Author: Liz Simpson

Striders were a little more thinly spread over the local parkruns on Saturday. 11 Striders did take a trip to Hartlepool where Michelle Ince continued her excellent recent form. Another all-course pb was achieved along with a regional age-grading and a 3rd place finish for the ladies. Great work Michelle. Steven Hall also recorded a Hartlepool best time. Elsewhere Izzy Morgan had another good run at Sedgefield. A new pb and 2nd lady home was the order of the day. Three more pb's to report - and they went to Emma Fleming at Albert Park, Keran Hodgson at Redcar and our old friend Tom Day at Cannon Hill, Birmingham. We also had runners at Sewerby (Bridlington), Stewart, Forest Rec (Nottingham), Flatts Lane, Portobello (Edinburgh), Northallerton and Leazes (Newcastle). Daniele Meucci…

The promise of free cake lured 26 Striders to the Darlington South parkrun on Saturday. The reason for this sugary celebration? Resident 200-metre specialist Antony Hamling was running his 200th parkrun. 5 Striders got new pb's on yet another warm September day. Those being Liz Simpson, Sue (and Robyn) Russell, Stephen Mitchinson, Ben Robinson and Tom Ramsey. A pleasant cuppa was enjoyed at the park cafe afterwards - with a singing dog adding to the entertainment. Elsewhere Steven Hall at Richmond and Gareth Maloney at Flatts Lane recorded new pb's. Emily Palmer was first lady home at Albert Park whilst Georgina King was third lady home at The Pastures. Michelle Ince continued her good recent form with a regional standard age-grading at Hartlepool. We also had runners at Sedgefield, Redcar,…

Abby Barker made a last-minute decision to run her 50th parkrun at Hartlepool. It wasn't a bad decision. I rarely state exact finishing parkrun times in these reports - this week I'm making an exception. Abby was first lady home in a time of 18.59. Only 6 women have ever ran faster at Hartlepool. (only 1 at the barrage) With an age-grading a touch under the national standard of 80% - her previous best parkrun time was beaten by nearly a minute. So...how can this be? One theory was that she was expertly paced. Another rumour doing the rounds suggested that Dave Fender had supplied her with a large crate of illegal performance enhancing drugs. I'll go with theory 3; she's a talented runner who turns up most weeks at…