On a beautiful February morning, runners from all over the region gathered in large numbers to take part in the iconic Bourton 10k in Bourton on the Water – a flat and fast local event hosted by Bourton Roadrunners which always attracts a strong field. Early frost and mist had eased and by the time the 10am start arrived, conditions were perfect for racing – still, sunny and chilly.
CLC Striders had no less than 25 members racing on the day, and here’s how they did…
First home was the club, and continuing his incredibly strong start to 2024, was Rob Green, who finished 5th overall in a lightening fast field and as 1st in his MV40 category in a time of 32:29, beating his own club age category record by almost 30 seconds.
Next home was the so-solid Joe Willgoss in 12th place overall and with a new PB time of 33:25 and Rob Barnett blasted to the finish, also in a new PB time of 34:06 for 18th place. Sam Baylis and Tom Burgess finished 10 seconds apart in 25th and 26th places in times of 35:03, a PB for Baylis, and 35:13 respectively, with John Comer completing the club’s top 50 finishers on the day with a PB time of 36:32 for 46th place.
Jon Howes made a great return to road competition after a long time out with injury with an 83rd place finish in 38:08, while Helen Knight continues to amaze, clocking a new PB time of 38:23 to finish as the 1st LV40, smash her own club age category record by 30 seconds and dip into the top 100 overall in 88th place. Richard Aarons and Alex Doherty finished neck-and-neck in the same time of 39:31 to complete the Striders who broke the 40-minute barrier on the day.
Next home were Aled Leaver in a new PB time of 40:25 and Paul Northup 40:26 and they were followed by a good crop of Striders ,all finishing within a minute of each other – Joel Freeland in 41:16, Liza Bradshaw in 41:35, Rachel Vines in 41:41, Nick Ledwold (running the 10k as part of his long Sunday marathon training run) in 41:41 and Gary Farquharson in 42:00 dead.
The trio of Nigel Bailey, Tim Brock and Rachael Cary finished within 5 seconds of each other in 42:55, a Pb for Bailey, 42:56 and 43:00 minutes respectively. And the other Striders to complete the 10k were Steph Parker in 45:31, Colin Upton in 47:51, Sam Howe in 48:48, Adam Hockaday in 49:16, and Tanya Evans in 54:27.
Pictured – just some of the 25 CLC Striders athletes after finishing on the day From left to right, back row: Jon Howes, Paul Northup, Nigel Bailey, Tim Brock, Alex Doherty, Adam Hockaday, Colin Upton, Sam Howe From left to right, front row: Helen Knight, Rachael Cary, Rachel Vines, Liza Bradshaw, Joel Freeland
]]>On a balmy and dry Saturday, teams from all over the County (and Bath!) descended on Pittville Park for the fourth and final race day of the Gloucestershire Cross Country season. Back on home turf, there was a good turnout from CLC Striders – and plenty of support and encouragement around the course – with its undulating terrain, tricky woodland section and infamous stream crossing on each lap.
As usual, it was the ladies who raced first. And, as has been the case all season, a determined Helen Knight finished first for the club in 16th place overall and as 2nd in her LV40 category. Just five seconds behind her, Kate Telford – only a fortnight away from racing in the Tokyo marathon – finished in 17th overall and as 1st in her LV35 category. Next home for the club was Liza Bradshaw in 29th overall and as 4th in the LV40 category and Rachel Vines was 39th overall and 7th in the LV40 category.
Also running really well on the day were Fiona Brady-Miller and Steph Parker – finishing 4th and 6th respectively in their LV45 age category. Amelia Mullins, 4th in her LV50 category, Laura Leaver, Emma Abbey, Rebecca Reynolds, Julia Rose and Nicola Weager. On the day, the Ladies finished 3rd in the Open team competition, but were the 1st Masters team standings. Overall for the season, they finished as the 2nd Open and Masters team – both behind Bath AC (so technically, as the first team strictly in the County if not the league).
Special mention for David James, who also raced in the Ladies event as an MV70 competitor, putting in a gritty performance and claiming 1st place in his category on the day – as well as the MV70 silver medal for the whole season.
