It is with great sadness that we report that Julian Paul passed away last Friday.

Julian made a great contribution to Striders for many years.

He was always full of energy and enthusiasm, whether it was arranging teams for Striders or playing his saxophone at the White Lion on Chesterfield Road. Others might talk about doing something; with Julian you knew it would happen.

He was instrumental in setting up the first Percy Pud and then, for the next 20 years, helping it develop into the fantastic event it is now. His charm and influence with the police and residents of Bradfield meant the race was always well received. And, of course, he also made sure Santa got the finish line ahead of the runners by driving him in the lead car.

Outside of the Pud, Julian was key part of the club for many years. He encouraged Striders to take part (very successfully) in the Leeds Country Way Relay: organising the teams, driving us around in his minibus to recce the route and then again to get runners to the start point for each leg and to points along the race where they could cheer on team members. He’d also stop off to lead us to pick wild mushrooms.

He got groups together to run the Bury St Edmunds 20, again taking us down in the minibus as well as running the race.

He would always be willing to turn out for the club in team events, including one time driving seven of us to the North East, so the club was represented in the Northern 12 stage relay.

He was a very warm and generous man. A good example would be the large numbers of Striders being ‘fed and watered’ at his house in Ughill after they had taken part in a Sunday Special training run, which he’d organised to start and finish from his home.

Julian wasn’t the fastest of runners, but he was always extremely proud of having won a trophy at a race in a remote part of Scotland.

He will be sadly missed.

This year’s Percy Pud will be run in memory of Julian.