2026 Awards Night

Premier: 

Winner Stuart Dunbar.  2nd Martin Fillingham.  3rd Helen Love.

First: 

Winner Dan Jenkins.  2nd Gemma Illingworth.  3rd Joe Holliday.

Second: 

Winner Chris Patterson.  2nd Jake Egan.  3rd Charlie Lloyd.

Dan Jenkins

Jamie Read, Sue Sroka, James Davies

Female Mary Patterson

Male Dan Jackson

Mary Patterson, First female, 50 mile Punk Panther Reservoir Dogs

Nominations: Lee Casson, Jake Egan (x3), Ewan Gibb, Richard Ling, Aaron McConkey, Jamie Read, Sue Sroka

Dave Belmont, Marcus Isherwood, & Joe Holliday

Nominations: Steven Ball, Dave Belmont, David Bower, James Carlton, James Davies, Jake Egan, Joe Holliday, Marcus Isherwood, Dan Jackson, Helen Love, Russ MacFarlane, Tim Mosedale, Matthew Parry, Julie Patterson, Mary Patterson, Jamie Read, Yasmin Smith, Rich Sykes, Pawel Tryc

Joe Holliday

Nominations:  Dave Belmont, Lee Casson, Stuart Dunbar, Tracy Foy, Alun Griffiths , Marcus Isherwood, Dan Jackson, Martin Love, Sue Sroka, Ian Storey. 

Jamie Read

Nominations:  Steven Ball, Rob Boughen, Humera Butt, Jake Egan, Gemma Illingworth

Megan Jones-Gerrard, Richard Ling, Matt Parry, Elizabeth Ridgeon, Chris Patterson, Julie Patterson, Mary Patterson, Jamie Read, Andrew Size, Yasmin Smith, Sue Sroka, Richard Sykes

Mike Moss

Jamie Read

Nominations:  Steven Ball, David Bower, James Davies, Jake Egan, Martin Fillingham, Marcus Isherwood , Russ MacFarlane, Anne Preston, Jamie Read, Julie Patterson, Mary Patterson, Mervyn Silva, Sue Sroka

Marcus Isherwood. He’s doing a fantastic job with organising the run leader rota, and he’s also skilfully running the current C25K programme. He’s also ran two new pbs in one weekend at Selby parkrun then in the Leeds 10k the following day! Well done Marcus and thanks for all you do behind the scenes. 

Jamie Read. He did the London marathon recently, raising an incredible £3,196 for the charity Young Lives vs Cancer. He has recently qualified as a run leader and is now organising an "away run" at Rochdale later this month. 

Dan Jenkins. Despite injury Dan took on the last 'anchor' leg of the 12 Stage relays, and was aware of what he needed to do to keep us in the running for qualification to the national finals. Despite being the slowest runner on the day Dan managed to finish the race in some considerable pain and made sure we finished the race with a complete team otherwise all our efforts would not have counted. Chapeau Dan! 

Helen Love. Helen broke the club F65 half marathon record in Malta. She now holds 3 club records at this distance, F55, 60 and 65 . Phenomenal!

Loris Dell'Amico. For ensuring that people received their bib numbers in a timely manner before the Dewsbury 10k. He went above and beyond to find those that were stuck in the post and then delivered by hand where he could. Although this didn't directly affect me, it was great watching it play out in the group chat .Well done Loris! 

Premier: 

Winner Stuart Dunbar.  2nd Helen Love.  3rd Martin Fillingham.

First: 

Winner Lisa Prosho.  2nd Anne Preston.  3rd Marcus Isherwood.

Second: 

Winner Dan Jenkins.  2nd James Carlton.  3rd Joseph Holliday.

Tim Mosedale

Jamie Read

Female Lisa Prosho

Male Josh Winterbottom

Alice Kershaw, First female, Spine Challenger South

Nominations: James Davies, Martin Fillingham, Nick Hardy, Rob Henderson, Gemma Illingworth, Alice Kershaw, Ali Nash, Jamie Read. 

Tim Mosedale

Nominations: Donna Pollard, James Davies, James Carlton, Alun Griffiths, Martin Love, Russ MacFarlane, Tim Mosedale, Julie Patterson, Mary Patterson, Pawel Tryc.

