Dave Wright smashed a club age group record in Cheltenham knocking nearly two minutes from the time he ran in Denmark last year. On a tortuous course but amongst many quality runners Dave was able to achieve an impressive 1.23.48 and a V60 1st . Sad then that he was the sole representative of club in such a local half marathon.

Cheltenham ½ Marathon, 13.1 miles road

1 Ben Price (Cheltenham & County Harriers) 1.09.51 (chip time 1.09.50)

56 David Wright (Cirencester AC) 1.23.50 (1.23.48) - 1st V60 / club V60 record 2912 finished.

As a club championship race, the Witney 10 attracted a few more members, with Bill Leggate finishing 4th but a frustrating 4 seconds over his target time of 58 minutes. Tim Ingham relished the short distance after so many half marathons to finish a satisfying 59th but the real battle was between two close contenders for the Women’s Club Championships. Karen Higuera led for the first half of the race but Kate Sackett was able to sneak past on one of the many downhill sections. Undeterred and with trail marathon stamina, Karen pulled away again on the next climb only for super competitive Kate to get ahead again in the last half mile finishing 24 seconds ahead. In the process Kate stripped over two minutes from an FV55 record set by Carol Clark at Witney in 2005. With two more races to go (and potential score for a marathon) Bill Legatte’s lead of both the men’s Road Race and Club Runner Championship looks very strong. While Kate looks set for the Road Race but Karen should take the Club Runner given that it rewards both race participation and personal improvements. However the indefatigable Barbara Thomas remains in the mix for both Championships.

Cotswold Classic ‘10’, Witney, 10 miles road

1 James Bolton (Woodstock Harriers) 56.37

4 Bill Leggate (Cirencester AC) 58.04

59 Tim Ingham 1.11.57

108 Kate Sackett 1.17.30 - club FV55 record

110 Karen Higuera 1.17.54

194 Barbara Thomas 1.36.18 229 finished.

Sharon O’Keeffe and Nina Lawrence ran together for three quarters of the Forest of Dean trails half marathon but the pair split up at a water station for Sharon to finish some 9 minutes ahead. Having joined the Club Beginners Group some two year ago, they can both be very proud to have worked up to racing half marathons.

Forest of Dean Autumn Trails Half Marathon, 13.1 miles trail

1 Jonathan Barnes (Cheltenham & County Harriers) 1.15.31 (chip time 1.15.30)

893 Sharon O’Keeffe (Cirencester AC) 2.30.19 (2.28.54)

960 Nina Lawrence 2.39.03 (2.37.38) 1022 finished.

Parkruns 5km trail

Running mates Isaac McAdam and Luke Campbell were both runner up in their new local events. Other competitors in Loughborough and Bodmin will need to stay on their toes to avoid defeat in the weeks to come. At Cirencester, Ian Barrett was 4th, Simon Campbell 5th and Nick Holliday 9th. Run of the week is shared between Caroline Cotterell finishing as 1st lady and James Widdowson with a new PB. With one week to go before their Bournemouth marathon Rob Tuttle and Rachel and Paul Barrow were more cautious. While Alan and Rachel McAdam were to the only members to run at Swindon, son Jacob was back in Slough and Bryan Reid in Banbury.

Cirencester AC finishers:

Cirencester: 4 Ian Barrett 18.35, 5 Simon Campbell 18.36, 9 Nick Holliday 20.10, 14 Caroline Cotterell (1st lady) 21.37, 17 James Widdowson 21.40, 36 Rob Tuttle 24.09, 41 Paul Timms 24.29, 60 Ella Shaftoe (J) 26.12, 83 Rachel Barrow 28.16, 89 Samantha Timms 28.30, 130 Paul Barrow 32.34, 181 finished

Swindon: 109 Alan McAdam 24.11, 172 Rachel McAdam 26.18, 436 finished

Black Park, Slough: 13 Jacob McAdam 19.40, 594 finished

Dishley, Loughborough: 2 Isaac McAdam 17.24, 283 finished

Lanhydrock, Bodmin: 2 Luke Campbell 18.38, 152 finished

Banbury: 59 Bryan Reid 24.23, 261