Finally, it was the men, who were led home by second-claim Max Harrison-Tosatto in 19th place overall, followed closely by Rob Green in 20th overall but as 1st in his MV40 category. Also inside the top 50 was Tom Burgess who finished in 48th overall. The ever-improving Richard Aarons and Liam Richardson completed their first season of cross country with CLC Striders by finishing 59th and 85th on the day, with MV55 vets Gary Farquharson and Paul Northup also finishing just inside the top 100.
Joel Freeland, Jack Wilde and Eoin McQuone also battled hard to finish for the club on the day. Overall the CLC Striders Men finished as 9th in the Open team competition and as the 6th Masters team. But across the season, CLC Striders were 6th in the Open standings and 5th in the Masters.
Individual CLC Striders medallists at the end of the season were Rob Green and Kate Telford with gold in their MV40 and LV35 categories, Helen Knight and David James with silver in their LV40 and MV70 categories and bronze for Amelia Mullins in her LV50 category.
All in all, it was another good season for CLC Striders in their local cross-country league – especially for the ladies, who continue to be the dominant force in County cross country running.
The Ladies team (plus MV70 Vet David James) From left to right, back row: David James, Emma Abbey, Julia Rose, Liza Bradshaw, Nicola Weager, Helen Knight and Amelia Mullins From left to right, front row: Rachel Vines, Laura leaver, Fiona Brady-Miller, Steph Parker, Rebecca Reynolds and Kate Telford (Context for the photo: they were sharing a birthday cake for Rachel Vines’ birthday!)
The Men’s team From left to right, back row: Paul Northup, Max Harrison-Tosatto, Jack Wilde, Tom Burgess, Rob Green and Richard Aarons From left to right, front row: Eoin McQuone, Aled Leaver, Joel Freeland and Liam Richardson
]]>In the Midland League Division One, the ladies had a great day of racing, with Helen Knight once again leading them home in 24th place overall and as the 6th finisher in the Masters category, capping a fantastic cross-country season for her at this level. Just over a minute later, Kate Telford clocked in as the 32nd finisher overall and 10th in the Masters, with Liza Bradshaw only just behind her in 39th overall and 14th in the Masters. Just 20 seconds after and the scoring finishers were complete, with Ladies’ captain Rachel Vines coming in in 72nd overall as the 30h Masters finisher.
The other CLC Striders ladies competing on the day, in order of finishing, were Fiona Brady-Miller, Amelia Mullins, Laura Leaver, and Emma Abbey. On the day the team finished 8th overall but were the 1st Masters team – an amazing achievement in this quality of league. Overall, at the end of the four fixtures, the Masters placed as the 2nd team and overall the ladies easily secured their place in the top flight for yet another season.
For the men, it was a different story. In this, their first year in Division One of the Birmingham league, it’s fair to say they’ve found the competition incredibly tough – especially with various of their key runners being unavailable across most of the fixtures. So, a brave seven men made the trip to Abington Park in Northampton to represent their club. Despite warnings that the route might have to be altered due to waterlogged ground, on the day the parkland had drained nicely and the fixture went ahead as planned.
Once again, the men were led home by Sam Baylis, who has competed in all four fixtures and who once again secured a top 100 finish in 94th place. The remaining Striders to complete the course were Robert Hyams in 159th, Gary Farquharson in 166th, Liam Richardson in 171st, Nick Ledwold in 180th, and V70 athlete David James in 190th. Although finishing in last team place on the day, the fact the men fielded six scoring runners means they live to fight again next season – albeit back in Division 2, alongside Gloucester AC who were also relegated on the day.