Sue Sroka

Nominations:  Ian Dickinson, Louise Nash, Ali Nash, Simon Frazer, Tracy Foy, Alun Griffiths, Martin Love, Ian Storey. 

Jamie Read

Nominations:  Sue Sroka, Sheila Pepper, Louise Nash, Tracy Foy, Chris Biggins, Robert Boughen, David Bower, James Carlton, James Davies, Dan Jenkins, Richard Ling, David McGonigle, Ali Nash, Julie Patterson, Anne Preston, Lisa Prosho, Donna Pollard, Jamie Read, Elizabeth Ridgeon, Jenny Shaw, Ian Storey, Michael Wigglesworth, Josh Winterbottom. 

Jack Verity

Sue Sroka

Nominations: Graham D'Arcy, James Davies, Sheila Pepper, Stuart Dunbar, Sue Sroka, Anthea Griffiths, Martin Love, Ian Storey, Russ MacFarlane, Louise Nash. 

Chris Patterson. Chris had a good month putting in some competitive efforts in the Peco race at Pontefract and the Solstice Strider 5K. He also put in some good times in the Chevin Chase and the Auld Lang Syne race despite competing in fancy dress. His Mr Tickle outfit at Chevin Chase got him a lot of attention but must have made it quite difficult to run!  Chris does a great job supporting his running family. 

Julie Patterson. For her outstanding achievement in completing the Punk Panther Wharfedale Skyline Half Marathon. (First trail half) Despite battling inflammatory arthritis, Julie pushed through every challenge the course—and the weather—threw at her: relentless rain, fierce winds, thick fog, deep mud, floods… and even more floods!Her determination, resilience, and spirit shine brightly. Julie didn’t just run the race—she conquered it. A true inspiration to everyone around her.  

Gemma has had a magnificent first full year as a Strider. She has achieved lots of high finishes and PBs in individual races across the course of the year. In October, off the back of a near 50 mile ultra the previous month, she seta marathon PB in York, with her time also smashing the FV50 club record.

Congratulations Gemma! 

 For her brilliant first 50 mile ultra, where she was first lady and 5th overall. Congratulations! 

On 30th August he completed 500 parkruns. An awesome achievement of commitment and consistency. Martin is a top man who always gives encouragement to those who do not have his ability. Always with a smile.  

Claire took on the Leeds Ironman as part of her fundraising efforts for Breast Cancer awareness and she has raised nearly £3000. The ironman event is one of the most difficult sporting events you can imagine and includes swimming 2.4 miles (in Roundhay lake!) 112 hilly miles on the bike followed by a full marathon. Claire completed the course in 14hours 41 min which is an amazing achievement. Bravo Bondy!

 For the outstanding role he played in getting five teams out for this year’s BMW Relay. This is the highest number our club has fielded in quite some time. Coordinating that many runners—especially with the inevitable last-minute dropouts and logistical challenges—was no small task, and Russ did a fantastic job keeping everything on track. 

 Fay Kaina. For her amazing performance getting a silver medal on 15th May in her debut GB age group race at the European Aquathlon Championships in Spain. She trained so hard for it and it paid off, running faster despite injury setbacks!

 Krystina signed up for a multi-day 77km trail run from Manchester to Sheffield, despite only ever running a half before. She threw herself into training and expressed such joy throughout. She absolutely smashed the run and should be so, so proud of her achievement. Krystina is a real ambassador for running for joy, not PBs. She is such an inspiration and will happily try and convert anyone to trail running if she has the chance!  

 Ran another PB, 10 miles at the Vale of York, which makes it 3 or maybe 4 PBs this year.  This is so inspiring for a longstanding member of the club to be doing their best running!  Donna also does a huge amount for the club behind the scenes, as Welfare Officer but also picking up other tasks that fall between the cracks.  A fantastic example of a Super Strider. 

Tim is a worthy winner this month, a heroic taking on and populating our new website as well as his Treasurer's duties

We have become used to Alice doing incredible things, but actually finishing 1st

woman and 10th overall in this years Winter Spine Challenger South was a level above. Truly

awesome.

Premier: 

Winner Stuart Dunbar.  2nd Martin Fillingham.  3rd Helen Love.

First: 

Winner John Singh.  2nd Ian Storey.  3rd Sue Sroka.

