Peel Road Runners were out in force at parkruns across the country this weekend. The largest turnout was at Kingsbury, where Martin Hollamby was the first across the line on the 5k course in a time of 18:58. He was followed by Chris Bennett in 23:21, Mike Shelton in 24:22, Simon Gordon in 24:53, Stella Taylor in 25:55, Sophie Galloway in 26:03, Darren Truman in 26:04, Mark Boffey in 26:41, Clara Walton in 28:42, Jacqui Tierney in 29:08 and Emma Whorwood in 45:15.
It’s a reason to celebrate when someone reaches their 100th parkrun and the Peel Road Runners Pips group celebrated in style when Sarah French crossed the line for her 100th time at Kingsbury on Saturday. Dressed in acid house colours for an ‘80s celebration, Sarah was joined by Alison Dolphin, Kelly Porter, Lee Guffick, Wendy Bowyer, Stephen Andrews, Roger Eastaff, Christine Norris, Ann Hill and Claire Guffick who all finished in a poptastic time of 49 minutes.
Parkrun tourists this week included Andrew Pickard who finished the Concord parkrun in Sheffield in 23:43, whilst Tim Mudd ran at Tamar Lakes parkrun in Bude in a time of 27:42. Meanwhile, Ian Cooper (24:39) and Tanya Murphy (28:56) explored the Babbs Mill course at Kingshurst. Finally, Michael Stevenson galloped over the finish line at Warwick Racecourse in a time of 32:08.
Saturday morning would not be a Saturday morning for many of the Peel Road Runners who like to start their weekends with a 5k timed run around a local park. Starting their weekends off in Peeler style, Zoe Schnepp travelled to Derby to run the Markeaton Park parkrun in a time of 23:29 whilst for Garth Cox, Walsall Arboretum was the venue for his run completed in a time of 23:36. Chris Bennett (24:11), Ann Hill (36:05) and Sarah French (36:07) were amongst the 439 runners who completed the Conkers parkrun, whilst Tanya Murphy ran at Rosliston crossing the line in 40:13. As usual, Kingsbury Water parkrun had the highest compliment of Peelers who made up 14 of the 328 runners at this event. Phil Neale was the first Peeler to cross the line in 22:29 followed by Ash Goodman (23:30), Darren O’Leary (23:51), Carolyne Browne (25:51), Stella Martin (27:08), Mark Boffey (27:53), Claire Guffick (28:32), Clara Walton (28:37), Jacqui Tierney (29:28), Roger Eastaff (34:29), Lee Guffick (36:23), Kelly Porter (36:45), Simon Gordon (38:59) and Alison Dolphin (40:55). Notable runs included Stella Martin’s who is running 5k every day of 2021 to raise money for Cancer Research UK and Claire Guffick’s time, which was a personal best! At Lyme Park in Disley, Andy Pickard ran 25:22 and at Babb’s Mill in Solihull, Tim Mudd finished in 26:39. Finally at Beacon Park in Lichfield, Sophie Galloway crossed the line in 25:24.
On a very wet and cool 21st August, Joy Sykes took part in the Tri on the Tyne sprint duathlon (5km run, 20km bike, 2.5 km run) and completed the course in 1:48:00. Closer to home at the Spitfire 10km at Cosford, Wolverhampton on Sunday, Neil Dempsey crossed the line in 56:39, followed by Alison Upton in 1:02:07 and Helen Dempsey in 1:06:03.
Neal Dempsey Peel Road Runners
Peel Road Runners meet at 6.45 pm at the Skate Park car park in Tamworth on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
With another local race the victim of Covid19 restrictions, the Burton 10k organised by Hatton Darts was held as a virtual race this year. The 10k road race, which forms part of the Burton and District Summer League, would normally start near Burton hospital with an energy-sapping uphill run to the village of Anslow before a long and fast downhill finish at the Burton athletics stadium.
Several Peelers chose to run their own race in different locations. Wayne King took on the paths around Tamworth to finish in a speedy time of 37:29, whilst Mike Shelton ran around the Boldmere area of Sutton Coldfield finishing his virtual event in a time of 46:12. First lady Peeler home in a personal best time of 47:33 was Zoe Schnepp, whilst Ian Cooper (51:41) and Tanya Murphy (1:06:49) used the Solihull 10k (a real event on Sunday!) to record their times. George Hope ran 10k in 52:30 as part of his training for the New York Marathon in the autumn. Sophie Galloway finished in 55:06, Marcus Fairburn in 56:38, Claire Guffick in 1:06:14 and Joy Sykes in 1:08:00. The Burton 10k race is the penultimate race in this year’s BDSL, with the Tamworth 5 miles on 12th September being the final (and an actual race) to look forward to in September!
