Month: September 2024

Over a weekend, when the weather was more suited to canoeing, the Peel Road Runners were out in force both locally and much further afield, despite the rain.

This weekend saw the return of Equinox 24, which is a 24-hour running event held in the beautiful grounds of Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire.  The 10k course through the castle grounds, which is both picturesque and challenging, can be run solely or as a relay team.  Runners’ complete laps of the course either through the day, or if brave enough through the night too.  Despite the torrential rain, 14 Peelers took part with Sophie Galloway completing the most laps, with an impressive 8 laps completed.  Ben Dorkins and Jo Insley completed 7, Stuart Hatton and Neal Dempsey completed 6, Helen Dempsey completed 5, with Wendy Bowyer, Alison Dolphin, Roger Eastaff, Ann Hill, Stephen Andrews, and Kelly Potter all completed 10k during the day and 10k during the night.  Joy Sykes and Sarah French helped volunteer during the day and then incredibly completed 10k during the night session.   

Meanwhile, the annual Stafford 10k also took place this weekend, with the start and finish being in the beautiful Victoria Park and taking runners through the town of Stafford.  Peeler Stuart Baker ran the course in a fantastic PB of (51:55).

Parkrun events

Going on holiday doesn’t stop the Peelers from lacing their trainers or volunteering, with husband and wife, Mark and Sarah Boffey proving just that by completing the Depot Park, Gainesville Park Run while on holiday in America.  Mark completed the course in (25:24) and Sarah in (37:27).  Steph Attenborough and Joanne Sharman also volunteered as park walkers at Zalew Wrzensinski Park Run in Polland.  Well done to all of you! 

The Peelers also took full advantage of the local Parkrun events too.  Runners attended the local Tamworth Castle Grounds Parkrun with Tracy Ford the first Peeler back in an impressive (28:27) followed by George Hope (28.51), and Lisa Barnes (30.43).

There was also a strong attendance at Kingsbury Waterpark Parkrun too.  With Mike Shelton the first Peeler to cross the line in a fantastic (21:10); followed by Phil Neale (21:26), Allen King (22:11), Darren Truman (26:50) and Jackie Tierney (30:23).

Many Peelers travelled further afield too with Roger Lloyd finishing in (24:36) at Sence Valley Forest, and at Leamington Michael Stevenson came in at (37:24).  Garth Cox ventured to Babs Mill and finished in (26.59), Ian Cooper ventured to Fleetwood Promenade and finished in (26:16).  Michael Hughes attended Conkers and finished in (45:19).  Ian Orton attended Epworth Equestrian and finished in (24:26) and Martin Hemming attended Dolgellau and came in at (31:19).     

Peelers walking group Peel Road Runners are also launching a new walking group from the 1^st October.  Meeting on a Tuesday evening in the carpark by the Tamworth Castle skate park at 6.50pm, the group will walk various routes for around 1 hour each week.  Come along and give it a try, details can be found at www.peelroadrunners.co.uk

It’s official, Peel Road Runners are the best club in the West Midlands! At last week’s England Athletics Regional Volunteer Awards, it was named club of the year. The awards celebrate and recognise the hard work, dedication and passion demonstrated by volunteers throughout the West Midlands area. The club were shortlisted before facing a successful online public vote, with the award ceremony streamed live on YouTube.

The awards highlighted that the Peelers are an inclusive club where members of all abilities are made to feel welcome. New members are encouraged to try taster runs to ensure it is the right fit for them, with a buddy system in place to help them settle in. They regularly celebrate each other’s achievements with weekly reports and are constantly evolving to do the best for their members. The Committee have also worked hard to ensure compliance with Club Standards. In addition, there are mental health runs, an annual ‘Gate Gallop’ charity event – organised by Peel volunteers – litter picks and club-led running sessions in schools. Representing the club at the awards were Club President Ray Rogers, Chairman Mike Shelton, Club Secretary Alison Dolphin and Membership Secretary Natalie Walker.

The club president Ray Rogers explained: “When you join the Peelers, you join a family”. Members of the club said: “We always want to be a family as it can be a lonely sport. We make sure that we never leave anyone behind and always look after each other.”

From awards success to racing success, the Peelers were in action at the Tamworth 5 Mile, the final race of the Burton and District Summer League season, hosted by Tamworth Athletics Club. The weather warmed up to add some sunshine and heat to an already challenging course. The route starts and finishes on the running track and is characterised by a mid-way mile-long climb, thankfully followed by some welcome downhill sections. Battling the climb and undulations to be first female was Emma Pick

with a fantastic time of 31:09. James Stretton and Scott Chapman ran rapidly to be first men back for the Peelers, finishing in 33:00 and 34:20 respectively. Phil Neale was another standout performer, claiming first place in the M60 age group with a time of 35:38. Additionally, Michael Shelton 35:11 and Luke Collins 35:21 secured top-15 finishes in their respective age groups. Other great performances from Peel Road Runners athletes include: Allen King 36:45, Ian Orton  with a 24-second PB 38:22, Lorna Carlin 39:20, Lisa Stretton 39:18, Simon Gordon 40:26, Chris Bennett 40:40, Katie Stretton 5^th in her age category with 42:19, Darren Truman 42:32, Roger Lloyd 42:44, Sam Cart marking her debut race in a Peel vest and placing 10^th in her age category finished in 44:35, Steph Attenborough 48:26, Jo Sharman 48:27, and Dave Fern finishing in 50:12.

Meanwhile, In Sutton Park, Matt Salisbury took part in the  RunThrough Birmingham Running Festival 10k, gaining a new PB of 46.57.

Peel Road Runners took to the parkrun events across the country this weekend, delivering impressive performances at a range of locations. At Cannock Chase parkrun, Billy King and Allen King ran strong races, finishing with times of 24:43 and 24:46, respectively.

