Some of the KADS family took part in parkrun tourism on the weekend of 18 Oct 2025 – waking up in the middle of the night to venture across the Irish Sea to Fairview parkrun, Dublin!

The adventure began in true KADS style — alarms going off around 2am, bleary-eyed meet-ups at 3:30am, and, of course, fuelling up with a breakfast at the airport pub before take-off! ✈️☕️🥓

After landing in Dublin, we hopped on a bus and made our way to Fairview. The park looked stunning in the autumn light, with golden leaves setting the scene as the team headed out for their warm-ups beneath the trees 🍂.

The Fairview parkrun route was three laps off the park — mostly flat but with a sneaky incline that made itself well-known on lap three when everyone was giving it their all! 💪

And what a performance from the KADS crew:

🏆 Matt – 1st place overall in 17:55
🥈 Stuart – 2nd overall & 1st in age category in 18:58
🥇Ryan – 8th overall & 1st in age category in 19:51
👏 Oli – 24th in 22:31
👏 Simon – 31st in 23:00
👏 Dom – 40th in 24:00 and celebrating his 150th parkrun! 🎈
🏅 Katie – 45th, 2nd female & all-time PB in 24:49 🎉
🥉 Sam – 46th, 3rd female in 24:50
🌟 Penny – 81st in 28:26
🥇 Clare – 83rd, 1st in age category in 28:32, and celebrating her 50th parkrun! 🎈
👏 Joanna (KAD for the day!) – 133rd in 33:51
👏 Angela – 142nd in 35:11
👏 Yvette – 144th in 35:13

After cool-downs, a quick wet wipe wash to freshen up and a change of tops, we headed off to celebrate in true Irish fashion at The Annsley House, a traditional pub run by Tony — Ryan’s uncle’s friend — who was the host with the most! 🍀

Guinness flowed (with a few teas for good measure 🤣), biscuits were served with our cuppas (thanks, Tony!), and the laughter was non-stop. Ryan’s uncle - Gerard was a superstar and appeared with hot dogs and the biggest chicken dippers we’ve ever seen – seriously, what are they feeding the chickens over there?! 🍗😂

After several Guinnesses, giggles, and good vibes, it was time to dash back for the airport — with Simon sprinting ahead to hold the bus for the rest of us! 🏃‍♂️🚌

A fantastic day, full of fun, friendship, and unforgettable memories.

Until the next adventure, KADS! ❤️🩶

​Sam Garside

After Ju and I had booked a holiday on Menorca I had a quick search for running races on the island. I'd done a 5k race around the port in Ibiza on a previous holiday and really enjoyed it. This time I came across a series of point-to-point trail races on Menorca. The three distances (11k, 19k and 32k) all follow a stretch of the island's Camí de Cavalls coastal path. I opted for the 19k, thinking it would be fairly easy (which it wasn't!).

Entry was all done online. In France you need a medical certificate to take part in organised races, but not Spain. All I needed was to fill in a form and pay. Entry wasn't cheap, about €55, but it's cheaper the earlier you enter. It also included a bus transfer at the start, T shirt, medal (wooden), two stocked aid stations, two nights of partying/DJ/fireworks/horse show etc, drinks and pizza at the end and an included meal and beer Saturday evening. Instructions were sent out in both Spanish and English. The races took place Saturday morning, and bib collection was scheduled for Friday evening. We were staying about an hour from the race village, but had a hire car so could easily get there on the two occasions.

The event was very well organised. Several start times were arranged to spread out the 1700 runners on the trail. Mine started at 9:30am, and a series of coaches took us across the island to the start. We'd been asked to carry at least 500ml of water, a foil blanket and fully charged phone and (if the weather is bad) they ask you to take a waterproof coat. Checks were kinda carried out, although most of us just walked straight past. The trail is way-marked with posts, but additional cones were in place at tricky spots. The GPX was available for download onto your phone or watch. I'm rubbish at navigation and it wasn't an issue, even for me.

