Striders of Croydon faced strong opposition in the South of England Cross-Country Championships at Parliament Hill Fields on Saturday.

In the team events, Striders’ women finished 44th, while their men were 63rd.

Striders’ women were led by team captain Steph Upton who ran well to place 186th of the 466 finishers, covering the muddy 5m course in exactly 40 minutes.

Alice Ewen was 272nd (43:05), Zoe Williams 295th (44:09) and Linda Daniel 429th (54:01).

Striders’ men were led by Iain Harrison who ran well to place 170th of the 986 finishers, covering the 15km course in 60:29.

Taylor Huggins was next home in 423rd (67:25) with Barry White 502nd (69:32), Simon Pannell 643rd (73:11), Chris Morton 669th (73:59) and Simon Webster 806th (79:06).

Meanwhile, Ernie Hann gained his second successive victory in the weekly parkrun in Lloyd Park, covering the 5km course in 19:22.