Category: Weekly round up

This weekend was Peel spirit at its finest: miles everywhere, smiles everywhere, with thirty‑four Peelers at twelve different parkruns, a huge turnout at Ashby 20, and adventures stretching from Wilmslow to the Netherlands, the black and yellow made its presence known.

🟦 parkrun Round‑Up

At Kingsbury Water, Phil Neale led the Peel contingent with a sharp 22:09, followed by Ben Dorkins in 23:37. Katie Stretton ran an excellent 24:48, closely followed by mum Lisa in 24:50. Darren Truman continued the strong showing with 28:47, while Stephen Andrews and Ann Hill crossed the line together in 42:23 and 42:24. Nicola Bannister rounded off the group with a determined 44:35.

Over in Shrewsbury, Emma Pick delivered the standout parkrun performance of the entire weekend. Her superb 19:16 earned her second female and sixth overall, a truly outstanding run that continues her excellent form.

Tamworth Castle Grounds saw a huge Peel turnout and a wide spread of times. Ashley Goodman opened strongly with 22:02, followed by Wayne Richardson in 23:21. Sami Futrill ran well for 24:51, while Chris Bennett and Allen King were separated by just one second in 25:23 and 25:24. Cheryl Flint continued the steady flow of Peelers with 27:09, followed closely by Stuart Hatton in 27:22. Marcus Fairburn clocked 27:49, with Owen Slater finishing in 29:19. The later runners showed just as much determination, with Jo Bovington completing her run in 39:53, Sarah Boffey in 41:23, and Tracy Ford finishing in 56:37.

Elsewhere, Peelers were scattered across the country and beyond. At Beacon, Roger Lloyd ran 23:41, Mike Shelton produced a strong 21:26 and Garth Cox finished with a 61:12. At Birchall Playing Fields, Tim Mudd completed his run in 26:18, while at Doddington Hall, Jacqueline Tierney recorded a solid 30:26. Milton Keynes saw Graham Lane finish in 35:18, and at Park in the Past, Ian Orton ran 33:44. Peel tourism even extended to the Netherlands, where Michael Hughes ran 25:03, and Mark Boffey followed in 25:19 at Zegerplas.

🟨 Ashby 20

Ashby 20 once again delivered everything we love about it: atmosphere, camaraderie, sunshine, grit, and — this year — a Peeler being chased by a gorilla. It was a classic edition of the race, and Peelers rose to the challenge in style.

At the front of the pack, Wayne King produced a superb run, finishing in 2:12:35. Ian Orton followed with a strong 2:48:17 and Mike Shelton with a 2:55:36 finish. Georgie Mead rounded out the leading group with a smooth and controlled 2:58:35.

The middle of the pack was filled with determined and impressive runs. Lorna Carlin finished in 2:58:48, followed by Simon Gordon in 3:06:52, while Lydia Knight completed her first-ever Ashby 20 in an excellent 3:07. Tracy Ford continued her consistent form with 3:11:20, and Gemma Pritchard followed in 3:14:52. Sophie Galloway celebrated a well‑earned personal best with her 3:15:21 finish.

Claire Guffick completed the course in 3:54:51, while Emma Whorwood finished in 4:06, Emma Petricca completed her first Ashby 20 in 4:08, closely followed by Emma La Planche in 4:08:27. Alison Upton rounded out the Peel contingent with a hugely significant 4:19:56 — her longest ever run and her first time tackling the event. Every single runner earned their famous Ashby hoody the hard way, and the smiles in the group photo said everything.

Away from Ashby, Peelers were busy elsewhere, too. At the Wilmslow Half Marathon, Lee Rickards delivered a superb performance, finishing in a personal best time of 1:21:20 — an outstanding achievement in a competitive field.

