Bourton Roadrunners

Bourton One Mile Challenge
SATURDAY afternoon saw more than 180 runners and fun runners taking on the Bourton One Mile Challenge.

This popular annual event is part of the Gloucestershire County Road Race Series and also the one-mile County Championship Race.

There were plenty of county medals for the Bourton Roadrunners in the ladies' race. Senior lady silver went to Steph Lane who was the first of the Bourton ladies home in 5.35 just eight seconds slower than the first Bourton man, Darren Long (5.27). Susan Hunt won FV50 gold medal in 6.58.

Margaret Hollamby (6.35) and Liz Hulcup (7.04) won gold and silver respectively for the FV60 age category. Jo Cooper beat her personal best by 1.20 completing the route in 8.34 and Kerry Taylor crossed the line with daughter Brooke in 12.09.

Competition in the men's race was fierce and saw Chris Lomax run 5.57 followed by Bob Fletcher (6.45), Dave Turnbull (7.10) and Bernard Cartlidge (8.47).

Ironman UK Bolton

SUNDAY had many of the Bourton Roadrunners fixed to the Ironman tracker as Debbie Davidson took on the Ironman Bolton Triathlon.

Six months of focused training culminated in her competing in the world famous event which incorporates a 2.5-mile open water swim, 112-mile cycling and a 26.2-mile run.

Starting not long after 6am Debbie completed the two-lap swim in 1:17.32, a massive achievement in itself.

An accomplished cyclist, Debbie was not deterred by the demanding and hilly two-lap route which took competitors through five counties and over 1,640m of elevation. The route was nade tougher still by wet slippery conditions. She finished the 112 miles in 6:18.43 and in 20th place.

More sunny and warm conditions arrived in time for the the three and a half laps around Bolton to cover the marathon distance. The run saw Debbie finish in 4:41.26 to complete the entire event in an inspirational and impressive time of 12:33.02 beating her previous best time by 1hr 20min to finish as 35th lady and seventh in her age category.