In the Striders Spotlight this time we have Seb Rowe. Seb joined Striders in 2015 and previously organised the club handicap. He is a regular at club events and parkrun....when there is some.
This sunday Seb will be taking park in his 18th marathon at the Dorney/Virtual London/Fly Marathon!
In the spotlight this weekend is Michael Reibscheid. Michael has been a Strider since 2001. During that time Michael was the clubs webmaster between 2003 and 2007.
The first St Albans 10 mile race, organised by St Albans Striders, took place on 12th January 1986. The event was an invitational race with members of other local clubs being invited to take part. The first race had 85 finishers and was won by Colin Taylor of Watford Joggers.
The course back then started in Abbey Avenue and finished on King Harry Lane. The course measured 300 yards over 10 miles. The race became an annual event in the Striders calendar and in those early years became known as the St Albans Long Ten.
The Observer newspaper began to sponsor the event, including a trophy for the mixed team event. The competition was consistently won by Striders, for at least 11 years.
By 1990 a new course had been devised and measured exactly 10 miles. The course started and finished on King Harry Lane. By 1992 race entries were up to over 200.
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| Amanda Livesy (Yorweth) taking the first of four race wins in the events history |
On 19th October 1992, Striders chairman Fred Hughes was tragically killed when he was knocked off his bicycle. Fred had been a member of the club since it was founded in 1984 along with his wife, Sue. In 1987 Fred joined the committee and became the men's captain along with his wife Sue who was the women’s captain. In 1989 Fred was elected as the club chairman. Fred’s influence led to Striders taking over the running of the St Albans Marathon from 1989. Fred also chaired the separate marathon committee which, in itself, was a big undertaking.
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| Fred Hughes |
Fred was also a solid athlete. In the months before his death he took part in the annual Striders vs Garden City Joggers triathlon challenge event, finishing 4th and helping Striders to victory.
In the wake of his death, the St Albans 10-mile race was renamed as the Fred Hughes Memorial 10.
The first Fred Hughes 10 memorial race took place on 23rd January 1993. The winner of the race was Kirk Dumpleton. Kirk owned the local running shop in St Albans at the time and had donated the trophies for the race. He had a slightly awkward moment of collecting the winners trophy that year! Kirk's claim to fame had been that he had beaten Steve Ovett and Seb Coe as a schoolboy.
The race continued to grow in the following years.
The race had been run around the roads of Bedmond since 1986 and Marlborough School had been the Race HQ. By 1999 the race had started to outgrow the school. There was difficulty locating a suitable replacement and this led to the race been cancelled in 1999.
The committee hunted around for a new race HQ but nothing was available near to the normal race start. This meant that a new course was the only option. A new HQ was secured at the Francis Bacon School (Now Samuel Ryder Academy) and a new course that included Highfield park and the Alban way was created. The race returned in 2000.
Over the next nine years the race was based at Francis Bacon School. The course was changed slightly in 2007 but was broadly the same.
In 2009 the course started to raise a few issues. There were parts that would now require road closures by the police and this would be a costly process. The decision was made to look at other options. St Columba's college was secured as the new race HQ. This meant that the race could move back to its original course.
In 2010 the race returned to Bedmond. The route has since remained broadly the same to this day.
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| Bedmond Figure of 8 course and 2 lap alternative course |
As the race has always taken place in January, it has suffered its fair share of challenges with the winter weather conditions.
In 2007 the race took place during a period of heavy wind which lead to a tree falling across the course the day before the race. Luckily, the club kit man, Trevor Clements was on hand with his chainsaw to clear the way for the race to go ahead.
In 2013 heavy snow meant that the race had to be cancelled the night before it was due to take place.
The rain has also played its part over the years, especially on the Bedmond figure of eight course. Several areas are prone to flooding. This led to a two-lap course being put together for the 2014 race. This alternative course was most recently used in 2020.
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| Flooding prior to the 2020 race |
Over the years, Striders have had a lot of success in the team categories, which is not surprising given it is the clubs home race. When it comes to the top individual placings, it has been the Striders women who have had a lot more success. Winners include Zoe Lowe, Ros Cox, Amanda Yorweth, Suzanna Pritchard, Victoria Webster and Claire Hallisey.
Only two Striders men have won the race, Edric Williams (1987) and Rob Spencer (2019). Former club chairman Sam Pullen won in 1996, but in those days he was still running for Highgate Harriers.
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| 2019 Race winner - Rob Spencer |
The race over the years has mainly attracted club runners. Many years ago it was decided that finishers medals would not be issued in order to keep the entry cost down. In recent years it was felt that it would be nice for runners to have a memento of the race. From 2013, finishers received a coveted FH10 running T-shirt (except the year of the buff in 2016). Each year the colours are kept top secret until race day.
The race has been run over a number of different courses so it's not possible to identify any particular course records, however the event records are:-
Male race record – Paul Martelletti (VPH & TH AC) 50.50 (2017)
Female race record – Michelle Lee (Marshall MK) 58.12 (2005)
Most finishers – 922 (2020)
Most Race Wins – James Lawler (3) and Amanda Yorweth (4)
If you have any interesting information or photos you would like to share in relation to the Fred Hughes 10, feel free to email them to chair@stalbansstriders.com
In today's spotlight we have Peter Blackaller. In 2010 Peter became the clubs Race volunteer manager and has been expertly organising marshals out our races since then. Peter also organised both Olympic park relays in 2012 and 2018. And when he has some spare time from doing all of that he also helps race direct at Parkrun 😀. Peter was the 2014 Striders volunteer of the year.
In the spotlight this weekend we have Kate Tettmar. Kate joined Striders in 2014 and many of you know her as one of the event directors at Heartwood and now Jersey Farm Parkrun.
In the spotlight today we have Richard Derrick. Richard joined striders about 30 years ago and is still going strong.
In the spotlight this weekend we have Lucy Jones. Lucy joined striders in 2019 and has been knocking out some very quick times ever since. Lucy is in training for her first marathon which is due to be London.
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| Cathal is the one on the right! |
This weekend's spotlight is on Clair Drage. Clair joined striders in 2014 and for the past few years has been doing a brilliant job as the clubs champs manager.
In today's spotlight we have Richard Olney. Richard joined Striders in 2011 and is one of the clubs run leader's. In the last 8 years since joining the club Richard has completed 17 marathons.
In today's spotlight we have Andy Normile. Andy joined striders in 2015 through the Run with Striders course. Andy has gone on to become a run leader himself and has very enthusiastically led the Run with Striders course for the past couple of years. Andy has also been on the catering team and was last years Volunteer of the year at the annual awards.
In today's spotlight we have Karen Sheard. Karen joined striders in 2016.
Today in the spotlight is
Howard Bull. Howard joined Striders in 2010 and has volunteered in many and
various different roles in that time including treasurer and currently on the publicity team.
This weekend we have another 'Mr and Mrs' edition of Striders Spotlight with the Hopkins. Isla and Jim joined striders together in 2016.
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| A 5k with a difference. The Mamores Vertical Kilometre in Scotland last year. Straight up a mountain and straight back down! |