On the trails, Lorna Al‑Ani completed her first race as a Peeler at the Trails of Mena Marathon, finishing just under 4:15 on a challenging course. Meanwhile, Jo Sharman and Steph Attenborough took on the LDWA Charnwood Marathon, battling 3,000 feet of elevation and rugged terrain to finish in 9:29 — a huge endurance effort. Not content with that, they both returned the next day for Saturn Running’s Dashing Dog Run, where Jo completed a marathon in 6:18, and Steph finished the half-marathon in 3:17. Two races in two days is an achievement that speaks for itself.

A great week for Peel Road Runners with many events, PBs and challenges met and a Gorilla to add to the mix!  If you’d like to join us, we meet on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 6.45 for 7 pm at the Skate Park in Castle Grounds. For more details, visit www.peelroadrunners.co.uk

This weekend, Wayne King put in a shift as usual and ran 1 Hr 22 at the Cheshire half-marathon.

It seems it quite literally runs in the family as Tom King secured a half-marathon PB at the Cheshire half-marathon, completing the course in 1 hr 49.

As part of her London Marathon training, Samie Futrill had the challenge of the Croft circuit 20 miler in Darlington  – 10 laps of the 2 -mile course, and she completed it in an amazing 2hrs 55 – Well done Samie, you’re a better woman than me !

It was a beautiful sunny day on Saturday which saw Peelers Park runners out in mass . Full results listed below

Coventry Park run –

Alison Upton 34:24

Rosliston Park run –

Emma Pick 23:50

Merthyr Park run –

Chris Taylor 33:17

Kettering Park run –

Tim Mudd 26:18

Conkers Park run –

Roger Lloyd 24:19

Kingsbury park run –

Phil Neale 26:22

Claire Guffick 31:33

Roger Eastaff 35:23

Lee Guffick 35:38

Wendy Bowyer 36:27

Ann Hill 37:24

Stephen Andrew’s 43:36

Nicola Bannister 44:50

Alison Dolphin 45:58

Chasewater –

Michael Hughes 26:40

Warwick racecourse –

Michael Stevenson 41:05

Oaklands-

Garth Cox 30:35

Beacon-

Mike Shelton 21:40

Tracy Ford 26:56

Chris Bennett 27:06

Lorna Carlin 27:12

Simon Gordon 28:11

Sophie Galloway 28:34

Tamworth castle grounds –

Martin Hollamby 21:12

Wayne Richardson 23:37

Dan Bird 24:02

Graham Lane 26:43

Jo Bovington 28:24

Stuart Hatton 28:52

Cheryl Flint 40:21

Vermuyden way-

Ian Orton 23:47

Park in the past-

Jackie Tierney 35:45

Holme Pierrepont-

Jon Allen 25:28

Some of our Peel road runners travelled further afield 

Mark and Sarah travelled to Frankfurt to run Nidda –

Mark Boffey 25:44

Sarah Boffey 34:24

Steph and Jo travelled to Poland for Zielona Góra. Jo was completing her 7th volunteering alphabet. Only 2 people in the Parkrun world with this accolade and they are both Peel Road runners !!

Zielona Góra –

Steph Attenborough 33:11

Jo Sherman 33:25

The club are due to change to the long-awaited Summer club routes soon. If you’re interested in joining us, please let us know via the Peel road runners public Facebook page

Early March and with spring just around the corner can mean only two things, Chester 10K and Fradley 10k, both firm favourites with Peel Road Runners.

Fradley 10k is a fast, flat two-lap course around the roads and country lanes around Fradley village with a lot of PB potential. Each year, Peel Road Runners turn out in force, and this year was no exception, with 13 peelers representing the club. First back was Roger Lloyd with a great time of 48:49. Followed by Lizzy Young (56:32), Sandra Ingram (57:24), Stuart Hatton (58:07), Claire Guffick (59:19) a new PB and the first time sub 60mins, Emma Whorwood (01:00:58), Amy Davis (01:04:00), Dave Fern (01:05:07), Kelly Sippitts (01:08:22), Roger Eastaff (01:09:58), Wendy Bowyer (01:10:02), Wendy Roe (01:10:06) and Lee Guffick (01:10:27).

