Vale of cheers for Page as he cruises to victory in Llandyrnog-based half

Looking for a half-marathon a bit further afield, Kenilworth Runners' Stephen Page travelled to Denbighshire to take part in the Vale of Clwyd Half, a relatively small, locally organised event with 80 entrants.
Stephen Page claimed a comfortable victory at the Vale of Clwyd Half Marathon. Picture submittedStephen Page claimed a comfortable victory at the Vale of Clwyd Half Marathon. Picture submitted
Stephen Page claimed a comfortable victory at the Vale of Clwyd Half Marathon. Picture submitted

Starting in the village of Llandyrnog, the picturesque half-marathon course was run along a series of quiet country lanes which joined up the surrounding villages. The course was undulating with climbs from 4k to 8k and then from 17k to 19k. However, there were also descents which enabled the pace to be picked up.

Page was delighted to win the race in a time of 1hr 16min 9sec, finishing more than a minute ahead of the second-placed runner Paul Wathan of Eryri (1:17:22).

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Kenilworth Runners’ Louise Andrews and Neil Sheward travelled to Bassingbourn near Cambridge to take part in the third running of the Bass Belle 10.

Featuring 8.5 miles on road and 1.5 miles off-road, the course follows narrow country lanes passing through surrounding villages in a figure of eight.

Sheward was pleased to run a new ten-mile personal best of 64:44 to finish 20th overall out of 450 finishers and second V50.

Andrews was tenth lady and fourth LV40 in 1:12:10.

Kenilworth Runners’ Nick Williams took part in the Brent Knoll multi-terrain race to the top of Brent Knoll and back, which came in at approximately six miles.

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The race, organised by Burnham on Sea Harriers, is run over bridleways, footpaths and country lanes.

Williams finished 20th out of 119 finishers in a time of 45:21.

The race was won by Kieran Young in 36:58.

In his first race in the V70 category, Kenilworth Runners veteran Colin Bricher tackled the Wolverton 5 Mile Road Race.

In a fairly small field, Bricher was the last of the 207 finishers in 53:12.

Jack Goodwin of Bedford and County took the win in 24:01.

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Further afield, Kenilworth Runners’ Pauline and Tom Dable and Stan Alexander made their annual pilgrimage to Benidorm to take part in the resort’s half-marathon followed by a few days well-earned rest.

The race is run over a flat course on closed public roads and takes in the town’s two main beach areas.

A warm 20 degrees for the 33rd running of this popular race, which also included a 10k, and a splattering of rain at the start made for quite humid conditions.

Pauline won the LV65 prize for the third year in a row after coming home in 2:04:09, while Alexander was the third V60 in 1:34:54.

Tom clocked 1:56:27.

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Spa Striders’ annual cross-country race at Newbold Comyn featured the usual favourites, with Beacon Hill and the water-filled ditch all forming part of the tough five-mile course.

Rebecca Lonergan took the honours for the women, with Josh Layton the first male home.

Meanwhile, five Striders made the trip to Essen to take on the Blaumensaatlauf Half Marathon. Paul Edwards came eighth in a personal best time of 79min 25sec, with Hartwig Busch clocking 1:32 and Dave Lithgow 1:58 to complete the fifth-placed men’s team.

Fiona Edwards finished fifth lady in 1:36, with Claire Westrope just dipping under the two-hour mark in 1:59:59.

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n Jonathan Ingram had a memorable first Leamington parkrun as an 11-year-old, clocking a new personal best of 18:05 to finish second behind Richard Merrell (17:43).

Ingram’s dog-assisted run was his first parkrun without having to run with an adult.

Leamington C&AC’s Kieran Chahal was four seconds behind Ingram in third.