Category: Weekly round up

Several Peelers took on the iconic challenge of the Baxters Loch Ness marathon on Sunday. The race followed a linear route with competitors taken by bus to the start at Knockie Lodge before running back along the loch side to the finish in Inverness. Tim Mudd was first home in a time of 4:39:03 followed by Claire Guffick, who ran a personal best time of 5:12:04 (taking over 6 minutes off her previous best time) and Lee Guffick (6:20:38).

Over the weekend, Steph Attenborough completed her first ever 100 mile race at the Hootiful 100 at Samphire Hoe, Dover. The multi-lap course was made up of a mix of very high quality gently rolling trail, bike paths and a flat sea wall all within the shadow of the White Cliffs of Dover. She completed this immense challenge in 33:35:00.

Closer to home, Ben Dorkins took part in the Dovedale Dash on Sunday. This very popular trail race attracts up to 1400 runners who run an often muddy and technical 4.5 mile cross country course taking in a crossing of the River Dove (either using, or not using, the stepping stones!). Dorkins ran strongly to finish in 42:51.

Whilst not a running event, the fitness earned from running helped Peelers Craig Smith and Natalie Walker to an amazing achievement of conquering Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania on Friday. At a height of 19,341 feet (5859 metres) many hikers who start this walk fail to reach the summit due to the effects of altitude, which can be very debilitating. Wearing their Peeler bobble hats with pride and raising money for the Wooden Spoon charity they said that it was “Without doubt the most challenging thing we’ve ever done … left camp at 00:01 Friday (Kili time) and summited at 07:04am. It took every ounce of strength and determination on summit day but was well worth it”.

Following on from last week’s result of finishing first lady at the inaugural Sence Valley parkrun, Emma Pick was first home for the Peel Road Runners at Kingsbury parkrun on Saturday. She finished in a time of 20:39 and came in as second lady. Tim Clark was the next Peeler over the line in a time of 23:33, followed by Simon Gordon (23:50); Sophie Galloway (26:52); Jackie Tierney (27:50); Dave Fern (30:33); Roger Eastaff (30:45); Laura Bowyer (31:44); Joy Sykes (34:09); Martyn Candy (36:02); Ben Dorkins (36:11) and Ann Hill (61:20).

Parkrun tourists included: Mark Boffey (22:57) and Sarah Boffey (31:58) at Coventry; Garth Cox (23:55) at East Park, Wolverhampton; Roger Lloyd (24:41) at Beacon Park, Lichfield; Tim Mudd (28:38) at Torvean, Inverness; Ian Orton (23:01) and Michael Hughes (33:08) at University of Northampton and Allen King (22:52) and Chris Bennett (24:50) at Sence Valley, Ibstock.

A beer mile? Who knew there was such a thing or that it would be contested at Tamworth Athletics Club on Thursday, 21st September? Well there is, and it was! Described by Beermile.com as ‘in equal parts gastric challenge and athletic endeavour, competitors are required to drink a 355 ml beer (5% minimum ABV) before every quarter of a mile of the track, totalling four beers in the one mile course’. Peeler Wayne King brought home the winners’ trophy for the Peel Road Runners in a time of 7:44, beating his nearest Tamworth AC rival by just 4 seconds!

Peel Road Runners had a good turnout of runners at the Tissington Trail half marathon on Saturday and Sunday. Running Saturday’s event in beautiful sunshine, Claire Guffick was first home for the club in a personal best time of 2:10:36, followed by Ann Hill (2:31:17 PB), Roger Eastaff (2:31:26 PB); Lee Guffick (2:58:07) and Wendy Bowyer (3:12:52). At Sunday’s event on the same course but with cloudier and overcast conditions, Sarah Boffey ran a personal best time of 2:08:40.

On Sunday, George Hope ran the second of his marathon ‘Majors’ at the Berlin marathon, having completed New York last year. He ran a solid first half but he reported that he “couldn’t keep it up in the second half as my hips, quads and hamstrings all gave up on me at about 34km”. However, he still crossed the line in 4:30:24, which was a great run under the circumstances and he could say that he had run the race on the same day as the women’s marathon world record was broken at Berlin (Tigst Assefa from Ethiopia finished in 2:11:53, taking 2:11 off the previous record!)!