The Chester 10k is described as a fast course and the best city centre 10k in the Northwest, and is also the first event of the Chester Triple Series, where runners must complete the 10k, half marathon and either the full or metric marathon within the same calendar year. Seven peelers made the trip with an extremely early start to begin their quest for the coveted triple medal. Matt Salisbury was first back for the club in a fast time of 43:16. Closely followed by Allen King (46:18), Samie Futrill (49:13), Tracy Ford (53:15), Lisa Barnes (01:02:04), Helen Dempsey (01:10:17) and Neal Dempsey (01:10:17).

In Parkrun news, we have two groups contending for this week’s tourism trophy.

Firstly, Steph Attenborough and Jo Sharman decided to go to Gibraltar Botanical Gardens. An out-and-back course (3 times) on tarmac paths through trees and planted gardens, Steph completed the run in 38:39, with Jo Sharman hot on her heels with 39:57.

Secondly, three peelers made the trip to Lithuania to attend Kulturos Ir Poilsio Parkas. The course is two laps along surfaced paths that run alongside the river. In snowy conditions, Mark Boffey completed the course in 26:49 with Mike Hughes close behind with 26:52. Jackie Tierney completed the trio with 32:36.

More local parkrun tourism, Peel Road Runners appeared at several events. Tim Mudd ran Black Rocks in 26:32. Garth Cox ran Chasewater in 53:51. Coronation Park saw Emma Pick run in a time of 24:18, and Graham Lane ran 27:47 at Northwich.

Ian Orton travelled to Great Denham parkrun, where he joined the 20-minute club with a fantastic time of 20:32.

At Beacon Park parkrun, Samie Futrill ran 23:43. She was joined by some fellow peelers who, with marathon/Ashby 20 training in full effect, took the opportunity to include Beacon Park parkrun as part of a training long run (starting in Tamworth, running to Lichfield, completing parkrun and then running back to Tamworth). Mike Shelton completed Beacon Park in 24:37. Followed by Sam Cart (26:23), Simon Gordon (26:56), Chris Bennett and Lorna Carlin (both 27:29), Lydia Trenfield (27:38), Sophie Galloway and Georgie Mead (both 29:11).

As the norm, both Kingsbury Water Park and Tamworth Castle grounds were well represented.

At Kingsbury Water Park, Katie Stretton was first back for the club with 25:16. Followed by Lisa Stretton (25:35), Darren Truman (28:17), Darren O’Leary (29:19), Wendy Bowyer (01:08:39) and Roger Eastaff (01:08:49).

At Tamworth Castle Grounds, Lee Rickards was first back (for club and 1^st place overall) in an incredibly fast time of 18:14. Ash Goodman finished in 22:15 with Wayne Richardson (23:37), Tracy Ford and Jon Allen (both 25:20), Cheryl Flint (27:36) and Jo Bovington (40:16) completing the Peel contingent.

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.

Whilst many sports fans have been focused on the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, Peel Road Runners have been focusing on training in the wet and wintry conditions nearer to home! Thankfully, this week saw something of a respite in the rain, which meant that fewer parkruns were affected by cancellations, so the parkrun Peelers were able to get their weekly fix on various 5k courses around the country and beyond. 

Running at Mansfield, Michael Hughes finished in 28:23, whilst at Kingsbury Water Park Phil Neale was first home for the club in 24:10, followed by Katie Stretton (24:58), Lisa Stretton (25:46), Roger Eastaff (37:04), Lee Guffick (37:05), Ann Hill (37:52), Wendy Bowyer (46:25) and Nicola Bannister (46:25).

