Birthdays, a record, relays, the return of Folkestone Parkrun, and plenty of sunshine, this week really had it all, find out more below:
Kent Road Relays 2025 – Ashford (Tuesday 10th June):
In the evening on Tuesday 10th June 62 FRAC runners arrived at a hot and humid Victoria Park, meeting outside of Harper’s Café who were nice enough to stay open late to accommodate us, so thankyou to them for that, and well-done Henry for organising it.
Runners completed 2 laps of the top side of the park, past the fountain and up the hill twice (At least most runners did it twice anyway), and then diverted onto the slightly wooded path to do a single mini loop before turning onto a fast straight sprint to a packed, incredibly animated finish line area.
We had some strong results across the board, with our V40 Men’s A team (Jon Eaton 11:04, Nick Steele 11:07, Trevor DeVooght 11:00 & Simon Ramsay 11:12) finishing top with a 2-minute lead.
V50 Men’s A team (Tristan Bruce 11:30, Rob Collier 12:18 & Darren Crew 12:28) finished second, only 15 seconds behind the top spot.
V60 Men’s A team (Andrew Noble 12:08, Torben Jessen 12:53 & Krzysztof Klidzia 12:02) made easy work of their category using their combined age of 183 to finish top with a 4-and-a-half-minute lead.
Senior Women’s A team (Manda Gurung 12:48, Nikki Goodwin 12:58 & Daisy Wright 13:24) crossed the line 4th with a sub 40 combined time.
V35 Women’s A team (Carrie Thomas 14:26, Rebecca Powney 13:30 & Louisa Eede 14:15) finished second in their category, less than a minute away from the top spot.
V45 Women’s A team (Linnaea Stockall 13:54, Hazel Millard 14:02 & Caroline Curtis 14:49) finished third in their category, with a big lead over the team in 4th place.
After all the excitement and a few minor cases of confusion, 20-30 of us headed over (at different paces) to Pizza Express for a well-earned and celebratory refuel.
Ashford Striders’ Charing 10k (Friday 13th June):
On Friday evening FRAC turned its sights to Charing, making Ashford quite a familiar place for a few of us who did Parkrun on Saturday and the relays on Tuesday.
After departing the ‘Train Party’ and deciding which way was the right way to the race area we all met up and formed a group of 28 members strong.
Despite the warmth, the dreaded hill and the potential thunderstorm looming in the air we still managed to produce strong results across the board with Nick Steele (1st V40), Torben Jessen (1st V60) and Bec Powney (3rd Lady) bringing home trophies.
Although it’s not known for being a PB course, Louisa Eede, Amy Axon and Phil Haines all reported that they got course PBs compared to last year, so well done you 3.
| Name | Bib | Category | Chip Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nick Steele | 258 | Male Vet 40 | 00:37:22 |
| Jacob Henwood | 118 | Senior Male | 00:40:27 |
| Tristan Bruce | 33 | Male Vet 50 | 00:40:27 |
| Thierry Bal | 12 | Male Vet 40 | 00:40:45 |
| James Barney | 13 | Senior Male | 00:40:45 |
| Torben Jessen | 142 | Male Vet 60 | 00:41:10 |
| Ben Hancox | 113 | Male Vet 40 | 00:43:27 |
| Thomas Aspinall | 8 | Senior Male | 00:44:51 |
| Ian Vousden | 282 | Male Vet 40 | 00:45:45 |
| Rebecca Powney | 211 | Female Vet 35 | 00:46:11 |
| Louisa Eede | 87 | Female Vet 45 | 00:48:35 |
| Phil Haines | 109 | Male Vet 40 | 00:48:59 |
| Dan McCarthy | 175 | Senior Male | 00:49:19 |
| Ron Bell | 17 | Male Vet 50 | 00:51:09 |
| Amy Axon | 9 | Senior Female | 00:53:25 |
| Anthony Scott | 237 | Male Vet 50 | 00:54:28 |
| Clive Allon | 4 | Male Vet 60 | 00:54:31 |
| Marie Brazier | 27 | Female Vet 45 | 00:55:26 |
| Diane Parsons | 202 | Female Vet 45 | 00:55:55 |
| Rosie Smissen | 248 | Senior Female | 00:56:58 |
| Aldous Hosking | 132 | Senior Male | 01:00:03 |
| Trudi Curd | 60 | Female Vet 55 | 01:00:19 |
| Deborah Parmenter | 200 | Female Vet 55 | 01:01:05 |
| Gary Brazier | 26 | Male Vet 50 | 01:01:21 |
| Sonia Markwell | 171 | Female Vet 45 | 01:03:01 |
| Amie Howard | 134 | Senior Female | 01:03:23 |
| Maria Felicetti | 94 | Female Vet 55 | 01:06:11 |
| Lauren Hart | 115 | Senior Female | 01:10:10 |
Parkrun (Saturday 14th June):
Folkestone Parkrun
