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!"

Saturday 22 October 2011

Race Report: Glass House Mountains, Queensland

Race Report: Glass House Mountains, Queensland

September, 2011

John: still smiling at the finish!

This September I had the good fortune to enter a trail race in Australia and, whilst there,
manage to fit in my daughter’s wedding. Following wedding festivities, I headed off early one morning with my wife and grandson Jack to the Glass House Mountains which are north of Brisbane. A series of trail events were being held there, the main one being a gruelling 100km. However, as I had done little training, I wisely decided that the 10km would suffice.


Glass House Mountain

The 10k was a low key event and it started with chatting and a gentle jog, much as Sandbach Striders do on Wednesday nights. The Glass House Mountains are quite unusual; rather than a mountain range, a relatively flat landscape is dotted with the cones of extinct volcanoes. The race involved running up and around one of these cones. After about 1k we left a flat track and the going became much tougher as we headed up the mountainside. There was no race marshalling, instead we just followed ribbons hanging from trees (carrying water was mandatory in case we got lost). As we headed upwards, the field had thinned out considerably so that much of the time I was not within sight of other runners – something which caused me a little concern when it had been I while since I last saw a ribbon.

John with the Australian Sandbach Striders Fan Club

Anyway, I finally came down the mountainside to the school where the race had started. There were no other runners around so, when my grandson failed to capture my finish on camera, I ran back and finished again so that he could take a picture.

It was a very enjoyable race and quite different to anything I had done before. I guess all the good runners were running in the main event because I managed to achieve my highest ranking yet by finishing 6th - even if it was out of only 39 and my competitors were Australians.

Should you want a trail race in Australia see:  www.glasshousetrails.com.au

John
Posted by Sandbach Striders at 22:02
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2 comments:

  1. panagah23 October 2011 at 22:30

    I was going to come with you on that one John, but I couldn't get a lift :-) still looks like great place to run.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous25 October 2011 at 11:16

    They were typical Australians mate, they felt sorry for the older generation. Someone has to look after them....!!
    Ken - the other part of the Australian Sandbach Striders Fan Club

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