At Newark parkrun, Steph Attenborough and Jo Sharman ran 35:11 and 35:24 respectively.  Heading south, Danny Beardsmore completed the Seaton parkrun in Devon in 20:14, whilst at Ormeau parkrun, Belfast, Ian Orton crossed the finish line in 21:21.  Travelling to Evesham in Worcestershire, Mark Boffey ran in 27:15 with Darren Truman (27:42) and Sarah Boffey (33:46) close behind.  On the east coast, Billy King finished the Great Yarmouth parkrun in 27:27 with Jacqui Tierney crossing the border to complete the Holyrood, Edinburgh parkrun in 33:31.  Roger Lloyd and Tim Mudd took on the Sense Valley, Ibstock parkrun finishing in 23:40 and 27:04 respectively.  This was Tim’s 300^th parkrun … a huge achievement!

The biggest Peeler parkrun turnout was at our home course in the Castle Grounds, Tamworth with Jamie Abbiss first over the line for the club in a time of 19:26 followed by Martin Hollamby (20:47), Luke Collins (21:44), Lee Rickards (22:28), Wayne Richardson (24:22), Lydia Trenfield (25:00), Jonathan Allen (25:38), Dan Bird (26:21), Stuart Hatton (28:14), Cheryl Flint (28:31), Sophie Galloway (30:10), Emma Pick (41:14) and Jo Bovington (48:37).  Stuart Hatton was also celebrating his 200^th parkrun – another great achievement!

Finally, travelling to the British Military base at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, Graham Lane completed the ‘closed’ and very exclusive course 5k in a time of 25:35.

Away from parkruns, Jo Sharman completed her 87^th marathon at the Saturn Too’s Doughnut Dash along the River Nene Washlands in Northampton.  She finished the lapped event in a time of 6:12:00.  Meanwhile, Steph Attenborough completed her 101^st half-marathon at the same event, finishing in a time of 3:12:00. 

A quiet February weekend for the Peel Road Runners saw just three members in action, all in a local race, Rugeley 10 Miler. A popular, challenging ten‑mile road race held each year in mid‑February and hosted by Rugeley Runners. The course is a scenic but undulating route, set on quiet country lanes around Brereton and Longdon. The run features several climbs, including a short sharp hill at mile 1.3, rolling mid‑section, and tougher climbs such as Grange Hill around mile 7. The soggy conditions and undulating route was no deterrent for Roger Lloyd who crossed the line first in an impressive time of 01:25:38. Next home was Dan Bird in 137^th place (1:28:59) with Wayne Richardson snapping at his heels and achieving a time of 1:30:01.    

Despite the local park runs at Kingsbury and Tamworth once again being called off due to weather conditions 18 Peelers were in action having hunted out alternative locations. Closest to home were Wayne Richardson at Rosliston (26:22), Claire Guffick and Lee Guffick, 30:54 and 37:54 respectively at Conkers, and Mike Shelton (22:16), Ash Goodman (22:42), Garth Cox  (23:39), Sophie Galloway (28:35) and Stuart Hatton (29:35) at Beacon Park.

 Venturing further afield Rutland Water hosted Joanne Sharman 34:51 and Steph Attenborough 35:33, Ian Orton (38:46) and Emma Pick (46:19) visited Edgbaston Reservoir and Corby hosted Michael Hughes (27:35). Other Parkrun tourism included Tim Mudd (26:33) at Salcey Forest, Mark Boffey (26:46) and Jackie Tierney (28:49) at Hereford and Graham Lane (28:21) at Bury Field. Finally Jonathan Allen headed to the north east to take on Sewerby park run completing in a time of 28:53.

Peel Road Runners are a long‑established, friendly running club based in Tamworth, Staffordshire, welcoming runners of all abilities and also offering a walking group. The club prides itself on its welcoming atmosphere and strong community spirit, with members always happy to share knowledge and encourage newcomers. Regular club runs are held each Tuesday evening, meeting at the Skate Park in Tamworth Castle Grounds at 6:45pm for a 7pm start.

Despite all the rain over the last week, on Sunday, a dedicated group of Peelers took on the cross-country race at Boothorpe (Conkers).  Consisting of 2 Laps of the National Forest, runners completed approximately 5.5 miles, mostly on grassland with a small section of compacted paths.