Saturday morning was back to business as usual for Folkestone parkrun after a week off last week, and it was a special one, with: Coach Catherine celebrating her birthday by running with a badge on, and Ashford’s Marshall Smith breaking our course record by 6 seconds with a time of 15:02.
Although after our recent relay performances, I’m sure he was glad I wasn’t running parkrun that day.
45 people ran for Folkestone in Folkestone this Saturday, with 2 people (Dave Bowerman and Karl Letchford) getting PBs, congratulations guys.
| Position | Gender Position | Name | Club | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 3 | Prakash GURUNG | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:17:40 |
| 5 | 5 | George RIGBY | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:18:49 |
| 7 | 7 | Ian MERRICK | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:19:25 |
| 8 | 1 | Deborah JEFFERY | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:19:28 |
| 16 | 15 | Darren PHILIP | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:20:30 |
| 24 | 22 | Paul BARTLETT | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:21:08 |
| 26 | 24 | Dave BOWERMAN | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:21:13 |
| 41 | 37 | Luke HICKS | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:22:08 |
| 43 | 39 | Jason KING | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:22:14 |
| 44 | 40 | Karl LETCHFORD | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:22:19 |
| 46 | 42 | Stuart ERSKINE | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:22:21 |
| 48 | 44 | James SPRINGETT | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:22:23 |
| 47 | 43 | Miles GAWTHORP | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:22:23 |
| 56 | 52 | Stephen DEEMING | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:22:41 |
| 61 | 56 | Simon COFFEY | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:22:55 |
| 76 | 67 | Simon BURVILL | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:24:01 |
| 77 | 7 | Catherine O’CONNOR | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:24:03 |
| 87 | 9 | Layla DMONTE | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:24:39 |
| 91 | 78 | Ian VOUSDEN | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:24:46 |
| 93 | 80 | Thomas ASPINALL | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:24:56 |
| 99 | 10 | Kayleigh RIDGWELL | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:25:18 |
| 103 | 89 | Philip MAULL | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:25:32 |
| 104 | 11 | Louisa EEDE | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:25:33 |
| 119 | 97 | John O’HARA | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:26:03 |
| 125 | 100 | Anthony SCOTT | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:26:19 |
| 130 | 105 | Jacob HENWOOD | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:26:30 |
| 137 | 21 | Gail TURBUTT | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:26:42 |
| 154 | 122 | David BOTTING | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:27:20 |
| 164 | 127 | Alan RANDALL | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:27:40 |
| 185 | 143 | Jacob BUCK | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:28:26 |
| 187 | 144 | Kevin WHITBY | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:28:35 |
| 193 | 148 | Neil ADAMS | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:28:41 |
| 195 | 149 | Jason HERRIDGE | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:28:42 |
| 204 | 44 | Diane PARSONS | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:28:56 |
| 206 | 152 | Clive ALLON | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:29:01 |
| 213 | 157 | Henry AXON | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:29:09 |
| 214 | 48 | Amy AXON | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:29:10 |
| 220 | 52 | Hazel MILLARD | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:29:22 |
| 231 | 56 | Rosie SMISSEN | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:29:51 |
| 250 | 177 | Phil HAINES | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:30:48 |
| 267 | 72 | Caron INDER | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:31:26 |
| 304 | 96 | Beth GOODCHILD | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:34:12 |
