Race Date: 7th April 2019
Round 3 of 12 – Divisional Road Race Championship
They say 3 is the magic number and so it proved for a number of Striders who put in some rapid times when the Striders Roadshow visited Dronfield for round 3 of the Road Race Championships. With over 129 members of the Green & Gold army rolling into North East Derbyshire, race organisers were overheard already making plans to plant more daffodils for next year.
Newly signed Strider Liam Walker may have been first overall on the day, but having signed up too late for the road race championships it fell to Phil Skelton (34:26) to take home the real prize; 20 points in the Premiership. Joe Sweetnam-Powell (35:18) was not far behind to take 19 points, with home town hero Stuart Carrack (35:36) scoring 18. Matt Rimmer (39:44) on his season debut picked up useful points despite running the national relays the day before:
| Name | Time | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Phil Skelton | 00:34:26 | 20 |
| Joe Sweetnam-Powell | 00:35:18 | 19 |
| Stuart Carrack | 00:35:36 | 18 |
| Paul Middlemas | 00:37:02 | 17 |
| Conor O’Boyle | 00:37:09 | 16 |
| Matt Rimmer | 00:39:44 | 15 |
Dave Forrest continues his quest for the maximum sextuple, scoring another 20 points in a time of 38:14, with Malcom Baggerley (38:45) pushing him all the way to take 19 points himself. Jason Brannan (39:49) & Ed Startup (40:28) eased the fears of more than a few fantasy owners by putting in their first appearances of the season, scoring 17 & 16 points respectively:
| Name | Time | Points |
|---|---|---|
| David Forrest | 00:38:14 | 20 |
| Malcolm Baggaley | 00:38:45 | 19 |
| John Kilcoyne | 00:39:42 | 18 |
| Jason Brannan | 00:39:49 | 17 |
| Ed Startup | 00:40:28 | 16 |
| Doug Banks | 00:42:02 | 15 |
| Thomas Cudmore | 00:42:03 | 14 |
Similarly, Division 3 saw another dominant performance from Jordan Moat posting a time of 38:40. There were also first glimpses for the fans of some club legends such as Colin Hardy (40:33), Ben Clithero (40:53), Mark Platton (42:22) and the quiet man himself Paul Stuart (40:57):
| Name | Time | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Jordan Moat | 00:38:40 | 20 |
| Colin Hardy | 00:40:33 | 19 |
| Ben Clithero | 00:40:53 | 18 |
| Paul Stuart | 00:40:57 | 17 |
| Heather Hatton | 00:41:06 | 16 |
| Alex Green | 00:41:42 | 15 |
| Mark Platton | 00:42:22 | 14 |
| Simon Ross | 00:42:50 | 13 |
Previous leader in Division 4, Seth Kirby (43:55), suffered a mid-race injury allowing the likes of James Boreman (40:51) and Neil Schofield (42:33) to make up ground in the overall standings. Performance of the day though went to James Staves going sub 40 in 39:56:
| Name | Time | Points |
|---|---|---|
| James Staves | 00:39:56 | 20 |
| James Boreman | 00:40:51 | 19 |
| James Ogden | 00:41:32 | 18 |
| Fran Cummins | 00:41:52 | 17 |
| Neil Schofield | 00:42:33 | 16 |
| Paul Blockley | 00:43:14 | 15 |
| Seth Kirby | 00:43:55 | 14 |
| Stuart Jones | 00:46:48 | 13 |
Ben Elmore literally ran away with 20 points in Division 5, clocking 40:53 to finish 3 minutes clear for his nearest divisional rival. Roger Watson’s (44:44) return to fitness looks to be all but complete, adding to his good showing at Norton with another 18 points. An stewards inquiry is currently being held into Tom Brooks (48:52) and Kim Bateman’s (48:50) performances, with some witnesses accusing them of bringing the competition into disrepute by treating the race as pacing practice for next week’s half marathon:
| Name | Time | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Ben Elmore | 00:40:53 | 20 |
| Maz Kaczmarczyk | 00:44:12 | 19 |
| Roger Watson | 00:44:44 | 18 |
| Rob Betts | 00:47:00 | 17 |
| Kim Bateman | 00:48:50 | 16 |
| Tom Brooks | 00:48:52 | 15 |
Division 6 saw Scott Liddle (48:00) cling on to top spot for now but with strong statements of intent from Joe Sinnot (43:26) and Steve Irvine (44:33) there could be a fair few twists and turns on the road to the title. Sarah Allcard and Kate Scott also ran well showing they could well be in the mix come Barnsley:
| Name | Time | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Joe Sinnot | 00:43:26 | 20 |
| Steve Irvine | 00:44:33 | 19 |
| Sarah Allcard | 00:45:46 | 18 |