In the women’s team, Sophie Galloway was the first Peeler to finish in a superb 28th place, followed by fantastic performances by Cheryl Flint in 43^rd and Sandra Ingram in 48th. Jackie Tierney completed the scoring in a strong 49th place. Following closely behind was Claire Guffick in 52nd place, Emma La Planche in 58th and Val Lawson in 59th place. First Peeler to complete for the men’s team was Wayne King in a brilliant 8th place, closely followed by Lee Rickards, also finishing in a fantastic 16th place. Luke Collins was next Peeler home in 59th place, followed by Wayne Richardson in 89th, James Payne in 94^th, Simon Gordon in 117^th and completing the scoring Mark Boffey in 118^th.  Following were Graham Line in 127^th and Lee Guffick in 137^th. 

With marathon training in full swing, Chris Bennett and Sammie Futrill decided that just running 17 miles wasn’t quite challenging enough they decided 15 of those miles should be the Cannock Chase 15-mile race. Chris and Sammie were bravely joined by Adrian Jelley, who also decided it was a good thing to do on a Sunday morning. With the weather fairies gracing us with rain every day of 2026 so far, an interesting (some would say awful) course was made even more challenging.

In true Peel fashion, they would not be discouraged and posted so more than respectable times. Adrian was first across the line in a time of 02:20:55; he was followed shortly after by Sammie with a time of 02:30:38, which was enough to secure Sammie the trophy for third female (well done). Rounding of the event for Peel was Chris in a time of 02:49:31. Well done to all three.

Taking place on the same tough muddy course, Gillian Jelley opted to take on the 10-mile distance and finished in a fantastic time of 01:59:54. Well done Gillian.

With many Parkruns cancelled last weekend due to flooding, Peelers travelled far and wide to find runs taking place.

At Beacon Park, the first Peeler back was Mark Shelton in (24:06), followed by Wayne Richardson (24:29), Sophie Galloway (24:37), Tracy Ford (25:44), and Amy Jones (28:20).

At Brueton Graham Lane finished in (27:41), at Brunswick Park Jonathan Allen finished in (27:14).  At Conkers Marcus Fairburn finished in (29:37), followed by Stuart Hatton in (30:31).

Travelling to Coronation Park, Roger Lloyd finished in (24:23), with Ian Orton finishing in (21:48) at Coventry.

Jacqueline Terney ventured to Crewe, finishing in (30:07), Garth Cox travelled to Oaklands, finishing in (25:57), and Michael Hughes travelled to Peron Playing Fields and finished in (30:03).

At Rushcliff,e Mark Boffey finished in (27:44), followed by Sarah Boffey in (36:39), and at Sutton Park, Ashley Goodman finished in (24:14).

Finally, travelling the furthest to Ekebergsletta in Oslo, Joanne Sharman finished in (58:56), followed by Stephanie Attenborough in (58:57).

Peelers Couch to 5k, Peel Road Runners Couch to 5k also starts on Tuesday, 10^th February, running for 9 weeks.  The group meets at Tamworth Castle Grounds Skate Park at 6.15 pm.  Come along and give it a try, details can be found at: www.peelroadrunners.co.uk

There were not many events this weekend, as many of the club’s runners put in the training miles as they work towards events coming up in March and April. We had one runner participate in the Warwick half-marathon, which starts and finishes at the racecourse. Ash Goodman finished in a very impressive 1:46:43.

Park run was the main focus for many on Saturday morning. Tamworth Castle Grounds saw the most Peel runners. Dan Bird (24:10) was followed by Wayne Richardson (25:35), Anne Whitby-Smith (26:27), Jonathan Allen (26:50), Marcus Fairburn (29:04), Jo Insley (34:06), Cheryl Flint (41:25), Allen King (55:44) and Chris Bennett (55:48).

Kingsbury Water Park was also popular with Phil Neale in 25:17, followed by Lorna Carlin (27:29), Tracy Ford (27:33), Sophie Galloway (27:44), Claire Guffick (32:08), Alison Upton (34:57), Lee Guffick (38:36) and Roger Eastaff (38:37).

