Stratford AC reports round-up
ATHLETICS
Brewer Memorial Games
NINE Stratford AC members competed at the popular T&F Open Graded meeting in Cheltenham.
At times there was a stiff breeze, but that didn’t stop competitors enjoying a successful early season outing
Charlotte Gravelsons, in her first official 300m hurdles event had a storming race.
She finished first in a time of 50.2, which places her 64th in the UK rankings.
It was something of a Gravelsons family affair, with dad Brian and brother Harry also competing.
Leading up to the meeting, Brian had a torrid couple of weeks health wise, indeed the day before was the first time for a couple of weeks that he had felt well.
He had hoped to run 14 seconds something and he did this comfortably, finishing in 14.1, which places him in the top-30 UK rankings for his age group.
Harry was competing in both the javelin and 1,500m. He threw 19.71m in the javelin in what was his first appearance in the JT700 category.
He then ran the 1,500m in 5.39.8, a huge 38 seconds PB.
Paula Williams arrived half-way through her javelin competition, having been referring to a provisional timetable.
She threw 33.08m and in the shot put her throw of 10.47m was the furthest she has thrown outdoors this year and a 38cm improvement on her throw the previous Wednesday in Coventry.
David Jones managed 12:46.5 in the 3,000m, just under a second slower than the previous week.
Evie Lowe’s 1.40m in the high jump was just 5cms shy of her season’s best.
Emily Field ran a superb four second PB in the 800m with a time of 2:28.3, finishing second in her race.
Kaili Woodward recorded a long jump of 4.97m, despite both the windy conditions and having competed the day before in Stourport.
She currently has a top-50 UK ranking in her age group.
Finally, Ruby Grace Edwards had a fabulous day competing in the QuadKids, recording times of 15.9 and 3:01.00 in the 100m and 800m respectively.
Her howler throw of 14.9m was just 10cms off a PB and her long jump of 3.52m was a PB.
Keswick Half Marathon
STRATFORD AC member Lisa Dallison finished 355th at the Keswick Half Marathon which is said to be one of the most scenic half marathons in the country.
The challenging course takes runners around Derwentwater with an extra loop into the Newlands valley.
Dallison took part, completed the race in 1:55.07.
Showing remarkable consistency, this time was just 23 seconds slower than when she last ran the race two years ago.
The race was won by Joe Beech in a time of 1:11.07 and the first female to finish, in 52nd place with a time of 1:31.15, was Emily Robinson.
A total 812 competitors completed the course.
Winchcombe Cross
TARA Lambert and Sarah Wheeler came home as first females in their respective events at the Winchcombe Cross which offers four options to enjoy the magnificent hills and trails in the area.
The ultra-marathons comprise of three or four out-and-back legs of between five and seven miles each way to give approximately 36.5 or 50 miles.
The four sections each offer some testing hills, beautiful views and enjoyable trails.
The marathon follows the first leg of the ultra route and then joins together legs two and four as a loop, giving a handy 26.5-mile route.
Lambert opted for an ultra-marathon, albeit the shorter of the two.
Having done the Stratford Marathon the week before and the Dublin2Belfast 107-miler at the end of March, she fancied a gentle 36.5 mile race this week and completed the event in 7:13.
The race was won by Mark Sanders in 6:36.04.
Sarah Wheeler opted for the gruelling half marathon, finishing in seventh place with a time of 2:13.38. She was also first female finisher.
The race was won by Luke Gray in a time of 1:47.23.
Hagbourne Fun Run
STRATFORD AC's Rachel Pearce was second female to finish and first in her age category at the annual Hagbourne Fun Run.
The Hagbourne Fun Run and Walk is a family-friendly event starting in East Hagbourne.
The course is just under 4.5miles long over country footpaths via West Hagbourne, Upton and Blewbury.
Pearce came home in a time of 30:22.
The race was won by Josh Beech in a time of 25.33, and 332 competitors completed the course.
