CLC Striders Running Club

Striders dominate at the Cleeve Cloud Cuckoo

CLC Striders turned out in force and delivered a midweek masterclass at the annual Cleeve Cloud Cuckoo race on Wednesday evening. On a very warm night with temperatures in the high twenties as the race kicked off, there was thankfully a strong breeze atop Cleeve Hill to take the edge off but conditions remained challenging, much like the 5.5 mile course!

Leading the charge for the club was Joe Willgoss, who put on another phenomenal display to conquer the elements and cross the finish line as the overall race winner in a superb time of 35 minutes and 42 seconds to complete a hat trick of victories having also won the race in 2025 and 2023. A rather sleep deprived new father Rich Elsworthy yet again showed his class on the trails, securing a podium spot in 3rd place overall (37:32).

The club's strength in depth was immediately evident as a wave of Striders packed out the top ten. Isabel Brinsden claimed 5th place overall and took the honours as the first female across the line in an impressive 38:06 to secure back to back wins. Hot on her heels were Iain Porter, who took 6th overall and claimed 1st place in the MV40 category (38:14), Tom Fletcher in 7th (39:19), and Gavin Woods in 8th (39:24).

Oliver Wright-Jones kept the momentum going, securing 12th place in 40:20, closely followed by Arnie Delstanche (16th in 41:07) and Nick Ledwold (18th in 41:25). Josh Davies rounded out a stacked top twenty, crossing the line in 20th place with a time of 41:44.

As the conditions continued to test the field, the Striders' ladies packed out the mid-field brilliantly. Karlien Heyrman led a strong contingent of master runners, finishing 30th overall in 43:51 (4th lady and 2nd LV35), followed in soon after by Scarlett Bell in 33rd (44:25, 3rd LV35). Liza Bradshaw earned 39th place in 45:56, while Andy Richardson (42nd in 46:40), Alexander Doherty (43rd in 46:43) and debutant Jasper Hill (44th in 46:53) ensured the Striders maintained a relentless presence at the front half of the field.

Keeping things rolling for the Striders, Jon Pearce crossed the line in 45th place with a solid 47:34, while Gavin Jerman registered a 52:37 finish for 59th. Nicola Weager secured 65th place overall in 53:21, Hannah Weager fought hard to finish 80th in 58:03, and Jill Harsent wrapped up an excellent club-wide performance, finishing 87th overall and sealing 2nd place in the LV65 category with a time of 1:00:59.

With two individual race victories, both the men’s and women’s team titles claimed, age category wins and a fantastic turnout, it proved to be a highly successful and memorable evening on the hill for CLC Striders.

Thanks Cheltenham & County Harriers for hosting

As always the mighty Striders have been racing here, there and everywhere, here's a summary of recent racing action not yet reported on.

Well done all!

The Bourton Mile returned on Friday, 8th May, delivering another evening of high-octane racing through the heart of the Cotswolds. Serving also as the Gloucestershire County Championship, the flat, point-to-point course on Rissington Road which has in recent years enjoyed delightful evening weather had quite the opposite for this year’s race with heavy rainfall soaking the field as they warmed up and made their way to the start.

Splashing their way back into the village the Striders charge was led by Peter Duffy, who put in a powerhouse performance to secure a top-ten finish, crossing the line in 4:48 to take 7th place overall. Next over the line was Gavin Woods, who dipped under the five-minute barrier with a fantastic 4:57

The women’s race was headlined by Isabel Brinsden who backed up her win at the Bourton 10k with another victory in the village clocking in at 5:01, winning the county championship in the process. The momentum continued with Ashley Wilson, who stormed to a PB of 5:35, followed closely by Tim Elliott 5:41 and Adam Greenwood 5:42 both of whom also secured new personal bests.

The Striders ladies took home a large haul of county medals with Karlien Heyrman securing county bronze for LV35 with a time of 5:47, while Helen Knight produced a LV45 club record performance in 5:52. With the race using 10 year age category prizes, Helen would claim the LV40 race win and of course county gold for LV45 . Phil Adcock followed the trend of the evening, dipping under the six-minute mark in 5:59 for another PB.

As the finishers continued to pour in, Rachel Vines demonstrated her strength by taking county gold for LV40 in 6:03, followed by Tim Brock in 6:05. Hollie Freeland completed the ladies medal haul by claiming county bronze for LV40 with a PB of 6:08.

Rounding out a soggy but stellar night of racing were Colin Upton 6:39, Arnie Delstanche 6:43 once again in a full inflatable dinosaur costume and Lientjie Colahan 7:25. Finally, David James rocketed to the top of the MV75 UK Rankings with a time of 7:31 to establish a new MV75 Club Record.

Thanks Bourton Roadrunners for hosting

Congratulations to our Strider of the Month for April 2026.... Karlien Heyrman!