Ladies Masters medallists – Liza Bradshaw, Helen Knight and Kate Telford (three score for the Masters category)
The Ladies team, from left to right: Liza Bradshaw, Laura Leaver, Amelia Mullins, Helen Knight, Emma Abbey, Kate Telford, Fiona Brady-Miller and Rachel Vines
The Men’s team, from left to right: Liam Richardson, David James, Robert Hyams, Gary Farquharson, Nick Ledwold and Sam Baylis
]]>Sunday 28 January was a day that was long in the coming for local running club CLC Striders. After having to cancel its annual road race at Staverton in 2023 because of ongoing roadworks on the ‘Old Gloucester Road’, the club worked hard to identify an alternative location to host its much-loved 10-mile road race. Using the Gloucester Old Spot pub as race HQ, and with parking at Clavell and Hind, the race was run around the quiet country lanes around Barrow and Boddington, just south of the A4019.
On the day, conditions were dry and not too cold – almost perfect, apart from a fairly persistent breeze from the south which tested the runners on their way ‘out’ on each of the four laps of the flat and fast circuit. The field assembled was incredibly strong. In the end, no less than 22 runners finished in under one hour! The winner of the men’s race was Swansea Harriers’s Michael Kallenberg in a fabulous 51:18. The lady’s winner, just outside an hour, was the incredible Emily Hilliar of Poole AC in a time of 1:00:45.
But the race contained some fascinating ‘races within the race’, with CLC Strider athletes doing themselves and their club proud in this inaugural, high class event.
First home for the club was a steely Rob Green who battled hard to stay with the group of runners behind the leader. The group was packed with county-wide talent and Green tucked in until unleashing a blistering last mile to storm through for second place in a time of 52:37, a new club record and a PB. After winning the Linda Franks five-mile race just a week before, this was an incredible achievement for the club talisman.
Next home, again in a PB time, was Joe Willgoss, continuing his excellent form for 10th place overall in a time of 54:37 – an incredibly resilient and disciplined run, as he found himself between groups for much of the latter part of the race. Second claim runnerMax Harrison-Tosatto raced in his Striders vest on home turf to finish just a minute behind Willgoss in what was yet another PB time on the day of 55:39 for 12th place overall.
Training partners Alex Johnston and Rob Barnett completed the crop of Striders to finish in under one hour, both registering substantial PB times on the day and running excellently judged races to finish in 14th and 16th places respectively, with great times of 56:02 and 56:31. John Comer ran strongly for 25th place, finishing in a time of 1:01:03 – marking yet another PB performance on the day.
Only a few minutes later, the CLC Striders ladies raced home. Helen Knight was 34th overall and 3rd lady in a PB time of 1:04:01 and a new club record. Having run almost neck-and-neck the whole way, she was followed home by Kate Telford, as 35th overall and 4th lady, in a PB time of 1:04:08, bettering her LV35 club record in the process. Liza Bradshaw was 55th overall and 5th in her LV35 category in a solid time of 1:07:47.
The two remaining runners for the club in the field were Aled Leaver, who clocked a PB time of 1:08:40, and Gary Farquharson, who set a new club VM55 age category record in a time of 1:11:56.
On a day of firsts for this proud local club, there was a real buzz about the whole event. Feedback from the runners was overwhelmingly positive – appreciating the smooth organisation, the super-flat and fast course and the supportive and encouraging marshalling throughout. Of course, as with any first-time event, there are logistical lessons to learn, and the club will go into debrief mode after successfully staging its first ever Boddington 10, ready to bring it back, even better, in 2025.
]]>CLC Striders ran to victory in the local Linda Franks five-mile race around Hatherley, hosted by Almost Athletes, on Sunday 21 January 2024. In the relative calm ahead of Storm Isha, a large field of runners gathered for the running of this friendly and fast local event.
After running stride for stride with a Stroud AC athlete, CLC Striders’ Rob Green pulled away over the second half of the race to win comfortably in a time of 25:50 – smashing the club record for his age category in the process.
Just under a minute behind, Joe Willgoss bagged a PB time of 26:47 for third place, and Rob Barnett completed the triumphant trio, finishing in fifth place in a PB time of 27:06. In what was a fantastic start to the road racing year, the three CLC Striders men easily won the team competition on the day too.
