The final cross country race of the season hosted by Fareham Running Club will now definitely be going ahead on Easter Sunday, 5th April. 

The venue is at Alver Valley Country Park, Gosport, PO13 8AS  so relatively local for us 😃. The race will start at the usual time of 11 am. Full details including location are provided in the link SCCL Race 5 Alver Valley.

It looks as if parking looks may be a bit tricky, so please car share where possible.

This will be the opportunity for members to earn themselves up to 6 Striders’ League points simply by competing.😃

The long winter evenings are at last drawing to a close and we will soon be back to the lanes of Denmead for training and (hopefully) enjoying the warm, balmy summer evenings. Our last training session of the winter in Waterlooville will be the 500m interval session on Wednesday, 25th March.

The first session of the summer wll be on Monday, 30th March @6:30 pm.  Generally, we will meet in the Denmead car park over the summer except for those sessions indicated in the training schedule.

Gary, our Head Coach, has produced a very comprehensive training schedule for your enjoyment which can be viewed by following the link to Summer Training 2026 Gay has put an enormous amount of of thought into compiling this training programme to ensure that the range of age and abilities of  all our members are catered for while their safety is of paramount importance. Many thanks to Gary for all his hard work in compiling this document.😄

Hi all

Just a reminder that the AGM & Awards night is only 2 weeks away.  It will be held at the Denmead War Memorial Hall again. There is no bar on the premises so, if you want a beverage or two, feel free to bring along your own drinks & drinking vessels

It is my last AGM as your current Chair so it would be great to see as many of you there as possible to celebrate last year’s running.

The AGM will start at 7pm and then anticipate to start the awards at 7.30pm.  All members are welcome to attend the AGM or you can just arrive in time for the awards.

Look forward to seeing you there.

Clare

Just a gentle reminder that membership annual subscriptions are due on 1st January 2026. Cost this year remains at  £30.00 for ALL members including second claims.  See membership information page for details of how to pay.  Existing members only need to complete an application form if they have changed their address since last year.

The results from the SCCL race #2  at Alice Holt Forest last Sunday are now available.. Please follow Alice Holt XC Results.

Following the XC the Striders’ League has been updated.  Please see Striders’ League Iss. 6.

Don’t forget the new club kit is now available to order – see link below:-

Club vests/t-shirts must be worn at ALL HRRL races and the Cross Country League races.

https://shops.hambleside-merchandise.co.uk/club-shops/denmead-striders-shop?p=1

The wonderful Dawn has put together yet another great newsletter for your reading pleasure which can be read by following the link the link Autumn Newsletter_2025

Winter training commences on Monday 16th September.

As usual, Gary has again compiled a new comprehensive winter training schedule well in advance so that you can all peruse to see what treats lie in store for you over the coming months! Please follow the link Winter Training 2025-26 for details.  

It is with great sadness that I am writing to say that our friend and fellow strider Gary Cassop-Brown passed away peacefully last Thursday evening with Gail by his side. 

Some of you may not have met Gary as he has been living up in Scotland in recent years but he did come down for the most recent Striders’ Christmas Party so you may have been lucky enough to meet him then and seen him busting out his infamous dance moves.

For those of us that knew him, we will remember Gary for his commitment to the club and especially the fun he always brought to our social events. 

A remarkable man who will be missed.

Thanks for the memories Gary!

Clare

HRRL Fixtures

Please see HRRL  events 2025-26 for full programme.  The inaugural event this year on 31st August sees  the the return of the Totton 10 k to the League after a number of years’ absence. The overall programme is similar to last year in terms of events and dates except that the Stubbington 10k is not included in the Hampshire Road Race League this year (but may be included in the Striders’ League!) and the Solent Half Marathon which moves from the autumn to  spring, 2026.

Please note that the dates for some of the events have not yet been finalised  so check the “dates for your diary” entries for the latest information.