The coach I was on appeared to be full of lean folks in their 20s who looked like they'd be gliding over the rocks since they were knee high to a grasshopper. I'd spent the past couple of years running on tarmac, and a single attempt to try out the trail before the race had seen me skinning a knee. With a bit of a hamstring issue, I made sure I stayed at the back of the pack at the start! There was a second start to the 19k run later in the day for slower runners who'd be doing less than 8 min mile pace, which I really should have used!

The finish was very cool, like something at an Ironman event. A carpeted funnel up to an elevated ramp under a gantry with photographers and automated video equipment at the other end. A bloke shook hands with each finisher while announcing our names. Very nice. The staff were all excellent in the race village dishing out food and drink and helping get my elbow and leg cleaned and bandaged. I'd seen another runner on the floor with a gashed leg out on the course. There were others in the medical tent too, not surprising as it really was tricky to stay upright.

I'd definitely do an event like this again. It feels great to be a part of a big community race, either in the UK or abroad. Next time I'd take a trail race more seriously though. My trail shoes were about worn out so lacked some grip (they went in the bin afterwards). I wasn't confident my hamstring issue was healed and I'd had almost no practice at trail running beforehand. Not great preparation for what turned out to be quite a challenging course. I'd also carry a GHIC (NHS-issued treatment card) with me just in case I ended up needing hospital treatment.

As usual a huge thanks to Ju for all the support, getting me in the right place at the right time and helping translate in the medical tent among many other things. Cheers, Jay

The Wilne 10k has a reputation for being flat, super fast and very popular. It attracts around 1,000 runners, with a wide range of finishing times from around 30 minutes to 90 minutes, so you're likely to always have someone to try and catch or keep up with. The race tends to incorporate the Derby and/or Midlands Championship, so attracts people competing at county or area level but on the day you can't tell that, it just feels like a normal 10k race.

Church Wilne is only a 20 minute drive down the M1 from Kimberley, takes place on closed roads and has a huge free parking area set within a pop-up race village. Just be sure to drive in via Long Eaton to avoid the road closures at the Draycott end (it's all in the PDF race leaflet they email out beforehand).

I was lucky to get a lift (thanks again Wendy). The race starts at 10am but we arrived around 8:50, and had no trouble getting parked up (lots of marshals directing us). I'd opted to pick up my race number, which proved very quick and easy, they just needed my name, no barcode or ID etc. There weren't a massive number of portaloos but the queue system worked well (one queue for them all, so you didn't have to guess which would move the fastest). We dived in early to be sure of having plenty of time for a warm up.

The race is on a looped course, with the start and finish set about a mile apart on the long stretch of Sawley Road, so you don't run two full loops. There are no U turns, just flowing bends, and it's almost flat, just some very slight inclines you can barely feel. There is one little climb (which you do twice) at the point the race turned back onto Sawley Road, but it's very short. When you hit the climb a second time, you're only 100m to 200m from the finish position around the corner. Sawley Road is great for warming up, closed to traffic and a good mile or so up towards Draycott and back. Tons of runners were jogging up and down the road getting ready. Always a nervy moment this.

The race bibs are colour-coded for the race based on estimated finish time. In theory you're 'called' to the start according to colour, but in practice we didn't hear any announcements as we weren't in the race village. Noticing hundreds of runners walking up towards Draycott, we turned around and followed them up to the start.

We couldn't see any markers suggesting where to stand based on finish times, and there were no pacers we could see, so we just counted back from the start roughly where we should be. I'd eyeballed previous year's results and knew I should be around 100 people back, about 10 rows (Stu was with me, although he was probably a few rows too far back as he's quicker than me).

Once we'd squeezed into roughly the right area (trying not to look at the rapid-looking folks around us), we waited. It was a bit too warm this year, about 20 degrees, and stood among people it felt even warmer.

The organisers did their usual speech which no-one but the front two rows could hear, and a minute or two later we were off. I'd set the estimated finish time on my watch, and it immediately start to tell me I was running too slowly. It was pretty busy with runners but there was enough room to easily pass people, so I tried to kick into gear a little and move through the pack.

