NOMINATIONS

Ben Ashworth Chorlton Spirit Award

Hannah Greenlee

Hannah is an amazing enthusiast who besides doing an essential high pressure job in a hospital operating theatre, is one of the key protagonists in helping organise and coordinate the sheep. She is a great team player and is very good at widening participation and making new runners feel welcome. She often offers impromptu beginner friendly trail runs on the Black Sheep forum, and is often willing to go out of her way for people (eg on at least  one occasion taking people home to Chorlton after a run, even though it is several miles out of her way (living in Worsley).
She has also stepped up when desperately needed for team events, even when there were other events she was eyeing and I think was keener to do!

A credit to her club (and profession), a huge well done!

Ian Sharpe

Ian is a kind , selfless and caring member to all in the club . Both new and old members alike .

Paul Adams

Nomination 1: Paul has led the Couch to 5k programme this year and has been an unwavering support to all of us in that group. Some of the group are now running a 10k after only starting running in January, and Paul has supported us week in, week out to accomplish our running goals.

Nomination 2: Paul’s dedication, enthusiasm and encouragement to the Coach to 5K group is exemplary and really shows the very best of the club. As well as helping out new and returning runners with what can be a daunting process, he then offers a platform for people to progress and solidify their running enjoyment. CR is a really broadchurch of abilities and interest and Paul represents the true spirit of the welcoming and friendly nature of the club I’ve experienced since joining.

Rohan Denton

I’m very new to the club, but I’ve been really impressed how he encourages fun as a run leader.   He also made of point of encouraging a slow (older) runner to have a go at track work on a Friday… which I’m now considering. So definitely a good ambassador

All the PBs

Amy Tang: Amy led by example during marathon training and was such a central support for the group. She dedicated herself completely to the marathon training while being so incredibly supportive of her peers all the way through. She absolutely smashed her goal at the London marathon, got her sub 4 PB and I am extremely proud of her. She even got her half PB at the wilmslow half a few weeks before! 

Andy Nicol: Through 2023 Andy achieved PBs in:

+ parkrun (Gun time. Garmin didn't measure 5k, so didn't claim it as a 5k PB)
+ 5k (A different parkrun measured on Garmin)
+ 5 mile
+ 10k
+ 10 mile
+ Marathon
+ Half Ironman
+ Full Ironman (first event)

James Moles: Running a marathon PB, and a sub 2:40 at that, at age 50 is a pretty phenomenal achievement. James' dedication to the hard training, doing all the right things, is really inspirational, and I know that I have learnt a lot from watching him train from afar. It was a truly epic performance and one well deserving of this award, in my opinion.

John Ashurst

Nomination 1: John has broke PBs in more than one distance over the last 12 months. He’s smashed it! 

Nomination 2: he seems to be breaking a lot of his pb's recently. and also ran his first marathon I think. 

Nomination 3: It’s been great watching John smash all of his pbs over the past year. Everything from 5ks to a marathon. I remember at the start of last year we had a goal to run sub 20 5k and now he’s running 17 minute 5ks for fun! He also ran a very impressive time in his debut marathon.

Best Comeback

Kata Szabo: Kata was out of running for a while with injuries and it was clear how this was affecting her personally, but commitment and perseverance and she is back and running so brilliantly. She is also always so friendly and welcoming of us, and you can tell how pleased she is to be back, running fast and in Chorlton colours!

Mike Leigh: Mike has acted as a role model for a responsible comeback from injury - after a heart scare he's trained smarter not harder and come back to running and racing gradually over time to build back progressively. I think a lot of people would have been put off by how serious what happened was so it's been impressive to watch a careful comeback. 

Sarah Stephenson:

Nomination 1: Sarah has comeback twice against incredible odds. Firstly, she battled back from finding herself blind and almost deaf and unable to walk, having seemingly lost a mental health battle 😥, which she has since written openly about to help other people with their own personal battles 👏👏👏

I'm probably not alone in assuming the worst when she had been out of contact for a few days, having not eaten for a long time and fallen into a critical condition. How she started running again was nothing short of a miracle.
And another huge setback occured when she lost consciousness after a seizure. She broke her hip and she was also diagnosed with osteoporosis, and told that running again was completely and irreversibly off the table.

With courage, true grit and determination she worked hard as nails to pursue an impossible dream...
First with the hospital physios and professionals, to help her walk again
Then committing to long hours on treadmills to build up her stamina
And finally she was ready to run in the open air, with the help of several guide runners, mainly from our fabulous club

The turnaround was incredible 💥.
And in April, she set out to run the Manchester Marathon. And against all the odds, she managed it non stop without even stopping to walk!

An incredible feat of resilience, and possibly the greatest comeback story I know 💫👏🎯

Nomination 2: Sarah had a long time not running due to health issues including a fractured hip and balance problems amongst others. This year, despite being unable to run without the steadying hand of another runner, she has come back to run the Manchester marathon. As she did not manage to have someone with her for all training runs she did much of her training, including some long runs, on a cross trainer which must have been very dull. Her determination has been inspirational. 