At the weekend’s parkruns, Darren O’Leary was first home for the club at Kingsbury in a time of 22:52. He was followed by Chris Bennett (23:31); Simon Gordon (24:05); Lisa Stretton (25:17); Roger Lloyd (25:26); Jackie Tierney (28:17); Wendy Roe (31:21 – Personal Best); Dave Fern (31:22) and Emma Whorwood (34:22). Parkrun tourists included: Tim Mudd (27:24) at Severn Valley, Bridgnorth; Mark Boffey (28:44) and Sarah Boffey (31:35) at Irchester, Wellingborough; Mike Shelton (21:32) and Sophie Galloway (26:34) at Beacon Park, Lichfield; Ian Orton (22:51) and Michael Hughes (30:40) at Quakers Walk, Devizes; Steph Attenborough (33:15) at the inaugural parkrun at Clarence, Bury and Allen King (23:35) at the inaugural parkrun at Sense Valley Country Park, Ibstock. Steph Attenborough also volunteered at the Queen’s Park junior parkrun in Bolton on Sunday.

With summer drawing to a close, the Tamworth 5 mile race provides the final competition in the Burton & District Summer League. Hosted by Tamworth Athletics Club, the course follows cycle paths and footpaths through Stonydelph, Green Lane (Birchmoor) and Wilnecote before returning to a rewarding finish on the athletics’ track. The race was won by Peter Hackett of Tamworth AC in a time of 26:41. The first Peeler back was Martin Hollamby in 31:12 followed by Emma Pick, who finished second lady in a time of 32:57 and first in age category (FSEN). Next home for the club was James Stretton (35:00); Michael Shelton (35:36); Phil Neale (36:39); Allen King (36:50); Mark Boffey (37:20); Ian Orton (38:56 – personal best); Darren O’Leary (39:11); Chris Bennett (39:34); Simon Gordon (40:16 – personal best); Lisa Stretton (40:27); Billy King (41:28); Roger Lloyd (42:41); George Hope (44:54); Sophie Galloway (45:30) and Sarah Boffey (45:44).

Meanwhile, disappointed not to have been able to run the Thunder Run 24 this year as the event was cancelled, an intrepid group of Peelers took on the equally infamous challenge of the Equinox 24 race at Belvoir Castle. Stephen Andrews, Alison Dolphin, Sarah French, Kelly Porter, Wendy Bowyer, Lee Guffick, Roger Eastaff, Ann Hill and Claire Guffick took part in the 10k Day and 10k Night Runs, supported by Peelers Chris and John Norris. Ben Dorkins also represented the club in a different team at the race, completing 4 x 10k laps. 

Another Peeler taking on a challenge this weekend was marathon addict Steph Attenborough, who completed her 100^thmarathon with Phoenix Running enabling her to join the prestigious ‘100 Marathon Club’, an achievement that many runners aspire to. After running her 100^th event she stated that she had run “100 full marathons which had been completed in 714 days between 3/10/21 and today, with 61 in the last year l believe.. apparently 1 in every 4.25 days”.  She celebrated by completing her 101^st marathon on Sunday by running laps of Chasewater with Yabba Dabba Doo events.

Peel ultra runner Luke Collins had a very strong run at the Ultra X 50 km Peak District race on Sunday. The 31.4 mile course with 6604 ft of ascent started and finished in Edale, taking in iconic hills such as Back Tor, Lord’s Seat and Lose Hill. Luke finished in a time of 6:17:58 and 3^rd in age category. 

On Sunday Val Lawson ran the Charnwood Challenge 10.5 mile trail race, an event organised by Nanpanton Scouts and taking in the scenic and undulating countryside around Windmill Hill, Beacon Hill and Jubilee Wood near Loughborough. She crossed the finish line in 2:20:42.

At Saturday’s parkruns, Darren O’Leary was first home for the club at Kingsbury in 23:46, followed by Garth Cox (24:50); Mike Shelton (25:30); Chris Bennett (25:50); Emma Pick (25:45); Sophie Galloway (27:49); Jackie Tierney (28:52) and Dave Fern (30:41). Parkrun tourists included: Ian Orton (23:47) at Valentines; Mick Stevenson (35:35) at Warwick Racecourse; Claire Guffick (31:54), Ben Dorkins (32:33) and Lee Guffick (45:09) at Belvoir Castle. Claire also celebrated her 100^th parkrun at this event! Mike Hughes took on the Thames Path parkrun at Woolwich, crossing the line in 26:42, while Mark Boffey (23:27) and Sarah Boffey (30:25) ticked off another of their alphabet challenge parkruns at Quakers Walk, Devizes.

At Sunday’s Spitfire 10k at the RAF Cosford Air Museum near Albrighton, a well organised and flat course lured a good number of runners to take on the race including Peelers Neal Dempsey and Helen Dempsey who ran together to finish in 1:11:00 and Alison Upton, who finished in 1:16:55.

