The sun shone on Saturday at Kingsbury Water Park as Mark Boffey celebrated his 100th parkrun milestone with his Siberian Husky Mando. The duo completed the 5km course in a time of 26:51. Other Peelers running with their four-legged friends at Kingsbury included Neal Dempsey with Banana, finishing in 29:50, Helen Dempsey with Hugo, clocking 33:24 and Rob Mace crossing the line with Molly in 25:01.
As usual the Peelers running solo at Kingsbury Water Park were out in force with Mike Shelton finishing in 8th place and a time of 20:17. He was followed by Phil Neale (23:50), Jacqueline Tierney (29:16), Claire Guffick (30:42), Alison Perry (32:02), Emma Whorwood (32:11), Stella Taylor (32:46), Clara Walton (33:02), Ann Hill (33:14), Chris Taylor (35:40), Alison Dolphin (36:30), Lee Guffick (38:41), Stephen Andrews (38:59), Wendy Bowyer (41:24), Nicola Bannister (41:25), Ian Grigg (43:14) and Darren Truman (43:16).
At the Coventry parkrun, Kathryn Adams impressed, finishing second lady on the day with a time of 20:59. Elsewhere Tim Mudd ran 26:06 at Dudley, Ben Dorkins 24:13 at Sutton Park and Michael Stevenson 30:55 at Warwick Racecourse. Ian Cooper finished the Babbs Mill parkrun in 25:11 and was followed by Tanya Murphy with 33:57. Much further afield and north of the border at the University of Stirling parkrun, Joy Sykes ran with her dog Charlie to finish in 32:33.
Finally at the Cannock Chase Trail Half Marathon, Caroline Evans ran her first Canix race with Luca, her Hungarian Vizsla. Running a beautiful but challenging course with over 1,600ft elevation, they completed the race in a time of 2:55:15.
With a feeling of spring in the air and a spring in the step of the Peel Road Runners keen to get back to road racing, the Aldi Ashby 20 road race made a welcome return after a two year absence due to Covid restrictions. The race, organised by Ivanhoe Runners, is extremely popular with runners testing their fitness for upcoming spring marathons and also for those moving up from half marathon distance. It also has a reputation for being one of the best 20 mile races in the country, so is well respected among the running community. Ian Allen of Spa Striders was the race winner in an impressive finish time of 1:44:29 with Wayne King the first Peeler to finish the race, having run a very respectable time of 2:09:45 in 27th place overall and 6th in age category. Next to finish for the Peelers was Club Chairman Lee Rickards, who had a superb race crossing the line in 2:19:38, knocking 15 minutes off his previous personal best time at the distance! Another Peeler in great form at the moment is Malcolm Bembridge, who finished in 2:27:41 and 19th in his MV50 age category. Stephen Baker also ran well in a time of 3:08:57, with Sophie Galloway claiming her famous Ashby 20 sweatshirt in a time of 3:38:26 and Emma Whorwood (3:41:08) and Helen Manton (3:43:11) completing the Peel team.
The Stafford half marathon is another iconic road race making its return this year and proving popular with runners both local and from further afield. With the dry and warm weather conditions making for good running, Tony Bryan ran a well-paced race to cross the line in a personal best time of 1:55:07, followed by Joanne Harvey in 1:56:55, Andrew Gillman in 2:05:00 and Helen Dempsey in 2:28:18.
It almost goes without saying that V70+ Peeler Bob Donovan will have run another marathon at the weekend and, not wanting to disappoint, he took on the Pierrepoint Plod 45k (28 miles) run at Holme Pierrepoint in Nottingham on Sunday and finished the 9 lap course in a time of 5:52:00 . Asked about the race, Donovan said, “I got first in my age bracket. Come to think of it, I got last as well. Most of those in my age bracket are not stupid enough to do this!”.
Running at the Canicross Midlands event at Cannock Chase on Saturday, Rob Mace ran the long course of 5k with Axis finishing in 2nd place; the short course of 2.5 km with Molly finishing in 4th place and the “odds and bods” course with Base finishing in 1st place overall.
