Round-up of the Stamford Striders race action before lockdown curtails their plans

Stamford Striders have been hit by the return of lockdown just as real race action had started to get back underway.

The club has been forced to suspend all its activities following the Government announcement last week and will await further guidance from England Athletics on when they can resume.

It follows the first race action for many months which saw Striders Richard Phillips and Nicholas Smith take part in the Caythorpe 10k.

The event saw runners start in waves of six every six minutes rather than altogether which meant some crossed the finish line before others had started.

The course, despite a few changes, kept all the same hills as well as finding a few new ones and was mainly off road with a section along a disused railway line between Fulbeck and Caythorpe.

Richard reached the finish line in 55.04 for 49th place overall while Nicholas was eight places back in 58th with a time of 56.38.

The waved starts continued in the Blickling half-marathon and Thoresby race events.

At Blickling, Andy Potter was pleased with his 2:10 time in the rolling countryside around Aylsham and Blickling in north Norfolk.

At Thoresby Park in north Nottinghamshire, there was a choice of 5km, 10km, 10-mile or a half marathon.

The Striders went straight back in at the deep end as Cheryl Alibone and Helen Schofield opted for the 10-miler while Richard Mardling and Cali Robertson went for the half-marathon.

Cheryl finished in 1.29.39 while Helen posted a time of 1.36.59 with Richard and Cali recording 1.51.16 and 1.57.40 respectively for the half-marathon.

A number of Striders also tackled a virtual version of the London Marathon over 26.2 miles.

Luke Harrison recorded the best time of 2:45 while Mark Popple, who planned his route to run laps around Teardrop Lake in Hampton, recorded 2:54.

Other Striders recording the full distance were Fran Carlin, Liz Harding and Adi Stevens (all running at Dorney Lakes), Fiona Stevenson, Caroline Gasper, Brian Kearsey, Nick Lewis, Fiona Martin, Julie Ramm, Julia Thomas, Dean Cornish, Morag Roberts and Helen Schofield.

The club’s senior section has also been boosted by Jenson Lewis and Antony Hartley moving up from the junior contingent with James Thomas set to follow shortly.

A major investment of £3,000 has also been made by the Stamford club to buy a set of outdoor LED lamps which will ensure that junior training can continue throughout winter.

It would normally move indoors at this time of year but that is not possible with the sports hall at Borderville now limited to 26 occupants due to the Covid-19 regulations.

The outdoor lamps are specifically for lighting sports pitch sized areas and are due to arrive in early December which should coincide with coming out of the second lockdown. They will also be used for senior outdoor coaching.

Organisers of the annual club championship have decided to use the same events for their 2021 event.

With the Folksworth 15 in January already being cancelled, the first planned race for the junior and senior championships is the Bourne Run in the Woods on April 11.