Beacon Lichfield saw Mike Shelton finish in 21:18, Garth Cox (23:24) and Roger Lloyd (23:40). Graves saw Ian Orton finish in 24:12 with Michal Hughes in 46:43. Queenswood Country Park had Jo Sharman and Steph Attenborough completing the course at 59:54.

Other solo attendees were Graham Lane at Alvaston (27:09), Jacky Tierney at Clumber Park (32:55), Emma Pick at Rosliston (44:08), Mike Stevenson at Warwick Racecourse (42:35) and Simon Gordon at Woodhouse Moor in 26:27.

If you’d like to join us, we meet on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 7 pm at the Skate Park in Castle Grounds. For more details, visit www.peelroadrunners.co.uk

At club run on Tuesday, the Peelers took part in a ‘Hash Run’. Originating in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the Hash Run is a fun run or walk which follows a chalk trail. The run was led by ‘Hare’ Martin Hollamby, who, after explaining the rules and leading a rendition of the Hash prayer, set off to lay a trail of chalk arrows for the walking group and running group to follow. The ‘co-hares’ in pursuit had to search carefully, as some trails ended in a You’ve Been Fooled message, with the followers having to retrace their steps and find the correct route. Hash runs have a tradition of drinking, and the evening was no exception, with the co-hares challenged to find the hidden stash of beer along the route. Challenge was accepted and completed with the co-hares enjoying liquid refreshment towards the end of the trail. Many thanks to Martin for organising what proved to be a fun and sociable evening.

Peel Road Runners were out in force across a wide range of parkrun locations on Saturday morning, with members enjoying conditions at venues across the country. At Conkers parkrun, Stuart Hatton finished in 29:58. A good turnout headed to Kingsbury Water, where Mike Shelton recorded a strong time of 21:51. Ben Dorkins followed in 26:05, with Lisa Barnes finishing in 30:40. Christine Norris and Stephen Andrews completed the course in 1:07:11 and 1:07:40, respectively.

At Newark parkrun, Philip Neale finished in 24:30. Further north at Northallerton, Michael Stevenson completed the course in 41:25. Meanwhile, at Oaklands parkrun, Ian Orton ran well to finish in 22:12.

Several Peel Road Runners took on Beacon parkrun, where Garth Cox finished in 23:14, followed by Roger Lloyd in 23:44. Katie Stretton recorded a time of 24:35, with Lisa Stretton close behind in 24:44. George Hope completed his run in 26:41.

At the scenic Trentham Gardens parkrun, Mark Boffey and Darren Truman crossed the line together in matching times of 32:18, while Sarah Boffey followed with a time of 33:25. Over at Abbey Park, Emma Pick completed her parkrun in 28:43. At Sence Valley Forest Park, Tim Mudd finished in a time of  27:03.

A large Peel Road Runners presence was seen at Tamworth Castle Grounds, where Martin Hollamby recorded a fast time of 21:31. Ashley Goodman finished in 23:22, followed by Wayne Richardson in 24:46. Sophie Galloway crossed the line in 25:11, with Simon Gordon finishing in 26:35 and Tracy Ford in 26:46. Cheryl Flint completed her run in 28:03, while Jacqueline Tierney finished in 30:46. Jo Bovington rounded off the day with a time of 43:27.

Over the weekend, a few Peelers visited Ashbourne in the Peak District to take part in the Tissington Trail Half Marathon, so popular it runs over both days of the weekend. The Tissington Trail, the site of a former railway line from Ashbourne to Buxton, runs along a 13-mile route from Parsley Hay to Ashbourne in Derbyshire. Surrounded by beautiful countryside, the traffic-free trail is slightly downhill all the way with gravity on the runners’ side. On Saturday, Samie Futrill and Chris Bennett completed the distance in times of 01:51:53 and 01:58:00, respectively, with Samie achieving a fantastic PB, knocking almost 6 minutes off her half-marathon time. Meanwhile, on Sunday, Peeler James Payne completed the half-marathon in a strong time of 01:52:44.

