Race reports – for the weekends of 11-12 March and 18-19 March 2023
Gloucestershire Cross Country League
At the close of the 2022/23 Gloucestershire Cross Country League the CLC Striders Ladies Masters team finished in 1st place, with the Ladies Open team finishing 6th overall – a fantastic achievement and a credit to all who participated across the season. In the individual competition, Kate Telford was 3rd LV35, Helen Knight was 2nd LV40, Rachel Vines was 5th LV40, and Amelia Mullins was 1st LV50.
To close the cross-country season, it was a proud day for the club as, on Saturday 11 March, no less than six CLC Striders swapped their club vests for the day to represent Gloucestershire at the Inter-Counties Cross Country Championship at Prestwold Hall in Loughborough
Helen Knight, Liza Bradshaw, Kate Telford and Rachel Vines ran for the Ladies – with Helen in 129th, Liza in 162nd and Kate in 184th making Gloucestershire’s scoring six. Not far behind, Rachel battled well for a 218th place finish.
Representing the men were Rob Green and Tom Burgess. Rob was first man home for the County in 188th position, while Tom finished in 288th.
Pictured - Rob Green, Tom Burgess, Helen Knight, Liza Bradshaw, Rachel Vines, Kate Telford
Fission 20 mile and Half Marathon – Saturday 18 March 2023
A good group of Striders took to the quiet lanes around Berkeley in south Gloucestershire on Saturday 18 March for the 20-mile and Half Marathon distances.
With many Striders in the midst of marathon training for Manchester and London it was a good opportunity to test themselves over 20 miles. First home over the 20-mile distance were Rob Green and Joe Willgoss, finishing lockstep in 5th and 6th positions respectively with a near identical time of 1:59:16 and the chip timing getting as confused as to who crossed the line first as the spectators were on the day. Joe’s time was a huge new V35 club record – by over six minutes – and Rob’s was a new V40 club record, by just over three minutes.
The dynamic dup were followed home by Tom Burgess in 13th place in 2:01:52, Rob Barnett in 19th in 2:06:20 and Will Pearce in 30th in 2:12:32. The first lady Strider home was the ever-consistent Helen Knight who was 6th lady overall in a PB and new club record time of 2:19:00. Ryan O’Donnell finished in 79th place and Kate Telford, who was pacing a friend in her marathon training, was 140th. Nikki Smith completed the club runners, finishing 171st overall in a time of 2:49:28 as the first lady in her V55 category.
Full results of the race are available on the Rogue nation Google account.
Meanwhile, Paul Northup and Matt Ashman took part in the Half Marathon distance. Paul finished in 23rd position overall, just dipping under 90 minutes with a time of 1:29:52 as first in his V50 category and Matt finished in 32nd position in a time of 1:34:20, beating his PB by nearly four minutes.
Max Harrison-Tossato, a CLC Striders second-claim runner, finished in a strong 5th position overall in a brilliant sub-75-minute time of 1:14:41 – achieving both a PB and his target time on the day to perfection.
Full results of the race are available on the Rogue nation Google account.
Pictured from left to right - Paul Northup, Matt Ashman, Will Pearce, Tom Burgess, Joe Willgoss, Rob Barnett, Ryan O’Donnell, Rob Green, Helen Knight and Kate Telford
Eastnor Seven – Sunday 19 March 2023
Three Striders took to the picturesque footpaths and woodland trails around Eastnor Castle for the ‘Magnificent Eastnor Castle Seven’, culminating in a climb to the famous obelisk for some spectacular views before the steep descent back to the finish.
First Strider home was Gavin Jerman in 33rd position and a time of 59:29. Gavin was closely followed by Amelia Mullins in 46th with a time of 1:02:43 as 2nd in her V50 category. And Charlie Haward finished in 110th.
Full results of the race are available on the Ready set go timing website.
Rob Bircher, meanwhile, took part in the Caincross race, running the Magnificent Eastnor Castle Seven race with a dog and finishing in 29th position with a time of 1:21:42.
Full results of the race are available on the Ready set go timing website.
Pictured - Amelia Mullins
Devon Pies and Pasty challenge trail marathon
On what was a busy racing weekend for him, Rob Bircher took part in the Devon Pies and Pasty challenge on Saturday 18 March. Using an old train line, the event comprised laps of 5.3k out-and-back, the aim being to complete as many laps as possible within seven hours. Rob completed 42.48 kms in just 4 hours 31 minutes, effectively running a marathon. And at the end, instead of a goody-bag runners got to choose which pasty or pie they would prefer. Tasty!
Pictured - Rob Bircher.