Athletes ready to mark club’s 30th anniversary
MORE than 110 keen local athletes will take to the streets this weekend to take part in a virtual relay race marking the 30th anniversary of their running club.
Desford Striders was founded exactly 30 years ago this weekend and, despite Covid restrictions forbidding them meeting up to celebrate, club members will be out in force on the highways and byways of the borough, resplendent in commemorative red anniversary T-shirts, to ensure the occasion is properly marked.
Club chairman Andy Ball paid tribute to the spirit of members after 111 of them signed up to take part in the virtual relay, saying it reflected “a special club full of special people.”
Several founder members of the club will take part in the relay as well as others who joined the club during the pandemic and some who only started running when they took part in the Striders’ last Couch to 5K training programme, which finished with them completing their first 5K ParkRun the weekend before the first lockdown took effect in February last year.
The relay has also raised a significant sum through the payment of entry fees for Leicester Animal Aid at Huncote, which the club has recently chosen to support as charity of the year for its 30th anniversary year.
Andy explained: “Although it’s very sad that we can’t get together to celebrate such an amazing anniversary, we are determined we will make it as special as we can in the circumstances.
“All the Striders who’ve signed up have been put into teams, with each team set the task of completing 30 miles over the weekend.
“Most members will run a five-mile leg and, knowing them as I do, I can guarantee there will be some very competitive running going on,” he said. “Each team has been selected to have a mix of abilities and I already know there’s some intense competition over which team will finish their 30 miles the fastest.
“If you see someone out running in a bright red Striders T-shirt with a number of 30 on it over the weekend give them some encouragement as they’ll all be out there competing as if they were in a proper race.”
The current lockdown restrictions mean people can only run together with one other person but, throughout the pandemic, the club has been very active, encouraging members to get out running whilst following the restrictions to stay safe.
In normal times, the Striders organised two running sessions a week - a ‘quality’ training session on a Tuesday evening and a series of social runs on a Thursday evening for runners of all abilities - as well as participating in interclub road running and cross country league races across Leicestershire and further afield.
One of the races that would have taken place in just a couple of weeks time is the Striders’ own ‘Desford 5’ which, in the past has attracted up to 500 runners from across the county. That race has been postponed until the autumn and the club is still hoping it might take place.
Andy explained: “During the three lockdowns we’ve
been able to do very little other than encouraging members to get out and keep on running via our Facebook groups.
“When the first lockdown ended, we were able to get small groups of five runners out with a trained run leader and, although it wasn’t the same as when we could all run together, it helped keep the morale and spirit of the club going.
“Hopefully we’re nearing
the end of the pandemic and, at some point, it will be great if we can hold a proper celebration of the club’s 30th anniversary with all the members. Until then, we hope our virtual relay will be a memorable occasion and raise plenty of money for Animal Aid, our charity of the year.”
Anyone wanting to support the Striders’ virtual relay with a donation to Animal Aid can visit Donate Today - Leicester Animal Aid.
THE FIXTURES have been released for the 2021 Everards Leicestershire and Rutland Cricket League with a new era on the horizon for two clubs in the area after the pandemic.
Hinckley Town have taken the decision to drop down four divisions in the Everards Leicestershire and Rutland Cricket League while Burbage CC and Stoke Golding CC are poised for their first full campaign as Burbage and Stoke Golding CC after merging in 2020.
The 2019 season saw the Hinckley Town 1st XI finish fifth in Division One but the fixture lists which have just been released for the 2021 season reveal the Leicester Road side have been placed in Division 5 West and rather than line up for derby clashes with Hinckley Amateurs 1st XI they will be battling for promotion with Hinckley Amateurs 2nd XI.
Club secretary Barry Orton said the club’s relegation from the Premier Division back in 2012 saw senior players leave and in recent years the club had been on the verge of folding.
“Covid actually helped us to survive, without the Government grants we were able to access we could have folded. The grants have kept the club afloat.
“We have been struggling to get teams out and have had to rely on youngsters from the City Cricket Academy run by Don Bhagawati.
“We asked the league to place us further down the league system and now our 1st XI will play in Division 5 West and our 2nd XI in Division 9 East. It is a case of starting back from scratch.
“At the moment we have no local players in the side but we hope this will soon change.”
It will also be a new era for Burbage and Stoke Golding CC (BSGCC) a partnership created in 2020.
Burbage finished the 2019 season bottom of Division 4 West and Stoke Golding were bottom of Division 5 West and the merged side will compete their first league season in Division 5 West for 2021, with the 2nd XI competing in Division 6 West and the 3rd XI in Division 8 West.
BSGCC chairman Tom Payne explained that the merger came about after he had a chat with the Stoke captain Ben Waters and once the logistics were resolved both clubs agreed to the move.
“Little did we know that our first season would be restricted to a handful of Covid Cup games but, to be honest, it actually gave us quite a good platform for the players to mix and get to know each other a bit more without any pressure on league results.
“This season, we’ll be playing first and second team games at Burbage and the thirds will play at Stoke. Ultimately, the merger makes sure cricket will still be played in Stoke Golding, which is really important as we’ve seen so many local clubs fold over the years.
“It’s really important to us that village cricket in the area continues. And not only continues but begins to thrive again”
The season is scheduled to start on April 24 and elsewhere in Division One, Hinckley Amateurs will kick off with an away trip to Thorpe Arnold.
In Division Two, Earl Shilton will be aiming to bounce back from their 2019 relegation by getting off to a home win over Melton Mowbray, while Barwell will travel to Shepshed.
Hinckley Town will begin their quest to climb through the leagues with a Division 5 West trip to Burbage & Stoke Golding while Hinckley Amateurs 2nd XI play host to Ibstock Town 2nd XI.
• For a full list of fixtures in all of the leagues visit www. landrcl.net