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!"

Wednesday, 10 September 2014

Race Report: Adur Riverfest 10k 25.08.2014:

This race was definitely in the category of ‘well I’m here so why not’ rather than one that I’d been planning for years. 
The Adur on a sunny day (photo from Ouse and Adur Rivers Trust website)
I was visiting my parents in Shoreham (on the Sussex coast near Brighton) on the bank holiday weekend. Coincidentally, a local group were planning to set up the town’s first river festival that weekend, including local exhibitions, markets, live music and a variety of races around the river. 


I didn’t really fancy entering the ½ mile river swim or the dragonboat races, but the 10K trail race along the riverside paths looked interesting, particularly for a pleasant August bank holiday. It was set up by one of the local running clubs (Lancing Eagles), so I entered in advance.

Did I say pleasant August bank holiday? Well I got that one wrong! It had been raining for most of the weekend, and there was more forecast on the day. Still, I’d entered it so I turned up at the race HQ in the town centre to collect my number, then jog the half mile to the start line just on the edge of Shoreham. The rain was quite light, but it was starting to get windy. I knew the course area quite well, it was a simple 5K upstream through paths on one side of the river Adur (pronounced as in letter A – derr), then over a footbridge and down the other side. 
Before the race and already half soaked
The first quarter mile was on tarmac, and the 100 or so runners thinned out reasonably quickly. It was then off the tarmac which would have been full of bikes, prams, etc. and onto the grassy riverside path. Surprisingly it wasn’t too muddy, there were plenty of puddles but it was usually firm enough to run on, and there was a nice strong sea breeze behind us to make life easier. I tried not to think about running back into it! The course was completely flat, and would have had pleasant views of the hills in better weather. 
Coverage in the Worthing & Shoreham Herald. Apparently runners came from as far as Germany and Cheshire for the event!
The nearest thing to a climb was the footbridge at the half way point. I’d run the first half at nearly my 5K pace and immediately regretted going so quickly when I turned round into the wind. So the second half was hard work. At least there was a water stop, and the way back was well marshalled at the only points where we could get lost (crossing side streams), so it was good to have a bit of support there. Finally it was back to the edge of town, over another footbridge and back onto the start of the course for a 100 yard dash to the finish line. My time was 47:12, way below my best but not far off what I’d expect for the conditions.  The finish area was well organised and there was a small goody bag with nibbles and adverts for local races.

Final thought – If I’m down in Shoreham again next summer I’d definitely do it again. It was well organised, particularly as it was the first time they’d run it, and a very flat, scenic route.

Click here to visit the website of the organising running club.

Martin C