Saturday morning parkruns proved as popular as ever with Claire Guffick celebrating her 50th parkrun at Kingsbury supported by a great number of Peelers! First home for the club was Mike Shelton in a time of 20:47, followed by Allen King in 22:41. Trevor Thompson was next over the line in a time of 24:18, followed by Darren O’Leary (24:45); Darren Truman (24:56); Mark Boffey (26:40); Jackie Tierney (28:31); Claire Guffick (29:24); Roger Eastaff (31:01); Joy Sykes (31:24); Ann Hill (33:28); Stella Taylor (34:01); Sarah French (34:41); Lee Guffick (36:38); Alison Dolphin (37:15); Nicola Bannister (42:37); Wendy Bowyer (42:42) and Christine Norris (46:28).
Parkrun tourists this week included: Ian Cooper (24:56) and Tanya Murphy (35:07) at Brueton, Solihull; Tim Mudd at Markeaton, Derby (26:07); Dave Fern (24:57) and Roger Lloyd (44:22) at Conkers; Mick Stevenson (30:53) at Northallerton; Garth Cox (24:09) at Chasewater and Ben Dorkins (28:18) at Beacon, Lichfield.
After a quieter period for racing, it was back to normal in a big way for the Peel Road Runners this weekend with events all over the Midlands attracting the club’s runners.
In the build up to spring marathons, running a 20 mile road race is seen as a good way to assess progress and to this end the Oundle 20 in Northamptonshire is a big draw for runners. The course was described as “scenic and gently undulating, following wide and quiet country lanes” with ‘personal best’ potential. However, the strong headwind was not in runners’ favour for the last couple of miles, but that did not stop Peeler Mike Shelton and Kathryn Adams putting in good performances and finishing in 2:38:00 and 2:41:00 respectively.
Sarah French took on a new challenge by running her first ever 7 mile road race at the Burghley 7 in Lincolnshire, thus achieving a personal best at the distance! The course took in the beautiful town of Stamford and nearby historical villages and grounds of the Burghley estate, including areas not normally accessible to the public, making for a very interesting route. Sarah finished the race in 1:30:12.
At the Florette Fradley 10k on Sunday, Peel Road Runners were represented by Allen King (47:37); Chris Bennett (48:31); Darren Truman (51:51); Claire Guffick (1:01:16); Emma Whorwood (1:03:43); Roger Eastaff (1:07:10); Alison Upton (1:13:07); Kelly Porter (1:14:15); Lee Guffick (1:19:32); Stephen Andrews (1:22:06); Chris Norris (1:34:05) and Alison Dolphin (1:34:07). With dry, sunny and mild weather conditions, a sneaky strong breeze would remind runners that the fast and flat course would not be an “easy” run for anyone chasing a personal best time, however that did not stop Kelly Porter, Roger Eastaff and Allen King doing just that (with King knocking two and a half minutes off his previous best time)!
Meanwhile at the Hatfields Shrewsbury 10k, Stella Martin ran a well-paced race to finish in a time of 59:45. The scenic course started in Quarry Park, Shrewsbury, ran through the medieval town centre and residential areas before entering the grounds of the prestigious Shrewsbury School and finishing back in the Quarry Park.
Sunday also saw the final race in the 2021/22 Derby & Staffs cross country League with runners facing a 5 mile challenging course at Sinai Park near Burton upon Trent. The course is renowned for its uphill start and muddy tracks and this year was no exception, with a revised course due to storm damage requiring runners to run over a couple of sections twice making the going even tougher. One new challenge for this year (and much appreciated by runners!) was a rope installed on the infamously steep and muddy hill midway through the course to help runners gain traction on the ground!
First back for the club was the ever-consistent Martin Hollamby, who finished in fourth place overall. He was followed by Lee Rickards in 19th place; Luke Collins in 20th place; Zac Gibbons in 26th place; Ben Dorkins in 44th place: Mark Boffey in 49th place and Simon Gordon in 53rd place. Running for the women’s team, Emma Pick had a true battle with the eventual third placed lady runner, losing out in the final few metres of the race before finishing in fourth place. Rachael Rickards also ran a strong race to finish in 7th place, followed by Sophie Galloway in 25th place, Sarah Barber in 34th place and Jackie Tierney in 36th place.
At the post-race prize giving, Lee Rickards was presented with the prize for first M40 over the full series of races, whilst Wayne King was second M40. Robert Dyjak, after a series of very strong and consistent race finishes, took the prize for third place overall concluding a very successful first season of running with the club.
