Month: June 2026

It was a busy old weekend for the Peel Road Runners.

On Friday evening, Peel Road Runners held their annual presentation awards, where the club gets together to celebrate the club and individual achievements across various categories over the last 12 months, with the award winners being voted for by the club members. Club award winners were: Best Male: Wayne King, and Best Female: Emma Pick, both for their continued and consistent race results. Best MV40: Danny Beardmore, recognised for his current good form and London Marathon time, where he represented the Peelers with this year’s club place. Best Female V35: Samie Futrill, for her achievements since returning from injury last year, including completing the London Marathon, which had been on her bucket list for quite a few years. Best MV50: Roger Lloyd, again, for his current good form and for his consistent finishing times and improving all the time. Best Female V45 went to Tracy Ford, who has been hitting PB’s across various race distances. Best potential male: Matt Salisbury, who has been going from strength to strength with good performances over road and cross-country races. Best potential female: Katie Stretton, who, similar to Matt, has shown great strength, setting quicker and quicker finishing times. Most improved male went to Ian Orton, who has been hitting PB’s in every race distance. Most improved female was awarded to Sophie Galloway, who has been setting quicker race times, hitting PB’s and set a great time at the Boston (UK) marathon in tough weather conditions. The Club marathon award went to Sam Cart, who, on only her second marathon, set an amazing time of 04:05:31 in tough weather conditions. If the weather had been better, this time would easily have been under 4 hours. Club male: Mark Boffey and Club female: Lisa Barnes, for their consistent contributions to the club. The President’s award is given to someone who has shown great commitment to the club, committed selfless acts or overcome setbacks, etc., with the recipient being chosen by club president Raymond Rogers. This year, the award went to Sam Cart. Also, Sophie Galloway, Sarah Boffey, Mark Boffey, Simon Gordon, Wayne King and Matt Salisbury won awards for competing in all the previous 2025-2026 cross-country season races. Congratulations to all the award winners, all well deserved.

Saturdays, most people test themselves at Parkrun over 5k. Lorna Al-Ani likes to push the boundaries a bit further. This Saturday, Lorna took part in the Ultra Wales 50 miles (although Lorna said the distance was closer to 54 miles) described as a beautiful mountain and trail race with around 10000ft elevation, taking in Cadair Idris, Rhinog Fach, Dolgellau, the Barmouth Estuary and Wales’ greatest forest, Coed-y-Brenin. Lorna completed the race in an impressive 14 hours and 28 minutes.

On Sunday, Peel Road Runners hosted the annual Gate Gallop race as part of the BDSL race series. Starting and finishing at Anker Valley playing fields, the course takes in a lap of the playing fields before heading out over the local moorlands and farmlands, before heading back into the playing fields. Plus, it wouldn’t be a true Gate Gallop race without some gorgeous hot summer weather, making the local moorlands even more scenic. The Gate Gallop offers a children’s fun run, 5k and 10k options. In the 5K, Ian Orton was the sole Peel representative, but he continued his current good form by winning the race in a fantastic time of 21:51.

In the 10k race Peelers had ten runners. First back for the club was Wayne King in 39:42. Followed by Dan Bird (45:19), Katherine Bradley (49:08), Katie Stretton (50:31), Phil Neale (51:21), Billy King (52:10), Wayne Richardson (54:29), Phoebe Wade (56:06), Stephen Andrews, who completed his Bridge to 10k course with this race, (01:17:22) and Dave Fern (01:17:50). Hats off to everyone who raced in tough conditions. Also a big shout out to all the Peelers who marshalled the event and for all the organisation by Martin Hollamby, Mike Shelton and Mark Boffey to ensure the event ran smoothly.

On Parkrunday, Peelers travelled to various locations to get there weekly 5k fix. As usual, the two home events, Kingsbury Water Park and Tamworth Castle Grounds, were both well attended.

At Kingsbury Water Park, club chairman Mike Shelton was first back in 22:20. Closely followed by Ben Dorkins (25:13), Katie Stretton (26:37), Lisa Stretton (26:40), Darren O’Leary (28:15), Emma Whorwood (34:40), Claire Guffick (34:40), Lee Guffick (35:38), Wendy Bowyer (37:29) and Nicola Bannister (41:08).

At Tamworth Castle Grounds, first back was Allen King in 23:24. Putting the pressure on Allen was Chris Bennett in 23:25. Hot on their heels was Sophie Galloway (24:24), Roger Lloyd (27:03), Cheryl Flint (27:51), Graham Lane (28:56), Jo Insley (33:49), Dave Fern (33:50) and Sarah Boffey (36:54).

