Kendrick cruises to victory in Welcombe Trembler
STRATFORD AC's Louis Kendrick secured a superb victory in the Welcombe Trembler race on the Welcombe Hills last Saturday.
The Trembler is a one lap 5k race and the Wobbler, a two lap 10k race.
Due to the large number of club members required for marshalling duties, no Stratford AC member competed in the 10k race, which was won by Michael Morley, in a time of 34.25.
The first lady to finish, in seventh place and a time of 40.12, was Lucy Kershaw, a runner new to the Stratford area.
Despite there being no SAC members competing, there were 14 runners from Spa Striders, this race being part of their winter series of events.
It was a different story, as far as Stratford AC were concerned, in the single lap 5k race, with some of Stratford’s talented junior endurance runners, putting in to practice lessons learnt at their weekly training sessions on the Welcombe Hills.
Leading the runners home was 11-year-old Kendrick in a magnificent time of 18.59, winning the race by more than two minutes.
This was a wonderfully mature performance by this very talented runner.
Next home for Stratford was 12-year-old Harry Gravelsons, who, running his first 5k race, ran a superb race.
Harry’s sister, Charlotte, finished in 12th place and was sixth female to finish, in a time of 26.12.
Mother Alison finished in 23rd place, in a time of 36.59. It is worth noting, when mentioning the success of the Stratford juniors, that this was not a race for juniors, it was a race where the majority of competitors were adults.
Third to finish for Stratford and fourth overall, was Matt Sims, in a time of 22.36. Sims was followed by Nadia Svetlokova and Rebecca Pridham 12th and 14th respectively, in times of 24.35 and 25.43.
Next up were John Boxall (17th, 29.57) and Tony Humphreys (20th, 30.56) a couple of runners who were well outside their comfort zones and who are more usually seen competing in 100m and 200m races for Stratford’s vets T&F team, as well as competing in many field events.
Jacqui Lowe can be very pleased with her time of 31.12, completed with a smile on her face, despite the arduous conditions.
The curtain raiser to these races is a fun run for youngsters, consisting of a one-lap or two-lap course.
The two-lap race was won comfortably by Stratford member Maisie-Joy Spriggs, another junior endurance runner who put in a mature performance for her age. Younger brother Toby won the single lap race.
