PBs galore for Stratford athletes at Kenilworth Half
ATHLETICS
THE new and improved course for the Kenilworth Half Marathon proved a happy hunting ground for Stratford AC members, as many of them were rewarded with PBs, reports David Jones.
The first of these to finish, in a 100-second PB of 1:27:02, was Adam Evans, finishing in 68th place overall.
“I was fortunate enough to run in a pack consisting of fellow club members Tim Hutchinson and Ryan Bakewell and we pushed each other on along the course,” said Evans.
“I really enjoyed the new course layout.” Evans was followed just over a minute later by Hutchinson (90th, 1:28:25).
Relative newcomer Jordan Metcalfe was close behind in 1:28:34, taking almost 17 minutes from his PB. Bakewell, who placed 100th in 1:29:08, also set a massive PB, taking 12 minutes off his previous best time. James Cusack followed soon after (1:30:34).
Clare Weatherhead was the first Stratford woman to finish, clocking a PB of 1:46:06.
Annie Cox was close behind in 1:48:49, also setting a PB.
Emily Adams, running her first half marathon since competing in this race three years ago, ran 1:49:42 – well inside her target time of two hours.
Other club members to complete the race within two hours were Rachael Green (1:56:03), Mike Barrie (1:57:03), Dave Maundrell (1:57:25) and Bev Brigden (1:58:12).
Several other Stratford AC members were in action at the weekend.
Lynne Hinson and Adrian Mason took part in the Cotswold Trail Marathon. Mason, who is just returning to running after a nasty back injury, finished 86th in 1:59:29, with Lynne just 94 seconds behind (94th, 2:01.04) finishing second in her age category.
Cadie Hibberd clocked 41:04 at the University of Cardiff 10k, with her time almost four minutes quicker than her performance at the event last year.
After the water in the lake failed to meet health and safety standards, the Phoenix Triathlon became a duathlon, comprising a 2.5km run, 23km bike ride and 5km run.
It was the first time that Stratford’s Ellie Deaner had participated in this longer distance race.
She felt strong on the first run (12:20) even though the course was quite hilly.
The bike (51:39) also went well, but she got stitch at the start of the second run (27:30).
However, she pushed through and finished in 1:32:19 to place first in the U15 category, 16 minutes ahead of her closest rival.
She was also the second woman overall.
Deaner’s next competition is the British Triathlon ‘Big Weekend’ where she and several other Stratford Triathlon Club juniors have been selected to represent the West Midlands team.
