Distance Running News, 27 March - 3 April

04 April 2018

Cheltenham Harriers were prominent at the opening instalment of the new Filton Flyer 5k road race series. This new series is Bristol and West AC’s replacement for the obsolete Aztec West 5ks. On the testing course, James Chantler-Mayne put himself in the lead group from the start, with Marcus England just off the front pack. As the group split, the GB junior triathlete eventually took third with a time of 16:11 as Stroud's Brett Halliwell (15:42) and Avon Valley's Max Davis (16:01) claimed the top two spots. Meanwhile, England continued his excellent 2018 form as he lowered his personal best to 16:15 to take fifth place. Andy Prophett posted a time of 18:30, with Martin Soakell not far behind as he set a road PB of 18:40.

On Good Friday, Ben Price won the inaugural Westonbirt Easter 10k, organised by DB Max Events. Despite over 800 runners taking part, there was little competition for Price who finished 6 minutes ahead of his nearest rival, Claire Hann, in a time of 32.42 – a pleasing time for the GB elite duathlete on a slow course. On Saturday, there were plenty of representatives from the club at various Parkruns at home and abroad. In Cheltenham, Marcus England took the win in 17.05, closely followed by Dave Aubrey in 17.10. Oliver Doherty dipped under 20 minutes and Ella Burfitt came home as the 3rd lady in 21.25, with Katarina Horrocks placing 6th in 23.05. Elsewhere, Phil Beastall made his comeback following some time off with a win in 16.44 on an altered course at the Worcester Pitchcroft Parkrun. Alex Doherty, refreshed after his Age Group win at the British Duathlon Championships (2nd overall), clocked a time of 17.41 for 4th place at the same event. Mark Fallows took the win at the Cirencester Parkrun in 18.36 with Tom Keylock placing 7th in 20.36. James Wilkinson came 10th in the Gloucester Parkrun in a time of 19.31. There were also several Harriers racing abroad with Gareth Edwards placing 4th in the Warsaw Parkrun in a time of 18.40 and Elliot Prince and Andrew Kaighin competed in the three day Algarve Challenge in Portugal over the long weekend. The first event was on Good Friday, involving a 4.5k cross country race, in which Prince placed 8th and Kaighin 13th. On Saturday the competitors endured a 5k beach race with Elliot placing 11th and Kaighin 16th. The final event was a challenging half marathon which took place on the Sunday. Elliot stopped the clock at 84.42 to take 22nd and Kaighin was 56th in 94.52. The final race of the long weekend involving Cheltenham Harriers was Tewkesbury Running Club’s Bushley Mile where 2nd lady Sarah Sheppard posted 5.47 to finish as the 2nd lady. Kaitlyn Sheppard stopped the clock at 5.59 to finish 7th and Mark James placed 3rd in 5.02 in the mens race.