Second: 

Winner Paul Weir.  2nd Anne Preston.  3rd Marcus Isherwood.

James Davies

James Davies

Female Louise Nash

Male James Carlton

Alice Kershaw, 3rd female, Summer Spine

Nominations: Graham D’Arcy, Igs Robun, James Davies, Loris Dell’Amico, Martin Fillingham, Russ MacFarlane, Stuart Dunbar 

Pawel Tryc

Nominations: Andy Brown, Chris Hassall, Craig Elliott, Donna Pollard, Ian Storey, James Davies, Jenny Shaw, Josh Winterbottom, Louise Nash, Marcus Isherwood, Mo & Urmila Mistry, Sheila Bugg, Sheila Pepper & Julia Beaument, Sue Sroka, Tim Spencer

Sue Sroka

Nominations: Craig Elliott, Donna Pollard, Ian Dickinson, Janet Bower, Lee Casson, Louise Nash, Marcus Isherwood, Richard West, Simon Frazer, Stewart Spink, Tom Kay 

Josh Winterbottom

Nominations:  Chris Hassell, Alan Douglas, Graham D'Arcy, Pawel Tryc, Craig Elliott, Donna Pollard, Julia Beaumont, Sue Sroka, Richard Sykes, Chris Biggins, Russ MacFarlane, Sheila Pepper, Mervyn Silva, James Davies, Sheila Bugg, Tina Martiny, Louise Nash, Tracy Foy, Ian Dickinson, Marcus Isherwood, Alun Griffiths 

Helen Love

Stuart Dunbar

Nominations: Ali Nash, Chris Biggins, David McGonigle, Donna Pollard, Ewan Gibb, Graham D'Arcy, Helen Love, James Davies, Josh Winterbottom, Lee Casson, Mervyn Silva, Richard Wall, Sheila Pepper, Simon Frazer, Stewart Spink, Stuart Dunbar, Sue Sroka 

This young man has gone from couch to 5k and then on to 10k, 10 miles and then half marathon. He may not be fast, but he has endeavoured to take part in all kinds of races, including the taxing Chevin Chase. He is such a great lad. Always cheerful even when he struggles. He epitomises the ethos of Saltaire Striders! 

For his astonishing performance in the God's Own Backyard Ultra, 136.2 miles in just under 24 hours

For completing the utterly bonkers Moab 240 race in Utah, finishing in 29th place out of 130 finishers (plus 87 DNFs) in just under 4 days. Then just for good measure he did a half marathon a few days later over similar terrain. 

Sheila completed the Pilgrim’s Ultra on 28th September and worked hard on her preparation. She has proved to be a great inspiration to many Striders as well as to other runners who really look up to her, given her determination and achievements at the age of 72. Plus she is just and all-round lovely person and she is ready to support and encourage all Striders.

A well deserved award Sheila, congratulations! 

Who did an amazing job with the Leeds Country Way social team! Organising the teams, recces and running a leg! And for being fabulous! 

Her excellent performance in being first Lady in the Punk Panther 6 Dales trail race in 3:40:23. Congratulations Mary, well deserved! 

For organising the Danefield relay teams and encouraging the group 1 runners to get involved.  She is a credit to Saltaire Striders even running back after her leg to support the other striders still out on the course.  She ensures the club is inclusive, gives out massive amounts of encouragement, even sacrificing her own race times to help people achieve their own PB’s.  Well done and congratulations! 

For her superb organisation of the BMWR, and although the race was in June, she is always quietly and efficiently organising many other club events throughout the year. A club stalwart who deserves recognition 

For finding the physical strength and mental resilience to complete Manchester Marathon in honour of his friend and fellow Strider Nick Breare who have loved to have been there. Mervyn’s efforts raised over £4,000 for Yorkshire Cancer Research. Keep on stridin’ Mervyn! 

A bit of an ‘Unsung hero’ of the club as Craig gives up a lot of his time in leading runs each month, sometimes stepping in at the last minute to help out. He is an integral part of the run leaders team and an all round nice guy.
A very well deserved award! 

Gave up his own Peco at Roundhay Park to assist Jamie Read who was feeling unwell. This is not the first time he’s done this after similarly helping Fay Kaina in the Solstice Saunter last year. A very popular Strider who is happy to put others first. 