In parkrun tourism news, Peelers represented the club at a few locations. Jon Allen travelled to Banbury and finished in 29:28. Garth Cox was at Beacon Park, finishing in a time of 55:18. Ian Orton finished East Park in 21:54. Jackie Tierney went to Macclesfield, finishing in 38:31. At Millhouses parkrun, Tim Mudd finished in 26:45. Steph Attenborough attended Preston parkrun, finishing in 59:28. At Rosliston, Wayne Richardson finished in 25:17, closely followed by Jo Bovington in 27:49. Finally, Emma Pick ran at Sence Valley Forest park and finished in 20:49.

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 in the same meeting place. New members are always welcome. Please check out our website (Peelroadrunners.co.uk) or our public Facebook page for more information.

The Washlands Relays is an inter-club relay race held on a Wednesday evening in June in Burton Upon Trent.  Peel Road Runners have always supported the race enthusiastically and enjoy the challenge of running the two-mile laps in the shortest possible time. As ever, although individual results were important, having inclusive and fun mixed teams was also a priority for the Peelers, especially as many runners were taking on the challenge for the first time. 

In the individual women’s results, Emma Pick was first lady home, completing the two-mile course in a time of 11:44, just two seconds in front of her local rival, Abbey Van Dijk!  Next Peeler lady to finish was Lorna Al-Ani in 14:13 followed by Katherine Bradley (15:22), Katie Stretton (15:27), Lorna Carlin (15:49), Lisa Stretton (15:54), Sam Cart (16:05), Sophie Galloway (16:07), Jo Bovington (16:38), Gemma Pritchard (16:45), Carolyne Browne (17:36), Lisa Barnes (19:03) and Helen Manton (20:55).

In the men’s results, Danny Beardmore was first back for the club in a time of 12:30, followed by Matt Salisbury (13:11), Luke Collins (13:23), Adrian Jelley (13:48), Mike Shelton (13:55), Ian Orton (14:16), Wayne Richardson (14:27), Tom King (14:30), Phil Neale (14:35), Billy King (14:49), Ben Dorkins (14:50), Chris Bennett (14:59), Iain Downie (15:33), Mark Boffey (15:39), Roger Lloyd (15:51), Simon Gordon (16:08), George Hope (16:22), Tim Mudd (16:32), Graham Lane (16:43), Tony Bryan (17:08) and Dave Fern (20:11).

Another local favourite, the Aldridge 10k race, was held on Sunday, but only two Peelers were able to make the start line this year.  Roger Lloyd finished first in a time of 50:37, followed by Stewart Baker in 58:21. Meanwhile, at the Two Castles 10k (starting at Warwick Castle and finishing at Kenilworth Castle), Neal Dempsey and Helen Dempsey crossed the line together in a time of 1:14:32 and commented on the ‘hilliness’ of the course!  (The lack of hilly terrain in Tamworth can cause problems for Peelers used to flat training runs!).

Saturday parkruns, as ever, proved a huge draw for the Peelers, with Kingsbury pulling in the largest number from the club.  First back was Club Chairman, Mike Shelton, in a time of 21:52 followed by Ash Goodman (22:57), Ben Dorkins (26:00), Darren O’Leary (27:30), Lorna Al-Ani (28:10), Roger Eastaff (33:40), Jo Insley (34:15), Claire Guffick (34:41), Lee Guffick (35:39), Ann Hill (35:50), Stephen Andrews (35:53), Wendy Bowyer (37:42), Nicola Bannister (44:47) and Lisa Barnes (1:04:17). 

Owen Slater ran at Beacon Parkrun (29:40), whilst at Tamworth Castle Grounds, Wayne Richardson (21:58), Chris Bennett (22:38), Jo Bovington (25:09), Sophie Galloway (25:16), Graham Lane (27:45), Jonathan Allen (28:18), Dan Bird (29:59), and Cheryl Flint (43:03) represented the club.  Further afield, Emma Pick (21:21) ran at Congleton, Tim Mudd (27:15) took on Brueton parkrun, whilst Mark Boffey (26:54) and Sarah Boffey (38:09) ran at Nobles parkrun in Peel on the Isle of Man.  Finally, Steph Attenborough (52:08) and Jo Sharman (59:31) ran at Orangefield, Belfast, and Jacqui Tierney (1:05:04) took part in the Lyme Park, Disley parkrun.

Another packed parkrun weekend saw Peel Road Runners delivering strong performances at a variety of events across the country.