The Peelers were well represented at a variety of parkruns this week. The largest turnout was at the ever popular Kingsbury Water Park where Rob Mace was first Peeler to cross the line in 20:04. He was followed by Mike Shelton in 21:40, Phil Neale in 22:17, Darren O’Leary in 24:07, Stuart Hatton in 24:52, Chris Bennett in 24:56, Marcus Fairburn in 25:19, Ash Goodman in 25:52, Dave Fern in 27:03, Jo Insley in 29:13, Jackie Tierney in 30:30, Alison Upton in 31:08, Emma Whorwood in 34:33, Sarah French in 35:11, Roger Eastaff in 36:22, Alison Dolphin in 36:54, Wendy Bowyer in 42:51 and Chris Norris in 47:43.
Peeler parkrun tourists this week included Wayne King, who rounded off a week’s holiday in Great Yarmouth by running at the Gorleston Cliffs parkrun in a fabulous time of 18:41. Meanwhile at Brueton Parkrun in Solihull, Ian Cooper finished in 23:35 and Tanya Murphy crossed the line in 30:17. At Concord parkrun in Sheffield, Andy Pickard finished in 23:45 and at Sutton Park parkrun, Claire Guffick finished in 31:34 and Lee Guffick in 38:26. Finally at Warwick racecourse, Mick Stephenson finished in 30:53, whilst at Beacon parkrun in Lichfield, Sophie Galloway crossed the line in 29:32.
Peel Road Runners meet every Tuesday and Thursday at 6.45 pm in the Skate Park carpark in Tamworth.
On Sunday 8th August, Peel Road Runner Malcolm Bembridge competed in the Compton Verney sprint triathlon. The race consisted of a 400m open water swim in Compton Verney Lake, a 21km mostly flat bike ride and a 5k run around the tracks and trails of Compton Verney estate. Bembridge completed the course in a creditable 1:30:00.
With the return of parkrun, many Peelers headed to Kingsbury Water parkrun on Saturday to take part in the 5k timed run. First Peeler over the line was Rob Mace in a speedy time of 19:57, followed by Phil Neale in 23:10, Ash Goodman in 23:33, Garth Cox in 23:58, Jenna Wilson in 24:33, Stuart Hatton in 24:53, Darren O’Leary in 25:27, Carolyne Browne in 25:49, Darren Truman in 26:58, Simon Gordon in 27:27, Tim Mudd in 27:40, Jacqui Tierney in 30:05, Claire Guffick in 30:21, Roger Eastaff in 36:41, Lee Guffick in 36:44, Alison Dolphin in 36:58, Sarah French in 40:45 and Stephen Andrews in 40:49. Peeler parkrun tourists this week were Andy Pickard running at Penistone (Sheffield) in a time of 23:57, Ian Cooper (24:53) and Tanya Murphy (30:02) running at Babbs Mill near Solihull and Mick Stephenson (31:12) at Warwick racecourse.
The Montane Lakeland 100 is renowned for being one of the hardest and most challenging events on the Ultra running calendar. The circular route encompasses the whole of the Lakeland fells, includes in the region of 6300 m of ascent and consists entirely of public bridleways and footpaths. The route starts in Coniston and heads south before completing a clockwise loop which takes in the Dunnerdale fells, Eskdale, Wasdale and Buttermere before arriving in Keswick. From here the route heads to Matterdale and continues over to Haweswater before returning via Kentmere, Ambleside and Elterwater to the finish at Coniston.
Peel Road Runner Martin Hollamby took on this unique challenge, starting on Friday 23rd July at 6.00 pm and finishing 29 hours 48 minutes and 14 seconds later, having run 100 miles with minimal stopping through the night and day! This was Hollamby’s first attempt at the Lakeland 100 and he finished in 75th place out of a starting field of 524 (of whom, only 338 finished). When asked to describe his adventure he said, “It’s difficult to put a nearly 30 hour journey into words. I had a massive smile on my face all the way around – even in the last 20 miles when I slowed somewhat. The scenery was inspiring, made all the better by clear skies and a full moon on Friday and Saturday night. I’d thoroughly recommend this to anyone!”
The winner of the race was Mark Darbyshire (one of the top ultra runners at this distance in the country) in a time of 19:10:27.
