Mckeown and Murphy canter to Hooky seconds

Thirty Spa Striders got into the festive spirit in the muddy, hilly Hooky Christmas Canter.
Chris Mckeown on his way to second place at the Hooky Christmas Canter. Pictures by Barry Cornelius (www.Chris Mckeown on his way to second place at the Hooky Christmas Canter. Pictures by Barry Cornelius (www.
Chris Mckeown on his way to second place at the Hooky Christmas Canter. Pictures by Barry Cornelius (www.

Each Strider was tasked with coming up with a fancy dress costume that represented a Christmas song.

Despite the fancy dress, Chris Mckeown finished in second place in a time of 45:01 over the seven-mile course.

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Mckeown was closely followed by Ian Allen (4th in 47:35) and Tim Beresford (7th in 48:31).

Claire MurphyClaire Murphy
Claire Murphy

Completing the men’s contingent were David Mills (51:18), Rich Sykes (53:12), David Chantrey (53:45), Ben Cohen (59:57), Simon Reiter (60:40), Matt Leydon (61:33), James Robbins (71:42), Doug Rattray (72:43), Martin Osicka (76:33) and Pete Teevan (84:29).

Witney Road Runners’ Sam Upton won the race in 44:04

In the ladies’ race, Claire Murphy just missed out on top spot, finishing second lady in 54:02, seven seconds behind Laura Leach (Eynsham Road Runners).

Anne Hurrell continued her impressive to form to finish fifth lady in 58:21, closely followed by Dawn Clark (59:48).

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Completing the ladies’ contingent were Susie Stannard (60:57), Carolyn Wilkinson (62:27), Ruth Tennant (62:56), Lucy Marcovitch (64:28), Julie Walsh (64:36), Lucy Tugwell (65:62), Jude Baum (66:29), Claudine Piper (66:38), Sandra Stokes (69:01), Claire Westrope (72:43), Zoe Beale (76:53), Emma Teevan (84:53) and Mairi Walker (91:45).

Meanwhile, several Kenilworth Runners turned up at Stoneleigh Park on Sunday to support the Reindeer Fun Run events.

Running what was supposed to be multiple laps of 5k, runners could compete in a 5k, 10k, 15k, 20k or half-marathon.

Unfortunately, icy conditions which forced some changes to the course and poor marshalling meant the distances and runners’ times were a bit suspect in the final results.

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Nevertheless, Kenilworth dominated the event, winning three of the five races.

Rich Broadbent was first home in the 10k, which took in a hastily arranged extra climb of the hill to push it well over 10k, finishing in 44:08. Becky Beasley was sixth and first lady in 46:41, with Marie Matthews (47:55) fourth lady.

In the 15k, Oliver Flippance scorched clear of the field to romp home in 57:53, a run which would have also seen him win the 5k and 10k.

Jane Phillips was first lady and third overall in 71:22.

Laura Pettifer completed the successful Kenilworth contingent with a run of 1:30:42 to win the half-marathon.

The 5k was won by Stratford’s Adam Evans in 25:43, with Kenilworth’s Simon Mottershead (26:41) second, while Leamington C&AC’s Paul Okey claimed victory in the 20k in 1:20:48.