CLC Striders Race Report from Boddington 10 - Sunday 26 January 2025
Just ahead of yet another Atlantic storm rolling in, local running club CLC Striders welcomed 250 athletes from all over the region for the second Boddington 10-mile road race, on a four-lap course around the quiet lanes of Boddington, just west of Cheltenham.
The field assembled was extremely high calibre, with no less than 28 runners finishing in under one hour and a new sub-50-minute new course record set. And, although the wind made things really hard going for all the runners at the south end of the looped course, mercifully pretty much all the competitors had finished their 10 miles before the rain really started to lash in.
Western Tempo swept the board for top honours in the men’s race, with Dom James setting a new course record time of 49:56, his team mate Dylan Gillett just four seconds behind in 50 minutes dead, and Charlie Jones 3rd in 51:25. The ladies race was won by Georgie Greenwood of Stroud AC in 1:02:13, with Hattie Jenkins of Western Tempo second in 1:03:18, and Kate Jacobs of Cirencester AC third in 1:03:27.
Meanwhile, as well as staging the event, the CLC Striders had a fair few runners racing, too. First CLC Strider home was the determined Joe Willgoss , who battled hard for a top 10 finish, registering a time of 55:30 in 10th place. Rob Barnett was next, finding the wind particularly difficult, but still clocking a new 10-mile PB of 56:24 in 14th place. Making his club debut, Adrian Montagu ran brilliantly to finish in 20th place overall and well inside the one-hour mark in a time of 58:41, and Tom Burgess continued his return to full form and fitness with a solid 58:48.
With four CLC Striders home in under 60 minutes, next came a crop of Striders finishing in under 70 minutes. First of these was James Endicott, smashing the MV45 club age category record by over four minutes in a time of 1:02:26. Club co-captain Adam Greenwood ran according to his pre-race plan to register 1:05:32 and Paul Northup set a new MV55 club age category record time of 1:07:29, again executing the race according to his plan.
Isabella Gilbert continued to impress, finishing as 7th senior lady in a time of 1:09:44, and debutant Josh Hadland ran a perfectly judged race, planning to run sub-70 minutes and crossing the line in 1:09:54! Deep into her marathon training, Rhianna Evans ran according to her plan to clock a comfortable 1:13:53. And special mention must go to club vet Gavin Jerman who jogged along patiently with the back-markers to ensure everyone got home safe and sound, eventually crossing the line in 1:52:56.
Special mention must go to the winner of the VM55 age category race on the day, as Tony Wright from Cornwall AC clocked an incredible time for his age of 58:19.
The Boddington 10 was also the first race in this year’s Gloucestershire Country Road Race series, with the CLC men’s team (Joe Willgoss, Rob Barnett and Adrian Montagu) earning 3rd place, and the CLC masters team (Joe Willgoss, Rob Barnett and James Endicott) in 4th.
Feedback from the many runners who took part after the event has been incredibly positive, with the Boddington 10 now firmly established as must-do race in the region. CLC Striders are grateful to the Gloucester Old Spot and Clavell and Hind for their support with parking, facilities and hospitality and also to the residents of Boddington, who this year came out to support the race in good numbers.