Author: PeelRR

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.

Over the past 10 days Steph Attenborough and Joanne Sharman continued to add to their half marathon tally by taking part in the Ten events in Ten days challenge. Something which they both now hold double records for. The Ten events in Ten days challenge was held over two courses and ranged in distances from 5k up to 40 miles. Steph and Jo’s chosen distance was the half marathon, running one each day for 10 days. The two courses that Steph and Joanne ran consisted of one being a 3.6 mile loop over hills, light trail, grassland and cycle route (days 1,5,6,7 & 8) and the second course being 5.25 miles loop with more hills (days 2,3,4,9 & 10). The elevation ranged between 600 & 900 feet depending on which course they were running. Their race times for each day consisted of day 1 03:23:25, day 2 02:53;19, day 3 03:11:53, day 4 03:39:46, day 5 02:56:18, day 6 02:49:13, day 7 02:51:54, day 8 03:05:00, day 9 03:37:30 and day 10 02:35:49. Totalling an impressive 31 hours (approx.) of running. If that wasn’t enough, they both took part and volunteered at the local parkruns across the two consecutive weekends (Cyclopark, Medway juniors, Great Lines and Gravesend Juniors).

In parkrun news, the Peelers were out in force at various locations. Kingsbury Water Park attracted the biggest peel contingent with Tim Clark first peeler home in 26:31. Followed by Jackie Tierney 29:51, Ann Hill 39:56, Wendy Bowyer 40:02, Alison Upton 40:05, Alison Dolphin 40:24, Stephen Andrews 42:24, Alison Perry 01:05:36 and Chris Norris 01:05:37.

As always Tamworth Castle Grounds parkrun was also well attended with Allen King first peeler in 21:47. Followed by Chris Bennett 23:55, Roger Lloyd 24:49, Tim Mudd 28:18, George Hope 29:14, Lisa Barnes 30:20 (so close to her sub 30 aim) and Dave Fern 32:00.

In Parkrun tourism Martin Hollamby takes the credit for the furthest travelled with his outing at Westpark in Munich, Germany. Set within the city park the course is described as a slightly undulating two laps on asphalt paths. Martin completed the course in a very respectable 19:49.

In closer to home parkrun tourism Garth Cox ran at Aston Hall in 26:08. At Daventry Mark Boffey ran 24:49 followed by Darren Truman 27:45 and Sarah Boffey 32:15. Ian Orton ran at Delamere in 25:29. Ben Dorkins travelled to the Eden project and ran the parkrun in 22:52. At Great Lines parkrun Joanne Sharman ran 34:53 and Steph Attenborough ran 34:59. Mike Hughes ran at Mersea Island parkrun and finished in 01:03:30. Michael Stevenson ran Warwick racecourse in 36:49 whilst Simon Gordon continued his tourism streak at Woodhouse Moor and finished in 24:43.

Emma Pick also ran on Saturday at Walsall Arboretum parkrun and achieved a new parkrun PB in a spectacular time of 18:02.

Peel Road Runners meet every Tuesday and Thursday at the Castle Grounds Skate Park car park at 6.45pm for a 7.00pm start. New members always welcome so pop down if your interested.

Running at the hot and humid Solihull half marathon on Sunday, Georgie Mead absolutely smashed her previous half marathon personal best time by knocking 14 minutes off that time to finish in 1:41:12 and said that “although she had found it very hard, she had loved every minute of it!” She was closely followed by Shane Lewis, who crossed the line in 1:42:05.

Sunday’s Burton 10k, the 7th race in the Burton & District Summer League, is a road race starting near Burton hospital before following quiet, but testing uphill country lanes to Anslow village followed by a rewarding swift downhill section culminating with a lap of the running track at Burton Athletics Club.  As is traditional at this race, the hosts Hatton Darts, arranged for very hot and humid running conditions which would inevitably be felt by the competitors!  Wayne King finished first for the club in a time of 37:17 and 3rd in the M40 age category running a course personal best time.  Second home for the club was Michael Shelton in a time of 44:21 followed by Phil Neale (45:47); Thomas King (48:12); Mark Boffey (48:19); Chris Bennett (52:37); Ian Orton(52:47); Roger Lloyd (54:11); Billy King (56:32); Jackie Tierney (1:01:22) and Sarah Boffey (1:09:25).

