Phil and Matthew lead Striders relay team at Sparrows Den

Striders of Croydon produced a good team performance to place 11th out of 55 teams in the annual Will Bolton Memorial Relays, organised by Blackheath & Bromley Harriers at Sparrows Den on Saturday. 16-year-old Matthew Ostrowski, the youngest member of the team, gave them a good start by running the first leg of four kilometres in 15 minutes 59 seconds. Team manager Krzysztof Klidzia ran 15 minutes 45 on the second leg, while Lee Flanagan ran 14 minutes 59 on the third. On the final leg Phil Coales ran 14 minutes 45, which was Striders’ fastest time of the day. Striders fielded three other teams, with their B team placing 27th, the C team 32nd and the D team 37th.

Earlier in the day Klidzia had placed third in the Crystal Palace parkrun, recording 18 minutes 27, while Yasmin Anderson was the fifth woman to finish the Tonbridge parkrun, placing 78th overall (24.07). Striders had a total of 43 finishers in the various local parkruns (14 at Lloyd Park and 29 at other venues). Becky Laurence was the eighth woman to finish the Sri Chinmoy 10-kilometre road race in Battersea Park, placing 61st overall (44.48).