Month: February 2025

It was a record breaking weekend as the club half marathon records for male and female were broken. Emma Pick finished 1^st in the Leicestershire half marathon with a very impressive time of 1:17:51, knocking a massive 7.5 minutes off her previous PB.  And, Ash Baldwin finished 1^st in the Bedford half marathon in an excellent 1:14:31. 

Also in those events, Mark Harriot finished 3rd in his age group in a time of 1:31:15 in the Leicestershire half and Rachael Naylor achieved a PB with a time of 1:52:42 at Bedford.

In this weekend’s parkrun events – the most popular was Kingsbury Water Park, where Mike Shelton finished in 3rd position (21:28) followed by Lisa and Katie Stretton (26:32 & 27:51), Roger Eastaff (41:29), Nicola Bannister (44:51), Alison Dolphin (58:38) and Stephen Andrews (58:39). 

Next most popular was Tamworth Castle Grounds where Tom King was first home for the club in 31st position (23:06) followed by Billy King (24:33), George Hope (28:01), Marcus Fairburn (29:49), Sandra Ingram (31:35) and Alison Perry (47:10).

Other runners out and about were Steph Attenborough (35:00) and Jo Sharman (35:01) at Abbey Park, Garth Cox (23:06) & Roger Lloyd (24:27) at Beacon, Mike Stevenson (37:40) at Brueton, Jacky Tierney (29:46) at Congleton, Tim Mudd (30:05) at Corby, Allen King (22:09) and Chris Bennett (24:14) at Coventry, Ben Dorkins (25:25) at Jesmond Dene, Mike Hughes (50:08) at Ludlow, Simon Gordon (26:01) at Sutton Park and Ian Orton (24:59) at Upton House, which completes his volunteer alphabet challenge and leaves him now just one off his 4th alphabet.  At Rosliston, Emma “warmed up” nicely for her half marathon finishing at first female and 5^th overall in 20:53.

But, three Peelers decided against an easy Saturday morning run and took on the Dirty Dozen, a trail run around Cannock Chase featuring 12km of twist, turns, ups and downs and the infamous ditch of doom! Luke Collins finished in 11th place in 1:02:46 followed by Clair Guffick (2:06:59) and Lee Guffick (2:08:31). 

What a busy week in the Peelers calendar!

Helen Dempsey, Rob Mace and Neal Dempsey took to the Canicross trails over two days. In the Two dog male course Rob picked up 2^nd place with the aptly named Drama and Glory ,Neal picked up 3^rd place with Lillian and Banana . Not tired out by one race Neal also came 3^rd in the Two dog short race with Minstrel and Elvis.

Helen also ran 2 amazing races the Two dog longer race with ginger duo Pine and Sydney and the One dog short course with Patch.

Park runs were well attended this weekend and some great milestones were achieved.

Beacon – Garth Cox 23:20

Conkers -Emma Pick was 1^st female and 2^nd overall place with a time of 18:25

Kingsbury water park -Philip Neale 24:06, Ben Dorkins 24:58,Darren O’Leary 29:04,Claire Guffick 32:20,Ann Hill 39:20,Emma Whorwood 39:22, Wendy Bowyer 39:23

Kingsway saw Michaels 4^th completion of the park run alphabet competition and his 100^th consecutive Park run- Michael Hughes 30:41, Ian Orton 30:42

Morecambe Prom-Simon Gordon 24:36

Nostell -Joanne Sharman 49:39, Stephanie Attenborough 49:39

Perry Hall- Tim Mudd 29:02

Tamworth Castle Grounds – Matt Salisbury 19:41, Stuart Hatton 27:31,Clara Walton 27:35, Roger Lloyd 28:22,Sandra Ingram smashed a sub 30 which she has been working really hard to achieve 29:47,Stella Taylor 34:59

A team of Peelers travelled to Tremorfa in Cardiff to run and support Mark Boffeys 100^th Park run location -Allen King 23:41, Chris Bennet 24:25, Mark Boffey 24:54,Darren Truman 27:44,Jackie Tierney 29:46,Sarah Boffey 35:52

Sunday saw the Penultimate Cross country race of the season at Allestree Park – a course of over 6 miles completed over 2 laps with mixed terrain and a considerable amount of mud thanks to the rain on Saturday.

Wayne King was the first male in for the Peelers and 5^th male overall,Luke Collins 12^th , Mike Shelton 43^rd,Mark Boffey 86^th,Ben Dorkins 90^th , Billy King 99^th and Chris Bennett 103^rd

The ladies team saw Lorna Carlin as the first Peel lady back in 23^rd place , Sam Cart 31^st,Sophie Galloway 33rd ,Claire Guffick 48^th ,Emma Petrioca 59^th , Lisa Barnes 60^th ,Jackie Tierney 61^st and Val Lawson 67^th

Big shout out to Lisa , Lee and Sandra who were there with much appreciated support , hot drinks and cake at the finish .

