Paul Cripps wins M50 triple jump at Southern Vets League Match

Striders of Croydon faced strong opposition in their first Southern Veterans League match of the season, at Ewell on Monday. Their men did well to place fourth out of the eight clubs in the match, while their women were sixth. Paul Cripps won the M50 triple jump (9.95), while Steve Massey was second in both the M50 800 metres (2:32.0) and 3000 metres (11:13.1). Lorraine Hunte set a club W60 record of 36.3 in the 200 metres, while Sandra Francis set a club W60 record of 13 metres 90 in the hammer and placed second in the long jump (3.21).

Striders had an impressive total of 12 teams in the annual Beckenham Relays on Wednesday. Their women’s A team of Niamh Vincent (18:04), Joanne Campbell (18:08) and Steph Upton (18:36) finished eighth in their category. Their men’s A team of Krzysztof Klidzia (15:38), Lee Flanagan (14:44) and Darren Woods (15:44) finished 17th.

On Sunday Alastair Falconer placed 59th in a large field in the Edinburgh Marathon, recording a personal best 2 hours 50 minutes 03 seconds. Stephen Harris was 273rd (3.05:31) while Tom Gillespie was 601st (3.18:47).

Striders had 67 finishers in the weekly parkruns on Saturday (21 at Lloyd Park and 46 at other venues). Lee Flanagan ran well to be first out of 220 finishers at Lloyd Park, recording 18 minutes 25, while Niamh Vincent was the first woman to finish at South Norwood, placing 16th overall in 21 minutes 41.