I'd based my finish time on a recent hard 5k effort, and on what my Garmin was predicting. They were both wrong it turned out! I gave it a good shot but the estimated time slipped and slipped. It was getting me down and I eyeballed the handful of people who'd dropped out and were walking with a degree of envy! I shouldn't have, of course, they were likely injured and I was flowing well enough.

By the time we were half way round (the race has KM markers) I was way down on time and knew it wasn't going to be anywhere near what I wanted. Time to switch tactic. I hit the button on my watch to hide the estimated time screen and just ran as hard as I could, getting into groups to hide from the breeze. I'd a good few mini battles with people running around the same time was me, some of which I won, some I didn't! 

Crossing the line I was about 90 seconds down on what I'd hoped to run. I was disappointed, partly because Coach Perry has put so much effort into helping me get fitter these past couple of months. He's given me some good, challenging and interesting sessions which were really building my fitness and confidence up. I think a combination of warm weather, possibly the remnants of a cold and just bad luck meant I wasn't in the best of shape. It's given me a good kick to get going again on training though!

As usual it was great to share the race with a whole bunch of KADS and a few of us got together to share our race stories and grab a photo at the end (thanks to Deborah for the pic). Back at the race village we collected our bright orange T shirts (no queues, great colour for winter training) and a snack bar. There's no medal for this race. Leaving the race in the car was easy too, although you have to drive out the other way (towards Draycott) so it's worth knowing the route back.

Cheers, Jason

I can’t believe we have entered September already!  As we bid farewell to the Summer League Season (and prepare for XC season!) 
Please find the race report from Holme Pierrepont, the final race of the Notts AAA Summer League.

Wednesday 13th August saw the temperature rise to 30 degrees! It was still 29 degrees when the race began at 7:15pm 

29 of us took to the course, with a special mention to Sarah Wilson and Lee D’Arcy for making their AAA race debuts! 

A flat course, but still tough going in the heat. First home for the KADS Men was Matt Hammond in 35th place. Next up was Stuart (53) followed by Ryan (58) Jay (69) and Lee D’Arcy (127) completing the Men’s First Team.

Great running also from Steve R-D, Oli, Chris Laban, Robin, Glen, Chris Chandler, Alan Cook, David Saunders, Rob G and Mike O.

First Lady home was Helen Woods in 10th place, with me up next in 33rd. 
Zoë was next to cross the finish (47) with Nic C closely behind (48) completing the Ladies first four. Emma Makin (77) completed the Masters Team (Because Zoë is still a Senior)
And our Masters Team was 3rd on the night!

Also huge well done to the other finishers, Sarah Wilson, Sam G, Vicky Sutton, Katie Newton, Wendy, Karen, Julie, Clare Dickson and Pam!

The best part of the evening was of course the awards ceremony! (Big thank you to those who stayed late to attend) 

The awards are given out for the overall series. 
Massive well done to Karen Layton who came 2nd in her age category 
And Mike O’Brian who came 1st in his 
We are so proud of you both 

We had 7 Ladies and 8 Men who completed all 5 AAA races, with some great overall placings, including myself and Ryan missing out on medals by coming 4th  
Maybe next time eh Ryan? 

Overall Team standings:

Men’s Masters Team 6th
Women’s Masters Team 5th 

Next, we turn our attention to the BDL XC season. There is only one race a month in this series, always on a Sunday at 11am. 
Any questions please give me a shout! 
Everyone is welcome (you just have to wear a KADS race vest) and the first one is very local:

Shipley Park 
5th October (11am)

Let’s see if we can get a great turn out for our first XC of the season 

Cheers, 
Eve 

I'll start with the negative of the event - far too congested on the 2nd lap due to the 5km runners (not their fault) more the organisers fault. There was an out and back which led to the 'competitive d*ckheads' running head on at each other at various points. Yes I was guilty of that, but never at the detriment of other runners. At the end of the day this was somebody's 5k/10k/half chance at a PB and we respect them for that. 

