Conditions were good for this 12k fell race on the North Downs. Harold Wyber had a particularly good day, his only disappointment being his failure to break the 50' mark, as he came home 2nd in 50'13". Neil Mcgouan was next home, 13th in 56'35", followed by Paul Jeggo, 24th in 58'57". Eleven other Striders ran, with notable efforts from Jo Gemmill, 177th in 77'41" and Darren Hull, 217th in 84'17", having arrived at the start a little late. Watching fellow Striders enjoying the last few hundred metre downhill run in, it seemed that the 2nd place for Harold and a possible age prize for Paul would be the height of our success. At the Prizegiving Harold received his prize, Paul a deserved 2nd V50; then the team prize, 1st place, Springfield Striders; well done Harold, Neil, Paul and 4th team member Jon Legge, 83rd in 67'02". Other results will be at www.Sloweb.org.uk                                                                                                                                                                                                           There will be a number of trips to the fells in the coming months; details will be in the Fell section and on the chatboard.

A busy weekend of cross country with the final Essex League fixture at Loughton and a 53-12 event at Hadleigh in Suffolk saw some fine performances.

At Loughton, Tristan Windley came fourth in a closely fought race to cement fourth place overall for the season. Lynn Tanner and Nikki Pyle both took gold overall in the V55 and V45 categories respectively. With many other commitments the Striders have not targeted this league this season so were highly delighted with both the men and women finishing 7^th in their respective tables.

The men’s squad was too strong for the rest on Sunday at Hadleigh with Tristan winning with ease on a hilly but dry course. Good runs from Paul Dobson, Mark Newton, Gary Chandler, James Smith, Lee Martin, Kev Harris and Steve Moore ensured first place. The ladies missing all the top runners were ably represented by team captain Sarah Hammond, Nikki Pyle, Lynn Tanner and Vic Curren as the club were just pipped by Ipswich on the day. With two events remaining we have a healthy four point lead.

Great turnouts on both days and special thanks to those that made both events.

The bi-annual Cold Christmas to Good Easter off road marathon was again an unqualified success with many compliments from the 100+ competitors.

 Allen Smalls of Colchester Harriers and Tracey Woodyard of the hosts Springfield Striders were the winners on a fairly dry course considering the recent rains.

 The route wended its way through Green Tye, Sawbridgeworth, Sheering and White Roding before finishing at the Good Easter village hall where a well-earned hot meal was provided.

 Pete Tremain enrolled a large contingent of helpers to cover parking, check points and tlc at the end. Theresa Tremain was also helped by a large group of Strider ladies in the kitchen. Thanks to all that helped and made this an event that almost every runner wants to return for in 2014.

The Striders’ men won as expected on home ground at Little Baddow, but the overwhelming manner of the victory was a little unexpected. 12 men in the top 14 was a stunning result in the latest Mid Essex League fixture. A great performance from the ladies saw them come a close second to Leigh.

James Smith claimed his first ever race victory to lead the white and yellow to a third win out of three events so far. Darren Sutton was an excellent third and led the procession of Stuart Raven, Paul Jeggo, Tom Coen, Andrew Wright and Mark Waine the other members of the scoring team.

The Striders also provided the ladies winner with June Allen completing an excellent weekend. Lucy Neale and Jennifer Macaulay were the other scorers.

At Colchester on Saturday Allen (4^th) and Tristan Windley (5^th) led their respective  teams to their best positions of the season in the latest Essex League fixture.