There was a good crop of other CLC Striders out for the race. They included men’s captain Will Pearce, who finished 28th in a time of 30:14 and Adam Greenwood, starting his London Marathon year, with a solid 42nd place and a time of 30:41. Coming back from injury, Paul Northup surprised himself with a time of 32:49 and Nick Ledwold recorded 33:39.34. Rachael Cary was next home in a time of 34:40 and then came Nigel Bailey and Tim Brock, who ran in lockstep until the final finishing straight, clocking 34:49 (a PB) and 34:54 respectively. Steph Parker ran well for 36:08 and Colin Upton finished in 36:43, and Mike Speke registered 38:42.
All in all, it was a great day for the club.
CLC Striders now turn their organisational attention to next Sunday’s inaugural running of the Boddington 10-mile road race, just west of Cheltenham, where an incredibly strong field is lined up to do battle over the super-flat and fast lanes around Boddington and Barrow – just off the A4019. It promises to be an amazing event, having sold out within 24 hours.
Pictured, the triumphant trio, from left to right: Rob Barnett, Rob Green and Joe Willgoss.
]]>Hosted by the University of Birmingham, Race Day Three of Division One of the Midland and Birmingham Cross Country Leagues, saw CLC Striders Ladies and Men’s teams travelling up the M5 to test themselves – alongside all the very best runners from the region – over the hilly terrain of Warley Woods in Smethwick, south-west Birmingham.
The CLC Ladies have competed regularly in Division One over the years, but for the men, this is the first season they have been represented in the top flight.
The course had it all – technical sections, woodland, open fields and narrow trails, and plenty of ascents and descents. Perhaps the most merciful thing is that the weather was dry and bright and the ground was firm and free of mud.
First, it was the turn of the ladies. Once again, they were led home by the unstoppable Helen Knight, finishing 42nd overall as 9th in the Masters. Not far behind, Kate Telford finished in 54th place overall and as 11th in the Masters. Liza Bradshaw was next home, 76th overall and 18th in the Masters, and the fourth finisher for the club was ladies captain Rachel Vines in 93rd overall and 26th in the Masters.
Also racing well on the day were Fiona Brady-Miller in 125th, Amelia Mullins In 151st, Laura Leaver in 154th, Nicola Weager in 178th and Emma Abbey in 180th. Overall, the ladies achieved 13th team place and 4th Masters team on the day. And after three races of the series, and with just one to go, they lie in 11th overall, but are the 3rd Masters team – an amazing feat in this ultra-competitive league.
Next it was the turn of the men. Once again they were led home by the ever-consistent Sam Baylis, finishing in 122ndoverall. Next home was John Comer in 164th. Men’s captain Will Pearce battled for 195th and Jon Howes, making a welcome return to the team after longterm injury, also ducked into the top 200, finishing in 198th. Richard Aarons was 205th and Aled Leaver was the sixth team scorer, finishing in 209th.
Also racing hard for the club on the day were Liam Richardson in 214th, Paul Lockyer in 217th, Gary Farquharson in 219th and club super-vet David James, who finished in 243rd. Overall the men finished 16th on the day and they occupy the same placing overall in the Division, with just one race to go.
Pictured, the CLC Striders ladies team, from left to right: Amelia Mullins, Laura Leaver, Nicola Weager, Fiona Brady-Miller, Rachel Vines, Liza Bradshaw, Helen Knight, Emma Abbey and Kate Telford
Pictured, the CLC Striders men’s team, from left to right back row: Richard Aarons, Paul Lockyer, David James, Sam Baylis, Liam Richardson, Jon Howes, and Aled Leaver. From row: John Comer, Gary Farquharson and Will Pearce
]]>On the first bright, still and cold winter’s day for weeks and after storm after storm with high winds and torrential rain, it was time to welcome the New Year in by returning to cross country for the third fixture in this season’s Gloucestershire Cross Country League, once again held at the Cotswold Farm Park.
Thankfully, given its elevated location, the course was relatively dry with only a few sections of really muddy ground to navigate. But the terrain was still as challenging as ever, especially after Christmas viruses and over-indulgence.