At Tamworth Castle Grounds parkrun (393 runners), Danny Beardmore produced a standout run to finish 3rd overall in a time of 19:43. He was followed by Chris Bennett (23:52), Iain Downie (24:16), Cheryl Flint (27:01), Wayne Richardson (27:02), Roger Lloyd (27:09), Sophie Galloway (37:42), Jo Bovington (44:38) and Jonathan Allen (55:26).

Over at Kingsbury Water Park, Mike Shelton and Luke Collins crossed the line together in 24:04, with Katie Stretton (25:21) and Lisa Stretton (25:40) leading the Peel women’s results. They were joined by Ben Dorkins (25:51), Carolyne Browne (27:11), Phil Neale (28:37), Claire Guffick (33:19), Lee Guffick (34:56) and Jo Insley (36:53).

At Beacon parkrun in Lichfield, three Peelers took part. Lee Rickards led the Peel runners home in 20:27, followed by Simon Gordon (26:21) and Graham Lane (26:58).

There was another excellent performance at Perton Playing Fields parkrun (114 runners), where Emma Pick finished 1st female and 4th overall in 19:24, while at Clifton parkrun, Ian Orton secured a strong finish in 22:28. Elsewhere in the Midlands, Michael Stevenson ran 42:19 at Warwick Racecourse, while Jacqueline Tierney completed the challenging Haughmond Hill parkrun in 55:03.

Further afield, Tim Mudd recorded 26:41 at Quakers Walk parkrun, while Michael Hughes ran 27:56 at Oakwell Hall. Glossop parkrun was the preferred location for Mark Boffey, who finished in 26:16, with Sarah Boffey completing the course in 39:02, while Joanne Sharman and Stephanie Attenborough headed to Kingsway Park, Urmston, achieving 57:23 and 57:35 respectively.

Away from parkrun, there were also some impressive performances over the weekend. Always keen to undertake an endurance challenge, Martin Hollamby tackled the National Forest Way ultra on Sunday. This was the first-ever ultra marathon on the National Forest Way and involved a 5am start and 75 miles of woodland trails, rough farmland and steep climbs, cutting across Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Staffordshire. Martin showed great determination and completed the route in 15:46.

At the Leamington Spa Half Marathon, Wayne King had a steady start before increasing the pace and achieving a negative split, crossing the line in an excellent 1:21:00.

Joanne Sharman took on the role of tail runner at the Jubilee Bridge Half Marathon. The iconic Silver Jubilee Bridge links Runcorn and Widnes and participants are invited to run the out-and-back, traffic‑free course across the bridge, taking in elevated views of the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal as they complete the route. Jo completed the event in 3:15. Finally, Peel members continue to support the ever-more popular junior parkrun at the Castle Grounds, held each Sunday. It is a joy to see the next generation enjoying the sport the club loves and seeing families come together to participate

With the country basking in a bank holiday heatwave, there were few races in the calendar over the weekend for the Peel Road Runners, however second claim member Mark Harriot took on the spectacular Cape Town Marathon in South Africa, producing an excellent performance to complete the challenging course in 3 hours 51 minutes and 09 seconds. Running against the stunning backdrop of Table Mountain and the Cape Town coastline, Mark showed great determination and endurance in one of Africa’s most iconic marathon events.

The club were represented across a wide range of parkrun events this weekend, with Emma Pick leading the way once again by finishing as first female at Conkers parkrun in an impressive time of 20:41. Another notable milestone came at Kingsbury Water parkrun, where Mike Shelton celebrated his 350th parkrun, completing the course in a strong 20:58.

At Tamworth Castle Grounds parkrun, Wayne Richardson was the quickest Peel Road Runner home with 22:02, followed by Iain Downie in 23:26. Cheryl Flint recorded 27:23, and Graham Lane finished in 27:44. Tony Bryan and Richard Satchwell both clocked 28:49, while Jo Insley completed the course in 33:47, Dan Bird in 40:23 and Jo Bovington rounded things off with 47:43.

Kingsbury Water parkrun saw a good turnout from the club. Alongside Mike Shelton’s milestone run, Anne Whitby-Smith finished in 25:02, Simon Gordon in 27:05 and Claire Guffick in 29:16. Amy Davis completed the course in 31:19, Ann Hill ran 35:21, and Lee Guffick followed closely in 35:35. Nicola Bannister completed the event in 52:03.

Elsewhere, Allen King and Chris Bennett ran at Isabel Trail parkrun, recording times of 25:48 and 25:54, respectively. Ben Dorkins took on Queen Elizabeth parkrun and finished in 25:28, while Roger Lloyd posted 24:19 at Millfield parkrun. Sophie Galloway continued her good form with 24:27 at Whiteley parkrun, and Shane Lewis completed St Mary’s parkrun in 26:14.

