SPA Striders’ Claire Davidson battled over the miles and hills in the Broadway Half Marathon to take victory in the women’s race.
The Broadway event features a marathon and half-marathon. Both the 26.2 mile and 13.1 routes are predominantly run on technical trails with a mixture of gravel, fields and country lanes, each just as challenging. There is more than 220 feet of ascent in the first 3K, at an average gradient of over 11% from the town of Broadway to the tower.
In the women’s race, Davidson held on in a truly competitive race with Stratford AC’s Hannah Osborne before eventually prevailing with a time of 1hr 56mins 48secs, winning by just 63 seconds.
The lead changed several times, with Osborne ahead up until the three-mile mark. Davidson passed her on a downhill at four miles but Osborne then overtook Davidson, who has won this race previously, on an uphill, hanging on until the eight-mile mark before eventually being overtaken.
In a sprint finish in the men’s race, Stratford’s Ben Kruze just edged out Ian Allen of Spa Striders. Kruze clocked a course record time of 1hr 28mins 35secs, taking victory by a single second.
