James and Peter claim podium places for Striders at Reigate
James Bennett, from Striders of Croydon, ran very well to place second in the penultimate Surrey Cross-Country Division Two match of the season at Reigate on Saturday, covering the undulating nine-kilometre course in 32 minutes 12 seconds. Peter Mills also had an excellent run to place third (32.22). Team manager Krzysztof Klidzia ran well to win the over-50 category, placing 30th overall (35.20). Lee Flanagan was 48th (35.59), Justin Macenhill 56th (36.16), Simone Luciani 69th (37.22), Simon Ambrosi 80th (38.06), Simon Pannell 84th (38.16), Barry White 96th (39.18) and Greg Williams completed the scoring team in 99th (39.29). Striders also had 14 non-scorers. They placed eighth in the team event.
Earlier in the day, Striders’ women placed seventh in their Division Two match on a four-mile course at the same venue. Becky Laurence was 40th (34.41) with new member Katie Chadd 41st (35.02), Debra Bourne 42nd (35.02), Alice Ewen 62nd (36.48) and Selena Wong 74th (37.31). Striders also had the sixth B team. Amanda Barros was 80th (38.04), Helene McCann 117th (41.05), Linda Daniel 137th (43.27), Isabelle Kita 148th (44.35), Laura Hartney 172nd (52.31) and Victoria Legge 176th (59.01).
Striders also had 36 runners for their mobmatch against Blackheath & Bromley at Coney Hall on Sunday, but were outnumbered by the home team. Striders’ first man home was Justin Macenhill, running his second race of the weekend, who placed fifth, covering the snow-covered ten-kilometre course in 41 minutes 55.