Peter Mills led Striders of Croydon to victory in their third annual mob match against rivals Croydon Harriers on Saturday, writes Alan Dolton.

The 5km race, held in conjunction with the parkrun in Lloyd Park, saw Mills finish more than a minute clear of his nearest rival in 17 minutes 33 seconds.

James Lyne of South London Harriers was the second runner home, recording 18:40.

Striders’ team manager Krzysztof Klidzia was third overall and first in the over-50 category (19:22), while his team-mate Steve Starvis placed fourth (20:16).

Croydon Harriers’ first finisher was club middle-distance coach Alan Burn, who placed fifth in 20:31, three seconds ahead of David Ogden of South London Harriers.

Striders had the next two finishers with Simon Pannell seventh (20:59) and Matthew Stone eighth (21:03), while Croydon Harriers’ team manager Matthew Kiernan was ninth (21:07).

Seventeen Striders completed the course in under 24 minutes, compared with 10 from Croydon Harriers.

Overall, Striders mustered a total of 54 finishers, compared with 21 Harriers, leaving the Striders as match winners by 1,999 points to 851.

This Saturday (13th) both Striders and Harriers will be competing in the final Surrey Cross-Country League Division Two matches of the season.

The men’s match is at Lloyd Park, while the women’s match is at Richmond Park.