Month: February 2022

The impact of Storm Eunice was felt all over the country this weekend causing many events to be cancelled for safety reasons. One of the victims was the penultimate race in the Derby Runner Staffs & Derby cross country race due to be held at Shipley Country Park near Derby. The race was to be held on land owned by the Woodland Trust land and the Trust removed permission for the event because of safety concerns. Other victims of the weather were local parkruns including Kingsbury and Rosliston, again cancelled due to health and safety concerns.

However, some events were able to go ahead. One of these was the How Hard Can It Be Winter Railway ultra marathon at Coalport near Telford on Saturday, 19th February. The route took runners along the banks of the River Severn between Ironbridge and Bridgnorth, following the route of the old railway line on an out and back loop of 9.4 miles. Veteran V75+ marathon runner Bob Donovan was not phased by the weather and completed 28 miles in a time of 5:26:12 … an extremely impressive result for anyone, let alone someone of Bob’s age! An inspiration for all Peelers!

After two years of postponement due to the Covid pandemic and storm Darcy in 2021, the Rugeley Runners 10 mile road race finally took place on Sunday, 20^th February. The undulating and scenic course circled the beautiful villages of Longdon and Upper Longdon before heading back to Rugeley through the AONB Cannock Chase finishing with an exhilarating downhill run back to the finish. Helen Manton was the sole Peeler at the race and finished the 10 mile course in a creditable time of 1:51:00.

With Kingsbury and Rosliston parkruns cancelled due to safety concerns, many Peelers took advantage of an extra hour in bed. However a few club members ran at other parkruns across the country. These included: Jackie Tierney at Milton Keynes in 29:13; Tim Mudd at Brueton in 26:02; Joy Sykes at Tyne Green in 29:31; Ian Cooper (25:21) and Tanya Murphy (35:12) at Babbs Mill and Mick Stevenson at Warwick Racecourse in 30:50.

Following last week’s Cross Country race at Boothorpe, the official results have now been published. Peel Road Runners men’s team finished the Boothorpe race in fourth position, but were pushed into fifth place (out of fourteen teams) in the League by South Derbyshire Road Runners (who finished first team at Boothorpe). The ladies’ team also finished fourth out of the teams competing at Boothorpe, but remain in seventh place overall in the League (out of fourteen ladies’ teams). The next race, the penultimate in the League, will be on Sunday, 20^th February at Shipley Country Park in Derby.

At Kingsbury parkrun, Martin Hollamby was first over the finish line for the club, completing the 5k course in a time of 22:41 and 11^th place overall. Next Peeler home was Ben Dorkins in 22:57, followed by Mike Shelton (24:41); Allen King (25:57); Mark Boffey (26:05); Darren O’Leary (27:05); Claire Guffick (29:49); Roger Eastaff (30:41); Joy Sykes (30:43); Jackie Tierney (33:50); Ann Hill (34:25); Kelly Porter (in a personal best time of 34:43); Sarah French (35:00); Lee Guffick (39:34); Zoe Schnepp and Sally (45:31) and Christine Norris (47:14).

Parkrun tourists included: Ian Cooper (26:11) and Tanya Murphy (36:02) at Brueton, Solihull; Tim Mudd (25:39) at Northampton; Tony Bryan (26:13) at Sewerby, Bridlington and Sophie Galloway (31:38) at Beacon, Lichfield.

Peel Road Runners were once again in action this weekend on a muddy and hilly 5.5 mile cross country course at Boothorpe near Swadlincote on Sunday. The scenic and challenging course, promoted by South Derbyshire Road Runners, formed part of the Derby & Staffs Cross Country League and was the fourth race in the 2021/22 series.

First home for the club was second claim Peel runner Robert Dyjak who improved on his previous results to finish in an impressive second place. He was followed by in-form Club Chairman, Lee Rickards, who had moved up through the field during the race to finish in 11^th place. Wayne King was next over the line for the club in 15^th place, followed by Rob Mace (25^th); Zac Gibbons (31^st); second claim Scott Chapman (37^th); second claim Andy Pickard (50^th); Allen King (76^th); Mark Boffey (81^st); Tony Bryan (85^th); Simon Gordon (87^th); Chris Bennett (89^th); Roger Eastaff (103^rd) and Lee Guffick (104^th).

First home for the ladies’ team was Emma Pick, who ran a very strong race to finish in 5^th place on what was (by the second lap) an increasingly muddy course. Rachael Rickards was next Peel lady home in 15^th place, followed by Lisa Stretton in 20^th place. Lorna DeSylva (36^th); Carolyne Browne (44^th); Sophie Galloway (48^th); Claire Guffick (63^rd); Sarah Barber (64^th) and Nicola Peace (74^th) also represented the club and competed for the ladies’ team. 

Full results for the club placings were not available at the time of going to press, but Peel Road Runners will be hoping to maintain their strong presence in the League and build on this at the next race in Derby on Sunday, 20^th February.

Veteran Peel marathon runner Bob Donovan was back out ticking off the miles on Tuesday 1st February running at the Big Bear Ryton Pools trail marathon. Enjoying sunny and calm weather conditions for the majority of the run, Donovan (78 years young!) completed the course in 5:36:37.

Parkrun once again proved a draw for the Peelers, with Kingsbury proving the most popular. First home for the club at Kingsbury this week was Ben Dorkins, who finished the 5k course in 22:46 and 23^rd place overall. Mike Shelton was the next Peeler home in 23:41 followed by Chris Bennett in 24:57. Mark Boffey (25:52); Stella Taylor (completing her 50th parkrun in 26:07); Roger Eastaff (34:46); Sarah French (34:51); Kelly Porter (36:59); Nicola Bannister (37:21); Stephen Andrews (40:54) and Christine Norris (46:49) also ran at Kingsbury. Club Secretary, Alison Dolphin, volunteered as a “hi-vis” hero at Kingsbury parkrun. 

Parkrun tourists this week included: Rob Mace (20:06) at Cannock Chase; Tanya Murphy (33:31) at Perry Hall; Tim Mudd (26:26) at Bedworth; Jackie Tierney (29:38) at Sutton Park; Joy Sykes (28:59) at Blyth Links in Northumberland and Mick Stevenson (31:27) at Warwick Racecourse.