I knew Alan Cook was going to there and we enjoyed a short warm up. On my second warm up I bumped into Iyan Bunhejee and we played 'let's find Ryan's car because he had no idea where he'd park.' Twice. 

As for the run, I went out thinking don't go too hard, relax, play the game. Ignoring the first mile I was fine, the next 2 or 3 I was good and pepper potted between 4th/5th. It was a 2 lapper with the 5km starting 15 minutes after the 10km. On the 2nd lap I hit big traffic. The 5km/10km/half all used the same route and it was carnage towards the out and back. I think I lost about 30 seconds and more weaving in and out runners. No blame on runners, more the organisation. 

I manged a 4th place overall, 1st V40 after raising  a steward's enquiry because I was missed off the live timing. It happens. A good event and well organised but I have reservations over whether it needs a 5km or not. As a wise man said, it's an event that has outgrown the venue. Credit to Alan and Iyan who I believe both had PB's at the distance. 

Ryan Stocks

Race Report: DRL Round 5 2025: Shipley Park 

Once again we had a fantastic turn out, as it has been all year, for the final race of the DRL summer league with 32 runners out for the club last Tuesday night to take on the reasonably hilly course in Shipley park. 

First home was once again Matt Hammond in 6th overall and a time of 31:35. In the other scoring places for the men's team we had Rich Myers (24th), Stuart Laurie (27th), Ryan Stocks (55th), Kevin Johnson (69th), Steve Robinson Day (94th) and David Hill (98th). Also representing the club we had Darren Dodsley, Chris Laban, Simon Tooth, Steve Sharpe, Glen Weston, Dom Devlin, Oli Braybrook, Dave Fuller, Chris Chandler, Rob Gooch, Paul Coe, Alan Cook, Nick Tennant and Michael O'Brien. 

For the ladies first home was Helen Woods 60th overall and 4th lady in 36:00. In the scoring positions we had Eve Taylor (18th), Nicola Chamberlain (24th) and Zoe Attenborough (Furley) (28th). Also representing the club we had Emma Meredith (Makin), Kirsty Perry, Sam Garside, Kirstie Dodsley, Katie Newton, Jen Turner, Wendy Akers and Alexis Hutchinson. 

Thanks also to Angela, Dave, Micky and Jo for their support on the night. 

So concludes the summer DRL, our men's team finished 7th, ladies 4th and combined 7th. We have had 59 different runners don the maroon and silver in the DRL this year with an average of 34 at a race, our biggest turn out was 40 for the first race at Teversal. 16 runners attended every race in the league with a further 6 ran the 4 races needed to get a position in the final standings. We had a few runners in podium positions, Rich Myers was 2nd in M45, Michael O'Brien was 3rd in M70, Matt Hammond was 2nd in MS and Helen Woods 2nd in F45, 3rd lady overall. Full results from the series and from each race in it can be found on the Derby Runner webscorer page here https://www.webscorer.com/149743.

Well done to everyone who took part in the summer DRL and thanks to all who supported. One more AAA summer race then we can turn our attention back to the muddy stuff. 

Dom Devlin

Thank to ladies' captain Eve Taylor for this report from the Worksop AAA summer league race:

On Wednesday 16th July we had 28 KADS turn out in the maroon and silver to take on the 5 mile (ish) course at Worksop. Another warm race, but barely any hills this time! Mostly road running through the trees, with a bit of trail thrown in. As always, a great evening out with the KADS and many thanks to Julie and Angela for the support and photography.

First home for our Men was Matt Hammond in 34th place in an impressive 27:19, next up was Rich Myers in 63rd place and 3rd home was our Ryan in 70th. Completing the Men’s first team was Jay Buckley in 82nd place and Dom in 164th (very closely followed by Robin Damion in 165th!)

Well done to all the Men who completed the race including: Dan Gooch, Chris Laban, Steve Sharpe, Glen Weston, Chris Chandler, Rob Gibb, Rob Gooch, Nick Tennant, Steve R-D, Alan Cooke and Mike O.