Loris completed an extraordinary month in January by starting off with 1 mile on the 1st increasing by a mile a day up to and including a 31 mile run on the 31st! 476 miles in total. 

For their varied weekly track coaching sessions every Weds night throughout 2023 (& previous years). Week in week out, no need to check the forecast as come gales, hail or floods they will be there with words of wisdom & encouragement for everyone no matter how fast or slow a runner, they will make you feel welcome.
However much you might try to talk yourself out of going-don’t!! as their sessions are renowned amongst members as the key ingredient to improve your running. They always ensure there’s some fun to be had whilst doing some quality training.
Everyone leaves with a smile and a glow of sweat & satisfaction so hats off to you both and thanks so much for all that you give to the club 

Lee did not make the shortlist for October after a strong performance at the Manchester half marathon but is again a worthy candidate for November SOTM after a sub 60 minute finish at the Tadcaster 10 and a strong finish at the first Peco of the new season. Lee also puts in a lot of work as a run leader and is very supportive of his fellow runners 

TWO  NOMINATIONS. 1. For arranging the production of the new Soar club vests. Stewart single handedly dealt with everything from start to finish in creating the new vests, even paying out of his own pocket to secure the order. These vests are amazing quality and make race day that little bit nicer!  2. He not only came up with the idea for Day of the 5,000 PB’s as a replacement for John Carr, but he has already organised & booked the event. At the same time he has also researched & found two away trips for June & October 2024. 

In consecutive weekends in September he ran; Leeds Country Way (Leg 4), the really hilly Yorkshireman Marathon, and topped it off with the longest race/run of his life at the Hardmoors 60  – 64.59 miles! Superb. Enough said  

Who ran continuously for 43hours, covering 88 HUGE mountain miles (almost the same elevation as Everest) across a big chunk of the French and Italian Alps. All undertaken in horrendous weather which meant he had to manage -6C, in thick fog, at night, for several hours! inspirational perseverance. 

She has run 4 back to back marathons this year, Manchester, London, Leeds and a grim up North.  She has also become a run leader, encouraging all abilities to challenge themselves, including being an active member of the couch to 5k strider initiative.  She has now taken it upon herself to organise runs to encourage and support a group of striders of mixed ability to take on the Yorkshireman 15 mile half marathon, organising recce runs and supporting everyone.  She has been a strider for less than a year but encourages all abilities and supports then by arranging club runs that are inclusive and supportive of all abilities building runners confidence and enabling them to achieve whatever their running goals may be. She is fab and slightly bonkers. 

Her performance at the 268 mile Summer Spine Race was awesome and a first for the club. As the race reports said, she had a plan and she stuck to it. It’s scary to think of what she might do next 

At God’s Own Backyard Ultra – a last person standing event, where participants run 4.167mi on the hour every hour until they drop out… or win – Martin put in an exceptional performance to finish as the Assist for the event – essentially second place. He completed 32 yards, a phenomenal distance of 133.33mi – sending him back to the top of the Striders’ Ultramarathon Hall of Fame! And this on his birthday weekend, too! 

For running the very successful C25k group. She was consistently there through the 12 weeks and encouraged everyone between runs on the WhatsApp group. We will have gained several new members (including some who have never run before) of a wide range of abilities from the group and had a successful Parkrun takeover to celebrate.
Congratulations Donna, well deserved! 

Although the men’s PECO team were relegated this season, Andy retained high motivational standards throughout in finishing as the club’s top point scorer over the 5 races & was able to regain the overall MV50 title (a few months short of turning 55) that he was unable to defend last season, due to missing fixtures to help out a friend with cancer. Andy then topped this achievement in March by winning the MV50 title outright at the Yorkshire Veterans Cross Country Championships in Beverley, capitalising on the opportunity after the Bradford 10k was postponed 

David’s regular week in week out training at track & on club runs has been paying off – he’s been getting faster for a while now & he achieved a new parkrun pb of 21:35 at Roberts Park in February not long after celebrating his entry into the V60 category. Proof that age is no barrier to pb’s! He also puts in a lot of time behind the scenes doing club communications & producing the club newsletters. 

