IT IS only two months until the Oldbury Power 10-miler gets underway which is the next big Thornbury Running Club race.
The event takes place on Sunday, October 4 at 10.30am from Oldbury Power Station and is the third in a series of races in 2015 that together make up the Avon Road Race Championships for eligible runners.
The course is a fast, flat road race, along quiet country lanes just a few miles from Thornbury.
The race starts and finishes at Oldbury Power Station itself where there is ample car parking and bag storage.
Ten miles is not a distance that is raced that often and is an ideal distance to step up to if an athletes has just completed a first 10k and want to do a first half marathon at some time in the future.
As 10-milers go, it is an easy course with not a hill in sight! It could be a great warm-up and sharpener for the Great South Run, which is also over ten miles, or the Bristol to Bath Marathon which are both three weeks after the Oldbury event.
Thornbury Running Club will supply pacemakers and there will be club  marshals out on the course.
Whilst there are various cash prizes on offer as well as a team competition, running is not just about course records and  personal bests, and Thornbury, as a club, has always encouraged runners of all abilities to take part and enjoy the experience.
And for those who would like a bit of a slower pace, a group of Thornbury runners will be at the back of the field to go around at something like 10-minute mile pace.
Full details and entry forms are available on the Running Club’s website thornburyrunningclub.co.uk
l Of the many club members that are currently in training for autumn half marathons or marathons, three of them – all of whom have entered the Severn Bridge Half Marathon on Sunday week– fitted-in a 5k parkrun as part of their training on Saturday.
While increasing the length of runs undertaken, it means that speed over a shorter distance can suffer, and while none of the three achieved a personal best for the course or distance, all had good times and should have no cause to be disappointed.
At Little Stoke, Kevin Arnold, in 21.45mins, was a few seconds slower than the week before, as was Kevin Cundy in 23.05mins.
Angela Bushell chose Chipping Sodbury and was unsure whether or not to run with her dog, aware it would mean starting at the back.
Whether having a collie helped her or not, her time of 25.18mins was one second slower than her quickest for the course.