Now on to the Ladies, Helen Woods had a great run, and came back in 30.27 and 7th lady overall. The next KAD was myself in 48th place with Nicola Chamberlain in 57th and Zoe Furley up next in 67th. Emma Meredith completed the Women’s masters team in 71st place (as Zoe counts as a Senior lady) 

Our Women’s Masters Team was 3rd Team overall on the night, well done ladies! Massive shout out to the rest of the ladies who completed the course: Sam Garside, Vicky Sutton, Wendy Akers, Claire Dickson, Pam Tivey and Karen Layton.

 Team Standings Overall
Mens Masters – 9th and 18th
Women’s Masters 5th
Women’s Open – 11th
We have had great representation from the club with 18 runners completing 4 out of 4 of the Notts AAA Summer League so far. (1 race left to go)
Individual Standings Below: 
Men’s Current Standings
Age Group 35-44
Ryan – 6th
Dom – 15th
Dan G  20th
Chris C 24th

Age Group 45-54
Chris L 15th

Age Group 55-64
Robin 8th 
Steve R-D  12th
Glen 15th
Rob G 16th

Age Group 75+
Mike O – 1st !!

Ladies Current Standings

Senior
Zoe 11th

Age Group 35-44
Eve – 4th

Age Group 45-54
Sam - 11th
Clare - 20th
Pam -  21st

Age Group 55-64
Wendy - 6th

Age Group 65-74
Karen 2nd!!

Some great efforts and results there!! Just one more race to go at Holme Pierrepont on Wednesday 13th April (further details will come out closer to the time). I would also like to mention Mike and Karen’s placings of 1st and 2nd! Amazing results and looking at the stats, if you turn up to the 5th race (and run) you are guaranteed to win a medal! The awards presentation is usually straight after the race at Holme Pierrepont, I will forward on the details once I have them.​

Many thanks to all the runners and supporters,
Proud Ladies Captain,
Eve 😊

Thanks to men's captain Dom Devlin for this report from the Derby Runner League (the old BDL) at Carsington Water.

Some great running from the mighty KADS at Carsington water last week. The course is a great test of running with rolling hills and gravel paths throughout and this hot weather we’ve been having made it all the more challenging. Given the out and back nature of the route at least we get to experience the hills in both directions but we probably do the most difficult part of the path round the lake twice.

First home for the club on the night was Matt Hammond in 12th overall and a time of 29 minutes. Scoring for the men’s team we also had Rich Myers (37th), Ryan Stocks (38th), Martin Lee (47th), Jason Buckley (55th), Kevin Johnson (69th) and David Hill (96th). Also representing the club on the night we had Dom Devlin, Steve Robinson-Day, Darren Dodsley, Dan Gooch, Chris Laban, Simon Tooth, Steve Sharpe, Glen Weston, Sean Gilligan, Chris Chandler, Rob Gibb, Rob Gooch, Alan Cook and Michael O’Brien.

For the ladies first home was Helen Woods in 48th overall, 3rd lady in a time of 32:03. Also scoring for the ladies we had Eve Taylor (22nd), Emma Meredith (Makin) (41st) and Jen Turner (53rd). Also representing the club we had Kirstie Dodsley, Katie Newton, Wendy Akers, Julie Buckley and Karen Layton.

Overall our men’s team are currently in 9th and our ladies team are in 6th. Overall we are in 7th.

Fantastic numbers once again with 30 runners completing the course, plus Angela, Haley and Sam (after having to stop) supporting us on the night and sorting out the tokens.

With 4 out of 5 races completed we have a few runners who at this point are in strong positions in the overall standings. Helen Woods is currently 2nd lady overall and 1st in F45. Eve Taylor is currently 3rd in FS. Ryan Stocks is currently 2nd in M40. Steve Robinson Day is currently 1st in M55. Michael O’Brien is currently 3rd in M70.
​
One more race in the DRL summer season, Shipley Park on 5th August. We will also do the draw for the club’s London Marathon place before that race that night.

