Steph and Krzysztof first Striders at Parliament Hill Fields
Striders of Croydon faced strong opposition in the London Cross-Country Championships at Parliament Hill Fields on Saturday. Their women’s team did well to finish 19th. They were led by Steph Upton who finished 129th, covering the six-kilometre course in 28 minutes 03 seconds. Charlotte Letchford was not far behind her in 140th (28.25) with Joanne Campbell 157th (29.02) and Selena Wong completing the scoring team in 170th (29.38). Adele Boesinger was 227th (34.16) and Victoria Legge 250th (47.38).
Striders’ men placed 26th, led by veteran Krzysztof Klidzia who ran well to place 94th, covering the ten-kilometre course in 37 minutes 06 seconds. Simon Pannell was next home in 243rd (40.54) with Andy Perks 247th (41.10) and Darren Jackson completing the scoring team in 279th (42.11). Striders also had six non-scorers.
On the same day Justin Macenhill was the first finisher at the weekly parkrun in Lloyd Park, covering the undulating five-kilometre course in 18 minutes 51 seconds. Natalie Clerke was the second woman to finish, placing 43rd overall in 25 minutes 45 seconds. Striders had a total of 57 finishers in the various weekly parkruns (24 at Lloyd Park and 33 at other venues). On the following day Rachel Lindley was the ninth woman to finish the Three Molehills race on a hilly 14-mile course around Dorking, placing 48th overall (1.58.59). Club colleague Ally Whitlock was 123rd (2.14.35).
Jamie Hopps ran a personal best 2 hours 56 minutes 54 seconds in the Frankfurt Marathon, lifting him to 26th place in Striders’ all-time club rankings.
