Light rain? The BBC weather forecast didn’t quite match up to the reality of the weather on Sunday morning, but that did little to deter those hardy Peelers from racing.
At the rescheduled Coventry half marathon, Wayne King ran at an amazing pace considering the weather conditions to finish in a personal best time of 1:22:00. Also running at Coventry, Ash Goodman and George Hope finished together in a time of 1:53:00.
Postponed from last week, the first race in the Derby Runner Derby & Staffs Cross Country League was held on Sunday at Poplars Farm, Anslow near Burton Upon Trent. The League draws in teams from the Derby, Burton, Tamworth and Lichfield and always provides for healthy competition and a great atmosphere between the clubs. The course at Anslow, based on an equestrian cross country course, is always challenging as it includes a log jump, hills and descents and a knee deep water splash, none of which were made any easier after the torrential rain. Despite the change of date affecting the numbers attending, the Peelers were still able to field teams in both the men’s and women’s event. First to cross the line in 5th place and a time of 33:29 was Robert Dyjak, running as a second claim runner closely followed by Club Chairman, Lee Rickards in a time of 36:54 and 13thplace. Rob Mace was close on his heels, finishing in 15th place and a time of 37:24 whilst Mike Shelton finished next in 39:42 and 28th place. Other runners putting in great performances included second claim Scott Chapman in 32nd place, second claim Andrew Pickard in 41st place, Chris Bennett in 55th, Roger Lloyd in 58th , Darren O’Leary in 60th and Lee Guffick in 69th place.
Representing the Ladies, Lorna DSylva was first back for the club finishing her first ever cross country race in 27th position. She was followed by Sophie Galloway in 41st place, Val Lawson in 44th place, Claire Guffick in 48th place and Jackie Tierney in 50th place.
On Saturday, Peelers Claire Guffick, Kelly Porter, Roger Eastaff, Lee Guffick, Stephen Andrews, Wendy Bowyer and Alison Dolphin not content with running a 5k parkrun in torrential rain at Sutton Park also ran the Royal British Legion Poppy Run 5k in the same location. Luckily, the earlier rain had been replaced by glorious sunshine in time for the run, which made for a much more enjoyable experience.
As usual lots of Peelers kicked off their weekends by running at parkrun. At Kingsbury, Ben Dorkins was first over the line in 23:10 followed by Mark Boffey in 25:05 and Jackie Tierney in 30:57. Parkrun tourists included: Mike Shelton and Claire Guffick, Kelly Porter, Roger Eastaff, Lee Guffick, Stephen Andrews, Wendy Bowyer and Alison Dolphin (a warm up before the Royal British Legion Poppy Run 5k!). At Babb’s Mill, Ian Cooper finished in 23:49 whilst Tanya Murphy was a “hi-vis hero” at the same venue, volunteering as a marshal. Finally, Mick Stevenson ran at Warwick racecourse in 32:08, Rob Mace had an impressive finish at Edgbaston reservoir in 19:41 and Andy Pickard ran at Concord, Sheffield finishing in 23:23.