SCCL Fixtures

The full programme of six cross country events may be viewed in the link SCCL events 20

25-26

Members will be pleased to learn that hoodies and other merchandise are now availalble to order online from Hambleside Merchandise. Many thanks to Clare for arranging this facility.

Please see Club Kit page for details.

Many thanks to Bekki Leaves and her team for organising another successful Denmead 10k Club Run last Wednesday

Results are now available along with those from previous years – follow the link Denmead 10k Club Runs

Entries are now open for the 11th Denmead 10 k race on 12th October.

Places for this popular race are already filling up fast so enter today to secure your place no!

Full details of the race including entry procedure can be found on the Denmead 10k webpage

Once again the lovely Dawn has put together a great edition for your reading pleasure. Follow the link Spring Newsletter 2025 to read.

As always thank you to Dawn and all the contributors to the newsletter.Dawn would love to hear from any of you on race reports, funny stories, achievements – no matter how big or small it would be great to hear from you guys and share with all your members.

Congratulations to all twelve striders who completed the London Marathon today in challenging warm conditions!

Results as follows:

Name                               Time

Kevin Gale                     02:58:11

Mark Bicknell                 03:05:43

Tim Collins                    03:21:15

Hannah Curtis               03:22:35

Kayleigh Gyles              03:40:30

Alex Blake                     03:42:19

Bridie Strachan              04:08:00

Lisa-Marie Peckover      04:32:32

Kirsty Aked                    04:32:32                  

Lee Brown                     05:25:43

Neil Rooker                    05:35:56

Julia Revill                     06:03:23

Results are now available from the link Handicap 2025 Race#1

The final Time Trial of the season took place  last night.  Many thanks to Julia for organising another successful set of trials and well done to everyone who took part !

Please follow the link Time Trial #5 results to see the results from the final time trial of the 2024-25 season.

The long winter evenings are at last drawing to a close and we will soon be back to the lanes of Denmead for training and (hopefully) enjoying the warm, balmy summer evenings. Our last training session of the winter in Waterlooville will be Time Trial #5 on Wednesday, 26th March.

Gary, our Head Coach has produced a very comprehensive training schedule for your enjoyment which can be viewed by following the link to Summer Training 2025

Gay has put an enormous amount of of thought into compiling this training programme to ensure that the range of age and abilities of  all our members are catered for while their safety is of paramount importance. Many thanks to Gary for all his hard work in compiling this document.

Please follow the links below

Bourne Woods XC Results 2024

Striders’ League _Issue 12

Apologies for the silence regarding the final race of the XC season.

I now have confirmation & details of this race which can be viewed

in Bourne Woods XC Details .

PLEASE NOTE

The race date has been moved back to the 2nd March.

Directions, times & parking details can be found on the flier.

Although we’re not in contention for the top spot, there’s still a chance we can finish in the top 3 with a strong performance, so it would be great to field a strong team and finish the season with a bang.

As always, if you have any questions or would like to know more about cross country, please reply to this email or come and chat to me at training.

Paul

A little reminder that we are holding the food bank run on Wednesday, the 26th February.  If you could bring your donations along on that club night then myself and Lisa will take over to our local food bank which I know will be greatly appreciated.

Don’t forget the AGM & Awards evening that will be taking place on the 28th March.

One of the categories is the Burtonian Award which I like to call the “runners runner” award.

This is where we put forward 3 striders and then it is voted for on the night.  As we have done in previous years we are after nominations from you guys so please send over any names that you would like thrown into the mix.

This could be anyone – from someone that is particularly inspiring to you, you feel Red & Green running through their veins, beavers away in the background helping the club run or just someone that you feel is an all round good egg.  Get your nominations over to us in the next few weeks please so we can start prepping for the awards.

Thanks to all of you that have put names forward for our proposed outing to Bushy Parkrun in May.  I am collating a list to ensure it is viable to put on a coach and will keep you updated.  If anyone hasn’t let me know and would be interested, pop me a note and I will add you onto the list.