For the way she has embraced her new role of being the lead for the run leaders and re-focussing plans for the offering for club runs. She is also a fantastic coach and gives her time generously to support members, for example with training plans. She genuinely cares about club members and goes above and beyond what we expect of her. 

Janet ran at least 5k every day in December for Sue Ryder Manorlands Hospice, which was no mean feat considering the weather! On top of this, she is one of the most active run leaders since gaining her Lirf badge, a true credit to the club 

As Bradford park runs event director, Mike rarely gets to run a parkrun.  He did however get the chance to run one in Whitby at The Cinder Track while on holiday recently, but lost about 3 minutes from his time by stopping to offer additional support to those helping a fallen runner.  A true example, looking out for others! 

Has started hitting 1st place at Roberts parkrun regularly, running 5k in sub 18 minutes. As well as smashing evensplits and the Bradford city 10k, he is a humble, approachable young man eager to help other runners with advice and suggestions where he can. Great asset to the club. 

For his Epic multi-day ultramarathon along the Dragons Back. One of the toughest there is, and the race is too! This is NOT a trail running event, and the course just follows summit checkpoints along the mountainous spine of Wales, where terrain is at times seriously extreme. 380km (236 mile) route is completed over 6 days. The total height gain is 17,400m (57,087 feet). The man is a phenomenon!

Congratulations Rob, a more than worthy winner. 

A truly phenomenal performance running 130 mile canal race from Liverpool to Leeds. Months of intense preparations and training saw him able to cope with minor niggles and and the mental resilience to absolutely not quit …he was even able to muster a sprint to the finish! A heroic Effort! 

For completing a magnificent 10 laps (50 whole miles) at Endure 24 – going from strength to strength!  Well done Louise on your award! 

Tim managed to reach the milestone of 100 different parkrun events. (Possibly the first strider to achieve this). He has travelled the UK and abroad spreading the name of Saltaire Striders at each new venue.
Congratulations Tim, a well deserved accolade! 

Martin delivered an unbelievable performance at God’s Own Backyard Ultra, an event involving a 4.167mi ‘yard’ to be completed on the hour, every hour! To the amazement of all concerned, Martin somehow maintained his pace of 30ish minutes per ‘yard’ for 28 ‘yards’, totalling 116.667mi and taking Martin to the top of the Saltaire Striders ‘Ultramarathon Hall of Fame’… for the time being, anyway! 

Congratulations to Sarah Gracey Shaw. For completing her first marathon in 4:23:25 on the 3rd April at Manchester. Having followed a training plan for many weeks before the turn of the year up until March to set herself up for the best outing. Great to see others set themselves a target and devote such time and effort to reach their goals. Another super strider. She deserves recognition for her achievement.

For the fantastic energy and enthusiasm he has brought to the club. Also for completing his first marathon at Manchester. He overcame a massive wall at the end which required an 8 min timeout at mile 23. But despite the trauma he got back up, gritted his teeth and made to the finish. And hit his target time off 3:45. Inspirational strider! 

 A deserved winner. Rich has put in some very impressive performances and goes from strength to strength.   

A club stalwart who gives his time to support his wife Sheila and take photographs of races involving Striders, and races in Yorkshire in general. A deserved recognition for Nigel who give his time for the benefit of others.  

Frank proved to be a very popular choice. Frank has battled injury for some time now, and still turns out regularly representing both himself and the club with determination. 

Sheila a very well respected Strider and thoroughly deserved this award for her determination and drive to do well with some excellent results. Her award was presented at a Peco race, and her face was a picture of surprise and shock!   

A very well deserved award completing the Manchester Marathon in the fantastic time of 3:58:53 

Craig ran the Leeds half and then added a loop of 7 miles on to complete a long run as part of his London marathon preparations, at mile 18 Craig had, had enough and decided that was enough for him. But then Craig came across a complete stranger, who was struggling to finish the half marathon. He ran with her right to the finish line, encouraging her to carry on right to the finish. Craig showed this lady the true strider spirit. Also for all the help, advice and motivation he has given to felloe striders preparing for the London marathon. 

He has run every day for 1 year. He promised our daughter that he would run for every day she had to take her medication, thinking it would be a few months, now a year later, she is still on medication and kept his promise to her, in all weathers and even around our garden when waiting for a covid test result. 

