THORNBURY Running Club’s Sundays Hill 10k Race was challenging, with the rain falling throughout and water across the road in several places.

Despite this 116 runners entered with local man Michael Johnson (Bristol & West AC) smashing the course record set in 2008 by Vito Graffagnino, to finish in 32:43.

The first lady home was Team Bath’s LV50 competitor, Joanna Thompson in fifth place in 38:28, the fastest run by a woman since 2005.

Of the Thornbury Club runners, Steve Allen was first home in 17th place overall (41:40), followed by Vic Harding in 24th (43:42), Jim Williams in 25th (43:58), Nancy Harding, who took the FV45 prize in 27th (44:24) and Joe Firth in 29th (44:40).

Ros Rowland led the next group, 37th in 45:37, over a minute ahead of Mark Hann in 46th (46:47) and Emma Barnes in 47th (46:56).

Brendan Griffiths was 55th in 48:53 with Dave Andrews 63rd in 50:28. Jo Williams ran round with husband Mark, both finishing in 52:14 in 70th and 71st place.

Also completing the course for Thornbury were David Flemington (87th, 56:23), Lucy Elliott (95th, 59:21) and Alison Harper (108th, 1:02:33) In the popular Frampton 10k, Garry Slater shaved a few more seconds from his time to achieve another personal best, coming 26th in 38:14.

Rob Hopkins ran well finishing in 40:10 in 54th place. Gareth Thomas broke the 50-minute barrier to come 225th in 49:36 with ladies Sue Taylor 281st in 53:17 and Dorothy Thomas 409th in 1:05:25.

Wilf Burke seems determined to make sure the rest of the Vet 60 category knows that he’s there, winning his age category in the Blaise Blazer (27th place in 28:12) and then both the Bristol Self-Transcendence 2-mile race, in which he was seventh in 12:48, and in the GWR Towpath 10k, finishing 40th in 41:46.

Also competing in the mud at Blaise were Anna Fischer, 47th in 30:29, and Steve Selwyn, 94th in 38:22.