BATH Amphibians held their latest Manic Midweek Duathlon and to make it more manic than usual, there was an extra bike and extra run stage added, with three laps of the approximately two-mile perimeter of Castle Combe race track interspersed with two 10-mile circuits of the track – five times round each time.

The Super Vet 60 category is just what it says in the case of Thornbury Running Club's Mike Willis (1:35:06.7), who again blasted away all of the opposition in his age group as well as many others, finishing 39th out of 91 with a great performance all round.

Arthur Renshaw (1:48:44.6), who came second to Willis in the Super Vet 60 category, 78th overall, showed improved times for his transitions and good consistent runs and bike sections, but was still adrift by over 13 minutes at the end of the competition.

Ros Rowland (runner) and Ray Sunnucks (bike) were the first mixed relay team in 51st place (1:38:55.2), while Sandra Webber was second Female Super Vet, the highlight of her performance being her first run of the day.

After visits from Chepstow Harriers for Thornbury's own Sundayshill10k on Monday 30 June, it was time to support Chepstow's Tintern Trot on Thursday.

The race starts close to the Abbey in Tintern, crossing the river to run alongside the water for about a mile, before suddenly shooting up into the woods and climbing steeply.

At the top it becomes a headlong downhill race where sure-footedness is essential.

There were no prizes for Thornbury runners this time, but great performances for Rob Watkins, 17th overall in 42:53, Paul Clark, 43rd in 45:50, and Nick Langridge (50:02), who proves that you don't need long legs to run well.

For the women, Ros Rowland was third LV50 in 104th place (52:23), followed by Jo Williams, 139th in 57:02, and Maddie Parrott, 180th in 1:03:39.

Other Thornbury finishers with an average age of around 60 were Steve Dimond (55:23), Hugh McPherson (57:11), Jeremy Clothier (57:49), Pete Mainstone (58:15), Chris Foley (58:59), Nigel Hale (59:35) and John Watt (1:06:35).

Only three club members found time on Saturday for a 5k parkrun.

At Little Stoke, Garry Slater ran well in his new category, coming seventh in 19:19, and Jennifer Spence at her second event was 41st in 22:45, just a few seconds slower than her personal best, but still first lady to finish.

Much further from home, Malcolm Carr took part in the parkrun event at Rietvlei, Johannesburg, where 530 runners met.

His time of 29:01 was slower than usual, but immaterial as he now can lay claim to the most distant parkrun location for a Thornbury member.

Thornbury RC meet at Thornbury Leisure Centre at 7pm on Thursday evenings and new members are always welcome.