TO gain a place in the most prestigious trail racing event in Europe, the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB), an athlete must first accumulate enough points in qualifying races.

With this in mind, Nick Williams headed to the Welsh coast on Saturday to take part in Endurancelife Gower Ultra race, where three UTMB points were on offer.

Nick has set himself the target of racing at UTMB in French Alps in 2018 and wanted a podium place in this hilly 35-mile race, which started and finished in Rhossili.

In very windy conditions, Nick achieved his goal by finishing in an excellent third place in five hours 40:38 mins.

A group of 28 runners and 14 volunteers came together at Thornbury’s Mundy Playing Fields on Saturday for the Thornbury parkrun test event.

With the inaugural Thornbury parkrun due to take place this Saturday, this was a chance for event director Ian Shepherd and his team of volunteers to test the course with a smaller group of runners.

In damp conditions, the first finisher was Thornbury Running Club’s Robert Cowlard in 20:25 mins.

Robert Hopkins, from Thornbury RC, is happier running longer distances, so decided to up the ante by running with a 25 kilo backpack and finishing in 39:43 mins. There promises to be many more than 28 runners when the first Thornbury parkrun starts at 9am on Saturday.

Details of how to enter this free event can be found on the event website www.parkrun.org.uk/thornbury/ Andrew Darton was in Oxfordshire for Abingdon parkrun, which he finished in 23:37 mins.

Experienced parkrunners David and Anne Palmer were at the Forest of Dean event which they completed in 28:17 mins and 33:39 mins, respectively.

Three Thornbury runners joined the masses at the Sodbury Slog over the 10-mile off-road course. Maite Roche was the first finisher for the club in one hour 47:09 mins. Sean Underwood was next in one hour 56:38 mins.