In the ladies event, Helen Knight began the year as she finished the last, bringing home the team in 20th place overall and as 2nd in her LV40 category. Liza Bradshaw was next to score, finishing in 29th overall and 3rd in the LV40 category. Deep into Tokyo marathon training, Kate Telford was next home, in 38th overall and 3rd in her LV35 category, and ladies’ captain Rachel Vines was only just behind her in 40th place overall and 6th in her LV40 category.
Next to finish, in the LV45 category, Fiona Brady-Miller and Steph Parker both ran really strongly, with Amelia Mullins getting back to full strength after injury finishing next, 4th in her LV50 category. The remaining brave Striders ladies to finish for the club on the day were Laura Leaver, Nicola Weager, Rebecca Reynolds and, making her cross country debut, Julia Rose.
The CLC Ladies were third team on the day and sit in third place in the league behind Team Bath A and B, while the ladies Masters team were joint second on the day and remain in second place in the league overall.
Also running in the ladies event, club super-vet David James finished well inside the first 100 as 2nd in his MV70 category, guaranteeing himself a season medal with just one more race to go in the league in February.
The final race of the day saw the men take to the course to complete a gruelling three laps of the undulating grassland. The ever-faithful Rob Green was first to finish for the club in 10th place overall and as 1st in his MV40 category. The next three home all crossed the line within 30 seconds – Aled Leaver in 77th, Richard Aarons in 79th and Liam Richardson in 81st – and Gary Farquharson finished 6th in his MV55 category.
The remaining CLC Striders athletes to compete in the day were, in order of finishing, Nick Ledwold, Eoin McQuone and Colin Upton. The CLC Striders men finished as ninth team on the day, moving up one place in the league to ninth overall, while the men’s Masters were eighth on the day but remain sixth in the league.
The next and final race in this season’s Gloucestershire Cross Country League will be hosted at Pittville Park in Cheltenham on 17th February.
Pictured, back row from left to right: Rebecca Reynolds, Liza Bradshaw, Amelia Mullins, Laura Leaver, Helen Knight, Julia Rose – and David James (VM70) Pictured, front row from left to right: Steph Parker, Nicola Weager,
]]>With races being cancelled the length and breadth of the country due to waterlogging, it was a relief that the second fixture of the Gloucestershire Cross Country League Season (23/24) went ahead – in what turned out to be sunny conditions with only moderate mud. The fixture also saw the incorporation of the County Championships for the season, so the stakes were high.
First up, the ladies took to the course, which circled around one large open field expanse high above Bath city. Once again, the indomitable Helen Knight was first home as 15th overall, 3rd LV40, and gold medallist in the County V40 competition. Kate Telford was next, in 27th place overall, 1st in her LV35 category, winning the Championship Gold Medal as well. Captain Rachel Vines finished 50th overall as the 6th LV40 finisher, winning the Bronze Medal for her category in the County Champs. These three finishers also ensured that CLC Striders were the Gold Medal winners of the Masters Team competition – a brilliant result.
The remaining ladies to finish for CLC Striders on the day were Steph Parker in 73rd place overall, Fiona Brady-Miller in 83rd, Amelia Mullins, returning from injury, in 99th (and 4th LV50 but as Bronze Medallist in her County Champs category), Laura Leaver in 104th, Emma Abbey in109th, Rebecca Reynolds in 122nd (5th in her LV50 category) and Niola Weager in 141st.
Running over the same distance with the ladies, club V70 super-vet David James turned in an excellent performance as the 2nd finisher in his category, but as Gold Medal winner in the County Championships.
With the course well and truly churned up after all the age category races, it was finally the turn of the men. They were brought home by a virus-ridden Rob Green in 33rd place overall, 2nd in his V40 category, but as the Gold Medal Winner in his category in the County Champs. In his first cross country season with the club, Mike Thompson was next to finish in 114th place. Captain Will Pearce was 115th, Richard Aarons was 137th, Liam Richardson, making his club cross country debut, was 138th, and Gary Farquharson was the 6th team scorer in 140th. The remaining finishers were Joel Freeland in 149th, Aled Leaver in 151th, Robert Hyams in 164th and Jack Wilde in 169th.