Meanwhile following in their dad’s footsteps (or showing him how it’s done?), Sally and Emma completed the Lakeland 1 (mile) event on Friday, collecting their medals without a blister or broken toenail in sight!
Closer to home, but also taking on their own endurance challenge, a group of Peelers were camped out at Catton Park running the Conti Thunder Run 24 hour race starting on Saturday and finishing 24 hours later on Sunday. The Challenge requires runners to complete as many laps of the 10k course in the time as they can. The route is a great mix of terrain and surfaces keeping it engaging lap after lap, covering twisty trails, technical woodlands, open fields, stone tracks, climbs and descents. The race can be entered as either solo runners, pairs or teams.
Running in the solo categories, Ian Cooper completed an impressive 70km whilst Tanya Murphy managed 40 km before frustratingly having to withdraw due to shin splints.
In the team event, Team Peel Road Runners (comprising of Sophie Galloway, Sandra Ingram, Kathryn Adams, Jo Insley, Natalie Walker, Ash Goodman, Darren O’Leary and Andy Pickard) completed 23 10k laps, with an average lap time of 1:02:33. They finished 33rd out of of 146 mixed teams of between 6 and 8 runners. Meanwhile, Team Peel Pips 1 (comprising Chris Norris, Sarah French, Ann Hill, Chris Bennett and Ian Grigg) and Team Peel Pips 2 (comprising Alison Dolphin, Kelly Porter, Claire Guffick, Stephen Andrews and Lee Guffick) both completed 14 laps, finishing 133rd and 134th out of 146 teams. “We are completers, not compeeters!” said Club Secretary, Alison Dolphin, demonstrating the inclusivity of the Peel Road Runners for runners of all abilities.
Finally, the long-awaited return of parkrun was celebrated by runners all over the country on Saturday. Running for the first time since parkrun was cancelled due to the Covid19 pandemic, five Peelers tested out the course at Kingsbury Water Park. First home was Rob Mace in 20:28, followed by Garth Cox in 23:52, Lisa Stretton in 24:41, Tim Mudd in 30:31 and Jacqui Tierney in 31:20. Doing a spot of parkrun tourism, Mick Stevenson represented the club at Northallerton parkrun finishing in 32:31.
Peel Road Runners meet every Tuesday and Thursday at 6.45 pm at the skate park car park in the Castle Grounds.
Peel Team Thunder RunPeel Pips team at Thunder RunMini Peelers at LakelandMartin Hollamby Start Lakeland 100Martin Hollamby Finish Lakeland 100Ian Cooper and Tanya Murphy Solo Runners
Temperatures of 31° and high humidity did nothing to dissuade some enthusiastic Peel Road Runners from taking on road and trail challenges last weekend.
Travelling north west to Chester, Malcolm Bembridge ran the popular Aldi Chester 10k finishing in a time of 48:14, which put him in 26th place in a very competitive M50 category. Overall he finished 359th out of a total field of 2232 runners.
Closer to home, four Peelers ran the Brooksie’s Bash 10 mile trail race based at Foremarke Hall in Repton. This scenic and undulating course raises awareness and funds for the charity Mind (Derbyshire) and appeals to runners of all abilities. Wayne King was first Peeler to cross the finish line in a time of 1:12:25, which put him in 8th place overall and 4th in the M40 category. Next Peeler home was Emma Pick who finished in a time of 1:22:41, 4th lady and 2nd in the FSEN age category. She was closely followed by Zac Gibbons in a time of 1:25:40, 30th overall and 12th in the MSEN age category. Carl Hole-Maloney had a brilliant race; the Bash being his first trail race and his first 10 mile race. He finished in a creditable time of 1:44:56 and 113th overall out of a total of 242 runners, stating that it was the hardest running event he had ever done!
Carl Hole Maloney (foreground) Wayne King (background) Brooksie’s BashMalcolm Bembridge Chester 10k
Despite other sporting occasions taking precedence this weekend, an enthusiastic group of Peel Road Runners have been testing their running prowess over the distance of six miles as part of the Burton and District Summer League. Due to Covid restrictions, the midweek Worthington 6 miles race organised by Ivanhoe Runners (Ashby de la Zouch) has had to go virtual this year, but would normally be an ‘out and back’ run on the Cloud Trail (a disused railway line, but now a traffic-free cycle route) at Worthington.