With the temptation of a Bank Holiday weekend away camping by the sea, Peel parkrun tourists took on the notorious Woolacombe Dunes parkrun course in Devon. Renowned for its course that includes sand dunes to sap the energy of even the strongest runner, Mark Boffey was first back for the club in 26:56, followed by Ian Orton (27:32); Michael Hughes (33:30) and Sarah Boffey (38:01). 

Closer to home, there was a good turnout of Peelers at Kingsbury parkrun with Emma Pick both home first for the club and first lady overall. She finished in a time of 20:22, followed by Simon Gordon (24:35); Darren O’Leary (25:32); Jackie Tierney (28:14); Dave Fern (30:01); Sandra Ingram (31:08); Roger Eastaff (31:40); Joy Sykes (31:54); Jo Insley (34:38); Martyn Candy (35:02); Alison Perry (36:20); Alison Dolphin (40:00); Stella Taylor (51:37); Chris Taylor (51:39); Chris Norris (66:44); Stephen Andrews (66:46) and Ann Hill (68:30). 

Other parkrun tourists included Mike Shelton (22:07) at Cannock Chase; Ben Dorkins (23:23) at Rosliston; Garth Cox (23:40) at Walsall Arboretum; Sophie Galloway (29:31) at Netley Abbey, Southampton; Allen King (22:52); Chris Bennett (24:15) and Darren Truman (26:30) at Beeston, Nottingham; Mick Stevenson (34:21) at Northallerton; Tony Bryan (24:46) at Exmouth and Tim Mudd (31:31) at Abbey Park, Leicester.

Never ones to miss an opportunity, going on holiday for some Peelers opens up opportunities to run a parkrun in a different location and this was exactly what Caroline Evans did!  Running at the Whinlatter Forest (Lake District) parkrun meant taking on one of the hardest and hilliest routes in the country but Caroline crossed the line in 33:57, finishing first in her age category.

Closer to home, Tim Clark was first Peeler to finish at Kingsbury parkrun in a time of 22:24, followed by Phil Neale (23:19); Ben Dorkins (23:32); Darren O’Leary (24:06); Simon Gordon (26:03); Sophie Galloway (27:56); Dave Fern (29:23); Emma Livingstone (29:41); Neal Dempsey (29:53); Claire Guffick (31:35); Sandra Ingram (32:27); Roger Eastaff (32:56); Martyn Candy (36:12); Helen Dempsey (36:50); Lee Guffick (37:30); Jo Insley (44:43); Stephen Andrews (50:31); Sarah French (58:05); Wendy Bowyer (58:53); Chris Norris (62:04) and Alison Dolphin (62:37).

Parkrun tourists included: Joy Sykes (35:01) at Conkers; Mark Boffey (24:57) and Sarah Boffey (31:27) at Pontypool; Mick Stevenson (34:12) at Warwick Racecourse; Emma Pick (19:44); Mike Shelton (21:28) and Roger Lloyd (25:56) at Beacon Park, Lichfield; Allen King (21:56); Chris Bennett (25:14) and Jackie Tierney (28:45) at Abbey Park, Leicester and Mike Hughes (37:36) at Holbrooks, Coventry.

Peel Road Runners meet at 6.45 pm every Tuesday in the Skate Park car park in the Castle Grounds. New members always welcome. See website for further details.

Like buses, after a quieter few weeks for the Peel Road Runners it would seem that races all come at once!

The Burton 10k race hosted by Hatton Darts is the seventh race in the Burton & District Summer League race. It is an undulating road route starting near Queen’s Hospital in Burton before following country lanes out to Anslow then returning to Burton Athletics Club for a finishing lap of the track. The race winner was unattached Lloyd Biddell in a time of 32:42, but first Peel Road Runner home was Wayne King in a personal best time of 37:27 and claiming first prize in the M40 category. Emma Pick was first Peeler home for the ladies’ team in a time of 41:03 and 2^nd in FSen age category. Michael Shelton was next home for the club in a time of 44:29 followed by Allen King (46:41); Mark Boffey (48:05); Ian Orton (49:29); Darren O’Leary (49:49); Lorna Carlin (50:30); Lisa Stretton (50:36); Simon Gordon (50:47 – personal best); Tim Mudd (51:36); Roger Lloyd (53:58); Billy King (54:26); Michael Hughes (55:40); Caroline Evans (58:07 – personal best); Steph Attenborough (59:26) and Helen Manton (62:06). 

Meanwhile, Sarah Boffey (3:34:23.) and Val Lawson (3:54:37) took on the challenge of the Belper Rover 30k trail race over a very scenic and, at times, hilly course. 