Pictured, the medal winners, from left to right: Helen Knight, Rachel Vines, Kate Telford, David James and Amelia Mullins
The men’s team from left to right: back row – Robert Hyams, Aled Leaver, Liam Richardson, Jack Wilde, Richard Aarons, Mike Thompson, Rob Green; front row – Gary Farquharson, Will Pearce, Joel Freeland
Elsewhere, on a gradual return from longterm injury, Jon Howes completed the Westonbirt 10km in 43:11 and James Endicott registered 1hr 27mins over the half marathon distance in the 2023 Keyworth Turkey Trot.
]]>On a bitterly cold but crisp and clear early December day, it was time for CLC Striders to journey northward to race in the second fixture of the ultra-competitive Division One regional cross country leagues. The fixture was hosted by Wolverhampton and Bilston athletic club on a course that used the parkland around the Aldersley Stadium. Conditions underfoot were firm, after a few nights of frost and sub-zero temperatures.
As usual, first it was the turn of the ladies…
Once again, the CLC Striders ladies were led home by Helen Knight, in a time of 27:10 for 26th place overall and as 4thin the Masters category. Kate Telford was next in 27:59, for 42nd place overall and as 13th in the Masters. Liza Bradshaw clocked 28:14 for 50th overall and 14th in the Masters, Rachel Vines finished in 28:58 in 68th overall as 21stin the Masters, and Steph Parker was 108th overall and 40th in the Masters in 31:55.
Overall, the ladies were the 10th placed team of 18, but were 2nd in the Masters category. A really good day out in the toughest of leagues.
Next, it was the turn of the men, with many of the club’s strongest runners competing in other events elsewhere on the weekend. Sam Baylis continued his really strong start to the cross country season by leading the team home, finishing in 103rd place in an impressive time of 36:41. The remaining five scorers for the A team on the day finished in relatively close order – Paul Lockyer in 197th, Aled Leaver in 198th, Gary Farquharson in 201st , Richard Aarons in 211th, and Tim Brock in 217th. The B team runners on the day were Robert Hyams, Jack Wilde and super-vet David James. Overall, the team finished 16th in the Senior field and 10th in the Masters.
Pictured, the ladies team, from left to right: Steph Parker, Kate Telford, Helen Knight, Rachel Vines and Liza Bradshaw
Pictured, the men’s team, from left to right: Aled Leaver, David James, Tim Brock, Paul Lockyer, Jack Wilde, Robert Hyams, Dan Bazzard, Richard Aarons and Sam Baylis.
Meanwhile, elsewhere…
Rob Bircher, the club’s ultra specialist, used the Salisbury Plain Trail Marathon (Winter Edition), as a chatty training run in temperatures well below zero, running through banks of freezing fog.
Much further south, the club’s emergent ultra-man, Ollie Watkins, faced freezing conditions in the iconic La Saintélyon – a night-time run between Saint-Etienne and Lyon. Despite falling a few times on the very icy trails, the last time hurting himself badly, he managed to battle through the remaining 22 miles to complete this gruelling event in one piece. Just.
Perhaps the performance of the weekend came from Alex Johnston in the Valencia Marathon. Having prepared meticulously, Alex ran a perfectly judged race, keeping his pace absolutely steady and metronomic from start to finish. In the end, he achieved a brilliant PB time of 2:43:30.
]]>Kate Telford secured glory in the ladies’ competition early doors, thanks in part to her wins at the Berkeley 10k and Bourton Mile which propelled her to the top of the rankings from which she never looked to be caught.
Joe Willgoss on the other hand played the long game, sitting into contention throughout the series but only securing a podium place following a second place finish in the series finale, the Guy Fawkes 5.
Well done to all individual and team winners and huge thanks to all of the clubs that hosted races in the series.
We were very disappointed not to be able to host the Staverton 10 which was chosen for the 2023 series due to major roadworks on the course but we are thrilled to have been included in the 2024 series with the inaugural Boddington 10 being given the vote of confidence by the Gloucestershire AAA.
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