| 318 | 105 | Lauren HART | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:36:54 |
| 356 | 134 | Helen MERRICK | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:46:25 |
| 366 | 141 | Kate LANCEFIELD | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:53:32 |
Hadleigh Parkrun (Essex)
| Position | Gender Position | Name | Club | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | 3 | Caroline CURTIS | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:27:28 |
Ashford Parkrun
| Position | Gender Position | Name | Club | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 114 | 97 | Martin SALMON | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:26:02 |
| 240 | 54 | Rachel SMITH | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:32:37 |
Newbury (Greenham Common) Parkrun
| Position | Gender Position | Name | Club | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 262 | 55 | Deirdre COOMBS | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:30:51 |
Clair Parkrun
| Position | Gender Position | Name | Club | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 18 | Trevor DEVOOGHT | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:23:08 |
Reigate Parkrun
| Position | Gender Position | Name | Club | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | 14 | Krzysztof KLIDZIA | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:20:05 |
Cyclopark Parkrun
| Position | Gender Position | Name | Club | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 41 | 5 | Kate EVANS | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:24:25 |
Seven Fields Parkrun
| Position | Gender Position | Name | Club | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 78 | 62 | Brian AUSTIN | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:27:56 |
Dover Waterfront Parkrun
| Position | Gender Position | Name | Club | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 6 | David WEEKES | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:20:12 |
| 55 | 46 | Philip BRIDGES | Folkestone Running & Athletics Club | 00:26:09 |
Parkrun Cup
There were 2 matchups in the B Cup this weekend:
Miles Gorfy Gawthorpe 102.7 vs Jason King 100.9, both beating their times, but Miles going through to the next round, eliminating Jason from the competition.
Luke Hicks 99.4 vs Daisy Wright 97.1, putting Luke through to the next round and Daisy exiting the cup.
A great effort all round, and good luck to everybody next weekend!
Saxon Shore Half Marathon & 10k (Sunday 15th June):
On Sunday morning a few of our members went over to Whitstable, meeting by the castle and preparing to run a half marathon and a 10k.
Run along the lovely seafronts of Whitstable and Herne Bay
Above is the description from the event website, it looked to be a long straight out and back 10k route which is repeated for the Half Marathon, which meant double the headwinds for Sarah.
Half Marathon
Despite the heat, headwinds and having to repeat the Tankerton slope Sarah finished with a strong time of 02:02:37 putting her at 18th Female and 3rd in Age Category.
10k
Colin and Karen Burfoot completed the 10k with Colin Burfoot 45.54 (19th Overall) and Karen Burfoot 50.25 (4th Female).
Very hot on the way out, horrible headwind on the way back made it a tough run. Special day for us as we were running in memory of my Nan who lived in Whitstable most of her life and recently passed away.
Above are Karen’s comments after the race, very sorry for your loss and the club’s thoughts are with the two of you, it’s nice that you got do something like this in her honour.
Coach Catherine’s Birthday Run (Sunday 15th June):
Meanwhile down in Folkestone on that same Sunday a large group of us got together to celebrate the Top Coach’s Birthday, meeting up in Hythe for a chat and a little teasing view of all the cake that we couldn’t eat until we got back.
We all set off shortly after 10 for a 4 mile (after a quick round up lap of the grass at the end) out and back run along the canal path, conversations were flowing, occasionally disturbed by the sound of people shouting ‘BIKES!’.
Along the way we had entertainment from DJ Darren with the tunes on a portable speaker, and an exciting, brief cameo appearance from Manda and Prakash Gurung.
