Distance Running News, 5 - 8 March 2020

08 March 2020

Rachel See completed her successful cross country season with a fine performance as she represented Gloucestershire at the UK Inter-Counties Championship in Loughborough. Lining up against the top athletes from all over Britain on the demanding Prestwold Hall course, See was looking to build on her 119th place at the recent English National Championship. Having never made the top 200 in this event as a senior athlete, she was the leading Gloucestershire athlete for much of the 11km race before being overtaken by CLC’s Liza Bradshaw in the closing stages. Whilst Bradshaw took 71st place, See followed just seventeen seconds later to claim a pleasing 80th position.

Also showing good form was Ella Burfitt who ran well to finish in a pleasing 51st place and leading Gloucestershire athlete in the under 20 women's race. In the men’s race Doug Wight placed 178th whilst Tom Raley represented the county for the first time in 256th place.

At the British Masters Indoor Championship in London Kathryn Morton picked up two gold medals in the LV60-64 age group as she posted times of 6:22.24 in Saturday’s 1500m and 13:02.03 in Sunday’s 3000m. In the LV45-49 category Caroline Cotterell finished fifth over 1500m with 5:44.31 and third in the 3000m in 12:45.95

Simon Critchley was in excellent form at the Cambridge Half Marathon where he smashed his PB by over four minutes to record a time of 80:48 as part of his build up for next month’s Manchester Marathon. At the same event Deborah Williams posted a time of 1:50:4, whilst at the Llanelli Half Marathon Marcus England placed fifth as he stopped the clock at 73:07. Meanwhile at the Chester 10k Eliot Taylor battled against the wind and a testing course to finish eighth in 33:24 and Marianne Day crossed the line in 49:08. Midweek action saw Russell Forsbrook record a pleasing time of 17:55 to finish as third veteran and thirteenth overall in the latest race of the Burnham-on-Sea 5k winter series.

The weekend’s parkruns saw Dom James post the third fastest time anywhere in the UK as he took first place at the fifth staging of the Berkeley Green event. James’ time of 15:05 also took 41 seconds off the previous course record set by Bristol’s Adam Wilson. At the same event Mell Schofield (21:59) had a big personal best as she finished as sixth lady in. There was a first place finish for Jonathan Floyd (18:48) in Evesham whilst Rachel Underhill (20:15) finished as first lady and ninth overall at the Gloucester City event. Dave Tomlin (18:13) claimed third place at the Brockenhurst parkrun in the New Forest, Chris Cleary (19:35) finished fourth at the KIngsway event in Gloucester and Ellis Woolley (21:49) was the fifth lady home at Swindon’s Lydiard parkrun.