Simone and Peter are Striders stars at Esher

Striders of Croydon faced strong opposition at the second Surrey Cross-Country League Division Two match of the season, at Esher on Saturday. They were led by Simone Luciani who ran well to place eleventh of the 169 finishers, covering the muddy five-mile course in 30 minutes 22 seconds, and finishing just ahead of club colleague Peter Mills who recorded the same time. Phil Coales also ran well to finish 22nd (30.56), while veteran Krzysztof Klidzia was 62nd overall and third in the over-50 category (33.15). Justin Macenhill was 72nd (33.46) with Simon Ambrosi 79th (34.06), Greg Williams 100th (35.33), Martin Filer 104th (35.44), Simon Webster 109th (36.05) and Darren Woods completing the scoring team in 111th (36.14). Striders also had seven non-scorers. They finished ninth in the team event and remain at the bottom of Division Two.

Earlier Striders’ women had finished 21st in their Division Two race at the same venue. They were led by Rosie Gibbons who finished 45th in 31 minutes 41 seconds. Becky Laurence also ran well to place 55th (32.24) with Adele Boesinger 127th (37.52), Sue Atkinson 185th (48.30) and Victoria Legge 186th (52.23).