Road winner: Penny Oliver, of host club Croydon Harriers, powers her way to the finish line of the Croydon 10K on Lloyd Park Avenue on Sunday
More than 200 runners turned out for the return of the Croydon 10K on Sunday, after a three-year absence, to encounter the worst conditions ever encountered in the history of the road race, as they set off from Lloyd Park Avenue through torrential rain
Organisers Croydon Harriers enjoyed double delight, as their runners James Hancock and Penny Oliver both led the way to the finish line of the men’s and women’s races.
Hancock led from gun to tape over the undulating course, clocking 32min 37sec, a comfortable 80sec clear of Jake Simmonds from Kent AC. James Lyne, of Coulsdon-based South London Harriers, finished third in 34:43.
Winning smiles: Olympic 400m finalist Donna Fraser presented the prizes to Zoha Jetha (runner-up) and women’s winner Penny Oliver
Oliver set a lifetime best 39:53, ahead of clubmate Zoha Jetha (42:58) and Jennifer Gutteridge from Striders of Croydon (43:44).
Age group category winners included:
W45 Liz Pepper, Crystal Palace Fun Runners, 46:17
W55 Phyllis Flynn, Stragglers, 44:57
W65 Jo Quantrill, South London, 49:36
M40 Zekeriya Adem, 35:50
M50 Krzysztof Klidzia, Folkestone, 37:42
M60 Steve Corfield, Striders of Croydon, 39:23
M70 Vincent McLaughlin, 68:37
Four-time Olympian Donna Fraser and junior international Derek Kinlock were on hand to give out medals to the finishers. Striders of Croydon would have the biggest turnout of any club on the morning, with 27 finishers.
Over 50 volunteers made the event happen on the day with volunteers from Striders of Croydon and Good Gym Croydon assisting the hosts.
Long run: more than 230 runners from around London and the south-east took part in Sunday’s Croydon 10K
Local businesses who sponsored the race included Coversure Croydon, Kinghams of Croydon, Craft Beer Cabin, the Portland Arms, Zag, Mamma Dough, Coach Horse Cafe, the Winning Margin, Majestic Wine Sanderstead.
Others to provide support included Toyshade, Ronhill, Herbal Life nutrition and Wynn Massage.
The next big athletics event to be staged in Croydon will be the South of the Thames 5 miles cross-country race in Lloyd Park on Saturday, November 26.
For more information on Croydon Harriers, their training sessions and event fixtures, click here.
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And no thanks to three drivers on Coombe Road who failed to slow down and each drenched me with the surface water running down the hill. And one was an LAS transit. I wasn’t impressed as the second two would have seen what the first did. Apart from that, well run as always.