Mark Boffey ran 25:33 at Fletcher Moss parkrun, with Sarah Boffey finishing in 41:22. At Worcester parkrun, Wendy Bowyer crossed the line in 37:27.

Further afield, Jonathan Allen completed Lousberg parkrun in 32:03, while Michael Hughes finished Frank’s Farm parkrun in 52:47. Joanne Sharman and Stephanie Attenborough ran together once again at Nobles parkrun, finishing in 52:12 and 52:13 respectively.

Ian Orton and Jacqueline Tierney represented the club at Sutton Park parkrun, recording times of 53:13 and 58:53. Michael Stevenson completed Warwick Racecourse parkrun in 43:08.

The Peelers meet every Tuesday evening at the skate park car park at 6.45 pm for a 7 pm start with a choice of different-paced running groups and a walking group.

Sunshine and summer warmth set the tone for the 43rd Annual Royal Sutton Fun Run on Sunday, with temperatures peaking at 24°C and crowds lining the streets. Twenty Peelers took full advantage of the fine conditions on the 8.5‑mile course, which starts and finishes in Sutton Coldfield town centre, sweeps through the beautiful Sutton Park, and tackles the renowned Cardiac Hill.

First Peeler home was Dan Bird in a superb 1:04:21, followed by a strong sequence of finishes: Ian Orton 1:06:09, Wayne Richardson 1:07:10, Ash Goodman 1:10:06, Georgie Mead 1:10:18, Lisa Stretton 1:11:54, Chris Bennett 1:12:30, Katie Stretton 1:13:00, Simon Gordon 1:13:17, Carolyne Bowne 1:19:09, Jo Bovington 1:21:51, Lisa Ellen 1:29:33 (PB), Claire Guffick 1:30:42, Val Lawson 1:38:31, Alison Upton 1:40:24, Roger Longstaff 1:40:56, Lee Guffick 1:48:23, Wendy Bowyer 2:00:54, Nicola Bannister 2:00:52, and Ann Hill 2:00:51.

The Royal Sutton Fun Run has been a favourite on the local calendar for over four decades, bringing thousands together to celebrate fitness, community, and togetherness, this year was no exception.

    Parkrun Events

Peel Road Runners were also out enjoying the sun on Saturday too, with club members taking part in Park runs across the country and producing some impressive performances.

At Tamworth Castle Grounds parkrun, which attracted a field of 373 runners, Wayne Richardson led the Peel Road contingent home with an excellent 25th-place finish in 22 minutes 21 seconds. Mark Boffey followed in 75th position in 25:40, while Richard Satchwell completed the course in 26:43.

Cheryl Flint was the club’s leading female runner at Tamworth, finishing 15th woman overall in 27:00. Other strong performances came from Stuart Hatton (28:18), Chris Bennett (28:45), Tony Bryan (29:02), Jo Bovington (29:19), Owen Slater (30:10), Sarah Boffey (38:48) and Jacqueline Tierney (54:59).

The standout performance of the weekend came at Isabel Trail parkrun, where Emma Pick produced a superb run to finish seventh overall and claim first female place in a remarkable time of 18:11.

There was further success at Kingsbury Water parkrun, where Sophie Galloway secured third female position and 33rd overall with a time of 24:09. Iain Downie was the first Peel Road Runner home there, finishing 26th overall in 23:29. Also representing the club were Chris Taylor (31:14), Stephen Andrews (35:35), Nicola Bannister (48:38), Ann Hill (48:39) and Garth Cox (57:04).

Katie Stretton continued her excellent form at Rosliston parkrun, finishing seventh female and 35th overall in 24:43.

Elsewhere, Ian Orton recorded a strong run at Peter Pan parkrun, finishing 21st overall in 22:22, while Roger Lloyd and Tim Mudd represented the club at Battlestead Croft parkrun, posting times of 24:17 and 27:29 respectively.

At Beacon parkrun, Graham Lane crossed the line in 27:11, while Carolyne Browne finished in 28:07. Joanne Sharman and Stephanie Attenborough took on the challenge of Haigh Woodland parkrun, recording times of 32:33 and 50:02.

Further afield, Michael Stevenson represented Peel Road Runners at Northallerton parkrun, completing the course in 41:21.

In total, 26 Peel Road Runners took part across nine different parkrun events, once again showcasing the club’s enthusiasm, commitment and love of parkrun tourism.

Congratulations to all who took part.

Peel Road Runners

Peel Road Runners meet every Tuesday evening at Tamworth Castle Grounds Skate Park at 6.45pm.  Come along and give it a try.