Molus, Rachel Dooris, Helen McIlvenny and Lucy Owens filling positions 2, 4, 5 & 6 respectively. Rachael Hall grabbed third female finisher at Hartlepool.

Many of us started our parkrun journey at Albert Park, so it was fitting that the biggest Strider turnout of the day was at Albert Parks 500th event. Yvonne Smith, Jennie Johnston and Gavin Morley (again!) all set new PBs. The usual sizable turnout at Tees Barrage to see Jackie Glass continue her streak of new PBs. Striders also in attendance at Sedgefield, Hartlepool, Stewart Park - where David Holmes quietly achieved his 99th run - and Fell Foot was the location for Finlay Penningtons 24th different parkrun location. It's not a race but... Sarah Winter was, for the fourth time, first female finisher at Tees Barrage.

It wasn't quite bucket and spade weather but Striders had a trip to the seaside. The Yorkshire Coast 10k in Scarborough wasn't a league race, but it might as well have been with the number of us running. Another stupidity early Sunday morning bus left club HQ full of sleepy Striders. Although it was a lie-in compared to the day before for those of us who had been up even earlier to enter the Brass Monkey. Bus manager Helen (thanks for organising) was running a very strict establishment, not letting anyone on the bus before they had paid their fare. ? Arriving in plenty of time we headed to the Spa complex to hide from the wind and rain caused by the remains of Storm whatever stupid name they have…

A quieter day on the parkrun front for Striders. We had a small number of athletes at Albert Park, Stewart Park and Redcar - where Shaun Fletcher managed to lower his PB time. And the tourism award goes to Jeanette and Paul Appleton for their appearance at Cambridge. The 29 Striders at Tees Barrage witnessed Rachel Dooris earn herself at 50 club tee shirt, Jackie Glass gaining yet another PB and a long awaited new PB here for Andrew Butterworth. There appears to have been a 27-something gang running and in the midst of that group Gavin Morley also continued with his very impressive lowering of his PB - over 9mins taken off at Tees Barrage this year! It's not a race but... Sarah Winter was second female finisher.

How do we know that winter is on the way??? By the beginning of cross county season of course. The race saw unusually warm and dry conditions. A sharp contrast to the sub-zero conditions of this race last year. There were lots of new faces on the men's team - they must have heard about Liz and Jerry's cake... oh and the fun of running through mud. Starting in the grounds of Acklam school the ladies took on 2 laps and men 3 1/2. We soon left the school grounds and headed to the field and then woods behind. With very little mud in sight, it was more like a trail run that cross country. The Striders paparazzi were out in force with enthusiastic support from non-running fellow Striders and…

We had three athletes at Sedgefield and one of those, Andrew Laverick, bagged himself a 100 club tee shirt. There were 30 Striders at Tees Barrage to welcome Louise Walters to the 1 club and witness Jackie Glass set a new PB. We had runners at Stewart Park, Hartlepool and an octet of runners at Fountains Abbey which included PBs for Angela Cox and Katie Abel. It's not a race but ... First female at Cadicot was Caroline Horton, whilst first and second males at Albert Park, and both in new PBs, were Phil Swash and Michael Burke.

For around four months lots of Striders have been getting up extra early on Sundays and pounding the streets to get the miles in. There was only one difference this Sunday, albeit a rather big one. This was race day - the day we had been excited and nervous about for so long. Porridge eaten and some last minute checks… number yes… kit yes…. fuel yes… shoes yes…. and it was time to leave. For a moment, it looked like Ste B tactic for coming first was to try and run over everyone he was picking up, but he did inform us this was just his normal way of driving – be warned!! Over 50 of us left club HQ ‪at 7am‬ for the journey to the Yorkshire Marathon and…

With a lot of this summer's training effort being focused on Sunday, it was a quieter Strider parkrun day this week. We had two first timers at both Darlington and Sherwood Pines plus another at Fountains Abbey. Three at Albert Park, seven at Stewart Park and a couple at Sedgefield where Leah Fletcher set a new best time. Striders biggest representation was at Tees Barrage where 17 Striders toed the line and it was as close to a Strider takeover of volunteers as we have ever had. Alex Taylor completed his first ever parkrun while Suzanne Brodie joined the 50 club. Bev Harvey claimed a new PB.  

The only T shirt celebration of the week belongs to Gary Forster who collected his 50th parkrun at Tees Barrage. A few PBs here also for Fran Corvesor, Angela Cox and Jonathon Archer. We had Strider first timers at Harrogate, Blackhill, Fountains Abbey and Hackworth parkruns this week. Elsewhere, we also had a single Strider at Stewart Park and Flatts Lane where Tara Oxley enjoyed the hill session to set a new best time. Sedgefield welcomed five Striders, here Gavin Morley grabbed a consecutive PB whilst the eight Striders at Albert Park got a sneak preview of the Gail Robinson marathon finishing pace - it almost feels like every time Gail runs here she sets a new PB!