Nomination 3: Determined and always smiling despite her personal challenges . 

Nomination 4: Sarah has battled on through health issues for a long time. During the last year she has fought back, training for the Manchester marathon and then completing it. She is cheerful and friendly, always making an effort to get involved with the club whenever time and her health allows. She thoroughly deserves this award 👏 

Steph Bird: After a break of almost 5 years, Steph has delivered an amazing Marathon Comeback running London in 04:12:01, not quite her PB, but not far away and smashing her previous London time of 4:37:58. Previous Marathons - 2019 4:11:12, 2018 4:37:58, 2017 4:28:12, 2016 4:35:17. 

Best Newcomer

Alison Coleridge: Alison has achieved a lot since joining the club in the last 12 months, including running a number of half marathons, and her first marathon in Manchester. She is relatively new to running and has shown a lot of grit and determination. She is continuing to look for new challenges and has entered an ultra marathon next year.

Mike Leigh: Mike joined the club in August 23. Since joining his running has dramatically improved and will push himself harder than anyone else. He has often stepped up to run lead on a Tuesday and will talk and to and welcome just about any person in the club. Since an injury set back he has been determined to get back to fitness so he can represent the club again. 

Rebecca Knapton:

Nomination 1: Since joining the club towards the beginning of the year, Beccy has been a regular in the Tuesday night progression group. Alongside that, she has been running some seriously lengthy ultra marathons, including over 50 miles in the Pennine Barrier race. She stepped up to fill a place at the Calderdale relays despite not having raced at that pace previously. She is a frequent volunteer at RunNorthWest events, and also was part of the Chorlton Runners team handing out medals at the Great Manchester Run. Disclosure: I've known Beccy for a number of years, but I do think she's a good candidate!

Nomination 2: Rebecca joined the club this year and since then has volunteered to marshall for the Chester Ultra, Manchester to Liverpool Ultra, Alderley Bypass 10k, and Great Manchester Run, supported and cheered CRs at the Manchester Marathon, attends club night, track night and has attended a Black Sheep Lamb night. Since joining she has raced the Pennine Bridleway 55k, Pennine Barrier 50 mile, Wilmslow Half, Stockport Trail Half and attempted the Pennine Bridleway 137km, unfortunately having to pull out after 45 miles. She is also signed up for the Calderdale Relay as part of the women's team. She is always friendly and chatty on club nights and often stays afterwards to chat. She has really embraced being a part of the club and running community!

Tom Griffiths

Nomination 1: Tom led plenty of runs since joining the cub. Sways encouraging and looking after n people in the run Grus. A special mention for the Manchester marathon training bock too  over a 4 month period. A true gent and a scholar. 

Nomination 2: Tom has been impactful over the last 12 months and has got really into run leading, regularly leading marathon training runs on Sundays while also training for his first marathon. He's set a great precedent for new members to get involved in volunteering and run leading from the get go. 

Nomination 3: There's been some great newcomers this year. Fab to see one or two people getting onboard the runlead juggernaut within a short period of having joined - Tom, Rohan, Gurpreet all spring to mind.
Tom meticulously turned up as a run leader for several weeks  to guide a group to marathon success, so was a much appreciated guiding light.

Well lighthoused Tom! 💡

Dave Telford Volunteer of the Year

Billy Franks

Nomination 1: Billy volunteers in so many ways, whether it’s run leading, organising groups to volunteer  for races etc, and has an energy that makes people want to get involved. He also goes about it in such a quiet but encouraging way so people want to join him in doing stuff for the club. Has really made a difference since joining the club but zilch ego as far as I can see!

Nomination 2: Very enthusiastic about the club and volunteers

Chris Peachey: Chris is a great run leader and even trained me one to one in my first marathon. He always steps up and volunteers and has marshalled and been a pacer at events too and has helped train me for my Manchester Marathon.

Frankie Bale: Frankie does it all for CR. She is the queen of organisation, including cross country, road relays, calderdale, and all the other stuff that gets thrown at her, she represents the club in every kind of race and event, she does it all with a smile on her face, and she does it for very little personal gain

Paul Adams: work with c25k groups and getting newbies into black sheep runs 

Suzy Hill: Suzy has put a great amount of effort into organising and running run leader courses, to help encourage more people to get involved, which has been great to see!

Tom Griffiths: Tom stepped up to lead every single Sunday in marathon training season, and I think for a lot of people, he made it 10 times easier to complete the training block. He is an asset to the club and a joy to run with. This spirit continued on marathon day when he ran alongside fellow Chorlton Runners, all keeping each other going until the very end. 

Feet of Endurance

David Honeywell: His nearly every weekend marathon efforts are incredible! He has been through tough times in his life which he is very open about and I find it very inspiring.

Jospeh Guntrip

Nomination 1: 10 marathons in 10 days! Don’t really need to say ,ore than that, but his encouragement of others, his commitment to raising money for children with cancer was admirable and it’s also the sheer joy with which he approached this feat saying the London marathon was “the best day of my life” and the race photos suggest this was quite likely true! 

