Thornbury Running Club

THE STROUD Half Marathon has proved its popularity over the years, returning Sunday for the 35th event and with 1,356 finishers.

In past years, there has been a big entry from Thornbury Running Club, but this year, only five members made it to the start line, in what was clearly a good quality field.

The cool, overcast and slightly misty conditions were ideal for racing, giving Garry Slater a good run to finish 69th in one hour 27.17minutes, not too far off his best time for the 13.1 mile distance.

Completing in under 90 minutes is a good achievement, but that saw him only 21st in his age category.

Nick Langridge missed that 90-minute mark finishing 148th in one hour 33.50minutes, but for the more senior man, this was a good fourth place in his category.

Rob Hopkins was close behind, 160th in one hour 34.37minutes, then came Richard Jackson, one hour 42.05minutes and Kevin Arnold in one hour 47.30minutes.

The first Gwent Cross Country League race of the season was held the previous week with a small number of Thornbury runners travelling to Bridgend.

Sadly, not one female runner was available, and the men only scraped together a team due to the arrival of Ashley Hodgetts (44.30minutes), who was in the area and able to fit-in the 10.15km run as part of his preparations for the World and European Triathlon Championships, and to Steve Allen (45.06minutes) whose main reason for travelling was to take daughter Rosie who finished a good eighth in the Under 17 Girls' Race, running for Westbury Harriers.

The rest of the Thornbury team comprised the ageing stalwarts of Mike Willis (46.47minutes), Nick Langridge (48.43minutes) and, returning slowly from injury, Pete Mainstone (57.52minutes).

Hodgetts, running at training pace, was initially overtaken by Allen, but soon put himself at the front of the Thornbury contingent, while tactical running by Willis and Langridge saw some small battles, which Willis finally won.

The result leaves the Vet55 team lying a half-respectable ninth, against the overall team placing of 60th.

Andrew Darton ran with son Thomas at the Chipping Sodbury parkrun on Saturday, helping him to achieve a new personal best for the 5k distance in 22.36minutes.

All other Thornbury parkrunners chose to support the new event at Wotton-under-Edge, which saw a field of 304 for its inaugural run.

The course also 5km in length, as are all senior parkruns, is two laps of the Wotton Community Parc, mostly on grass and with just a slight gradient.

Moray Sloan, currently running very well, was the fastest for the vlub, 16th to finish in 20.41minutes.

Liam Symonds-Barry was a minute behind in 21.44minutes followed by Chris Dawes, 22.23minutes and Kevin Cundy 22.45minutes.

Hugh McPherson in 23.13minutes was 3rd in the VM60-64 age group, and 10th overall in the age-adjusted placings, while Judy Mills, 12th overall (age-adjusted) was first to finish in the VW55-59 group in 26.41minutes. Suzanne Cundy ran the course in 31.13minutes while Carole Bishop (37.25minutes) and Graham Bishop (37.34minutes) were the fastest if the only runners in the VF70-75 and VM75-79 age groups respectively, finishing 283rd and 284th, still some way from the back of the field.