Stamford Striders compete at the Great Eastern Run

After two years of covid, and a bomb scare that cancelled the event in 2019, the Great Eastern Run was welcomed back on Sunday.

The half marathon road race has always been a draw for Stamford runners, and the town’s club was again out in force with 40 representatives.

First Stamford Strider to cross the line was Luke Harrison, 61st overall in 79:37.

Having only started running in 2016, Harrison has been carving minutes off his personal bests and achieved a 2:35 marathon time earlier in the year.

Martin Minchin, who moved to Stamford a couple of years ago, was next from the club to finish, in 82:44, and James Didsbury was on his heels in 82:46.

First female Stamford Strider was Katie Arnold, a seasoned local athlete who achieved 94:34.

Claire Willis followed in 1:42:53. It’s been an outstanding year for Willis, who has not only gained marathon and half marathon personal bests in the past few weeks, but also competed for Great Britain in the Bilbao Triathlon in Spain.

Nathanael Freeman led Helpston Harriers home in 78:26, and veteran clubmate Jim Morris, who lives and trains in Stamford, finished in 81:52

Maggie Skinner from Stamford was running for Peterborough club Panvac and showed a return to form with a 83:24 time.

The start of the 13.1-mile event was delayed by nearly an hour due to an ambulance, which had attended a medical incident, driving over the timing chip mats at the finish line.

Times

54 Nathanael Freeman Helpston Harriers AC 01:18:26.9; 61 Luke Harrison M MO Stamford Striders 407 01:19:37.4; 74 Jim Morris Helpston Harriers AC 01:21:52.0; 80 Martin Minchin Stamford Striders 01:22:44.0; 81 James Didsbury Stamford Striders 01:22:46.9; 91 Nick Harding Stamford Striders 01:23:25.9; 120 Sam Barrett Stamford Striders 01:25:03.3; 188 Adie Stevens Stamford Striders 01:28:05.6; 328 Katie Arnold Stamford Striders 01:34:34.7; 348 Wayne Staff Stamford Striders 01:35:33.5; 391 Neil Lakin Stamford Striders 01:37:44.7; 418 Andrew Wade Stamford Striders 01:38:36.5; 493 Neil Beckingham Stamford Striders 01:41:22.1; 516 Nick Wells Stamford Striders 01:42:11.1; 532 Claire Willis Stamford Striders 01:42:53.7; 534 Steve Knight Stamford Striders 01:42:55.7; 554 Philip Staley Stamford Striders 01:43:20.5; 582 Richard Skidmore Stamford Striders 01:44:22.0; 618 Rupert Clifton Stamford Striders 01:45:22.1; 626 Liz Harding Stamford Striders 01:45:37.1; 631 Claire Jaggard Stamford Striders 01:45:46.4; 674 Shaw Alex Stamford Striders 01:47:08.1; 677 Tony Comber Stamford Striders 01:47:16.4; 717 Sean Eglin Stamford Striders 01:48:05.9; 781 John Gilligan Stamford Striders 01:49:51.7; 785 David Payne Stamford Striders 01:49:54.1; 822 Victoria Jackson Stamford Striders 01:51:20.1; 1122 Cheryl Allibone Stamford Striders 01:59:21.2; 1184 Alison Cato Stamford Striders 02:00:49.0; 1199 Eleanor Johnson Stamford Striders 02:01:10.2; 1219 Julia Thomas Stamford Striders 02:01:38.2; 1241 Melanie Pimlott Stamford Striders 02:02:14.8; 1282 Peter Hunt Stamford Striders 02:03:58.6; 1313 Charlie Noble Stamford Striders 02:05:00.8; 1317 Amy Hodgson Stamford Striders 02:05:10.8; 1357 Lesley Beckingham Stamford Striders 02:06:48.2; 1421 Paula Short Stamford Striders 02:08:16.2; 1527 Megan Humphrey Stamford Striders 02:12:29.0; 1528 Chris Deadman Stamford Striders 02:12:29.5; 1606 Polly Albon Stamford Striders 02:15:06.1; 2046 Jen Holland Stamford Striders 02:38:17.0; 2167 Alan Gray Stamford Striders 02:50:48.8