Nomination 2: There are not many people that are strong (/crazy) enough to run 10 marathons in 10 days but Joseph is one of them. I know a lot of people enjoyed following his journey running from Manchester to London to finish off this epic adventure at the London Marathon. What made this feat even more impressive was that after 9 days of running a marathon each day, Joseph proceeded to run a 3hr14 marathon with a negative split. Some seriously impressive running with the icing on the cake being that he raised over £4,600 for Children with Cancer UK in the process! 

Nomination 3: A eager young fellow called Guntrip
Set out on one hell of a fun trip
So let's all sing a paean
To that mad Phidippidean!
And that crazy ten marathon run trip!


🎶 His dreams were more than crystal clear,
The writing on the wall
Meant that Joseph some day soon
Would rise above us all
The accuracy of his dreams...
We clubmates did not know
But one thing we are sure about
The dreamer
Raised some dough 👏 🎶

Rebecca Williams: Doing 50 miles then the Manchester marathon 2 weeks later while remaining incredibly relaxed about it all if very impressive

Most Improved

Gary Richardson: This year Gary achieved the coveted running goal of running sub 3 at his first London Marathon taking 13 minutes off his previous marathon PB. I wanted to nominate Gary because I know this achievement didn't come easily. Despite becoming a Dad in the past year he somehow managed to stick to his training and often provided club run leads as part of that. From going from running 3hr36 at Manchester in 2022 to 2hr57 at London 2024 he's had an amazing journey. Well done Gary!

Gurpreet Singh: Gurpreet has been an amazing runner who every week has improved his distance, time and equipment. But not only that, he is now a run leader on Sundays adapting to different paces and being super inclusive to all abilities. I believe he deserves the award!

Harriet Jackson: I have ran with Harriet for 2 years. When I first started running with Harriet, she was running at 9/min miles on a Tuesday night and had never ran a marathon. She has now completed 2 x sub4hr marathons and shows no sign of stopping. She got a PB at Manchester Marathon 2024 of <3hr 45 mins, and regularly runs at 800-8:20 pace now on a Tuesday night, sometimes stepping up to lead.
Harriet is an asset to the club and it feels like she is the most improved of my club mates! 

John Ashurst:

Nomination 1: John has made improvements over 5K and 10K and a great marathon debut of 3.15 or so. Only started running seriously a few years ago and in the last year has taken his running to practically elite level for a V45. He’s always encouraging and gives praise when other teammates perform well and I think he deserves recognition for what he’s achieved over the past year! 

Nomination 2: With all his PBs I think he’s improved massively over the 12 month period 

Mike Leigh: was already really good runner, but just seemed to be smashing it even more in the last 12 months. Unlucky with illness before manchester marathon. 

Unsung Hero

Amy Tang: Amy stepped up unplanned to lead a group through an entire marathon training block - pulling several of us (myself included), through training that we otherwise wouldn't have managed. 

Ben Hobson: Ben has been helping out and pulling strings at this club for many moons. He helps coordinate a lot of the Repping activity, is friendly and approachable, and sometimes helps Justin with Welsh Castles teamwork. He is only an occasional Facebooker so sometimes goes under the radar.
All in all a credit to the club.
Note to Ben: I wish the reppers would make it down the pub more often on a Tuesday after their runs though 😆

Frankie Bale: Services to cross country and chorlton challenge in particular but general enthusiasm and inclusiveness (and also excellent running performances! 💪)

Ian Sharpe: As he guided partially sighted Sarah through training for and in the event of the Manchester Marathon 

Jo Shuttleworth: Jo is a member who always steps up if needed to lead the Sunday 10-11pace. She quietly puts herself forward and is so encouraging and positive. Jo has recently started a new job which involves miles of cycling each week yet she still comes    with tired legs , friendly chat and sunny nature 

Mark Turner: Mark always seems to be about on Tuesdays and I think Sundays leading runs and being friendly. He is a great person to have around all members of the club.

Mike Leigh: As someone who is still relatively new to the club, I've been particularly impressed by Mike's enthusiasm at club run and track sessions. He's been very welcoming and his superb running knowledge has definitely made me become a better runner, particularly with things like injury prevention and footwear/technology. Mike's experience is invaluable to a club like Chorlton, and I know how much he was missed when injured.

Paul Adams: I was a keen runner in my younger years and wanted to return to running. I was very nervous with younger fitter runners in the club. I thought I would feel like I shouldn’t have been there. I needn’t have worried Paul was there with his reassuring friendly manner. I have had a few wobbles but paul continued with his encouragement ensuring no one was left behind. Some members in my group are now running 10k at the weekend which didn’t seem possible in February.
Myself and fellow runners in the couch to 5 k would love to see paul win this award for his motivational and caring attitude and ensuring the running club remains inclusive to all members.

Ruth Abbott: Ruth has been a club member for many years. She’s been known to appear at track, Tuesday night, hills and Sunday runs. She always encourages others and has done more than her fair share of volunteering. She also happens to have a pretty epic age grade. An all round good egg who’s a little too quiet to blow her own trumpet. 

Val Brennan: Week in week out what Val does for the club…!