SPA Striders were out in force as several club members took on the Chase the Sun 5k race at the War Memorial Park in Coventry.
The race also formed part of the club’s summer series as Chris Mckeown claimed first place and 50 Strider points in 16 minutes and 55 seconds.
He was closely followed by Neil Smith (17 mins 02 secs) and Joe Wilkes (17 mins 46 secs) who took the remaining podium positions.
A steady flow of Striders followed in the form of: Chris Wilson (18 mins 10 secs), Simon Ludford (19 mins 30 secs), Andy Collins (19 mins 37 secs), Gethyn Friswell (19 mins 51 secs), Kenneth Gregor (20 mins 53 secs), Matt Leydon (21 mins 30 secs), Simon Keay (22 mins 15 secs), Richard Lowery (24 mins 48 secs), Simon Reiter (26 mins 37 secs), Ian Davy (26 mins 48 secs), Tim Robb (27 mins 17 secs) and Phil Haines (29 mins 38 secs).
For the ladies, Florencia Brea finished second in 23 mins 49 secs followed by Ruth Tennant (24 mins 28 secs), Lucy Walton (25 mins 08 secs), Miriam Scullion (25 mins 49 secs), Abi Morton (26 mins 56 secs), Claire Edwards (27 mins 39 secs), Georgie Acton (27 mins 53 secs), Sharon Halleron-Kerr (30 mins 55 secs), Kathryn MIller (32 mins 11 secs), Ruby Bhachu (37 mins 53 secs), Teresa Huggins (39 mins 18 secs) and Gill Walker (39 mins 19 secs).
Some Striders attempted the 10k race distance as Bill Teasdale went under 40 minutes for the first time after clocking 39 mins 48 secs whilst Lucy Duncan (47 mins 32 secs), Adam Yeardley 53 mins 51 secs and Louise Fielding (1 hour 19 mins 18 secs) all finished.
Elsewhere, John-Paul Hunt completed the Spitfire 10k at RAF Cosford in 38 mins 54 secs to finish in 16th place.
Over in Kimbolton, Mike and Helen Pugh took on the half marathon with Mike finishing in 1.24.25 and Helen in 2.08.12.
Lastly, Jack Gammon completed the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc race (UTMB) in a fantastic 43 hours 26 minutes and 15 seconds and rested for just over 90 minutes as he travelled 171km with a staggering 10,091M elevation gain.
The race follows the route of the Tour du Mont Blanc through France, Italy and Switzerland and is widely regarded as one of the most difficult foot races in the world.
It is also one of the largest with more than 2,500 starters and some 42 per cent of runners did not finish the race in 2016 whilst 35 per cent failed to finish in 2017 to show just how remarkable an achievement it was for Gammon to complete the race.