On Saturday a group of intrepid Peelers supported Ian Orton as he achieved his aim of running 100 parkruns at 100 different locations, choosing Y Promenâd parkrun in Abermawr for his century and swiping his barcode in 23:51.  He can now say that he is a member of the Cowell club, an unofficial parkrun club for people who have run at over 100 different locations! Supporting Ian were Mark Boffey who finished in 23:46; Darren Truman (26:36); Jackie Tierney (27:43); Sarah Boffey (31:51) and Michael Hughes (1:00:36).

Travelling the furthest for his weekly 5k hit was Tim Mudd who ran at the Northside Beltline parkrun in Atlanta, Georgia finishing in 26:37.  Somewhat closer to  home, Tamworth Castle Grounds was the venue for Jamie Abbiss (19:21); Chris Bennett (24:20); Tony Bryan (24:42) and George Hope (30:16).  Running at Walsall Arboretum, Garth Cox finished in 23:17, whilst at Upton Court, Slough Joanne Sharman and Steph Attenborough crossed the finish line together in a time of 36:10.  At Kingsbury parkrun, Simon Gordon finished in 25:11 followed by Darren O’Leary (29:31); Roger Eastaff (32:21); Emma Whorwood (33:51); Martyn Candy (38:48); Wendy Bowyer (38:48); Stephen Andrews (45:06); Chris Norris (1:06:30) and Alison Perry (1:06:30).  Ben Dorkins ran at Lowestoft parkrun in a time of 22:09, whilst Mick Stevenson ran at his home parkrun at Warwick Racecourse in 36:00.

We start this week’s round up with some very exciting news, Peel Road Runners have been shortlisted by England Athletics for a Regional Club of the Year Award. The Club has gone from strength to strength over the years, working hard to ensure compliance with Club Standards, creating a welcoming environment for new members and supporting the local community in numerous ways; Park Run volunteering, supporting the Tamworth Rotary Santa Sleigh, continuing to host the Gate Gallop in support of St Giles and fundraising for a defibrillator which is now located at The Wigginton Pub, to name a few. To be nominated is a tremendous accolade and testament to our wonderful members (past and present), volunteers and committee members all of whom invest time and energy to make it the successful club it is.

It would be great to win the award and really get Tamworth and the club on the map so we’d like to urge all members and the people of Tamworth to get behind the club and cast a vote for us through the link: https://www.englandathletics.org/about-us/volunteer-awards/regional-volunteer-awards-2024/club-of-the-year-2024/

Alternatively, simply type into Google England Athletics regional club of the year vote. Select the top web page it returns, scroll down to the voting section, select Club of the Year, West Midlands and Peel Road Runners.

Back to running news. With the summer holidays in full swing and the summer allegedly upon us, the racing calendar has slowed and so Park Run events saw the majority of the Peeler action. Starting in our hometown Jamie Abiss was 14^th home at Tamworth (21:14), followed by Allen King (22:38), Chris Bennett (24:43) and Sophie Galloway (30:21). In Kingsbury Mike Shelton finished in 21:28, Alison Dolphin 59:24 and Wendy Bowyer 59:30. Park run tourists included Mark Boffey (24:56), Jackie Tierney (28:18) Sarah Boffey (31:25) at Kettering, Michael Hughes (37:38) and Ian Orton (1:04:41) at Belton House, Ben Dorkins (22:18) at University Parks and Garth Cox (25:57) at Sence Valley Forest. Meanwhile Joanne Sharman (51:59) pipped Steph Attenborough (52:00) to the post to finish in 132^nd place at Dishley Park and Simon Gordon topped up his tan at Weymouth park run in a time of (26:49).

On Sunday Steph Attenborough achieved her 100th Park Run Volunteering Location at Uppermill Junior Park Run having supported 28 junior and 72 adult venues in over 10 countries!

