About us

Sandbach Striders was born back in 2003. Since the early days, membership has grown with a firm ethos of the club being not just about running but social activities as well. The club is affiliated to UK AAA and has its own qualified coaches. Many other special events take place on various nights too.

The club meets on Wednesdays at 18:30 and Sundays at 09:00 at Elworth Cricket Club.

Whilst many members compete in races from 5k to Marathons, the emphasis remains purely on keeping people motivated and having fun. Why not scan through our race reports to see what we’ve been up to? Having read them, you’re sure to see why Sandbach Striders has developed the motto of being

"No Ordinary Running Club!"

Thursday 24 November 2011

Race Report: Hanley Parkrun 20/11/2011

 
Race report: Free 5K race series, Hanley Park run #9

What's that you say a free 5K in the Hanley Parkrun series with a tempting trip to a greasy spoon afterwards, count me in!

Michael, Perry, Christiane, Chris, Giles and Jill
The great thing about the park run series is it’s simple and easy. All you have to do is register once and print off a small barcode label, from then on you can simply turn up on the day of an event and race. No need to worry about filling in entry forms or sending off money as all the events are totally free ( excluding the optional breakfast).

This particular run take place each Saturday morning at 9am in a scenic park in Hanley and was to be my second parkrun. Yes that's right folks Hanley can be scenic too, outside the boundaries of the shopping centre is its park with a lake, bandstand and pavilion.

At this event the striders had a good turn out with myself, Giles, Michael, Christiane, Jill J and Perry all making the trip out. At 9am the water fountains in the lake kick into life and shortly after the race starts. Runners complete 2.5 laps of the park to complete the 5K distance. The race begins with a run round the Lake followed by a short straight section before you climb a gradual hill to reach the upper section of the course. Once clear of the incline you run past the pavilion and bandstand and then up a shallow hill to reach the highest section of the park.

From here you then sweep right, avoiding the geese who may be feeding on bread on the corner, have no fear it’s only a swan that can break your arm with its bill. From this point on its all downhill with a few turns until you return back to the start line. You complete this large lap once more and then on the third lap as you come up to the pavilion it's a sharp left turn before the second incline to finish in front of the bandstand. As you cross the line your time is recorded and you are given a token that relates to your finish position. Once you have got your breath back you get your barcode and finish token scanned, then that's it all done and it's off to the Cafe.

There was no muesli or granola on offer here, I did look, honest. In sticking to advice I decided to take in energy within half an hour of completing the race so opted for the next closest healthy option, a veggie cooked breakfast.

As we left the cafe reflecting that we might have taken in more calories than we had burned off, we passed the race organiser who was processing the results from today's race. The results are on the website usually within a few hours or can be sent in a text message to your phone.

In both the parkruns I have placed 3rd and on this my second attempt managed to take a good minute off my previous parkrun PB, a combination of being more familiar with the course and Giles who was chasing me round the route.

All in all a friendly well organised free race that is suitable for all whether you are looking to boost your weekly mileage in a different surrounding or are looking to gain race pace. The race is completely organised by volunteers and has some regular supporters along the route. Special thanks must also go to those at Flavours cafe for providing the food and refreshments.
For more information, visit the Hanley Parkrun website.
 Chris C

No comments:

Post a Comment