Karlien has worked patiently and diligently to build back up to her racing potential following an injury which for several years had threatened to mark the end of competitive running. Run by run and club session by club session she put in the work and was rewarded with a symbolic equal PB at the Bristol Track Club 5k on 18th April, matching her lifetime best set in 2016 to show that she is well and truly BACK!

Well done Karlien, onwards and upwards!

CLC Striders race round-up report from London Marathon weekend
London Marathon
Sunday 26 April

On a beautiful spring day and in near-perfect racing conditions, 13 CLC Striders made their way up through the chill of early morning to Blackheath in south-east London to join the masses for the start of the biggest ever London marathon. Although there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, the temperatures didn’t soar as high as they have done in recent years and, as the world witnessed, at the head of the field, two men went sub-two hours in an astonishing race, while the ladies’ world record fell again, too on a remarkable day of racing in the capital.

A little further back from the elites, there were some stand-out performances from CLC Striders club athletes who’d spent their winters preparing for this big day. First to finish for the club was Rob Barnett, who ran a perfect race throughout to register the 3rd fastest marathon in the club’s history, finishing in a superb PB time of 2:35:54, rewarding what has been a focussed training block and hundreds of hard miles in the cold and dark – and likely earning himself a Championship start for 2027. He was followed in by the ever-consistent Joe Willgoss, turning in a solid 2:42:23 for yet another marathon finish. Tom Fletcher became a TV star, as the BBC coverage picked up on his celebrations down The Mall as he finished – in typically flamboyant style – in his first sub-3-hour marathon in a PB time of 2:58:57.

Despite his recent training being hampered by illness, CLC Striders’ man in the north Richard Aarons clocked 3:14:09 and Jonathan Margetts, raising money for the National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS) battled through for 3:14:29. Kate Telford crossed the line in 3:25:13 and VF60 Nikki Smith ran a superbly judged, evenly-paced race to set a new club age category record of 3:38:35. Next home was the always-smiling Fiona Brady-Miller in a time of 3:46:54. Frank Rooke-Matthews finished in 4:09:59 and club newcomers Christian Anstee Deborah Cartlidge finished in 4:12:22 and 4:46:03 respectively.

Not forgetting Arnie Delstanche (who has trained with the club throughout the winter and become quite a character in the local scene) who raced the marathon in a dinosaur costume, finishing in 4:23:41.

Story of the day belongs to Sophie Longmore, who went through the half marathon mark in 1:34:59, but then, without realising, lost her bib number and didn’t notice until mile 15. As race rules dictate, she was asked to step off the course, but explained her predicament and was allowed to complete it, but without getting a time. Someone did pick her bib up and crossed the finish line with it (in 4:25:52). But we’ve found Sophie on the finish line camera footage and calculated that she actually finished in 3:22:36.

Shakespeare Marathon. Stratford
Sunday 26 April 2026

Away from the crowds and world records of the London Marathon, five CLC Striders ran in the local Shakespeare Marathon – a two-lap undulating course, with sections of gravel and trail as well as road. An altogether different marathon challenge.

After entering only 10 days before, Rich Elsworthy showed once again just how strong he is when it comes to battling inclines and all-terrain surfaces, finishing 4th overall in a new PB time of just 2:39:20 – a quite remarkable achievement on what is not a fast marathon course. Lee Ormerod also cashed in on his strong training block to set a PB time of 3:04:50. Entering literally the day before, Gavin Woods clocked 3:19:05 just a week after going sub-three hours in the Newport Marathon (NB. please don’t try this at home!). Scarlett Bell set a new PB of 3:22:06 and finished 1st in her VF35 category and Will Mcneile toughed it out to cross the line in 3:38:13.

Manchester Marathon
Sunday 19 April 2026

Up in a very sunny Manchester, two CLC Striders faced the iconic marathon distance, with Helen Knight running one of her best marathons ever to finish in 3:08:07 – setting a new LV45 club record and finishing 6th in her England Masters championships on the day. Second claim athlete, Luke Donald ran comfortably under 3 hours to clock 2:50:14 and Liza Bradshaw, building back, and only a couple of months since being boot-bound with a broken foot, completed half of the distance in a time of 1:43.

Newport Marathon
Sunday 19 April 2026

Five CLC Striders had opted for the closer Newport Marathon, all running strongly in the sunny conditions. Gavin Woods continued to blaze a trail with his performances over all distances, registering 2:56:16, with Timothy Bridge nailing his revised sub-3-hour target perfectly with a time of 2:56:38. Andy Richardson ran a solid 3:14:09 and Jamie Hartnoll clocked 3:17:19, despite struggling in the later stages. Oonagh Harrison finished in 4:17:51.