First Peeler to cross the virtual line was Wayne King, who clocked a very speedy time of 36:01, closely followed by club rival Martin Hollamby in 36:53. Running well in warm and humid conditions, Richard Satchwell finished the distance in 43:44 a week after his half marathon personal best. Mike Shelton finished in 46:13, whilst Zoe Schnepp was first woman home in an impressive time of 46:24. Lisa Stretton ran strongly to finish in 47:43 followed by Jenna Colin in 48:13, Chris Bennett in 48:59, Mark Boffey in 49:52, Donna Lancaster in 51:02, George Hope in 51:03 and Simon Gordon in 51:18. Carl Hole-Maloney ran a personal best time over the distance of 51:35, taking 6 minutes of his previous best time. Stuart Hatton finished in 51:42, followed by Marcus Fairburn in 51:45, Joanne Harvey in 52:03, Rachel Browne in 52:10, Carolyne Browne in 52:28, Sophie Galloway in 54:23, Emma Livingstone in 55:24, Sandra Ingram in 57:3, Helen Manton in 60:11,Tanya Murphy in 61:05, Sarah Barber in 61:0, Claire Guffick in 61:51, Emma Petricca in 62:39, Emma Whorwood in 64:08, Alison Upton in 64:40, Owen Slater in 67:00 and Joy Sykes in 70:35.
Peel Road Runners meet in the Skate Park car park in the Castle Grounds every Tuesday and Thursday evening. Contact us for more information.
With the racing scene in the UK slowing returning to some sort of normality, the Peelers have been out in force all over the country!
Heading north to the beautiful countryside of Northumberland, Neal Dempsey completed the 100km Heineken Race to the Castle event over the weekend of 26th and 27th June in a time of 19 hours, placing 434th out of 669 finishers. Competitors in the ultra race had to contend with difficult weather conditions, running through the night over mixed and undulating terrain, whilst running from Kirkhale to Bamburgh Castle following the long distance path of St Oswald’s Way.
Meanwhile on the south coast, Tricia Bunn completed the equally arduous North Devon AONB Marathon in aid of North Devon Hospice on Sunday, 27th June. The race advertised as “the toughest and most beautiful race in the UK” started and finished in Woolacombe and for the most part followed the coastal path with its many ups and downs! Tricia, who said that “it could be my 100th or 110th marathon … I’ve lost count!” completed the course in a creditable time of 5:16:52 and was 7th in age category and 17th lady. Richard Bunn completed the equally difficult half marathon in a time of 2:15:00.
On Saturday 3rd July, Richard Satchwell ran the Birmingham and Black Country half marathon. This is a unique point to point race along the canal towpaths from Wolverhampton city centre to Brindley Place in Birmingham. Although largely flat with locks and bridges the only inclines, the route is famous for including the 350m Coseley tunnel and for providing refreshments on canal boats along the way. Satchwell crossed the finish line in 1:45:17 and came 125th out of 636 runners achieving a personal best over the distance of 4 minutes 58 seconds.
On Sunday 4th July, the Peelers turned out in force to run the Florette Fradley 10k road race. This is a very popular local event where runners race over a two lap flat and fast course. With the hot and humid weather against them, first Peeler home was Emma Pick who finished in a creditable time of 41:16 and was 9th female and 5th in age category. She was followed by Zoe Schnepp who finished in 48:15 and was 33rd female and 16th in age category. Chris Bennett crossed the line next in a time of 53:53 followed by Clara Walton in 1:01:38; Emma Whorwood in 1:02:43; Claire Guffick in 1:04:28; Alison Upton in 1:05:25; Martyn Candy in 1:07:00; Ann Hill in 1:13:24; Sarah French in 1:13:38; Lee Guffick in 1:15:30; Alison Dolphin in 1:17:48 and Stephen Andrews in 1:23:00.
The Peelers next challenge will be the Burton and District Summer League Worthington 6 mile event. This race, which is normally held on the Cloud Trail in Worthington near Ashby de la Zouch, is a “virtual” race this year and a new distance for the runners to race over.
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]With little race activity over the festive period, parkrun was the main focus for many Peelers.
New Year’s Day parkruns always prove popular and this year was no exception with a record crowd of 820 at Kingsbury Water park, making it one of the most popular events in the country. Uniquely at New year, different park runs take place at different times to allow keen runners to do the double. This year a local double was available with the Sutton Park event taking place at 8 30 followed by Kingsbury at 10.30. Several keen Peelers successfully completed the double, with the Kingsbury leg generally being faster than the hillier Sutton Park course.
