Striders on tour in Budapest!

Striders of Croydon faced strong opposition in their first Surrey Cross-Country League races of the season, at Reigate on Saturday. Their men placed eighth out of ten clubs in their Division Two match. They were led by Phil Coales who ran to place 25th, completing the undulating five-mile course in 31 minutes 09. Andrew Aitken was 51st (32:16), Harry Madgwick-Lawton 64th (33:00) and James Rhodes 69th (33:10). Lee Flanagan was third in the M50 age-group and 71st overall (33:17), while Marc Burrows was 100th (34:33), Martin Filer 107th (35:02), Peter Mills 113th (35:12) and Erik Schrijnemaekers 128th (35:49). Steve Corfield completed the scoring team, placing third in the M60 age-group and 133rd overall (36:15).

Striders’ B team placed fifth in their category. Simon Ambrosi was 136th (36:25), Tom Gillespie 137th (36:31), Matthew Stone 141st (36:36), Jason Gallagher 143rd (36:48), Kerim Suruliz 145th (36:53), Andy Perks 149th (37:06), Robert Zietz 192nd (41:21), Jon Dean 194th (41:44) and Mick Turner 202nd (43:11).

Striders’ women placed fifth in their Division Three match at the same venue. They were led by team manager Ellyw Evans who ran well to place 13th, completing the six-kilometre course in 30:25. Consuelo Kennefick was 23rd (31:37), Debra Bourne 26th (32:24), Cindy Siu 29th (33:02) and Jane Hughes completed the A team in 69th (28:05). For the B team, Yasmin Anderson was 70th (38:19), Linda Jones 71st (38:37), Eleanor McCallum 72nd (38:44) and Ruth Pearson 73rd (38:50).

In the Budapest Marathon on Sunday, Mike Smaldon ran 3:25:52, followed by Simon McHardy (3:46:21), Sam Ban (3:53:39), Anna O’Sullivan (3:58:58) and Matt Byrne (4:21:46). In the Budapest 10K, Graham Hansen was the first M60 (39:19). Vanessa Wheeler ran 55:06, Jenny Hansen 63:15 and Nicky Thompson 69:42.