Christmas belongs to Chapman at Gainsborough Striders

Christmas belonged to Jonathan Chapman at Gainsborough and Morton Striders Athletics Club.
By The Newsroom
Published 29th Dec 2019, 20:47 BST
Updated 30th Dec 2019, 11:55 BST
Jonathan Chapman on his way to victory in Striders’ annual Phil Rose 10K handicap race.Jonathan Chapman on his way to victory in Striders’ annual Phil Rose 10K handicap race.
Jonathan Chapman on his way to victory in Striders’ annual Phil Rose 10K handicap race.

For he was the winner of the club’s annual Phil Rose 10K event on Sunday, and he almost pulled off a personal-best time to boot.

The race is held in memory of Phil Rose, a former member of the club who died several years ago.

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It is a handicap event, which means that the competitors set off at intervals, according to handicaps calculated from their race times during the year.

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Chapman was the seventh starter, but saw off all challengers to land victory in a time of 49 minutes, 52 seconds.

It was enough to overcome a minute’s deficit to the sixth starter, and also to pip Vikki Hearn into second place.

Third position was gained by a previous winner of the race, Hanna Bennett, who was unable to keep up with Chapman’s determined and relentless pace.

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Special parkruns were held on Christmas Day in various parts of the country, and Strider Aaron Hill travelled to Newark to make his debut there. He completed the 5K event in a time of 22 minutes dead.

The usual parkruns were held on Saturday morning, and there was a new personal-best time for Tanya Burbidge at the Market Rasen event, which she completed in 31 minutes, five seconds.

Anyone interested in trying out the Gainsborough parkrun is more than welcome to go along. It takes place every Saturday at 9 am from behind West Lindsey Leisure Centre in the town.

Similarly, if anyone is keen to take up running after the Christmas and New Year festivities, they are invited to join the Striders club, which is long established and a has a reputation for being friendly and welcoming.

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The award-winning club, which dates back to 1983, has almost 200 members of all abilities and ages.

Striders’ next training session for adults is tonight (Thursday), starting outside Queen Elizabeth’s High School at 6.30 am.

This will be followed by another session next Tuesday at 7.30 pm, beginning at the Corringham Road Industrial Estate.

Striders also boast an active and thriving section for juniors, with runners from the age of six upwards.

If you are thinking of joining, please go the club's website.​​​​​​ and click on the ‘Contact Us’ link to fill in a form.