Several Peelers took on half marathon challenges this weekend with Donna Reid (1:50:25); Judith Matthews (1:53:49) and George Hope (1:57:28) racing at the Solihull half marathon, whilst Phil Neale had a very good result (1:40:12) and Maisie Griffiths (1:59:46) at the Newark half marathon.

Joy Sykes took on the Gateshead Trail 10k, a two lap route on relatively flat and mainly hard-packed trails, finishing in a time of 1:12:08.

Peelers were out in force at Saturday’s parkruns: at Kingsbury, Garth Cox was first home for the club in 27:40, followed by Neal Dempsey (28:50); Dave Fern (29:34); Claire Guffick (29:54); Ann Hill (33:41); Lee Guffick (35:38); Helen Dempsey (36:04) and Martyn Candy (36:52). Parkrun tourists included: Tim Mudd (25:44) at Brueton; Chris Bennett (24:59) and Darren Truman (27:09) at Conkers; Mick Stevenson (34:17) at Northallerton; Billy King (26:12 – personal best) at Gorleston Cliffs; Steph Attenborough (30:42) at Babbs Mill; Sophie Galloway (38:48) at Great Yarmouth North Beach (literally run on the beach!).

Finally, a determined group of Peelers helped Jackie Tierney celebrate running her 100^th parkrun each run at a different venue, so that she could claim membership of the Cowell Club (named after Chris Cowell, the first parkrunner to run 100 parkruns at 100 different locations). Mark Boffey (23:13); Ian Orton (23:32); Sarah Boffey (28:26); Jackie Tierney (29:05) and Michael Hughes (34:58) ran at the Somerdale Pavilion parkrun, Bristol (famously known as the Curly Wurly run due to its unique twisting course!).

Last week, Peeler Steph Attenborough completed the Great Barrow Challenge Ultra (a distance of 32.73 miles with 873 ft of ascent) in a time of 7:22:08, averaging 13.30 miles/hour over the distance. Her second fastest time over the distance! This, in itself, was a great result but not content with this, Attenborough then completed two more marathons over the weekend .. the Saturn Running Hawaii 5-0 at Runnymede, which she finished in 6:29:03 and the Enigma Gameboy marathon, which she completed in 5:52:01.

At the weekend’s parkruns, Mike Shelton was first home for the Peelers at Kingsbury in a time of 23:06, followed by Phil Neale (23:38); Garth Cox (25:52); Claire Guffick (32:49); Ann Hill (34:31); Lee Guffick (35:33); Alison Perry (54:21); Stephen Andrews (54:21); Alison Dolphin (55:16) and Sarah French (55:17). Parkrun tourists included: Darren O’Leary (24:55) at Burgess, London; Allen King (22:44) and Chris Bennett (24:05) at Loughborough; Tim Mudd (29:15) at Woolacombe Dunes; Steph Attenborough (34:07) at Chasewater; Mick Stevenson (33:02) at Warwick Racecourse; Ian Orton (22:45), Mark Boffey (23:40) and Sarah Boffey (28:06) at East Park, Wolverhampton; Michael Hughes (37:32) at Trentham Gardens, Stoke and Jackie Tierney (28:45) at Yarborough, Lincoln.

Ever since the Peel Road Runners were established as a running club for Tamworth runners over 35 years ago, the club has welcomed runners of all abilities. For some of the club’s members, parkruns are the highlight of their week whilst for others, it is all about pushing the boundaries to see what they are capable of doing. Two such Peelers are Martin Hollamby and Steph Attenborough. 

At the weekend, Martin Hollamby completed the Lakeland 100 mile trail race. This iconic race follows a circular trail route emcompassing the whole of the Lakeland fells, including around 6300 m (21000 ft) of ascent. The route starts and finishes in Coniston and heads south before completing a clockwise loop taking in the Dunnerdale fells, Eskdale, Wasdale, Buttermere, Keswick, Matterdale, Haweswater, Kentmere, Ambleside and Elterwater before finishing in Coniston. Completing the route in 31.5 hours, Hollamby stated that he had had a great adventure, but that fatigue set in in the last 10 miles which caused him to lose some time there.

Meanwhile, ticking off more marathons in her 100 marathon challenge, Steph Attenborough completed 12 marathons in 12 days with Zig Zag Running with an average time of just over 6 hours, taking her marathon total to 84!

In Sunderland, Joy Sykes took part in the World Triathlon Championship Series Sprint distance triathlon completing the 0.75 km swim in 22:28; the 16.9 km cycle ride in 44:15 and the 5 km run in 33:49 finishing 12^th in the F55-59 age category.