Congratulations go to Martin Hollamby (22.17 mins at Sutton Park and 19.44 mins at Kingsbury), Mike Shelton (22.26 and 21.49), Carl Hole (28.41 and 27.29), Claire Guffick (32.07 and 31.00), Emma Whorwood (33.58 and 35.18), Wendy Bowyer (37.22 and 36.10) and achieving her 50th parkrun in the process, Sarah French (36.12 and 36.32) and Lee Guffick (38.48 and 38.22) for doing the double.
Several other Peeler presumably fancied a lie in and just completed Kingsbury. Marcus Fairburn finished in 27.16 mins followed by Stuart Hatton (27.23), Darren O’Leary (32.42), Alison Dolphin (38.37), Stephen Andrews (39.44) and Christine Norris (40.06).
Saturday dawned dry and bright and Kingsbury parkrun was again well attended despite only being 3 days since the previous running. First Peeler home was Mike Shelton in a decent 22.00 mins. Not far behind was Chris Bennett in a new personal best time of 22.20 mins then Phil Neale (23.45), Garth Cox (24.15), Darren O’Leary (24.40), Tim Mudd (27.20), Sophie Galloway (28.30), Carolyne Browne (28.31), Claire Guffick (31.45), just ahead of Jackie Tierney (31.52) and Mark Boffey on his return from injury (32.36). Lee Guffick finished in 33.17 mins, ahead of Sarah French and Ann Hill (both 33.24 mins) and Wendy Bowyer who completed the course in 38.37 mins. Congratulations also go to Jackie Tierney who completed her 150th park run over the Christmas period.
Several Peelers were in tour including Emna Pick who finished as first lady at Conkers in 21.11 mins and Andrew Pickard who finished the Sheffield Concord event in 22.58 mins. Zac Gibbons (23.32) and Nickolas Neale (25.32) both attended Sutton Park and Michael Stevenson completed the Warwick Racecourse event in 30.31 mins.
Peel Road Runners meet every Tuesday and Thursday at 7.00pm in the reception area of Tamworth Snowdome. Please see our club website for more information and contact details.
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The main event of the weekend was the third round of the Derby Cross Country League, held at Smalley near Ilkeston in Derbyshire. After all the recent rain, the 9km course was extremely muddy and proved challenging, described by some as the hardest course they had ever run.
In the men’s competition Lee Rickard was first home for the club in 21st place, followed by Mark Webster in 33rd, Ash Goodman (70th), Mike Shelton (71st), Chris Bennett (82nd), Craig Strong (84th), Simon Gordon (89th), Carl Hole (109th), Mark Boffey (111th) and Lee Guffick (117th).
In the ladies competition, Kathryn Adams was 17th followed by Rachel Rickard (18th), Donna Lancaster (24th), Sophie Galloway (43rd), Sandra Ingram (55th), Claire Guffick (61st) and Sarah Rober who was 65th on her first outing for the club! Thanks also go to Ray Rogers for his help and enthusiastic support during the event.
Bob Donovan was in action completing another marathon, this time the Poplar Challenge at Sence Valley Forest park in Ibstock, finishing in a time of 6:08.52 hrs.
There was a good turnout at Kingsbury Water Park for parkrun on Saturday morning. Once again mud and high water levels forced a change from the usual course.
Chris Bennett was the first Peeler home in a time of 23.26 mins followed by Darren O’Leary (26.36), Jackie Tierney (28.57), Claire Guffick (32.05), Alison Upton (32.23), Ann Hill (34.14) who finished just ahead of Sarah French (34.15), Emma Whorwood (37.06), Wendy Bowyer (37.17) and Lee Guffick (40.36). Alison Upton volunteered to help the event run smoothly.
Elsewhere Garth Cox completed the Bedworth event in 24.45 mins. Stuart Hatton (26.02) and Marcus Fairbutrn (26.03) were at Brueton Park in Solihull. Andrew Pickard finished Rotherham parkrun in 23.45 mins, Sophie Galloway visited Chasewater, finishing in 29.54 mins. Tim Mudd completed the new Oaklands parkrun in Yardley, Birmingham in 27.12 mins and Michael Stevenson cantered home in 29.35 mins at the Warwick racecourse event.
Peel Road Runners meet every Tuesday and Thursday at 7.00pm in the reception area of Tamworth Snowdome. Please see our club website for more information and contact details.
Photos:
1 & 2) Smalley Cross Country
3) Bob Donovan completes another marathon[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”1222″ img_size=”full”][vc_single_image image=”1224″ img_size=”full”][vc_single_image image=”1223″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
