Peter Mills fastest Strider at Will Bolton Memorial Relays

Striders of Croydon fielded six teams in the Will Bolton Memorial Relays, organised by Blackheath & Bromley at Sparrows Den on Saturday. Striders had the eleventh women’s team to finish, led by Steph Upton who ran 18 minutes 11 on the first four-kilometre leg. She was followed by Jessica Polya (20.24), Lucy Kulp (20.12) and Becky Laurence (18.47).  The women’s B team were 15th. This team comprised Adele Boesinger (20.43), Debra Bourne (19.10), Alex Molloy (25.56) and Jessica Watkins (23.12).

Striders’ men faced strong opposition and had to settle for 18th place. The team comprised Graeme Drysdale (15.55), Lee Flanagan (15.08), Peter Mills (13.49) and Darren Woods (16.46). The B team were 33rd, with their fastest runner being Steve Harris (16.06). The C team were 36th, with 18-year-old Sam Hansen running well to record 15 minutes 47 on the first leg, while the D team were 52nd.

In the under-15 event, Christopher Finch ran the three-kilometre course in 14 minutes 58, while his sister Lucy Finch ran 16 minutes 50. Daniel Finch was 13th in the under-11 race, covering the one-kilometre course in 5 minutes 35.

Earlier in the day Striders had 57 finishers in the various weekly parkruns (22 at Lloyd Park and 35 at other venues), while on the following day Matthew Stone was third in the M55 age-group at the Thorpe Park Sprint Triathlon, completing the course in 69 minutes 56 seconds.