Saffron Strider Chris Dodge is celebrating after winning his first race at the weekend. Dodge is without doubt the quickest Saffron Strider but had never won a race before and the sprint finish at the Abington 10K could not have been much closer, with jus

Saffron Strider Chris Dodge is celebrating after winning his first race at the weekend.

Dodge is without doubt the quickest Saffron Strider but had never won a race before and the sprint finish at the Abington 10K could not have been much closer, with just four seconds separating the first three runners.

However, Dodge gritted his teeth over the final few hundred metres and held off Cambridge & Coleridge's Giacomo Capetti to break the tape and secure his first ever race victory in 36min 12sec.

It was a great day for Striders all round, with Janet Lipski continuing her marvellous year to come home in 18th position overall and as second female in 42min 1sec.

Janet Bradshaw improved her 10K personal best for the third time since the start of September with an impressive time of 55min 14sec.

Stalwarts of the club, Christine and Geoff Suckling completed the course together in a time of 66min 54sec.

In her last 10K race, Liz Shields finished just 18 seconds over the hour mark. At Abington, she improved significantly to finish sub 60 minutes in a time of 57min 42sec.

In her first race of 2007, Christine Whitelegg produced an impressive run to finish in 54min 05sec.

Lucy Stebbings and Fiona Tideswell crossed the line as 11th and 12th ladies respectively, just behind Bjorn Krylander who finished 65th overall.

The friendly, family spirit of the day was epitomised by the Waters Family. Paul Waters broke 44 minutes for the 10K, whilst his wife Claire completed the 2.5K fun run with their children, Charlie and Ella.