RUNNING: A LAST minute entry into the Warwick Half Marathon proved to be the correct decision for Pete Soley after he led the Spa Strider team home in a new personal best time.
Despite the heavy downpours on Sunday morning, Soley was not deterred from the local race, which this year was organised by the British Heart Foundation, as he finished in a time of 1:22.19.
A total of 52 Striders ran the Warwick Half Marathon and there were several other PBs recorded on the day by Keith Wilson (1:27.14), Andrew Bonjour (1:27.42) and Gethyn Friswell (1:29.27), who broke the 90-minute mark for the first time.
Luke Turner took ten minutes off his previous time by finishing in 1:36.07) and there were also PBs for Chris Wilson (1:38.49), Clive Parpworth (1:39.04) and Ben Cohen (1:53.56).
Charlotte Everard dominated in the Striders’ ladies section, putting in a performance to showcase her excellent winter training and finishing in a time of 1:27.53 to claim the title of the third fastest female.
Melissa Venables was the next Strider home in 1:31.04 and there were also PBs for Kate Gadsby (1:33.07), Helene Wright (1:46.40), Hannah Smith (1:47.19) and Lorraine Parsons (1:48.28).
Lucy Marcovitch fought her injury demons and was victorious, finishing with a well-deserved PB time of 1:57.39, while Kathleen McCann also celebrated a PB.
Elsewhere, there were more PB performances by Spa Striders at the Cambridge Half Marathon where Caroline Whitehouse and David Lithgow were in action.
Whitehouse finished under the 90-minute barrier by finishing in a time of 1:29.41, while Lithgow finished in 1:49.08.
Over at Anglesey Half-marathon, David Chantrey (1:34.18) ran a well-paced race as part of his London marathon training campaign.
And in Milton Keynes Paul Edwards (2:12.15) and Kelsey Wiberley (2:24.05) worked hard for their London and Boston marathon preparations respectively over a 20-mile distance.