On Sunday, a good contingent of Peelers experienced the opposite effects of gravity by taking on the hilly and muddy country course at Allestree Park near Derby. The 6-mile 2-lap course offered everything a classic cross country course should offer, with slippery climbs, energy-sapping grassy fields and scenic woodland on the menu. Also on the menu were the usual selection of delicious home-baked cakes provided by the team members as a well-deserved reward for taking part. In the women’s team, Lorna Carlin was the first Peeler to finish in a superb 26th place, closely followed by fantastic performances from Sophie Galloway and Sam Cart to finish in 27th and 28th place respectively. Claire Guffick completed the scoring in a strong 55th place. Following closely behind was Emma La Planche in 55th place, Jackie Tierney in 60th and Val Lawson in 63rd place. First Peeler to complete for the men’s team was Wayne King in a brilliant 7th place, closely followed by Lee Rickards, also finishing brilliantly in the top 10 in 8th place. Martin Hollamby was next Peeler home in 23rd place, followed by Mike Shelton in 44th, Chris Bennett in 90th and Simon Gordon in 98th place. Making his cross-country debut, Tom King crossed the line in 101st place, with Ben Dorkins on his heels in 102nd place, followed by Mark Boffey in 124th place. The runners were supported by volunteers Mike Shelton as the tail runner in the children’s race, Matt Salisbury and Sarah Boffey. The team were well supported as always by cross country captain Sandra Ingram, Lee Guffick, Rachael Rickards and Graham Lane.

If you are looking to improve your fitness or want to get into running, or returning to running after some time out, then the Peel Road Runners Couch to 5k course will be starting on Tuesday, 10th February 6.15 pm, meeting at the skate park car park. It will be a 9-week course following the NHS C25K app. The cost of the course is only £10. For further details, visit the Peel Road Runners Public Facebook page.

The weekend of the 8^th -11^th January saw Steph Attenborough and Joanne Sharman head to another overseas trip to Orlando to take on the Dopey challenge, participants ran a 5k,10k, half-marathon and full-marathon over 4 consecutive days (a total of 48.6 miles), and it gave them the opportunity to earn multiple medals

The days started with a 3 am wake-up call to Epcot -the event base, and they saw start times of between 5:10am and 5:45am. The weather was overwhelmingly warm, humid and sunny, which was a stark contrast to the Icy conditions being experienced back at home.

There were daily opportunities to have photos with the Disney characters, and the highlight of course being that they ran through all 4 parks (Epcot, Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood studios to be able to ride a rollercoaster on marathon day). They achieved all milestones and said it was such a fun time

5 K race times

Steph 39:27, Jo 39:25

10k race times

Steph 1:22.15, Jo 1:22.13

Half-marathon race times

Steph 3:25.50, Jo 3:25.50

Marathon race times

Steph 6:56.07, Jo 6:56.06

With all that racing, you’d be fooled into thinking the couple may be resting when not running, but no! They were soaking up the atmosphere of the park until the wee hours, often until close, watching light shows, fireworks and refuelling with all the food

(Joanne Sharman and Steph Attenborough pictured L-R with all their medals outside Epcot ball )

Fast forward to the weekend of the 17^{th of} January, and a beautiful sunny winter’s day greeted most of the UK and saw a record number of Peel Road runners attending UK Parkruns

Beacon

Mike Shelton 20:48, Garth Cox 22:51

Chasewater

Amy Jones 28:19

Cheltenham

Athena Mansell 26:13

Holme Pierrepont

Emma Pick 49:33

Ilfield Mill Pond

Ian Orton 35:59

Kingsbury Water Park

Ben Dorkins 25:05, Katie Stretton 25:46, Ash Goodman 25:47, Lisa Stretton 25:51, Darren Truman 29:26, Lisa Barnes 32:40, Claire Guffick 33:17, Taylor 35:00, Wendy Bowyer 41:15, Ann Hill 41:15, Stephen Andrews 41:16, Lee Guffick 41:17, Roger Eastaff 41:17, Christine Norris 67:25