Last but no means least Lee Rickards travelled to Wrexham to take part in the Village bakery half marathon and achieved an amazing PB of 1:22:03, clearly running to the finish in quick time for his Welsh cakes or scones The final Cross country race of the season is just a couple of weeks away and it is the Peel Road runners turn to host . Roll on lighter nights and summer routes …

A relatively quiet weekend for Peel Road Runners meant parkrun was the event of choice at various locations.

At local events Kingsbury Water Park was biggest lure with seven peelers in attendance. First back was Ben Dorkins with a time of 24:15. Closely followed by Lisa Stretton (26:23), Claire Guffick (31:56), Lee Guffick (35:57), Roger Eastaff (37:44), Stephen Andrews (47:48) and Alison Dolphin (47:50).

At Tamworth Castle Grounds Chris Bennett was first back for the club in 24:41, hot on his heels was Sophie Galloway (26:39) and Stuart Hatton (28:01).

As a typical weekend several peelers partook in some parkrun tourism at various locations.

At Beacon park in Lichfield Mike Shelton ran 20:34 with Roger Lloyd in 28:19. Emma Pick ran Beeston parkrun in 18:25. Michael Stevenson (37:26) at Brueton. Garth Cox ran 24:04 at Edgbaston Reservoir. At Ingrebourne Hill in London Ian Orton ran 24:51, Jackie Tierney (30:45) and Mike Hughes (48:47). Allen King and Billy King travelled to Severn Bridge and finished in 22:58 and 24:56 respectively.

At Vicar Water Country Park, Jo Sharman completed her 4th Parkrun alphabet (a culmination of some extremely early starts and flights around the world) and finished in a time of 51:04, followed by Steph Attenborough in 58:07.

Peel Road Runners meet every Tuesday and Thursday at the Castle Grounds Skate Park car park at 6.45pm for a 7.00pm start. We also have our new walking group meeting on Tuesdays, same time and same meeting place. New members always welcome.

Emma Pick continued her impressive form to finish as the fastest female at a UK Parkrun this weekend , completing Alvaston parkrun in 16:57.  It was Emma’s first time at this course, and is also her first time running under seventeen minutes. Her previous parkrun best was 17:48, run at Long Eaton in November, so this was a considerable improvement. Emma has also qualified for a Championship place in the 2025 TCS London Marathon!

The winter sunshine provided ideal conditions for the cross-country league meeting this week at Boothorpe, Moira. The course is two laps of National Forest Land, approximately 5.5 miles, mostly on grass land with some steep gradients. The men’s team consisted of nine runners. Wayne King’s position was 7th, Martin Hollamby 18th, Luke Collins 20th, Lee Rickards 31st, Mike Shelton 42nd, Mark Boffey 81st, Chris Bennett 101st, Simon Gordon 104th and Lee Guffick 126th. The ladies put out a team of seven. Sophie Galloway’s position was 41st, Sam Cart 50th, Claire Guffick 66th, Emma Petricca 71st, Lisa Barnes 79th, Sarah Boffey 88th and Jacquie Tierney 89th. The race was finished in the usual way with a hot drink and an excellent selection of cakes – all well deserved. 

Vingis in Vilnuis, Lithuania, launched a weekly parkrun event in September 2021, becoming the 23rd parkrun country around the world. The parkrun takes place in the beautiful Vingis park, a short walk from the historic city. It is a two-lap course through the pine forest.

A group of Peelers enjoy spending their weekends seeking out parkruns slightly further afield. Mark Boffey led the pack with a time of 23:58, closely followed by Ian Orton 25:14, Jacquie Tierney 30:08, Michael Hughes 30:43.  Mark and Jacquie drove straight from the airport on their return to the UK to compete at Boothorpe cross-country.. hat is dedication.

Closer to home.

Ian Cooper completed Babbs Mill parkrun in 32:44 and Garth Cox ran Bedworth in 25:27. A very muddy run greeted parkrunners at Kingsbury Water Park. Mike Shelton completed his run in 22:24. This was also the 300^th parkrun for Mike which is a great achievement. Katie Stretton in 26:36, Darren O’Leary 27:50, Claire Guffick 32:45, Sarah Boffey 34:39, Lee Guffick 36:24, Emma Whorwood 36:51, Alison Dolphin 46:32, Steve Andrews 46:33, Wendy Bowyer 49:36, Nicola Bannister 49:36 and Ann Hill 49:37.

Tamworth parkrun was the choice of Chris Bennett 24:41, Allen King 25:47, Sophie Galloway 26:21, Darren Truman 28:04, Stuart Hatton 28:19, Roger Lloyd 29:32 and Stella Taylor 29:48.

University of Stirling saw Joanne Sharman complete the parkrun in 31:47 and Steph Attenborough in 32:52. Finally, Warwick Racecourse was the choice of Michael Stevenson completing the course in 39:26.