Over at Rugby parkrun, Jo Sharman completed the course in 31:25, while Steph Attenborough crossed the finish line in 34:07. At Brueton parkrun, Michael Stevenson completed the 5K course in 35:54. Conkers Parkrun saw Emma Pick lead the way for Peel Road Runners, finishing as first female with a time of 20:39. Darren Truman and Simon Gordon finished with times of 30:46 and 30:49 respectively.

The club had a significant presence at the Kingsbury Water parkrun. Mike Shelton clocked a swift 21:45, with Chris Bennett finishing in 24:15. Lisa and Katie Stretton both completed the course in 26:16. Ben Dorkins came in shortly after with a time of 26:29, followed by Darren O’Leary at 27:08, Roger Eastaff at 34:03, Stephen Andrews at 41:17, and Sarah French at 49:03.

In the scenic setting of Alderford Lake parkrun, Jacqui Tierney finished in 31:03. Up north at Queen’s parkrun, Glasgow, Ian Orton crossed the line with a time of 24:36, while Michael Hughes finished with a time of 29:37. At Yarborough Leisure Centre parkrun, Garth Cox had a good run, finishing in 23:39. Finally, at the Old Railway Trail parkrun in Llangollen, new member Tracy Ford clocked in at 27:45. If you like to go along for a trial run, the Peelers meet next to the Skate Park in the Castle Grounds on Tuesdays at 6.45pm for a 7pm start. More details on the Peel Road Runners Public page on Facebook.

A nice sunny Sunday in Lichfield for the 10k race saw a good turnout and some great results. Wayne King was first back for the club in a fantastic 5th place (37:04) and Emma Pick produced an excellent run, finishing 2^nd in the female race in 40:22. They were followed by Scott Chapman (44:17), Mike Shelton (44:54), Phil Neale (46:23 and also first in M60 category), Allen King (49:34), Roger Lloyd (52:51), Chris Bennett (53:10) and Gemma Pritchard (59:05).

George Hope (1:58), Steph Attenborough (2:21) and Joanne Sharman (2:21) all completed Kenilworth Half Marathon in some very wet conditions. 

Ian Orton headed to the North East completing the Great North Run in 1:51:22. 

Val Lawson took on the Yorkshireman trail half marathon with 14.7 miles and 1,750 feet of ascent in a time of 3:43:51, in tough weather conditions. 

A couple of notable items in this weekend’s parkrun results. Firstly, Allen King and Chris Bennett decided a single parkrun wasn’t enough, so they ran five at Melton Mowbray starting at 6am, with the fifth of these being the usual 9am run itself, which they completed in 29:14 and 31:26 respectively. 

Secondly, Garth Cox clocked up his 200^th parkrun at Kingsbury. This was the most popular event this weekend with no parkrun at Castle Grounds this weekend. First back was Mike Shelton (22:09) followed by Ben Dorkins (23:05), Katie Stretton (25:26), Simon Gordon (25:28), Garth Cox (26:23). Darren O’Leary (26:46), Jackie Tierney (29:15), Roger Eastaff (33:12), Wendy Bowyer (38:38), Martyn Candy (38:47), Emma Whorwood (38:49), Stephen Andrews (41:56), Alison Dolphin (51:06) and Sarah French (51:18). 

Sophie Galloway ran around amongst the huge biomes at the Eden Project (25:20), Mark (25:49) and Sarah Boffey (49:58) ran Epworth Equestrian with Steph Attenborough (32:31) and Joanne Sharman (32:33) at Kettering. Emma Pick finished 2^nd female at Rosliston (23:20), Michael Hughes completed Rutland Water (45:53), Ian Orton at Vogrie Country Park in Lothian, Scotland (25:34) and Michael Stevenson at Winchester (36:43).

If you’re interested in joining the club, we meet every Tuesday and Thursday – come along and try before you join – details can be found at www.peelroadrunners.co.uk

The third in the series of the Peak district ultras Peveril 33 took place this weekend and takes in some of the best views in the national park. From the high edges that run along the eastern side, to the deep dales that plunge, canyon-like, through the high farmland in the area.
There were 2 Peelers in attendance of the 33-mile course Martin Hollamby (pictured left) came first place with an incredible time of 5:37:48 and Luke Collins was not far behind him in an amazing 11th place with a time of 6:38:16 . Amazing effort guys!

Park runs were well attended this Saturday both at the two local events and further afield

Tamworth castle grounds saw Allen King and Matt Salisbury achieving their PBS at 21:43 and 21:56. Followed closely by Chris Bennett at 23:16 and Roger Lloyd 24:17

Kingsbury Water Park Claire Guffick 33:05, Martyn Candy 34:50, Ann Hill 34:50, Alison Perry 36:45, Alison Dolphin 39:16, Alison Upton 36:36, Stephen Andrews 42:03, Lee Guffick 55:13

Babbs Mill – Ian P Cooper 31:20

Beacon Park – Dave Fern 30:40

Crewe – Ian Orton 24:04

Glossop – Emma Pick 21:09

Market Harborough Michael Hughes 37:27

Medina IOW – Jackie Tierney 30:58

Valley Park run – Steph Attenborough 32:16, Joanne Sharman 32:17

Warwick – Garth Cox 23:38, Michael Stevenson 37:24

Sarah French decided to swap her running shoes for a wetsuit this weekend and braved the cold waters of Lake Windermere swimming one end to the other (an 11 mile distance in an incredible 7hrs and 36 mins), An incredible achievement, well done Sarah.

There won’t be many of the Peel Road Runners Summer routes left and club runs will switch back to the pavements but if you’re interested in joining us please message our Facebook page Peel Road Runners public page.