Fiona flies to take first lady honours in Stroud
ALMOST Athletes’ Fiona Barnes was the first female finisher at the Stroud Trails ultramarathon, covering all 41 miles and more than 5,000 feet of ascent in 9:54:06.
Kim Lewington took on her first offroad marathon, conquering the hills and almost 28 miles to finish strong in 8:10:10.
In the half marathon option – nearer 15 miles – Helen Fursman Reid crossed the line in 2:58:59, closely followed by Desiree Beer, first in her age category (3:15:14), while Ceinwen Davis fell victim to the hot and humid conditions, withdrawing at the 11-mile point.
Vivienne Ravenhill took part in the Big Black Mountains Challenge 20k to help raise funds for Longtown Mountain Rescue, and she was third finisher overall and first female.
At the Ultra Trail Snowdonia 100k – a UTMB qualifying race - Dave Rogers was 72nd overall and 11th in age category, covering 103km and over 6,400m of ascent in a time of 20:26:33.
Portia Clapham conquered the shorter option, covering 55k and almost 3,400m of elevation in 12:39:47.
Matt Proome took on the Shires and Spires 35-mile ultramarathon in 6:24:47, supported by clubmates Mark Wreford-bush, Amy Sheer and Michelle Balchin, who completed the marathon option as a team in 5:50.
The club’s sole representative at the Scorpion Run, Sheena Macdonald, made light work of the 12k trail race based at Symonds Yat, coming home in 1:22:41.
Furthest travelled for their parkrun fix this week were Janine Bennett, Lorraine Taylor and Neil Tring, who took on the Ascension Day double at Tokoinranta, Finland on Thursday and Puolarmaari on Saturday followed by the Helsinki City Run half marathon, which Neil completed in very warm conditions in 1:50:14; Lorraine in 2:27:46 and Janine in 2:52:04.
Closer to home, Sue Sturgeon recorded her 250th and Lewis Jones his 300th parkrun at Cheltenham.
Chris Mcmahon secured first in age group at Gloucester North (25:23) while Claire Hawes was first in age group at Kingsway, while Alice Tredgett was second female at Kingsway (19:21) and Rose Hubbard third female at King George V Playing Field (24:39).
Mark Stojanov ran his fastest parkrun of the year at Tewkesbury (37:36), while Piotr Michalski took on Ashton Court and there was also club representation at Beacon, Blandford, Clevedon Salthouse Fields, Evesham, Exmouth, Harcourt Hill, Mallards Pike, Newent, Peel, Pomphrey Hill, Severn Bridge, Sizewell, St Mary’s and Worcester.
On Monday, 41 members took part in the first race in the club’s summer handicap series and the top five spots were taken by Prash Sripathi, Victoria Willougby, Lewis Jones, Lee Chapman and Craig Hillard.
Phil Jeyes completed the Cromhall sprint triathlon in 1:40 and Julianne Jameson completed the Audax Cheltenham New Flyer – a 125-mile bike ride with 7,000 feet of ascent.