In the parallel half marathon event, Sheng Peng ran well to clock 1:31:15.

Bristol Track Club 5k
Odd Down, Bath, Saturday 18 April

Nine CLC Striders made the journey south for what is one of the best 5k events around and a great season-opening tester over this short-form road distance. Set off in three ‘waves’ depending on anticipated finish times, the event attracts runners from all over the region and beyond in search of a new 5k PB. Run over a closed circuit, smooth tarmac cycle track, the only thing standing between the competitors and their goal times is the prevailing wind, the slight incline and their determination to push themselves to the max.

Isabel Brinsden raced in the second wave and once again showed her pure running class as she broke the club record by 49 seconds, registering a finish time just shy of the 17-minute mark in 17:02

In the earlier wave, Nick Ledwold clocked a new 5k PB of 18:26, Alex Doherty ran a PB of 19:21, Tim Elliott also ran a PB of 19:35 and Karlien Heyrman equaled her PB from 2016 with a time of 19:36. Tim Brock ran a PB of 20:29, while Joel Freeland finished in 20:34 and Rachel Vines in 20:40. Last but not least, Vet 75 David James smashed his 24-minute target with a time of 23:34 to go third in the UK rankings for his age category for the year to date.

Thanks to Bristol Track Club for hosting, hopefully some South West PB Series races this Summer?! 🙏

Congratulations to our Strider of the Month for March 2026.... Rob Barnett!

Rob's dedicated training over the winter (often solo and before 6am!) has seen him take down 5 PBs so far in 2026, the 4th of which coming at the Podium Classic 5k on 14th March. In Barnett's official 5k debut he ran brilliantly to clock 15:38, becoming the 3rd fastest Strider over 5k in the club's history

Next up for Rob is the London Marathon where he will line up for his 5th Marathon, impressively having ran in the 2:40s on each occasion

Well done Rob and good luck in London!

CLC Striders Race round-up Sunday 12 April 2026

It was a busy weekend of racing for athletes from CLC Striders as the spring marathon season begins to ramp up. Those running close to home had to battle grueling winds gusting in from the south-west which made the going incredibly tough on certain stretches. All-in-all it was another great day’s road racing for the club – both near and far.

Tewkesbury Half Marathon

Locally, 8 CLC Striders lined up for the re-booted Tewkesbury Half Marathon and it was to prove a great day for the club with several standout performances. First to finish was Rob Barnett in 3rd place overall and 1st in his V35 category in a superb new PB time of 1:13:08. Rob’s preparations for the London marathon continue to look spot on. Also setting a fantastic new PB half marathon time, Rich Elsworthy clocked 1:14:16 for 4th place overall. While, deep in preparation for the Newport Marathon, Will McNeile was 13th overall in a PB time of 1:20:26.

Sophie Longmore was the 3rd lady home and 2nd in her LV40 category in a strong time of 1:31:48. Niki Smith and Fiona Brady-Miller, both nearing the end of their London Marathon training blocks, ran 1:43:36 and 1:47:23 respectively, with Niki 3rd in her LV60 category. And Tim Brock ran with Eoin McQuone – on Eoin’s first race back after a long-term injury – to register 1:58:02 and 1:58:03 respectively.

Ellie Pudifoot ran in the parallel 10k event, finishing as 6th lady in a time of 43:01.

Brighton Marathon

Deborah Rees battled hard – especially in the last 10k into relentless headwinds – to finish in 4:09:15. While Pete Duffy, after making a great start with a half split of 80:57 felt his hamstring tighten at 15 miles in, eventually having to withdraw at 20 miles to avoid lasting damage.

Paris Marathon

After a disciplined training block, Ashley Wilson ran a perfectly-judged and evenly-paced marathon in Paris to set a new PB time (by almost 6 minutes!) of 3:10:53 in the iconic city.

Milan Marathon

Even further from home, club newcomers Tom Jerrett and Lucy Galliers ran in the Milan Marathon, Tom earning a 20-minute marathon PB time of 3:31:37 and Lucy – debuting at the distance and hoping to go sub-4 hours – clocking 3:46:40.

Berkeley 10k

Over the shorter 10k distance, and closerr to home, Helen Knight was 2nd lady overall and 1st in her LV45 category at the Berkeley 10k in a time of 41:06. And Hollie Freeland continued her strong performances this year by setting another PB time of 46:33.

From Wednesday this week we return to our spring and summer home at the CLC Fitness Centre Sports Field for our coached interval training sessions

Ready to take the next step with your running? Prospective new members are always welcome to join us for some trial sessions, as a guide we have members with 5k times from 15 min to 25+ mins, come and give us a go!

Our 2026/27 membership fee through until 31st March 2027 is £44 which includes the £23 England Athletics affiliation

For further details head to clcstriders-runningclub.co.uk/membership