At the weekend’s parkruns, Phil Neale was first home for the Peelers in 22:06 followed by Ben Dorkins (22:57); Simon Gordon (24:18); Tim Mudd (25:40); Dave Fern (29:41); Darren O’Leary (30:36); Claire Guffick (31:40); Laura Bowyer (32: 59); Lee Guffick (33:57); Helen Dempsey (36:05); Neal Dempsey (36:14); Roger Eastaff (36:27); Wendy Bowyer (39:40); Chris Norris (63:08) and Sarah French (63:39). Parkrun tourists included: Mark Boffey (23:46) and Michael Hughes (27:32) at South Manchester; Samantha Harris (36:30) at Brueton; Jackie Tierney (30:12) at Merthyr; Emma Pick (20:47) at Conkers; Garth Cox (28:10) at Sutton Park; Mick Stevenson (36:07) at Warwick Racecourse and Ian Orton (23:36) at Chipping Norton School.

The Worthington 6 mile race is the fourth race in the Burton & District Summer League and is an out-and-back race run along the Cloud Trail from Worthington, hosted by Ivanhoe Runners. The race always attracts a competitive field and this year was won by Matt Scarsbrook of Birchfield Harriers in a time of 31:13. First Peeler home was Wayne King in a time of 35:29 and 2^nd M40 and 13^th overall. He was followed by Luke Collins in 40:52; Emma Pick (41:25) and 2^nd Senior Female; Scott Chapman (43:15); Phil Neale (44:18); Ian Orton (46:02); Chris Bennett (47:51); Allen King (47:53); Tim Mudd (48:53); Darren O’Leary (48:53); Catherine Tieley (49:11); George Hope (51:19); Michael Hughes (51:58); Roger Lloyd (52:19); Emma Livingstone (59:41) and Billy King (70:15).

At the weekend, Caroline Evans completed the ‘Piece of Cake’ trail half marathon at Cardingmill Valley, Church Stretton in a time of 3:03:49. The scenic and hilly route threw all types of weather at the runners, making for an even more interesting experience than would usually be expected!

Also taking on a trail race over equally tough terrain, Sarah Boffey completed the Tittesworth Trail 10k race from Tittesworth reservoir near Leek in 1:32:18. The challenging route took in the Roaches and Hen Cloud, offering plenty of opportunities to enjoy the scenery and the interesting weather conditions!

At the weekend’s parkruns, Phil Neale was first home for the club at Kingsbury in 22:41, followed by Ben Dorkins (29:14); Dave Fern (29:45); Laura Bowyer (36:22); Sarah French (41:08); Alison Dolphin (41:10) and Ann Hill (41:12). Parkrun tourists included: Mick Stevenson (33:18) at Fountains Abbey, Ripon; Tim Mudd (26:21) at Gedling, Nottingham; EmmaPick (21:27) at Sutton Park; Ian Orton (25:42); Mark Boffey (25:43); Sarah Boffey (31:57) and Michael Hughes (34:21) at Henley Wood, Oswestry; Joy Sykes (33:36) at Tyne Green, Hexham; Garth Cox (25:12) at Woodgate Valley, Birmingham; Allen King (23:39) and Chris Bennett (25:16) at Market Bosworth and Jackie Tierney (32:02) at Beacon Hill, Loughborough.

Despite the hot, humid, and stormy weather, Peel Road Runners were not deterred from their usual
weekend running antics.

The Wyre Forest Trail Race saw runners tackle the “undulating” off-road route with 1200ft of
elevation over the half marathon distance. Michael Shelton was first Peeler back in a time of 2 hours
7 minutes, followed closely by Allen King (2:08), Simon Gordon (2:08) and Chris Bennett (2:11).
At the weekend’s Parkruns, first Peeler home at Kingsbury was Emma Pick (21:05), who was the first
female finisher, followed by Michael Shelton (21:33), completing his 200 th run at this location; Tim
Clark (22:51); Judith Mathews (25:37); Darren O’Leary (25:46); Roger Lloyd (26:03); Ben Dorkins
(27:46); Sophie Galloway (28:18); Dave Fern (30:27); Jacqueline Tierney (30:33); Helen Dempsey
(35:28); Neal Dempsey (35:29); Joy Sykes (36:06); Chris Norris (1:01:49); Chris Taylor (1:01:54) and
Stella Taylor (1:01:57). Parkrun tourists included Tim Mudd (24:57) at Highbury Fields, and Steph
Attenborough (32:36) at Henley Wood in Oswestry. A group of Peelers also travelled to Salcey Forest
in Northamptonshire: Allen King (22:56); Ian Orton (23:22); Mark Boffey (24:12); Chris Bennett
(24:43); Darren Truman (26:26); Sarah Boffey (30:46); Michael Hughes (32:55).