Ernie has busy but fast weekend for Striders

Striders of Croydon faced strong opposition in the Surrey Road Relay at Wimbledon Park on Sunday. They finished sixteenth in the senior men’s event. Colin Hann ran the first leg of three miles in 17 minutes 38 seconds, handing over to his brother Ernie who ran 17 minutes 03, which was Striders’ fastest time of the day. He was followed by John O’Mahony (19.42), Darren Woods (19.28) and Mick Turner (18.50). A late withdrawal meant that Ernie Hann had to run again on the final leg, and he showed his stamina by running 17 minutes 14, only eleven seconds slower than his previous effort and faster than any of Striders’ other runners.

On the previous day, Striders had the first three finishers at the weekly parkrun in Lloyd Park, for the second successive week. Simone Luciani gained his second successive win, covering the undulating five-kilometre course in 17 minutes 56 seconds. Simon Ambrosi was second (18.27) and Ernie Hann, running steadily as a warm-up for the Surrey Road Relay, placed third (18.51). Serena Stracey was the first woman to finish the Greenwich parkrun, placing 21st overall (21.06). Striders had a total of 45 finishers in the various weekly parkruns.