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!"

Sunday 10 May 2015

Race Report: Mow Cop Killer Mile 30/04/2015

The Killer Mile is fast becoming a tradition where I work in Kidsgrove, for the 3rd year in a row I’ve helped a team of runners of mixed abilities train to run the infamous race which is quite literally on our doorstep. This year I’m proud to say we took a team of 23 runners who were also raising money for Help4Heroes. The team have been training since January and I’m proud to say every one of them made it up to the top.



Last year, a certain member of the club ‘dared’ me to run all 4 events (you know who you are!), and never being one to turn down a challenge, I accepted. Unfortunately, this also seems to have become a tradition in itself, the first thing my work colleagues asked me when we signed up was ‘are you doing all 4 again?’, bearing in mind I was running the London Marathon 4 days before the sensible answer would be no, sadly, I’m not sensible and so the question was answered with a resounding yes!
Rather than write a long winded summary of the whole evening I thought it may be best to write a brief summary of each race:

Killer Mile Club Race:

I lined up with fellow club members Dennis and Lindsay conscious that my legs had only stopped hurting from London Marathon the day before. We set off, and knowing that I only had 20 minutes to make it to the top and then back down under my own steam I set of as fast as I could. Things went pretty much to plan until I hit the ‘Cheshire View’ section which features a 1 in 4 incline and huge crowds, my legs began to protest at the exertion but I pushed on, eventually finishing the race in 11 minutes according to my watch, leaving me 9 minutes to run down! I jealously glanced at the other runners having a drink and resting while I literally spun round and began running back down. I arrived at the start with just enough time to slip my work teams top over my Striders vest!

Killer Mile Adult Race 1:

I was already dreading the sound of the start as I was still catching my breath from my rapid descent, this time I lined up with my work colleagues, shoulder to shoulder with my manager who had challenged me to try and beat him! Suffice to say it was a great atmosphere running with over 20 of my colleagues, some of who were running their first ever race. I’d managed to keep a few paces behind my boss the whole run and I’m please just say that just after the 25% incline of the Cheshire View he ran out of steam and I passed him just before the final stretch. With no time to celebrate my victory I turned round and once again sprinted back down.

Killer Mile Adult Race 2:

Back in my Striders top I can honestly say this was the worst of the 4 races, the problem being that despite being tired you still have to run up quick enough to allow yourself time to run back down! On the ascent this time I was passing my work colleagues on their way back down and members of the crowd were starting to realise I’d run in the previous races so I was getting great support. On starting my descent I could see the Race Control cars which I would have to arrive at roughly the same time at the start. This resulted in me having to run down the 25% incline by the Cheshire View Pub, not something I’d recommend!

Killer Mile Veterans Race:

To be honest, this was just a race of attrition now, I knew I had 30 mins to get to the top, and didn’t have to run back down. A lot of the crowd were now aware this was my 4th run so I took my time and enjoyed their support. After collecting my certificate I started on the best part of the evening, walking back down, watching the sunset over Cheshire.

Steve