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.