​Another fantastic turn out for KADS for the third DRL race of the year last Tuesday with 38 KADS coming out to run the tricky (mostly) trail course in Denby and 36 completing the run. Unfortunately, Nick was forced to retire after a nasty fall, his description of the incident was 'I was running along minding my own business when all of a sudden my face was introduced to the ground faster than I had intended.' Nick was back out running with us later in the week and is healing. Thanks to Alan as well for stopping and helping Nick get back round to the start/finish area and the medics. 

Now on to the results first home for KADS was Matt Hammond in 6th overall in a time of 26:39. Also scoring for the men's team we had Ryan Stocks (26th), Martin Lee (33rd), Rich Myers (36th), Luke Jones (39th), Robin Damion (95th) and Dom Devlin (109th). Also for the men we had Dave Hill, Dan Gooch, Steve Robinson Day, Darren Dodsley, Simon Tooth, Lloyd Andrews, Rob Gooch, Chris Laban, Sean Gilligan, Steve Sharpe, Kevin Wong, Chris Chandler, Paul Coe and Michael O'Brien. 

On the ladies side of things Helen Woods was first home for the club in 30:14, 4th lady on the night and 52nd overall. Also scoring on the ladies team we had Zoe Attenborough (Furley) (27th), Eve Taylor (28th) and Emma Meredith (Makin) (44th). As well as this we had Nicola Chamberlain, Sam Garside, Wendy Akers, Kirstie Dodsley, Emma Walker, Katie Newton, Alexis Hutchinson, Lisa Hilliard, Emily England, Karen Layton and Yvette Dean. 

After 3 rounds our men's team is currently in 7th, ladies in 5th and combined in 6th. Thanks also to those who came out to support us and to Micky for sorting names and tokens on the night. 

Next race in this series is 8th July at Carsington. 

Dom

Today, five of our amazing KADS runners—myself, Angela, Eve, Katie, and Yvette—took on the beautiful Woodhall Spa 10K. It was a day full of determination, smiles, and some well-earned personal bests!

First off, cleverly Katie and Yvette, to the opportunity to incorporate a lovely weekend away for a park run and the race. Meanwhile, Angela, Eve, and I had our own “ chauffeur Dom” adventure, with Chris the dog joining us on the road trip—always a fun way to travel!

Huge congratulations to Eve and Katie for smashing their PBs today! Katie’s comeback after a few weeks of rest is a testament to the hard work paying off behind the scenes—amazing effort, well done both of you!

Yvette, what a fantastic comeback post-injury! You said you were going to jeff it, but you ran the whole way, crossing the finish with the biggest and brightest smile. Truly inspiring—well done!

Angela, this wasn’t an easy day for you—you could have easily stayed home. But this superstar got up, showed up, and completed the race. We’re super proud of you, and hopefully, this run helps reignite that spark.

As for me, I wasn’t quite in the right frame of mind either. I went off too fast, I had a bit of a fallout with myself during the race which caused me to stop briefly. But I restarted, pushed through, and got the job done. Sometimes, that’s what matters most.

Now, about the race itself—the Woodhall Spa 10K is brilliantly organised (though there was a strange moment with a car suddenly behind us and touching Eve’s legs at the start—don’t ask!). The race village and finish line were nestled in a lovely holiday park, and the atmosphere was fantastic. The medal and cupcake at the end were a sweet reward!

The course itself took us out along wide, closed roads through stunning countryside. We even passed a place called Furze Farm/Cottage—naturally, I wondered if it belonged to Colin Furze, the YouTube inventor who’s famous for his underground bunker and tunnels!

And now, the results:

Eve: 31st lady, 4th in age category – 45:54 PB

Sam (me!): 87th lady, 10th in age category – 50:44

Katie: 152nd lady, 18th in age category – 54:05 PB (by 4minutes!)

Yvette: 445th lady, 42nd in age category – 1:06:38

Angela: 487th lady, 74th in age category – 1:08:59

So proud of all our ladies today! The sun shone, the wind calmed, and we gave it everything we had.

Here’s to more races, more PBs, and more KADS adventures!

Thanks

Sam