The Striders were out in full force for this year's 5Miler extravaganza, in aid of MNDA, and in memory of Brian (Sam) Hamilton.  

Setting off from Town End at 6:45pm, a sea of red was soon finding its way down Somerset Road.   Enjoying the descent, Steve took the initial lead before Chris came into his stride and sped off towards ‘Coffeeboy’ and beyond, with the rest of the pack in hot pursuit.  

Lydia and Grace were looking super strong at this point. Their dad, Lee, on the other hand, wondering what exactly he'd signed up to as he tried his best to keep up.  Girls, your Strider enrolment form is in the post!  

Thankfully, Craig was already in position at Tolson Museum with his water station for those, like Lee, wishing to quench their thirst. What passers-by made of Craig turning up beforehand with 48 bottles of water and laying them on the wall in front of the bus stop, however, I'm not entirely sure.... but the Striders were very thankful for his efforts nevertheless!   

Craig's water station gave the Striders training for the Manchester, London and Copenhagen marathons the chance to practice their refuelling technique. Phil, however, politely declined and raced on, preferring the camera lens and another poster opportunity over the chance to rehydrate.  Thanks again, Phil, for supporting us once again and setting the pace; we'll make sure you feature on our next event poster!

Spurred on by Darren at the Stag Pub, the race continued, with Darren wondering who would be joining him in the Striders Hall of Fame having previously won the race himself. 

“My My  

at Waterloo, Napolean did surrender...”  

..... but this Waterloo was no match for the Striders. 

Oh No!  

Lighting the way in his brand neon running shoes, Dom turned the corner to start the Fenay lane ascent.  The magic of Abba still ringing in his ears as he danced his way up to “Taste Fine Wines” - although, ironically, he normally prefers a pint of Cold River on a Thursday evening! 

Although a few participants were understandably running out of fuel by this point, appropriately enough at the Esso garage, the prospect of pie and peas gave everyone the determination to dig deep and plough on back to base....and in they soon came......Chris in a super impressive 29 minutes 41 seconds for his second win, followed by Phil and Dom. Sofie was the first female back in an amazing 35 minutes and 25 seconds.  

A huge shout out to Helena on achieving her 5K PB en route and all the other runners who lit up Strava afterwards with their own personal segment achievements and medals, especially our newbies who benefitted from Caroline’s sound advice as they ran.  For Nicola, in particular, it looked like it had been a walk in the park as she crossed the finish line, her running continuing to go from strength to strength as she smashes through the miles on a weekly basis.   

Altogether 39 runners safely returned to the club to start the fundraising activities.  

To beer, chatter and laughter, Kev acted as compere, Jo emptied unsuspecting pockets in exchange for raffle tickets and Rachel brought the pies up to temperature; ably assisted by Delly on Mushy Peas (having just smashed Fenay lane, those peas didn’t stand a chance!) and Kate B on gravy....and what a super supper we all enjoyed. Massive thanks again to all our chefs, bakers and helpers in the kitchen.   The brownies disappeared particularly quickly! 

Raffle prizes were duly collected; Charlie claiming the Strider’s very own answer to the Mona Lisa, a truly remarkable piece of artwork without peer or price. Let’s hope it finds its way back to the raffle prize table for a future event; art this rare needs to be more widely appreciated.   Richard, I also suspect your dad may be receiving a large order for trophies at the end of the year too; the stained-glass piece of Castle Hill and Emley Moor was amazing. 

Thanks to all the runners, marshalls, organisers, chefs and spectators for making the event a night to remember.... poor Harry was so overcome he literally had to be peeled away from the bar at the end of the night.  

Of course, the final word should go to thanking everyone for digging deep and raising money for MNDA.  We raised an impressive £303 towards our £500 target, with more fundraising events to follow.  It was also amazing to see so many of Sam’s friends and family in attendance. Not entirely sure what he would make of his granddaughter eagerly plucking a bottle of Amaretto from the prize winners table on the evening but I'm sure he’d be happy to raise a glass to Kev for organising such a brilliant event, raising so much money for MNDA....and for still being there at 2am, demonstrating the Strider spirit we all aim for.