Month: May 2026

The Chester Half Marathon saw a brilliant set of performances from Peelers. Allen King ran 1:41:41 for a course PB, while Matt Salisbury smashed out a superb 1:34:15, taking 4 minutes 31 seconds off his previous best. Helen Dempsey and Neal completed stage two of their triple challenge in 2:51:44 and 2:46:17. Tracy Ford finished in 2:00:20, Samie Futrill in 2:00:39, Lisa Ellen in 2:18 and Ian Orton delivered another standout run with 1:43:41, taking 12 minutes 6 seconds off his course best.

At the Cannock Chase Half Marathon, Tom King ran 2:08:31 for a course PB, with Billy King finishing in 2:11:22.

In London, Nicola Bannister completed the Moonwalk Marathon in 7:44:02, a huge effort over a long night. And at the Tamworth 10k, Lydia Knight delivered one of the performances of the weekend, running a 10k PB and finishing 2nd female — a fantastic achievement.

Parkrun Round‑Up

Kingsbury Water Park was once again the heart of the club this weekend, with a strong turnout and some excellent running. Leading the way in superb form was Emma Pick, who powered round in 19:38, taking 3rd place overall and 1st female. Mike Shelton followed with a strong 22:39, while Ben Dorkins ran well for 24:02 and Katie Stretton continued her consistent streak with 24:56. Jo Insley completed her run in 31:42, with Roger Eastaff finishing in 33:46, Ann Hill and Claire Guffick, who crossed together in 33:47, followed by Chris Taylor in 34:38 and Alison Dolphin in 41:00.

A big group headed to Tamworth Castle Grounds, where eight Peelers took on the familiar course. Samie Futrill led the charge with 24:14, closely followed by Tracy Ford in 24:44 and Sophie Galloway in 24:54. Jo Bovington ran well for 25:48, with Wayne Richardson finishing in 26:08 and Stuart Hatton in 27:25. Lydia Trenfield added a strong 27:45, Owen Slater 29:37, Dan Bird 40:16, Cheryl Flint 43:10 and Sandra Ingram 54:56.

Elsewhere, Peelers were scattered across the country. At Beacon, Garth Cox completed in 51:20, while at Beacon Hill Country Park, Sarah Boffey handled the hills well with 49:39. Graham Lane ran a steady 27:26 at Conkers, and Marie Llewellyn finished in 35:40 at Gadebridge. One of the standout performances of the morning came at Greenfield Valley, where Ian Orton flew round in 22:18, earning himself a superb 6th‑place finish.

At Northallerton, Michael Stevenson completed his run in 42:02, while at Rosliston, Roger Lloyd produced a sharp 25:04. Tim Mudd had an excellent outing at Vermuyden Way, running 26:35 and finishing 16th overall. Over at Walsall Arboretum, Lee Rickards delivered the fastest Peel time of the day with 17:47, taking 3rd place. Finally, at York Community Woodland, Joanne Sharman and Stephanie Attenborough finished close together in 59:00 and 59:03 respectively.

From first‑female finishes to course PBs, from long‑distance challenges to local parkruns, Peelers once again showed what the club is all about: effort, encouragement and community. A brilliant weekend of running all round.

If you would like to join us, please see www.peelroadrunners.co.uk for details. We meet every Tuesday and Thursday at 6.45 for 7 at the Skate Park / Castle Grounds.

The Pennine Barrier 50 is a 50-mile ultra marathon which takes in some of the best trails in the Yorkshire Dales National Park with 2593m of ascent. The race starts in the beautiful village of Malham and takes trails through Malham Cove, the Dry Valley of Watlowes, Malham Tarn, Fountains Fell, Janet’s Foss and the Yorkshire 3 peaks of Pen-y-Ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough. Lorna Al-Ani took on the challenge and completed the race in 12:24:23, well under the 18-hour cut-off.

This weekend also saw the Prague marathon take place. A 26.2-mile loop that starts and finishes at the historic Old Town Square. Known for being flat and scenic, the route winds through the city centre, running along the Vltava River banks, crossing bridges, and passing landmarks like Charles Bridge and Vyšehrad Castle, largely in the UNESCO-listed area. Ash Baldwin completed the marathon in an incredible time of 02:41:57, and Rachel Naylor completed in 04:47:49.

On Sunday, the Great Birmingham run took place. Winding through the streets of Birmingham, the race offers 10k and half-marathon distances, with a few peelers taking part across both. Ian Orton and James O’Connell both raced in the half-marathon, with both achieving PB’s. Ian completed in a quick time of 01:36:35 (just over 3 minutes knocked off his previous PB time), and James finished in a very respectable time of 01:43:46.

In the 10K, Jamie Abbiss and Daniel Bird both competed. Jamie was first back 38:50, closely followed by Daniel in 44:25.

Peel Road Runners were out in force on Parkrunday (otherwise known as Saturday) with Kingsbury Water Park and Tamworth Castle Grounds both well attended.

At Kingsbury Water Park, Phil Neale was first back for the club in 22:00, followed by Ash Goodman (23:05), Anne Whitby-Smith (24:59), Ben Dorkins (25:22), Simon Gordon (26:33), Roger Eastaff (29:45), Dave Fern (31:00), Jo Insley (33:00), Jackie Tierney (33:39), Emma Whorwood (33:41), Alison Upton (33:52), Claire Guffick (33:53), Wendy Bowyer (33:59), Lee Guffick (34:06), Ann Hill (34:23) and Mike Shelton (46:34).

At Tamworth Castle Grounds, first back was Matt Salisbury in 19:51. Hot on his heels was Danny Beardmore in 20:17, followed by Allen King (23:13), Chris Bennett (23:39), Samie Futrill (24:56), Wayne Richardson (24:57), Daniel Bird (26:28), Jo Bovington (26:43, new PB), Roger Lloyd (26:52), Cheryl Flint (43:36) and Sarah Boffey (01:01:24).

In parkrun tourism, Tim Mudd ran 26:16 at Coronation Park. Graham Lane, 26:45 at Crewe. Emma Pick, 21:39 at Dalby Forest. Jo Sharman (01:03:46) and Steph Attenborough (01:03:47) at Dewsbury. Michael Stevenson, 40:30 at Northallerton. Katie Stretton, 24:27 at Pont-y-Bala. Ian Orton ran 41:04 at his 250^th parkrun at Sheffield Castle, along with Mike Hughes (43:47). Finally, Lee Rickards ran 19:40 at Walsall Arboretum.

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