| Kate Scott | 00:46:57 | 17 |
| Frances Norman | 00:47:31 | 16 |
| John Maples | 00:47:39 | 15 |
| Stephen Slater | 00:47:50 | 14 |
| Scott Liddle | 00:48:00 | 13 |
| James Mason | 00:48:22 | 12 |
A nice little head to head rivalry seems to be building it Division 7 with James Broomhead taking honours in the day in 43:30 to draw level in the overall standings with Gareth Pert (45:08) on 52 points apiece. Both will have to be mindful of Daniel Driscoll who was absent due to tapering for some small race not on the championships somewhere in London. Fan favourite & club Ambassador, Andrew Woffindin (48:36), stopped being a human pin cushion for long enough to pick up a very tidy 15 points:
| Name | Time | Points |
|---|---|---|
| James Broomhead | 00:43:30 | 20 |
| Gareth Pert | 00:45:08 | 19 |
| Will Day | 00:46:13 | 18 |
| Richard Adams | 00:46:56 | 17 |
| Phil Swirles | 00:48:24 | 16 |
| Claire Johnson | 00:48:34 | 15 |
| Andrew Woffindin | 00:48:36 | 14 |
| Mark Davies | 00:48:45 | 13 |
| Catherine McKeown | 00:50:02 | 12 |
| Emma Norton | 00:51:28 | 11 |
| Jo Carnie | 00:52:19 | 10 |
Phil Dooley (46:11) and Matt Gibson (47:24) took advantage of Gillian Allen’s absence to resume their head to head battle in Division 8 scoring 20 and 19 points. Loz Harvey (48:27) certainly can’t be ruled out for putting in a title challenge either:
| Name | Time | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Phil Dooley | 00:46:11 | 20 |
| Matt Gibson | 00:47:24 | 19 |
| Loz Harvey | 00:48:27 | 18 |
| Mike Heselton | 00:48:34 | 17 |
| Steven Millar | 00:48:35 | 16 |
| Anna Lowe | 00:48:41 | 15 |
| Laura Fletcher | 00:50:45 | 14 |
| Amy Housley | 00:51:35 | 13 |
| Lucy Woodward | 00:52:19 | 12 |
Luke Prest (45:41) continues his charge in the 9th circle of hell Division 9, scoring 20 points for the 2nd race running having missed the opener to Leicester. If this form continues it’s hard to look past him for the silverware at the AGM, but for now Ryan Talley (53:14) holds on to top spot. Great runs from Helen Jones (49:07) and Dawn Short (49:51) have put them firmly in contention for promotion as things stand:
| Name | Time | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Luke Prest | 00:45:41 | 20 |
| Helen Jones | 00:49:07 | 19 |
| Dawn Short | 00:49:51 | 18 |
| Stephanie Street | 00:51:52 | 17 |
| Mark Jackson | 00:52:12 | 16 |
| Simon Gleadhall | 00:53:12 | 15 |
| Ryan Talley | 00:53:14 | 14 |
| Caroline Welton | 00:54:03 | 13 |
| Ang Jackson | 00:54:37 | 12 |
Division 10 had 13 runners taking part on the day, making for some interesting in-race banter I’m sure. Dave Rooney tightened his grip on the no.1 spot running a 51:33. Debutant Helen Eberlin (52:56) also running strongly, showing she might be one to watch as the season progresses:
| Name | Time | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Dave Rooney | 00:51:13 | 20 |
| Helen Eberlin | 00:52:56 | 19 |
| Helen Cain | 00:53:12 | 18 |
| Lucy Cowell | 00:54:48 | 17 |
| Andrea Snowden | 00:54:56 | 16 |
| Ruth Jacks | 00:56:06 | 15 |
| Caroline Brash | 00:56:39 | 14 |
| Peter Brash | 00:56:40 | 13 |
| Ady Good | 00:56:45 | 12 |
| Julia Rose | 00:56:53 | 11 |
| Tracey Davies | 00:58:42 | 10 |
| Gaynor Hobson | 01:00:36 | 9 |
| Jade Rose | 01:03:00 | 8 |
Helen Smith (57:55) and Rachel Rea (1:00:15) showed they might be the most consistent runners in the championships having scored 19 & 18 points respectively in every race so far to sit in the No.1 and 2 spots overall. David Bailey didn’t need a photo finish to take 20 points on the day running 56:28. Sarah Schofield (01:06:38) also picked up useful points in her promotion push, hoping to make it a double celebration in the Schofield household:
| Name | Time | Points |
|---|---|---|
| David Bailey | 00:56:28 | 20 |
| Helen Smith | 00:57:55 | 19 |
| Rachel Rea | 01:00:15 | 18 |
| Sandie Farrow | 01:00:20 | 17 |
| Jane Huws | 01:02:30 | 16 |
| Cath Ager | 01:02:31 | 15 |
| Sheena Woodhead | 01:04:39 | 14 |
| Eleanor Bull | 01:06:02 | 13 |
| Sarah Schofield | 01:06:38 | 12 |
| Zara Thomas | 01:08:02 | 11 |
| Gill Pearson | 01:08:35 | 10 |
| Anna Waterworth | 01:09:57 | 9 |
| Jo Gleig | 01:11:38 | 8 |
| Charley Burney | 01:12:57 | 7 |
Full standings can be found here.