SPA Striders were out in force at the Kenilworth Half Marathon on Sunday, with over 50 of the club’s runners in action, at the 20th edition of the race.
Leading the way for the club was Ian Allen, who set a personal best time of just 1:13:23, to finish third, while Neil Smith recorded a London Marathon Championship qualifying time by a mere seven seconds, after crossing the line in ninth in 1:14:53.
Also finishing inside the top 100 places were Simon Ludford (1:17:52, 23rd), Adam Notley (1:18:15, 25th), John-Paul Hunt (1:26:59, 65th) and Pete Teevan (1:28:41, 96th).
Jo Fleming (1:32:43) – the ninth-fastest female runner, was the first home from the ladies contingent, followed by Mairi Walker (1:33:47), Claire Hinton (1:38:01) and Kat Robertson (1:41:22).
Allen was a man in-form during the week’s racing, after also turning out at the Leicester Summer 5k Series.
There, he again finished inside the top three, this time taking a race win with a 16:16 finish time, proving his third victory in the Series and enough to crown him the overall champion.
He was joined by Tim Down (18:37) and Ben Cohen (21:22) – the latter finishing 12th overall.
In London, Chris Wilson made it his mission to fly the Striders flag in the capital, finishing as the third-fastest senior runner in the Hyde Park 5k, finishing in 19:41, before completing the Regents Park 10k the next day in a 40:11 time.
Helene Wright and Jenny Mills both made comebacks at the Southam Triathlon, with the former the ninth-fastest lady after a finish of 1:14:08, while the latter was tenth-fastest lady in her first-ever triathlon, racing home in 1:19:19.
Men’s captain Chris McKeown demonstrated his qualities on the international stage, representing Northern Ireland at the Half Marathon and Marathon Championships, completing the first leg at the Maidenhead Half Marathon in a time of 1:17:59.