In other sporting events club member Val Lawson undertook the Dovedale Dipper, an optional run / walk event taking in 27 miles and 3500ft of climbing around the panoramic Peak District. Hosted by Peak Running, the route starts in Hartington and runs through the hills and villages of the Dove and Manifold Valleys in an anti-clockwise direction before returning to Hartington. Conditions were favourable and Val crossed the line in 8:55:12.

From foot to fin, on Sunday Sarah French completed another epic swim this time at Rutland Water. With a choice of 2k, 4km and 8km available, Sarah of course chose the 8km event requiring an early alarm call of 4am. With a tropical water temperature of 20 degrees Sarah finished the two lap swim in 3:20:00.

Next Sunday sees the next race in the Burton and District Summer League with a number of Peelers undertaking the Burton 10k. Good luck to everyone running.

This week not only brought the sunshine back, but also the return on Sunday of the annual Peel Road Runners event, the ‘Gate Gallop’.  The event helps raise much needed funds for the local St Giles Hospice and this year was also supported by the fantastic ‘Simon’s Heroes’ charity and all their amazing volunteers, due to their own event unfortunately being cancelled.  The ‘Gate Gallop’ has been running for over 25 years and over that period has raised an amazing £100,000. 

Over 240 runners took part in the 10k race on Sunday, alongside a children’s race and a 5k fun run.  The race starts and finishes at Anker Valley Sports Complex in Tamworth and takes runners onto the fields and footpaths around the beautiful River Anker and the Warwickshire Moor.  The route consists of both track, grass fields and concrete paths to give runners a bit of everything.  The runners were also welcomed back to Anker Valley to the sound of live music and there were many stalls set up, with the cake stand being a firm favourite. 

Lee Rickards was the first Peeler home in (40:05) followed by Tom King (47:31), Allen King (50:43), Mark Boffey (53:49), Lisa Stretton (55:30), Katie Stretton (56:36), Sarah Boffey (1:09:34), Dave Fern (1:12:25), Sandra Ingram (1:14:32), Stephanie Attenborough (1:17:59) and Joanne Sharman (1:17:59).

5 runners also took part having recently completed the Peel Road Runners recent Bridge to 10k course.  Many congratulations to Amy, Hannah and Richard for completing the 10k race and Alison and Emma for completing the 5k race, you were all amazing.    

Parkrun events

The Peelers also took full advantage of the lovely weather, attending many of the local Parkrun events too.  Many runners attended the local Tamworth Castle Grounds Parkrun.  Chris Bennett was the first Peeler back in an impressive (24:06) followed by Tony Bryan (24:30), Simon Gordon (25:22), George Hope (27:20), Darren Truman (27:22), Andrew Gilman (28:18) and Alison Dolphin (38:53).

There was also a strong attendance at Kingsbury Waterpark Parkrun too.  With Mike Shelton the first Peeler to cross the line in a fantastic (21:44); followed by Roger Lloyd (25:13), Tim Clark (25:25), Sarah Boffey (30:58), and Alison Perry (49:42). Many Peelers travelled further afield too with Ben Dorkins finishing in (23:10) at Rosliston, and at Worcester Michael Hughes came in at (58.38).  Michael Stevenson ventured to Thorp Perrow and finished in (37:51), Ian Cooper ventured to Babbs Mill and finished in (26:27).  Emma Pick attended Conkers and finished in an amazing (19:44).  Jacqueline Tierney attended South Oxhey and finished in (29:27) and Tim Mudd attended Third Creek Greenway and came in at (24:54).  Athena Mansell completed Cheltenham in (48:10), Garth Cox finished Beacon in (23:35) and visiting Y Promenad were Joanne Sharman in (29:53) and Stephanie Attenborough in (31:51).

Taking advantage of the start of the school holidays, many Peelers have had a break from races this week, however, back on the 13th of July running with his nephew Oscar, Tony Bryan ran a PB of 1:54:03 at the scenic and challenging Ilkley Half Marathon in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales.

