Our members have been here, there and everywhere this month, covering distances from 3 miles to 53 miles.
Anglesey Half
Tony Taylor began his month of running with the Anglesey half, a popular race which attracts a large field of between 2,000 and 3,000 runners every year. It is popular due to an interesting start and beautiful route. It starts on the old bridge (mainland side), crosses the straits and follows the pretty coastline round to Beaumaris, after lap of the castle it returns along the straits back to the finish at Menai Bridge. In wind and rain, Tony finished in 1.28.53.
Cloud 9
Cloud Nine is a Scenic and Challenging off-road race. It follows a well marshalled route from Congleton to Bosley Cloud and back via the ancient Bridestones. It covers a distance of 9 miles and 1250 feet of ascent. Full results were:
| Andy Bennett | 1.22.46 |
| Jill Young | 1.23.49 |
| John Wright | 1.27.52 |
| Cheryl Hutchins | 1.37.22 |
| Chris Brumby | 1.38.01 |
| Christiane Bunte | 1.44.21 |
| Lynsey Astles | 1.47.03 |
| Mick Hutchins | 1.47.05 |
Oulton Park Duathlon
Steve Fallows took part in the Oulton Park Duathlon, a sprint distance event consisting of 1 lap run (18:48) 5 laps bike (39:20) and 1 lap run (17:54) which overall he completed in 1:19:48. Steve said of the event; ‘fantastic event, always well organised, although they didn't quite get the weather this year! Constant rain at times I am sure it was snowing, absolutely freezing on the bike.’
Paphos Half
Duncan Roberston one the most far flung run of the week, taking part in what he said was a ‘brilliant’ half marathon in Paphos, Cyprus. Duncan did a great jon in the heat, finishing in 2 hours 7 minutes
High Legh 10k
Helen Child and James Halling took part in the extremely popular High Legh 10k, an event which sells out early every year. Despite the wet, cold, mud and field water run off, and splashes from cars, James finished in 48.36 and Helen in 53.56
Knighton 20
Three laps of the lanes around Knighton, Staffordshire make up the 20 miles of the Knighton 20, a race often used for London Marathon training. Described as ‘challenging’ by some Striders, the cake at the end softened the blow slightly. Full results were:
| Martin Coleman | 2:26:34 |
| Scott Portman | 3:01:11 |
| Tom Mayell | 3:07:04 |
| Lee-ann Galway | 3:10:14 |
| Lindsay Beeston | 3:12:30 |
| Duncan Robertson | 3:51:38 |
Stroke Charity Run
Tracey Sturridge, Lisa Highfield and Stephen Mclean were at Delamere for the Stroke Charity run, part of the Resolution race series. Tracey took part in the 5k and Stephen and Lisa the 15k, with Stephen came in in 2nd place.
Iron Bridge Half Marathon
Lynsey Astles took part in the Iron Bridge Half Marathon. Lynsey said of the event:
‘This is the face of pain, after what i think felt my toughest half. This was Ironbridge half marathon, which runs over the Ironbridge as well as other bridges! Picturesque route, partially off-road, on a mixture of tarmac paths, woodland & stony trails, and muddy tracks. Think of Congleton being the sting in the tail; this was a sting for the last half!’
Despite this, Lynsey finished in 2.09.
Colchester Half
Chris Holden was over in Essex for the Colchester Half which takes in the town of Colchester and the countryside around it. Chris finished in 2:01:20.
Barcelona Marathon
Heather Carter took part in the Barcelona Marathon, which starts and finishes below the green hills of Montjuic Park in front of the Magic Fountain. The race takes you thorough the city enjoying many of the sites of the Catalan capital including the Camp Nou (home to FC Barcelona), Gaudi's magnificent La Pedrera and his cathedral masterpiece Sagrada Familia as well as the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Heather finished in an amazing 3:28.
Wilmslow Half
A large number of Striders headed to Wilmslow Half, which has long been established as one of the main half marathons in the northwest attracting a huge field in excess of 4000 runners, a mixture of club runners and social runners wanting to take on the challenge. It's popular because of it's route (winds through the picturesque Cheshire countryside and is a relatively flat course), its also very well organised, with pacers helping runners to achieve there time goals as well as plenty of water stations. There were a fair few personal bests, with Katie Payne knocking a whole 28 minutes off last years time!
