Peter and Becky lead Striders to mobmatch win
Peter Mills led Striders of Croydon to victory in their third annual mobmatch against local rivals Croydon Harriers, held in conjunction with the weekly parkrun in Lloyd Park on Saturday. Peter finished more than a minute clear of his nearest rival, covering the muddy five-kilometre course in 17 minutes 33 seconds. James Lyne of SLH was the second runner home, recording 18 minutes 40. Striders’ team manager Krzysztof Klidzia was third overall and first in the over-50 category (19.22), while his team-mate Steve Starvis placed fourth (20.16).
Croydon Harriers’ first finisher was club middle-distance coach Alan Burn who placed fifth in 20 minutes 31, three seconds ahead of David Ogden of SLH. Striders had the next two finishers with Simon Pannell seventh (20.59) and Matthew Stone eighth (21.03), while Croydon Harriers’ team manager Matthew Kiernan was ninth (21.07). Former Harrier Graham Hansen, no longer a club member, was tenth (21.11), closely followed by Striders’ Greg Williams and Graeme Drysdale who both recorded 21 minutes 13, placing 11th and 12th respectively.
Jordan O’Dongo of Croydon Harriers was the first under-17 to finish, placing 14th overall in 21 minutes 22. His club colleague Imran Salim was the first under-15 to finish, placing 32nd in 23 minutes 17. Becky Laurence of Striders was the first woman to finish, placing 40th overall in 23 minutes 51. The second woman to finish was Harriers’ talented 12-year-old Kyra Sethna-McIntosh, who ran very well to place 43rd overall (23.57). The third woman to finish was Debra Bourne of Striders, who placed 60th overall (25.40). The oldest finisher was 76-year-old Kevin Burnett of Striders, who finished 202nd overall (59.10).
Seventeen Striders completed the course in under 24 minutes, compared with ten Harriers. Striders then had a further ten runners finishing between 24 and 26 minutes, compared with only one Harrier. Overall, Striders mustered a total of 54 finishers, compared with 21 Harriers. Striders won the match by 1999 points to 851.