Despite the holidays, many Peelers managed to fit in a Saturday morning Parkrun, with Kingsbury Water Parkrun being the most popular destination which was celebrating its 11th birthday, with some Peelers taking part in the memorial relay afterwards. First Peeler to finish was Mike Shelton in 21:27, followed by Jo Insley (31:15), Emma Whorwood (33:06), Roger Eastaff (34:31), Alison Perry (35:12), Martyn Candy (37:28), Wendy Bowyer (38:32), Ann Hill (38:33) and Stephen Andrews (48:32). At Tamworth Castle Grounds, Chris Bennett ran 24:43 joined by Sophie Galloway (27:28). At Lichfield’s Beacon Parkrun Garth Cox completed in 23:19, down in Dorset Sandra Ingram ran Durlston Country Parkrun in 36:37, to the East in Ipswich Jo Sharman and Steph Attenborough ran in 52:29 and 52:31, whilst up in Stafford Ben Dorkins completed the Isabel Trail Parkrun in 22:38. Meanwhile, Ian Orton limped his way to the finish in 50:30 at Jersey Farm with a fractured ankle. At Rosliston Emma Pick was first female finisher in a fantastic 18:42, which was also the new female course record. Roger Lloyd also ran at Rosliston in 25:43 whilst at Warwick Racecourse Michael Stevenson finished in 36:50.

Ahead of a London parks beer run, seven Peelers caught an early train to take part in Burgess Parkrun in South London. First to finish was Allen King in 23:30, followed by Mark Boffey (24:16), Simon Gordon (28:01), Jackie Tierney (29:50), Sarah Boffey (30:16), Mike Hughes (30:21) and Darren Truman (30:22). This was followed by a slow and social run over 15 miles taking in 7 of London’s parks and several pubs along the way!

The Peelers support St Giles Hospice by organising the Gate gallop running event, which this year is being held on Sunday 28th July. There’s still chance to sign up to either the fun run or 10km race starting and ending at Anker Valley Sports Complex in Tamworth. This community event is a great day out for all the family, with funds being raised for St Giles Hospice and support this year from Simon’s Heroes. Entries are still open at https://www.avtiming.com/gategallop with on the day entries available too.

A great turnout this week for the club at another of the Burton District Summer League events – this time it was the turn of the Tara Kinder 10k located at Elvaston, just outside Derby. 18 runners attended and 5 PB’s were achieved. Wayne King was first back for the club (36:33) followed by Lee Rickards (37:07 & PB), Emma Pick finished as first lady in the event (38:40 & PB), Mike Shelton (41:35), Allen King (44:51 & PB), Tom King (45:09 & PB), Mark Boffey (46:17), Tim Mudd (49:07), Ian Orton (49:31), Simon Gordon (50:31), Chris Bennett (51:48), Roger Lloyd (51:50), Stewart Baker (52:35), Joanne Sharman (56:25), Steph Attenborough (58:21 & PB), Michael Hughes (60:50) and Sarah Boffey (63:42).

A massive jump from 10k up to 100k  (or 62 miles!) for Luke Collins who completed his 7^th Ultra and ran the “Race to the Stones” which is one of the oldest trails in Britain, The Ridgeway, which crosses North Wessex Downs and the Chilterns. Luke completed the route in a fantastic time of 12:36:52.

As usual, parkruns were popular on Saturday morning with members travelling to a range of locations. Starting closest to home at Tamworth Castle Grounds – Allen King (25:05), Sophie Galloway (26:32), Wendy Roe (32:39) and Nicola Bannister (55:16). The most popular location was Kingsbury Water Park – Ben Dorkins (22:40), Kate Stretton (26:15), Lisa Stretton (26:16), Jackie Tearney (28:19), Emma Whorwood – completing her 50^th parkrun (31:36), Roger Eastaff (33:39), Ann Hill (34:28), Lee Guffick (38:10), Martyn Candy (38:11), Sarah Boffey (47:13), Alison Dolphin (50:58) and Stephen Andrews (50:59).

And venturing around the other locations, Billy King headed to Blackpool (25:11), Tim Mudd (25:15) and Carolyne Browne (28:29) visited Battlestead Croft, Mike Shelton (21:12) at Beacon Park, Lichfield, Garth Cox (24:23) at Bedworth, Joanne Sharman (60:57) and Steph Attenborough (60:59) at Erddig, Ian Orton (25:32) and Michael Hughes (45:24) at Itchen Valley Country and Ian Cooper (27:31) at Market Harborough.