Striders Weekly Update 09/10/2024
Scrabo Striders going Global
By Amy Forsythe
A busy week for the Striders this week, with marathons, half’s and 10 milers all across Europe.
Sarah Johnson travelled to Lisbon for their half marathon, a gruelling 13.1 miles in the Portuguese heat. She represented the striders in a time of 2.04.57.
Also going international was Abrar Hossain, who travelled to San Sabastian half marathon in Spain. He completed the trek in an astonishing 1.41.11.
Norman Mawhinney was back to winning ways, travelling to Chester in England for their annual marathon. He completed it in an incredible time of 3.04.17.
Closer to home, two striders completed Donegal East Half Marathon in the Republic of Ireland. Head Coach Sonya Summersgill came in with a Personal Best of 1.59.55, followed by Judith Boyd also in 1.59.55.
Outside of the Island, Gavin McDonnell represented the Striders by taking on 5 laps of LOS London. Congratulations Gavin!
Other noteable achievements include the Armagh 10 Mile Race and 6K Fun Run. 7 Striders travelled down to the border, with 6 completing 10 Mile and 1 completing 6K. Janice McCartney came in at 41.03 for the 6K, with the 10 Milers following shortly behind - Jenny Taylor (1.18.05), Heather Baron (1.20.41), Amanda Martin (1.27.02), Alison Busby (1.27.04), Naomi Magowan (1.35.49) and Sarah Luce (1.39.28).
Also in Armagh, the East Antrim Marathon Series made a return for their October Matathon. Completing the full 26.2 Mile course was Maxine Dynes in 5.14.18 and Karen Warnock in 5.33.33. Also taking part in the Half Marathon challenge was Jennifer McAteer, who completed it in 3.17.45.
Another vital part of the weekend, Striders travelled up and down the country to take part in Parkrun.
A big milestone for Head Coach Sonya Summersgill who celebrated her 50th at Montalto Estate. 28 club members travelled to Ballynahinch to celebrate, and there was plenty of course PBs to go around, including Rory Braniff (28.33), Maxine Dynes (30.22), Sarah Luce (31.19), Faye Alexander (34.15), Maddie Dynes (34.22) and Donna Dugan (42.07).
Representing the striders further afield was Chris Hollies in Princes Park Liverpool (28.35), and Michael Burgess (22.16) and Cheryl MaCartney (42.11) in Bressay, Scotland.
Also featured was Comber, where Rebecca Robinson picked up a Personal Best of 23.46, Bangor, Castlewellan, Craigavon, Stormont, Ormeau and Crawfordsburn.
This week, Captain Lyndsey Blair has selected the worthy recipient of Member of the month. The September award was given to Karen Collins. Karen signed up to the club in April and has threw herself into all aspects of club life with a smile.
“Karen is a big believer in running to improve our mental health and works hard to spread positivity in the club, always encouraging anyone she chats with to get involved with new events and distances.”, says Captain Lyndsey, “She is a vital part of a team of 4 who help to organise the Comber Junior Parkrun on Sunday mornings and enjoys helping to instill this enthusiasm for excercise in the younger generation.”
Scrabo Striders is an all-inclusive running club for all abilities with training sessions Monday-Thursday each week, as well as a trail run on Sunday nights. There are also social runs on Friday night and Sunday morning followed by the obligatory coffee afterwards. For more information visit scrabostriders.com or the club Facebook page.