At Kingsbury parkrun this week, whilst Alison Dolphin, Claire Guffick and Stephen Andrews all volunteered to help check in the runners, Mark Boffey was first runner back for the club in a time of 26:48. He was followed by Darren Truman (26:51); Jackie Tierney (28:23); Ben Dorkins (29:11); Joy Sykes (30:16); Clara Walton (30:17); Wendy Bowyer (41:13); Nicola Bannister (41:14) and Ann Hill (41:14). Peeler parkrun tourists this week included: Tony Bryan (24:07) and Dave Fern (25:13) at Conkers; Tim Mudd (25:28) at Beacon, Walsall and Rob Mace (20:08) at Watermead, Leicester.
Peel Road Runners enjoy running at locations all across the country and further afield and this weekend proved no exception for Peeler Jackie Tierney who travelled across the Channel to take part in the Harmonie Mutuelle Paris half marathon on Sunday. Having been cancelled due to the Covid epidemic last year, this year over 41000 runners ran the fast and flat course which Tierney completed in 2:12:11 finishing 236th out of 433 runners in the F55 age category. The race started at the Pont de Sully (Île St Louis) before passing famous landmarks such as the Hôtel de Ville, the Quais de Seine, the Château de Vincennes and the Bastille.
On Sunday, Peelers Helen and Neal Dempsey took part in the Ashbourne SeeSaw canicross event on an out and back run on the Tissington trail. Running the 10k route, Neal ran with Banana and came 2nd in his age category in a time of 1:00:23 whilst Helen ran with Hugo and finished 5th in age category in a time of 1:03:44.
Not content with running the half marathon on Sunday, Jackie Tierney also ran in the Bois du Boulogne parkrun in Paris on Saturday. She finished in a time of 29:28 and 19th female to cross the line. Closer to home, at Kingsbury parkrun Lisa Stretton was the first Peeler to finish in a time of 25:16 followed by Mark Boffey in 25:40. Other runners at Kingsbury included Tim Mudd (26:58); Claire Guffick (29:52): Roger Eastaff (30:16); Alison Perry (33:07); Lee Guffick (38:42); Stephen Andrews (39:14); Sarah French (39:27) and Alison Dolphin (39:28).
Making his comeback after a time off running, Carl Hole-Maloney took part in the Coventry parkrun finishing in a time of 30:50. Other parkrun tourists this week included: Chris Bennett at Walsall (22:49); Dave Fern at Conkers (25:31); Garth Cox at Chasewater (24:22); Tanya Murphy at Babbs Mill (34:29) and Rob Mace at Edgbaston Reservoir (20:25).
At the Prestwold Hall Leicestershire half marathon on Sunday, in-form Martin Hollamby ran a very strong race to finish in an impressive time of 1:23:10 and in 25th place out of 322 finishers in the Senior Men category (52/1002 runners altogether). The gently undulating course started and finished at Prestwold Hall and covered sections of country roads, the airfield and racetrack. The open nature of the course meant that it was particularly susceptible to wind; good if the wind was behind the runner but not so good if not!
On Sunday 27th February, Helen Dempsey ran the Nice Work Carsington Water half marathon. The route followed the undulating and traffic free trails around Carsington Water reservoir and Dempsey crossed the finish line in a time of 2:39:21.
Meanwhile, Val Lawson ran the Peak Running Winter Bash 10 mile trail race from Ticknall near Ashby de la Zouch. The undulating, but scenic route was self navigated and took in the paths and trails around Foremarke School and Calke Abbey. Lawson finished in a time of 1:58:11 (position 68/99 finishers) and won the F60 age category.
At Kingsbury parkrun, Allen King ran well to finish in a new personal best time of 22:34. He was followed by Ben Dorkins in a time of 23:08; Rob Mace (23:32) running with dog Molly; Mike Shelton on his 200th parkrun (24:29); Garth Cox (25:33); Darren O’Leary (26:23); Stella Taylor (26:45); Jackie Tierney (29:18); Mark Boffey (29:18); Joy Sykes (29:48); Roger Eastaff (31:27); Clara Walton (32:31); Lee Guffick (39:34); Stephen Andrews (41:07); Wendy Bowyer (47:18) and Chris Norris (47:21). Sarah French volunteered at Kingsbury … no volunteers, no parkrun!
Parkrun tourists this week included Mick Stevenson (32:26) at Leamington parkrun; Tanya Murphy at Babb’s Mill (39:09) and Tim Mudd at Trentham Gardens (27:03).
