Hat-trick of first places for young and old Striders

Gainsborough Striders raced to three age-group first places at the Grimsthorpe Castle 10 over the weekend.

In the 5k race, Joe Humphries claimed first spot in the under-9 category in 20minw 40secs.

Despite being one of the youngest competitors in the 81-runner field, he was fourth overall.

Joe’s older brother, Jasper, also returned with a first-place trophy for being the fastest in his age group in the 10-mile race.

Jasper came home in 79.08 for 17th place overall, a terrific result as he was the only competitor under the age of 20.

Phil Marsland collected yet another first place in his V60 section after completing the 10 miles in 75.50.

Stephen Toward tackled the Ladybower Trail marathon, in the Peak District, for his debut over 26 miles.

Despite its reputation as one of the most scenic marathons, the event is also one of the most challenging with almost 600 metres of climbs and unstable conditions underfoot.

That led to Toward injuring his ankle after 18 miles, making the final eight miles very difficult to complete as he finished in 5hrs 38mins for 76th place.

Jonathan Chapman twice crossed the Humber Bridge at the Humber Half-Marathon, finishing the undulating course in 2hrs 3mins.

Hills also featured heavily at Sunday’s Round Sheffield Run — an innovative event where runners completed more than 18km in 11 separate stages, including 500m of ascents and descents.

Thomas Sweeting and his father, David, were the first Strider team to finish in 1hr 42.55.

They were followed home by Chris Inman, running with Jane Deville, in 1.56.53, 11 minutes quicker than their 2016 result.

Sophie Hempsall and Paul Dagg clocked 2.1.28, while Miia Wren and Hanna Bennett ran 2.22.31 in their first run for several months after injury.

Helen Sweeting was 73rd in the solo event in 1.52.58.

At the second races in the Wolds Dash series, there was double podium success in the under-11 boys’ race over 2.2k as Charlie Burgin and Thomas Sweeting ran 8.12 and 8.30 respectively to claim first and third. Thomas’s brother, Rhys, was just behind in 12.09.