Race Reports

Striders of Croydon faced strong opposition in the opening Surrey Cross-Country League Division Two match of the season, at Wimbledon Common on Saturday, and had to settle for a disappointing ninth place. Phil Coales led them home with a very good run to place tenth of the 165 finishers, covering the five-mile course in 27

Phil Coales, from Striders of Croydon, had an excellent run to place third in the East Surrey League cross-country race at Lloyd Park on Saturday, covering the undulating five-mile course in 29 minutes 55 seconds. Club colleague Lee Flanagan also ran well to place seventh overall and first in the over-40 category (31.47). Taric Matticks

Striders of Croydon organised the 24th annual Switchback cross-country race, over an undulating five-mile course in Lloyd Park and Addington Hills on Sunday. The winner was Mike Cummings of Herne Hill, who recorded 27 minutes 20 seconds, while the first woman was Ola Balme of Dulwich, who placed 19th overall in 34 minutes 08 seconds.

Striders of Croydon produced a good team performance to win the team prize at the recent Dry Hill 10-mile race, organised by Lingfield Running Club. They were led by veteran Krzysztof Klidzia, who was fifth overall and was the first over-50 to finish, recording 63 minutes 46 seconds. Phil Coales was close behind in sixth

Striders of Croydon faced strong opposition in the annual Surrey Road Relay at Wimbledon on Saturday. They finished 23rd of the 26 complete teams. Paul Stanford ran the first leg, covering the undulating 2.9 mile course in 19 minutes 47. Taric Matticks improved Striders’ position with 17 minutes 40 on the second leg, while Mark

Striders of Croydon gained a double win at the weekly parkrun in Lloyd Park on Saturday. Veteran Krzysztof Klidzia was the first man home, covering the undulating five-kilometre course in 18 minutes 40, while Rachel Lindley was the first woman to finish, placing fourth overall in 20 minutes 16. Another notable run came from 15-year-old

Becky Laurence, from Striders of Croydon, ran well to be the second woman to finish in the Riddlesdown parkrun on Saturday morning. She placed 25th overall, covering the five-kilometre course in 21 minutes 45. For Striders’ men, Simon Webster was fourth in the Roundshaw parkrun (20.09) while Taric Matticks was fifth in the Wanstead parkrun

Krzysztof Klidzia, from Striders of Croydon, ran very well to place fifth in the recent Isle of Mull Half-Marathon in a new club over-50 record of 80 minutes 38 seconds. In the World Masters Championships in Lyon on Sunday, Alan Dolton placed 36th in the M55 half-marathon in 1 hour 43 minutes 52. Striders held

Simone Luciani, from Striders of Croydon, had an excellent run to place 12th out of 252 finishers in the Wimbledon 5-kilometre road race, which included the Surrey Championships, at Wimbledon Park on Sunday. He covered the undulating course in 16 minutes 35 seconds. Justin Macenhill also ran well to place 44th (18.02) with Steve Massey

Striders of Croydon had some good performances in the weekly parkrun at Lloyd Park on Saturday. Simone Luciani led the way, being the first finisher in 16 minutes 59 seconds, which was his fastest time on this course and was 47 seconds ahead of his nearest rival. Simon Ambrosi was third (18.50) with Justin Macenhill