A fairly recent recruit to the club, Dave broke the 14 year old club V70 record for 5k at the Leeds Even splits event by over 2 minutes with his 24:02, a time many people half his age would be proud of! 

For his Bob Graham Round almost self supported which is an amazing achievement.

Along with leading club runs Jack has now started to lead structured training with great effectiveness, not only does he do this but he is a great voice of reason and experience on the committee always prepared to assist people with his wealth of knowledge. 

For an outstanding ultra debut at the 34 mile Welcome Ultra: joint 5th lady, 2nd F50 and good cheer all the way, a great role model for the ladies!

Mike is the heartbeat of the club not only for his time served as chairman but also for his support to everyone who runs with his encouragement and patience Mike is a role model to all. 

For his commitment to run leading since becoming a LIRF he really looks out for the people at the back of the pack unlike some other run leaders and getting weekend runs going to get people ready for BBW. 

Ran the Yorkshireman off-road marathon finishing 7th in 3:55:53. Then just 6 days later set about the 74mile Bob Graham round which takes in 42 lakeland peaks and 28,000+ ft of climbing all to be completed inside 24 hours. September is not the ideal time to be taking on this challenge with unpredictable weather and more than 10 hours to be run in the dark. Matt and Andrew Britton (Wharfedale Harriers) managed the run unsupported and got inside the magical 24 hours with a time of 23hr 48m with a ‘sprint’ off of Skiddaw! to become the first Strider to complete this feat. 

Kristian lost his mum earlier this year to Covid-19 and has used his running as part of the grieving process increasing his mileage to 600 miles in 4 months. He then set a goal of doing 30x10K runs over July and August, by the end of July he had already done 25 and determined to do another 25 during August. He is also helping to raise money for Leeds Mind charity by doing so. 

 After three years of suffering from lots of niggling injuries and illnesses which have prevented her from running anywhere near her full potential, Vicki Johnston has taken the opportunity during lockdown to Increase both her running and cross training.

After entering a few smaller virtual races in May & June, at the start of July Vicki entered the Race to the Stones virtual ultra. The challenge was to do 100k in a week. Not only did she succeed in her challenge, she finished on the Saturday with a day to spare.

However, achieving this challenge wasn’t enough and in w/c 20th July she entered the virtual Lakeland 100. This time she had to run 105 miles in one week from Monday to Sunday. Once again, not only did she manage to achieve this challenge, but she managed to complete it a day early. After a few days rest she then did the Yorkshire 3 peaks before the end of the month.

For organising the virtual John Carr relay in June, which helped encourage Striders with their running & lifted everyone’s spirits. This will have also taken some time and effort to organise and collate. 

For her efforts getting the two Baildon challenges underway and being one of our leading contributors on both weekends, together with collating all of the results. She has helped keep everyone motivated to keep getting out running in a difficult time which got a lot of people pushing themselves in their running. 

Who started / came up with the idea of the “Woody Fred “Rock & “Wilma Roxy” Rock Relay – great idea to lift spirits and keep everyone in contact, a bit of much needed fun during these very strange times! 

For someone like myself who is a slower runner, and didn’t think I was able to contribute anything to the team, and also been struggling with my running. I think her idea of the rock relay was great and motivating.

I loved following and seeing the updates on both rocks. It motivated me to join in when I was able and kick-started me try to go out running more too.

Loris completed his first ultra run finishing 34th in the Punk Panther 40 mile run in 8:37:54. 

Andy began the month believing he’d broken the club’s 15 yr old MV50 record with 35.18 at Dewsbury10k, improving his age pb by over a minute (which currently ranks him 7th nationally) before being informed by Jack he’s still got another 29s to go!

Undeterred, Andy continued to battle it out in the storm sodden mud of West Park (his 15th consecutive PECO race since joining the club) to clinch his 3rd consecutive age title with a race to spare, then played a key role in the men’s team finishing a fine 5th Yorkshire team at the National XC in Nottingham

He also took the opportunity to pop up outside the Caroline Club alongside Stuart, wearing his vest for a Radio Leeds breakfast broadcast, to promote the club & the John Carr series, which he’s again directing

Continued her fine form from 2019 and led home the Striders ladies at the 3rd Peco and finished 3rd F50 again winning bragging rights in the Bower household.