Sence Valley Forest Park

Tim Mudd 27:20

Tamworth Castle Grounds

Jamie Abbiss 19:51, Allen King 22:53, Chris Bennett 23:25, Roger Lloyd 24:47, Wayne Richardson 25:49, Anne Whitby-Smith 27:02, Tracy Ford 27:08, George Hope 28:17, Sophie Galloway 28:35, Cheryl Flint 28:48, Jo Bovington 29:23, Marcus Fairburn 30:00, Sandra Ingram 30:52, Jon Allen 30:56, Stuart Hatton 31:25

Watermeadows – with a record 1279 Park run attendees!

Mike Hughes 44:42

Not satisfied enough with their American adventures, Steph Attenborough and Joanne Sharman travelled to Poland this weekend to take on Zalew Borki Park run. They also achieved their 250^th Volunteer credit and did a very chilly pre-course check in conditions as cold as minus 11. It was also Joannes’ 300^th Park run and 6^th completion of the Alphabet challenge

Steph Attenborough 61:55

Joanne Sharman 61:55

There is just no stopping them, massive well done ladies.

A huge congratulations also goes to Mark Boffey, who travelled ( with Sarah Boffey and Jackie Tierney) to the very beautiful but very cold Copenhagen to tick off his 250^th Parkrun at Amager Strandpark.

Mark Boffey 25:43

Sarah Boffey 29:44

Jackie Tierney 30:05

( Mark Boffey, Jackie Tierney and Sarah Boffey L-R Pictured in Copenhagen)

Over at the Canicross side of things, this weekend saw the latest instalment of the Canicross Midlands series. Rob Mace and Murphy raced at Eland lodge and got 2^nd place in the Master male short course- a fantastic achievement for Murphy’s second ever competitive race.

Helen and Neal Dempsey also raced this weekend. Neal achieved 2 2nds running Lillian and Elvis in the long course(around 5k) and Banana and Pine in the short course (3k)

Helen ran the long course with Sydney and the short course with Patch, who was determined to avoid the mud ( Pictured )

Well done all

Marathon training is also now in full swing, as well with lots of the Peelers taking part in Marathons in the coming months. Sunday was a nice half-marathon for some of those training whilst taking in some of the local sites ( and there’s always a chance for a selfie, of course, even if you do have to improvise, right?)

Why not come and be part of the best club in the Midlands? We meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Drop us a message on our Facebook page, Peel Road runners public page, to find out more.

With Storm Goretti creating havoc over the Midlands with heavy snow and icy conditions many races were cancelled, including the next instalment of cross-country fun and games which was due to take place at Allestree park.

Also, affected was Parkrun on Saturday with the majority in the Midlands being cancelled due to icy conditions and low temperatures. However, not so much in Poland. Ian Orton and Mike Hughes decided the weather in the Midlands wasn’t cold or snowy enough so they travelled to Poland and braved minus 11-degree temperatures to take part in Zalew Leg parkrun. Mike Hughes finished in a time of 26:22 with Ian close behind with a time of 27:17.

Back home in the UK, the parkrun choices in the Midlands was extremely limited with Battlestead Croft being one of a few still taking place. Average attendance for this event is around 60 runners/walkers but this weeks attendance soared to over 400 with six peelers braving the weather to take part. First back for the club was Ash Goodman in a time of 26:50. Closely followed by Janathan Allen (28:24), Tim Mudd (28:36), Mark Boffey (31:46), Darren Truman (31:47) and Sarah Boffey (31:52).

Other parkrun results, Emma Pick ran at Forest Rec in 45:58 and Jackie Tierney ran at King George V Playing Field in 32:23. Peel Road Runners meet every Tuesday and Thursday at the Castle Grounds Skate Park car park at 6.45pm for a 7.00pm start. We also have our walking group meeting on Tuesdays, same time and same meeting place. New members always welcome.