Announcements

ST HELENS Striders’ Ladies garnered a host of awards at the presentation for the 2018 Merseyside County Grand Prix.

The year long event, which takes in 10 races across the region, saw the ladies’ team finish in second place in the team competition.

The extraordinary Kelly Hamilton was presented with the trophy for 2nd placed lady overall; a fitting decoration for her outstanding performances across the season. The ever-popular Wendy Davies delighted her fellow Striders as she was named the overall champion in the V40 ladies’ category.

Davies shared the glory with the steadfast Sue Heaps who emerged victorious in the V55 ladies’ section. Davies’ and Heaps’ successes were all the more impressive since the relentless duo were retaining their Grand Prix titles from 2017, and for Heaps it was an astonishing third consecutive victory.

Both team and individual successes in the series are testament to the Striders’ Ladies talent, determination and consistency across a long season of racing.

Before the presentation, the monthly Halewood 5k race was contested by a strong Striders contingent. The fleet-footed Jon-Jo Doherty finished in 2nd place overall in an excellent time of 16:38. Star performer Kelly Hamilton followed suit, finishing 2nd Lady in 19:24. Rachael Fairclough, continuing her comeback in fine style, was 4th lady home in 19:56. It can surely only be a matter of time before she once again experiences the sweet taste of victory. Darren Eckersley was hot on the heels of Fairclough in a new PB of 20:30 while there were also splendid performances from Kevin Brennan, 18th overall in 19:00, Kylie Barlow (21:53), Kerry Riley (24:57) and Sue Heaps (24:24).

Emma Callery was the sole representative at the Myerscough 10 mile event and she once again excelled, finishing 5th Lady in a sensational time of 1:12:10.

Striders’ Ladies go from strength to strength and are hopeful of more success in the near future after a strong start to the cross-country season.