Event Date: Friday 12th November 2021
Event Report by Caroline Brock
Our friends over at HRRC organised the 2nd edition of a women’s only track night at the EIS. This event is open to all clubs in the area and is a brilliant opportunity to try out some track running, see how you fare over the shorter, more explosive distances (me, not very well!) and just have a fun night with all the runners and volunteers.
7 Striders raced in the evening, all pulling on the vest to represent the club and running as hard as they could, they all smashed it! Track racing can be intimidating if you’ve never tried it before but that is exactly what these events are great for. Trying something out and just enjoying a new experience, no one there will judge you as we all want everyone to do well and the support from everyone on the night proved that.
There were multiple events on offer with all races seeded so the aim being you would run with people of similar ability. I went along to volunteer and was given a very special whistle owned by our Chairman Stuart Jones to make me feel official as the race starter. I was glad to not have the pressure of race timing which our very own Richard Pegg was assisting with, some fast work required there!
800m
We started off with the 800m races, 4 laps of the track so plenty of time for tactics to come into play, early leaders were overtaken and those starting slower pushed forward. About 3 minutes of excitement and when the bell rings for the last lap it’s all to play for! Kate Scott and Sophie Middleton ran in the 4th heat and we had our first podium of the night from Kate in 2nd place.
| P | Name | Club | Time |
| 1 | Kim Bateman | HRRC | 2:56.20 |
| 2 | Kate Scott | Steel City Striders | 2:56.80 |
| 6 | Sophie Middleton | Steel City Striders | 3:08.70 |
60m
From the longest event of the night to the shortest, the 60m; run as hard as you can for 10 seconds and then try to stop as fast as you can! Unfortunately all the times couldn’t be captured as the finishes are so close together but we had 4 Striders in this event and another podium for Kate!
Heat 1
| P | Name | Club | Time |
| 1 | Jane Ford | Aston Chasers | 9.01 |
| 6 | Gillian Pearson | Steel City Striders | (no time) |
Heat 4
| P | Name | Club | Time |
| 1 | Lianna Bell | Smiley Paces | 9.55 |
| 5 | Karen Clark | Steel City Striders | 11.38 |
Heat 5
| P | Name | Club | Time |
| 1 | Liz Carthy | Totley AC | 9.03 |
| 3 | Kate Scott | Steel City Striders | 9.44 |
Heat 6
| P | Name | Club | Time |
| 1 | Caz Kay | Totley AC | 8.25 |
| 8 | Kathy Liddiard | Steel City Striders | 10.38 |
400m
Next, to the 400m. The race between Laura and Claire was great to watch, both showing how much speed they have along with great sprint finishes for the top 3 positions! Laura had just that extra push to finish in 1st place and Claire finished in 3rd for 2 podium spots.
Heat 1 (6 runners)
| P | Name | Club | Time |
| 1 | Rebecca Leyland | Sheffield RC | 1:31.31 |
| 6 | Gillian Pearson | Steel City Striders | 2:07.06 |
Heat 3 (9 runners)
| P | Name | Club | Time |
| 1 | Laura Rangeley | Steel City Striders | 1:26.11 |
| 3 | Claire Wren | Steel City Striders | 1:26.67 |
Heat 4 (6 runners)
| P | Name | Club | Time |
| 1 | Emily Chaplais | HRRC | 1:14.17 |
| 6 | Karen Clark | Steel City Striders | 1:29.35 |
Heat 5 (11 runners)
| P | Name | Club | Time |
| 1 | Sophie Reale | HRRC | 1:12.20 |
| 3 | Kate Scott | Steel City Striders | 1:15.91 |
| 6 | Sophie Middleton | Steel City Striders | 1:22.30 |
Heat 6 (10 runners)
| P | Name | Club | Time |
| 1 | Caz Kay | Totley AC | 1:09.40 |
| 9 | Kathy Liddiard | Steel City Striders | 2:20.86 |
Next was the Eliminator where only top 3 are ranked, it’s a great event to watch where the last runner to cross the line is knocked out each lap until the last 2 remain to battle out the last lap!
200m
The final solo races of the evening were the 200m. 1 lap, short and sharp. With the different starting positions on the track you don’t know positions until the final bend, keeping things exciting.
Heat 2
| P | Name | Club | Time |
| 1 | Liz Carthy | Totley AC | 33.27 |
| 5 | Sophie Middleton | Steel City Striders | 36.14 |
Heat 4
| P | Name | Club | Time |
| 1 | Andi Herrick | Smiley Paces | 34.20 |
| 4 | Laura Rangeley | Steel City Striders | 35.45 |
| 6 | Karen Clark | Steel City Striders | 40.40 |
Heat 5
| P | Name | Club | Time |
| 1 | Paula Croft | Aston Chasers | 36.52 |
| 3 | Claire Wren | Steel City Striders | 37.80 |
Long Jump
In the long jump only our Track Expert Kate Scott had a go and came 5th out of 9 competitors.
| P | Name | Club | Time |
| 1 | Liz Carthy | Totley AC | 3.58 |
| 5 | Kate Scott | Steel City Striders | 3.14 |
4 x 200m Relay
After a long day Kate still had so much energy and her experience was invaluable on the night. I even watched as the relay team practiced their baton exchange. Very impressive! The result was a determined effort and brilliant time.
| P | Club | Time |
| 1 | Totley AC | 2:06.95 |
| 5 | Steel City Striders | 2:27.34 |
Well done to everyone!
We hope there will be a men’s track night in the New Year and I would really encourage any men not sure if it’s for them to give it a try, everything is worth trying at least once!
Team results
| P | Club | Points |
| 1 | Hillsborough & Rivelin RC | 59 |
| 2 | Totley AC | 56 |
| 3 | Smiley Paces | 36 |
| 4 | Dronfield RC | 22 |
| 5 | Aston Chasers | 16 |
| 6 | Kimberworth Striders | 12 |
| 7 | Steel City Striders | 10 |
| 8 | Sheffield RC | 4 |
Striders at the EIS track night