JANUARY WAS a fairly quiet month in terms of the number of races ran by Club members, largely at the mercy of the weather. The races that were attended, however, were by no means insignificant. They provided a number of opportunities for Striders to set the bar high and start their year with a fresh challenge – be it racing on new terrain or a securing a shiny new PB. Highlights below.

On the trails and fells…

Captain Cook’s fell race (01/01), the first of the Fell category GP fixtures saw an excellent turnout of Striders both new to fell running and old hands alike. Gareth Pritchard was first Strider home to finish in the top 20 in his first ever fell race. Clearly refreshed after an enforced three-month rest due to injury, Gareth claimed full points for the men. Penny Browell sought to begin the defence of her Queen of the Mountain title from last year with a superb run that saw her third in her age category. Elvet A women placed second on the day with the men’s A team a very respectable 6th. A glance over the race report attests to the beginner-friendliness of this race with highly commendable performances by those Striders new to the fells.

On the same day seven Striders - Anna Seeley, Dave Toth, Katherine Preston, Kate Macpherson, Kath Dodd, Kerry Barnett and Sue Jennings battled along the North Yorkshire coast, though mud and darkness to complete the Hardmoors 30. Opting for half the distance, but just as tough the Hardmoors 15 was completed by one of our newer Hardmoors converts Rebecca Devine, who just couldn’t get enough of the hills after Roseberry last month. Debs Goddard and Huw Dixon also join the ranks of the Striders’ Hardmoors Hardcore.

On the roads…

The Brass Monkey (16/01) is always an eagerly anticipated race. A Grand Prix stalwart and renowned for being fast, flat and cold! As predicted, there were a plethora of PB’s from the first half marathon of the year.

Gareth Pritchard continued to find his form and finished as first Strider home in an incredible 1:17:31 (no doubt strengthened by his feat on the fells); Michael Littlewood was hot on his heels and has continued to improve on his remarkable achievements from 2015, finishing in 1:18:58; Matthew Archer made a 70 second improvement on his best HM time in 1:24:48; Penny Browell finished as first female Strider home, second in her age category in the top ten female finishers and a new PB of 1:27:02. There were further PB’s for: Elaine Bisson (1:31:38); Sarah Davies (1:39:30); Dave Hinton (1:41:17 for his second HM); Tim Skelton’s first HM saw him finish in 1:43:02; Karen Jones knocked 90 seconds off her PB with 1:48:07; Catherine Smith (2:03:13); Mike Parker (2:05:09); Jill Young (2:09:53); Debbie McFarland (2:11:26); Kelly Collier with three minutes off her best time, finishing in 2:13:50; Neil Jennings (2:30:31); Lisa Hall (2:31:46), David Case and Katie-Louise Finney. Whilst all our runner’s PB’s, whether it be by minutes or milliseconds, are hard earned and awarded equal merit, two significantly notable PB’s came from Karen Hooper and Lucy Herkes. Karen smashed 13 minutes off her best HM time from last year, finishing in 2:13:28 and Lucy took an incredible 20 minutes off, to come home in 2:05:45. Well done all!

As the second of the Endurance category GP races, Gareth and Penny claimed full points. The table is awaiting updates but thus far Penny stands top of the Yellow Jersey (overall) for the women and Elaine Bisson heads the women’s Endurance table. In the men’s GP, Stephen Jackson defends his lead in both the Yellow Jersey (overall) and the Endurance category.

XC

Unfortunately the Town Moor XC fixture had to be rescheduled for February due to a heavily waterlogged venue. Instead the spikes were sharpened for the winter edition of Durham City Harrier’s Cathedral Relay (17/01). Elvet A, made up of new fast-lads on the block Michael Mason, Andrew Hopkins and Jason Harding placed an excellent 13th overall. Michael also made the top 10 fastest leg time for his age category. There were some strong performances for the rest of the teams, especially Andrew Davies who ran two legs. Well done to all who ran on the day.

On the last day of the month four Striders travelled down to Blackburn with the Orange Army for the Northern Cross Country Championship (31/01). Geoff and Susan Davis, Mike Hughes and Steph Piper braved the brutal conditions (both in terms of weather and the course) to represent the club alongside national champions.

There have also been a number of orienteering events throughout the month, well reported on by the handful of Striders keen to hone their navigational and off-road training in a race against the clock of a different kind.

If you’d like to read more about the Elvet Striders’ antics, the website is continually updated with weekly round-ups, club events and race reports, head over to