A resounding success!
With the COVID restrictions of 2021 behind us, it was a chance to fully embrace the rugby club as the home of the Sandbach 10k. With another sell out weeks in advance for the 10k, and of course the help from the members of Sandbach Striders it made 2022 a special one.
The weather started cool and cloudy with sunny spells due later which gave perfect running conditions for the under 16s 2k race. The conditions for the 10k started perfect although the sun broke through after about 20 minutes which increased the temperature, and as a marshal I felt it so I know the runners would have noticed on course.
The under 16s race was a competitive race and after a very close finish, with two boys overtaking each other multiple times in the last few hundred metres, it was Charlie Smith who edged over the finish line first, closely followed by Sebastian Buxton. Both finishing with an amazing time of 7:37. The first female was Lara Adu-Gyamfi with a time of 9:25. It always amazes me how fast all the under 16s can run, and when all these runners break through to adult races I know I will be dropping down the ranking quicker than I already am. Well done to all of you.
- 1st Charlie Smith
- 2nd Sebastian Buxton
- 3rd Kobie Burton
2k - Category Winners
- U6 Male – Jenson Reynolds
- U6 Female – Mia Laszczyk
- 6 - 7 Male – Sebastian Buxton
- 6 - 7 Female – Ruth McNair
- 8 - 9 Male – Joey Reynolds
- 8 - 9 Female – Isabelle Price
- 10 - 11 Male – Charlie Smith
- 10 - 11 Female – Lara Adu-Gyamfi
- 12 - 13 Male – Kobie Burton
- 12 - 13 Female – Trinity Mullen
- 14 - 15 Male – Olivia Mullen
- 14 - 15 Female – Euan Mitchell
We had modified the 10k course slightly to remove the laps of the rugby pitches in favour of more tarmac with a new out and back over the M6, after runners feedback last year. This of course introduced a couple of more inclines between 3 and 4k crossing the bridge twice.
The 10k race was back to a mass start instead of the waved starts which we implemented for the COVID restrictions in 2021. Quite soon the lead pack turned into a group of 3 with Danny Buxton creeping forward to create a lead at the front and finishing in first place with a time of 34:51. The first female was Cara Bradley with a time of 42:43. Both our first place finishes came into the home straight looking really strong. Well done!
10k Top Finishers 2022 Male
- 1st – Danny Buxton
- 2nd – Carl Everall
- 3rd – Daniel Lightfoot
10k Top Finishers 2022 Female
- 1st – Cara Bradley
- 2nd – Emily Nott
- 3rd – Lizzie Slater
10k Age Group Winners
- M Senior – Carl Everall
- M40 – Danny Buxton
- M50 – Phillip Rawlings
- M60 – Mark Bernier
F Senior – Cara Bradley
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F40 – Lizzie Slater
F50 – Melanie Power
F60 – Louise Ford
Local Runner Winners (CW11 postcode)
- Male – Jack Estcourt
- Female – Abbie Jennings
All the profits from the two events go to the Sandbach Striders chosen charity for 2022, Visyon. Visyon supports the emotional health of children, young people and their families in Cheshire East. They provide a safe place for children and young people to access information and support they need to help them manage their own mental health and emotional well-being.
Thank you to our headline race sponsor Butcher & Barlow who help make the day happen, and provide the finishers with a medal.
Thanks also go to Sandbach Physio, Rosebank Sports, A Escourt & Sons, and Sandbach Health & Fitness Gym for their help. Thanks to AVTiming for providing their professional chip service again. Thanks to Bryan Dale from Race photos for coming along and making the photos available to all runners for free. Race Photos
Other thanks to the Sandbach Mayor, Kathryn Flavell, who presented the prizes, and thoroughly enjoyed the morning, Ken Rushton for being race adjudicator, and Symphony Catering for feeding the marhals breakfast!
Thank you to all those who helped fundraise on the day with cake production and consumption. Thank you to the rugby club for allowing us to host the event. Thank you to the volunteers for all the energy, excitement and enthusiasm you gave to the runners helping everyone get around. And finally, thank you to the runners who made today what it is and we look forward to hosting you in 2023.
Full Race Results available from AVTiming here: Full 2k and 10k Results (as PDF File)