Clare

For those of you that haven’t seen them, they can be read by following the link Minutes from January meeting.  Feel free to speak with any of the committee should you have any questions arising from it.

The latest newsletter from our lovely Newsletter editor Dawn can be read here..  Another great read and thank you to all of you that contribute to this.  If anyone has any race reports, inspiring stories or anything they think would be great to share with your fellow runners.  Please feel free to send over to Dawn for the upcoming additions

Congratulations to all Striders who participated in the Gosport Half Marathon this Morning!

See the following link for the results along with those for other races this month. 

                         November Race Results

The Striders’ League spreadsheet has been updated in which can also be seen the Gosport results in more detail.

                          Striders’ League-Issue 5

Due to feedback from some of our members it has been decided that from Wednesday, 13th November, Winter Hill Sessions will now take place for everybody at Drayton Lane, Portsdown Hill. Please follow the Revised Training Schedule link and the session details for Mondays and Wednesdays for detailed information on the revised schedule.

The full results from last Sunday’s Denmead 10k event may be viewed in link Denmead 10k results 2024.

The results from the last handicap race on 28th August are now available Please follow the link Summer Handicap Race 5 Results to view.

My apologies for the delay in publishing these results which, I know, you have all been itching to see.  This was due to an email containing the information becoming “lost in the ether”  !! 

Graham  

We finally have  set up the facility  to order hoodies online – see below:-

You can now order and pay online and there will also be some other items added to the range in due course,  so watch this space for some other exciting branded Striders Merchandise:

To order please follow the link below:

https://shops.hambleside-merchandise.co.uk/club-shops

Many thanks to Bekki Leaves and her team for orgainising the annual Denmead 10 k club run and well done to all 67 members who took part!

View the link Denmead 10 k club run 2024 to see the full results

The Old Mill Lane hill has been closed for an extended period due to a badger set causing a section of road along Old Mill Lane to become unsafe. This was found during routine maintenance work. Badgers and their sets are protected by law hence the closure whilst plans can be made to assess and repair the damage and avoid disturbing the set.

I have had to devise an alternative route so as not to disturb the set and reduce the risk to club members on the closed section of road. This link  Denmead 10k Training Route shows the revised route, please take a look at the document to familiarise yourself with the new route.

Gary

Head Coach

A massive well done to all of you that have run recent marathons!  There have been some impressive personal achievements and shows that all that hard work pays off.  It has been great seeing everyone do so well! Please see APRIL RESULTS for full details

I would also like to welcome Kimberley Churchill into her new role as Vice Chairman.  I believe she will a great addition and look forward to having her on board.

This does mean therefore that we have a space on the committee for a club ladies members rep.  For any of you that may be interested please let me know.

Clare

I would like to congratulate Gerard Beauvoisin; the club has awarded him a Lifetime Membership.  Gerard was one of our founding members and whilst he is unable to train with us in recent years he has been an active member since the very beginning and we would like to thank him for his commitment to the club.

Clare

Don’t forget, If anyone ever has any articles/race reports etc our lovely Dawn would greatly appreciate any contributions you may have. 

The best of luck to anyone running marathons over the next couple of weeks and congratulations to those of you that completed Brighton last Sunday.  I know that there were some impressive times and achievements so well done!

Clare

Although it may not feel like it at the moment, summer IS on the way and, consequently, training sessions will return to the lovely lanes of Denmead on Monday, 1st April -no this is not an April Fool prank!  🙂

Gary has compiled a comprehensive training programme for your enjoyment which can be viewed  by following training link. 

It is with great sadness to report that our club president, Charlie Burton, one of the founding members passed away last week at the age of 92.  If it wasn’t for Charlie & Co and his love of running our club would not be here today. 

Thank you to all of you that came along to training with donations and to Lisa for organising.  We delivered this to our local foodbank last Friday and they were overwhelmed with the amount we arrived with.  So a big thank you – it really does mean a lot to them.