The Striders' results were as follows:
| Tony Taylor | 1.27.02 | |
| Andy Bennett | 1.36.24 | Personal Best |
| Lisa Highfield | 1.49.53 | Personal Best |
| June Wray | 1.51.59 | |
| Katie Payne | 1.52.30 | Personal Best |
| Joe Askey | 1.56.24 | |
| David Sharp | 1.57.15 | Personal Best |
| James Halling | 1.58.33 | |
| Lee Ann Galway | 1.59.59 | |
| Louise Lewis | 2.03.17 | Personal Best |
| Jo Bulley | 2.03.59 | |
| Jason Bulley | 2.04.11 | |
| Claire Dalton | 2.06.48 | Personal Best |
Stafford Half
Jane Pyatt headed in to Staffordshire to run the Stafford half finishing in 1:50:17
Clumber Park Sprint Duathlon
Gareth Evans took part in the Clumber Park Sprint Duathlon – a run – bike – run event, finishing 128th place in a field of 446.
Dronfield 10k
Tom Mayell took part in the Dronfield 10K a two lap road race set in Dronfield Woodhouse, near Sheffield. Hilly and windy Tom finished in 47:30.
Gin Pit Marathon
Paul Nicholls headed to Lancashire for the Gin Pit Marathon, his 68th Marathon. The course is one large loop taking in 11 miles of canal tow path and 9 miles of trails, which are mostly derived from disused railway lines, around Tyldesley. You run through the picturesque village of Worsley at 9 miles, with its beautiful black & white mock Tudor buildings contrasting with the unusual orange canal water. At 11 miles you pass through the village of Astley where the coal mine’s pit head still remains. Its iron work & wheel stand proud above everything else as a lasting reminder of the industry that used to overwhelm the whole area.
2 Crosses Circuit
Cheryl and Gordon Hutchins did what they do best and went rural with east Lancaster LDWA trail race - 17 miles of navigating, bog running and eating cakes around the moors and valleys just north of Bolton.
Codopoly 3/4 marathon
Lynsey Astles was builidng up her distance taking part in the Codopoly 3/4 marathon, in the Ironbridge area. The 3/4 marathon event in the Iron Bridge area was 2 'laps' of an out & back course. On hard packed stoney trails, the route had c. 900 feet of elevation. Winds were strong at times, with a very fast flowing River Severn. Despite finding the race mentally challenging, Lynsey came an awesome 1st, in 3 hours 7 minutes.
Charity 5K
Andy Thomas donned his red nose and took part in a lunchtime 5k for Comic Relief at Birchwood Park, Warrington. In warm, dry and sunny conditions andy came in in just under 20 minutes and said it was the perfect way to spend a Friday lunchtime!
Coniston 14
Tony Taylor took the place of fellow strider Wendy Barnes at the 'Coniston 14' after she unfortunately broke her arm. Undeterred she did however walk the route giving moral support to fellow runners. Tony ran with strider Dave Lancaster on the 14 mile course around Lake Coniston. The whole town gets behind the event and Tony says there was a real carnival atmosphere at the event. Perhaps it was put on especially for Tony because it was his Birthday!
Chester Ultra
Craig Edwards headed to Chester to take part in the Chester ultra helping the organisers on the Friday and running the event on Saturday. Craig finished the run, which was just over 53 miles, in 10 hours 31 minutes.
Poets path marathon
Paul Nicholls 69th Marathon was the Poets Path Marathon in the forest of Dean. Starting with a poetry reading at the church Paul described the event as ‘A gorgeous run’ which took him along three different paths; Poets path 1 poets path 2 and the Dafodil way. Despite getting slightly lost when he missed a turn, and having to conquer some quite brutal stiles, Paul got a top 25 finish coming in at 5.27 for 29 miles.
Cheshire 10k
Regardless of the change to the clocks, and the fact that it was mothers day, the ladies outnumbered the men at the Cheshire 10k at Arley Hall. It is a fast and flat route through the lanes around Arley and this year in the glorious sunshine. Full results were:
| Andy Thomas | 40.02 | |
| Jo Askey | 50.40 | Personal Best |
| Louise Banks | 52.28 | Personal Best |
| Helen Child | 53.03 | |
| Amy Norman | 57.52 | |
| Steve Dunlop | 57.54 | |
| Hannah Birtles | 1.02.21 | |
| Tracey Surridge | 1.02.22 | |
| Julia Dunlop | 1.02.18 | Personal Best |
| Karen Wright | 1.06.15 |
