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NDRC and SMM runners at the Duncan Strowger memorial run

Newport and Stone runners remember Duncan Strowger

Author | 20 August 2019

Every summer, two local running clubs come together in memory of a young man who was a member of both clubs, and passed away at a young age in 2014. Duncan Strowger was a promising young runner, and a member of both Newport & District Running Club and Stone Master Marathoners. Each summer the two clubs take it in turns to host a joint midweek evening run to get together and celebrate Duncan’s life. Duncan’s mother Anne is still an active member of Newport & District Running Club.

This year, the Stone-based running club arranged a selection of different distance routes around Copmere, near Eccleshall, and there was a large turnout from both clubs. Despite rain earlier in the day, the weather was good for the evening, but there were a few puddles for runners to negotiate. After the run, the runners came together for food and drink in the local pub to reminisce and celebrate the memory of a young man who was well-liked in the local running community.

Photo: A mixture of NDRC and SMM runners at the Duncan Strowger memorial run

Race The Train: 17/8/19

On Saturday 17th August, 10 Newport & District Running Club members made the journey to west Wales to take on the “Race the Train” challenge. This multi-terrain event features different distance options, all finishing at Tywyn, and all following the Tal-y-lyn railway. The aim is to “beat the train”, or at least set your fastest time attempting to do so.

The longest race option, the Rotary Challenge, starts in Tywyn, and takes in the full 7-mile length of the railway, both out and back, making a total length of 14 miles. Three Novaportan runners attempted this distance, and first back was Daniel Miles, who finished in a very rapid time of 1 hour, 52 minutes and 12 seconds, taking 117th place out of 686 runners. Heather Campbell was next, 615th in 2:50:07, and she was closely followed by Ian Vann, who was 622nd in a time of 2:51:03.

The Quarry Challenge was the next-longest option, at 10k, and started not far from the Rotary Challenge’s turn-around point, taking in the full return journey. Three Newport runners took this option, in a field of 409, and David Brown was the first of them back, taking 57th place with a quick time of 52:44. Maurice Reid was hot on his heels, though, only 7 places behind, with a time of 53:59. Anne Strowger was the other Newport runner to take on the 10k distance, finishing 311st in 1:16:35.

The other race to feature Newport runners at this event was the Dolgoch challenge, a 5 mile race which joined the route on the return leg towards Tywyn. Four Newport runners attempted this challenge, and it was David Cornes who took the honours, finishing 91st in a field of 170 runners with a time of 57:47. Lorraine Meredith was next, in 114th with a time of 1:00:30, and hot on her heels was Helen Reid, who finished 122nd in a time of 1:02:15. Sian Rudling took 154th place, crossing the line in 1:09:00.

Run to the Castle Ultramarathon: 17/8/19

The runners who “raced the train” weren’t the only ones who journeyed to west Wales this weekend. Ben Roper was taking on an altogether different challenge, as he took part in the “Run to the Castle” ultra, a 42 mile point-to-point race from Aberdfyi to Harlech. The course mostly follows the coastal path, and is a mixture of beach, tracks, and pavements. Out of 43 finishers, Ben was 19th, in a time of 9:36:23.

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