After much deliberation we have decided to open entries for this years Denmead 10k to all club members. We are hopeful that we will still have enough volunteers/marshals/pacers to allow us to put on a safe and enjoyable event and are heavily reliant on you all giving up your time to help and we very much appreciate that. Entries are now open so if you want to run then please sign up on the Denmead 10k page. However if you want to volunteer to help then please let either Bekki Leaves or Paul Welch know. We always get the best feedback on how great our marshals are so would be great to keep that going

Minutes from the January meeting are now available for your reading pleasure

The 5th (and final) cross country race of the season will take place at Bourne Woods next Sunday, 18th February starting at the usual time of 11 am. Pease follow the link Bourne Woods XC for full details of the day’s event.

Unfortunately, Fareham RC had to cancel their race in the Holywell Estate due to lack of parking at the venue. This was scheduled to be the final race of the season.

As always, it would be great to field a strong team & go out with a bang!

Paul

For those of you that may or may not be aware your members reps are Steve Trevenna & Kimberley Churchill.  They are always happy to receive any feedback from members and will happily feedback to the committee.  They are also on hand if you have any questions and will happily help or point you in the right direction.

Paul attended the SCCL AGM this week in preparation for the new season.

This means that some dates have been released for the six scheduled races.

Please put them in your calendar and don’t double book, we have a championship to defend ! 

Unfortunately, one (Lord Wandsworth) already clashes with the Portsmouth Coastal Marathon.

The current provisional list of races are as follows:

1. Benyon’s Enclosure – 29 October
2. Alice Holt – 26 November (all clubs are requested to supply volunteers for this event)
3. Lord Wandsworth College – 17 December
4. Chawton House – 21 January  2024
5. The Bourne Woods –  18 February 2024
6. Holywell Estate – 3 March 2024

Let’s do it again this season!

Paul 

  Please see  photographs courtesy of Peter Maisey.

It has been noticed that the chatter whilst the coaches are trying to explain the sessions has started to creep back in.  We are having fairly large numbers at training on a Monday & Wednesday and whilst you may think you know the session there are a lot of people that don’t.  Please respect the coaches and leave your catch up until the session starts if you wish.  

It has been a few years now since we have had a good old club photo and things have changed quite a bit since the last one.  We will arrange this on a club night and encourage everyone to come in the Striders vests (or maybe just red if you don’t have one).  I will give advanced warning on what date this will be and hopefully do it on a sunny day!

Clare

Congratulations to the six Striders who ran the London Marathon last weekend – superb results all round!

Click on April Results for details of this event and other races during the month. Also Peter Maisey’s photographs from last Wednesday’s Lakeside 5 k.

For those that may not have heard, I am very pleased to announce that Denmead Striders are officially SCCL champions for the 2022-23 season!
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank every one of you that ran, volunteered or supported the team throughout the winter months to make this possible, you are all awesome! 
Well done everyone, you should all be very proud.
For a small club we pack a pretty big punch!

Paul

I’ve had the provisional results from the Alice Holt XC, and they are very good !

Both the men & women finished 2nd, which means we finished 1st overall. 
By my calculations that puts us top of the league, but by only one point.
I genuinely believe that with a strong team on Sunday we could go and win the league for the first time since 2003! 
It’s a new course around the Holywell Estater, Swanmore, nice and local, so it would be great to get our biggest team this year and show everyone what “little old” Denmead Striders are all about.

Paul

Follow the link SCCL results to see the Alice Holt results along with all this seasons’s cross country results

The Winter Newsletter has now been published . Follow the link and enjoy! 🙂

Please follow the link below to read all the latest news from our new editor, Dawn Banting

Newsletter July 2022

Well done to everyone who participated in last night’s 10 k club run and a big thank you to all the volunteer marshals who made sure that nobody got lost en route!

Results are now available – follow 10 k Club Run link