Striders of
Croydon are based at the Sandilands Sports (see map) and social
club in Sandilands, Addiscombe, Croydon. If you are interested in joining us
contact one of the committee members listed on the committee page or come along to one of
our sessions and speak to whoever is leading the run. You are welcome to run
with us for a few weeks before formally joining and paying your
subscription. There are entry forms on
the club notice board or at Membership
form
The runs leave
promptly at the stated time so aim get to the club house about 10 minutes
before hand.
The Weekly Diary:-
Sundays
Sundays – 8.30am –
Generally a slow off-road run through the parkland and woods heading south out
of Croydon. It is possible to travel
from Lloyd Park out into the
Mondays
Rest
Tuesdays
Interval
Training – there are two parallel sessions:-
One at Croydon Arena
. Meet at the Arena by 7.15pm to warm
up, stretch and two laps of ‘strides’ in time for a 7.30pm start. Sessions split into quick and not so quick
groups for speed work/repetitions. An essential training component for anyone seeking a significant
improvement in their PB times.
See latest
monthly schedule
for details. Sessions last about 40
minutes.
The
other from the clubhouse with an emphasis on hill training. This is in Lloyd Park in
the summer and on the roads round Sandilands in the winter. Again meet in time
for a 7:30 start - sessions are about 40 minutes.
Wednesday
The largest run of the week leaves the club house at
7:30 usually as two groups. The faster group for those who
can manage 10K in less than 50 minutes the slower group for the rest. Both groups run for an hour but split to
allow a 40 minute run. In the summer
months this is mainly off road, in the winter months it is on the roads around
Wednesday is also
the main opportunity to meet for a drink in the clubhouse afterwards.
Thursday
Swimming – we hire the pool at
Friday
The social
run - a more leisurely run of 40 minutes at the pace of the slowest runner. Beginners with very limited running
experience are welcome to this run.
Depending on numbers there will usually be a separate group running at a
faster pace and looping back as necessary. Both runs start at 7 p.m.
Saturday
Club members are encouraged to run in the various men’s and women’s league
cross country and road events which take place on Saturday afternoons. The more runners we enter the more chance the
club has of succeeding. The club pays
your entry fees for many of these events so please come along if you can.
At the end of 2007
we are in:-
Women’s Surrey League cross country division 2
Men’s Surrey League cross country division 2
East Surrey League (mix of road and cross country)
Surrey Road League
Rosenheim League (track and field)
Southern Vets League (track and field)
The schedule of
events is at Fixture list
Other Events
The Striders organise a number of their own races. The highlight of the
calendar being the ‘Switchback Five’, an open five mile multi terrain race around Lloyd Park and Addington
Hills, which usually takes place in September as the cross country season is
about to begin. The club also arranges a series of internal 5-mile handicap
events in the summer. This is a chance
for runners of lesser ability to compete on equal terms with faster
runners.
Since 2003, the Club has
also been a leading partner in helping to stage the annual Race for Life
women’s 5k event in Lloyd Park. The
race/walk involves over 2,000 women raising money for cancer charities through
the Race for Life organisation.
At intervals during the
year we arrange Sunday morning runs away from the clubhouse.
E.g:- Catch the train out to Oxted,
Coulsdon or Merstham and running back to the club
house.
Runs
along the Thames path from Clapham Junction to
Combined runs, swim and
Sunday lunch at Dorking and Box Hill.
A hash event, an informal
orienteering event
The club arranges a number
of it’s own social activities which have been as
diverse as quiz nights, barbecues, snooker, bowling, athletics meetings and a
number of charity fund-raising events.
We regularly participate in
events such as the London Marathon and the Great North Run. We often travel
overseas to running venues such as
Striders
of Croydon was
formed in 1982 by a group of local athletes, most of whom were employed by the
Philips Electronics Group, in City House in Croydon. The Club was originally known as Philips City
Striders AC. In the
Since our formation we have
evolved and expanded to 150+ members. We
are still a friendly and a relatively small Club, with a large mix of age,
gender and ability. We positively welcome runners with little or no experience,
or more experienced runners who may have just moved into the area.
The emphasis of the Club is
on running, although we do participate in summer track and field programmes at junior, senior and veteran levels. ‘Training’ is used is the loosest sense of
the word. Some Striders reap maximum
benefit from the range of different sessions which the Club provides and which
the training manuals recommend – i.e. A mixture of
speed, distance, hill and recovery workouts. There is a wealth of experience
from those who have joined the Club that dedicated training pays dividends in
improved results. Other Striders are
equally happy to jog around some nice terrain at chatting pace, followed by a
drink in the Club bar. It’s entirely up
to you, and the Club endeavours to meet the
requirements of all those who run with us.
Being a member of a running
club has many advantages over being ‘unattached’. Financial advantages include
discounts on shoes, clothing and equipment. The club is affiliated to UK
Athletics (UKA) and the Surrey AAA, which qualifies us for entry discounts on
many race entry fees. A club offers the opportunity to train with people with
similar interests and standards. Club
members have a wealth of experience available to pass onto to those seeking to
take up running.
Come along