IT WAS a busy weekend for several local runners who took part in the Ryton Pools five-mile race and the Edgehill Half Marathon.
The second annual Ryton Pool event took place last Thursday and preceded on rain damped gravel paths which eventually cleared for the flat race, which included plenty of twists and turns along the way.
Kenilworth Runners showed their strength and depth after Phil Gould crossed the finish line first in 27.31, and he was closely followed by Stephen Page (27.33) in second, Any Siggers (28.21) in fourth and Kev Hope (28.23) was made to settle for fifth position.
In fact Kenilworth fill six of the top ten positions with Peter Hawkins (29.01) crossing in seventh and Steve Marr (29.12) finished eighth.
Will Johnson led the Spa Striders home in sixth with a new personal best time of 28.31 and Paul Edwards also secured a personal bes time of 29.57 to finish 14th.
And Mark Urbanowski was the first Leamington Cycling & Athletics Club competitor home in a time of 29.36 to take tenth.
In the lady’s race, Kenilworth Runners’ Danielle Bryan ran well to finish in a time of 31.21, but was beaten into second position by Kate Wright of Stratford upon Avon in a time of 30:43.
The first Spa Stiders lady to cross the finish line was Carolyn Wilkinson in 32.46, and there was also personal best times for several other local riders.
In the team event, Kenilworth were second to Leamington C & AC.
On Sunday, runners’ attentions turned to the Edgehill Half Marathon event which started in the picturesque grounds of Compton Verney then took runners out in a loop along the country roads surrounding Kineton.
The early start meant that the weather was overcast initially with a light wind which made for pleasant running conditions, especially as the temperature rose considerably by midday.
A total of 15 runners from both Spa Striders and Kenilworth Runners took part in the family friendly race.
Kenwilworth Runners’ Martin Dorrill, who won the race last year, had to be content with a third place finish this year after finishing in 1.21.53.
Lee Harrison was next home in a time of 1:27:45 and Claire Goult was overjoyed with her new personal best time of 1:36.52, which placed her as the eighth fastest lady.
Spa Striders managed two podium finishes with Carolyn Wilkinson finishing as the fourth fastest lady and first in the FV45 category, while Andy Graham tooks first place in the V40 category.
Paul Edwards ran well to finish fourth overall in a time of 1:23.28 and Andy Graham finished fifth 1:24.24.
Chris McKeon produced an excellent run to finish seventh his time of 1:25.58 was a personal best despite the toughness of the course.
The ladies Spa Strider team were led home by Carolyn Wilkinson (1:33.47) and she was followed by solid performances from Clare Hinton (1:38.29), Fiona Ferguson (1:40.47) and Sandra Stokes (2:10.45).
Natalie Bhangal led the way for Leamington C & AC by setting a new personal best time of 1.29:42 to finish as the first Senior lady and 14th overall out of 175 finishers.
