The members of Sandbach Striders Running Club have had a busy first two weekends in April. Their achievements include several first time marathons, a 100th Parkrun, a parkrun on the other side of the world, and a club marathon record!
On Saturday the 1st April, Heather Carter completed her 100th parkrun at Congleton. To add to the glory and prove she is no fool, she finished as first female!
| Runner | Time |
|---|---|
| Andy Thomas | 00:20:12 |
| Heather Carter | 00:20:28 |
| Steven Fallows | 00:22:49 |
| Adam Mayell | 00:25:22 |
| Tom Mayell | 00:25:24 |
| Rick Kelso-Davies | 00:25:27 |
| Gillian Fallows | 00:25:44 |
| Rachel Mason | 00:28:22 |
| Denis Culloty | 00:30:58 |
| Duncan Robertson | 00:36:54 |
| Amy Mayell | 00:37:44 |
Also on the Saturday the popular LDWA Three Shires event took place, a circular route taking in Gun Hill, The Roaches, Wildboarclough and Shutlingsloe. The event offers a number of different distances to either run or walk. Paul Nicholls (his 70th marathon), Chris Brumby, and Gordon Hutchins completed the 27 mile run, whilst Cheryl Hutchins and Jill Young opted for the shorter, but no less challenging 20 mile option in changeable conditions.
On the Sunday, Jaynie Turner completed the Lincoln 10k with her father. Jaynie crossed the finishing line in an impressive time of 53:33.
Gareth Evans racing on both two wheels and foot, completed the “very enjoyable, hilly, muddy and tough” Dirty Dozen trail Duathlon in a time of 1:11:48.
Tom Brunt set a new personal best at the Liverpool half marathon with a time of 1:56:50.
Over in Manchester, there were eight Striders who completed the Asics Greater Manchester Marathon. Scott Portman and Lee-Ann Galway completed their first marathons. There were also two personal bests; Mick Hutchins got his with a 3:46:47, and Darren Varley smashed his (and our club record), with a rather impressive 2:58:26!
| Runner | Chip Time | Gun Time | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Darren Varley | 02:58:26 | 02:59:14 | Personal Best |
| Rick Kelso-Davies | 03:36:14 | 03:39:21 | |
| Stephen Mclean | 03:47:59 | 03:51:13 | |
| Mick Hutchins | 03:46:47 | 03:52:29 | Personal Best |
| Scott Portman | 03:54:44 | 04:08:07 | Personal Best |
| Kevern Roberts | 03:57:05 | 04:11:00 | Personal Best |
| Lee-Ann Galway | 04:16:03 | 04:43:04 | Personal Best |
| James Boon | 06:33:27 | 06:55:42 |
On Saturday the 8th April, Christiane Bunte managed to fit in a parkrun whilst on her travels in Queensland, Australia, completing the sweltering Cairns parkrun in a cool 26:45.
On Sunday the 9th April, another Strider became a marathon runner at the Brighton marathon.Tom Brunt completed his first marathon in difficult warm conditions which he had never witnessed whilst conducting winter training runs around the Cheshire countryside. He joined club treasurer Martin Coleman who completed his hometown marathon once again.
Full results for Brighton marathon:
| Runner | Chip Time | Gun Time | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Martin Coleman | 03:45:34 | 03:45:34 | |
| Tom Brunt | 04:47:33 | 05:12:44 | Personal Best |
Gareth Evans continued to race on bike and foot at the Harlech Duathlon Welsh Championships, with some very fast competitors. The event started with a 5k run, followed by a 21k ride, and then to finish another 3k run. Time to be confirmed.
And finally for this fortnight, we had 3 Striders represented at the Newcastle 10k. James Halling coming in at 49:46, and Liz O'Keeffe in 1:00:38. Gaynor Beckett not had time confirmed as of yet.
Full results can be found at http://www.sandbachstriders.co.uk/results/