Wet and windy conditions greeted the Tewkesbury AC runners on their arrival in Frampton. The annual 20 mile run is staged around the villages south of the city. This traditional London Marathon (FLM) warm-up race attracted its normal 500 plus starting line-up.
The Tewkesbury runners were all set on using this event as a training race and for most, it was successful.
First in for the club was Jon Mansfield, who, under the guidance of a local physiotherapist he put her treatment to the test. Despite only running nine times this year, he surprised himself to record near identical mile splits to finish in 2hr 24mins.
Barry O'Driscoll ran perfectly. O'Driscoll was the second happy Tewkesbury AC runner to finish. His recent injury niggles appear to have left him - a major boost to his FLM preparations.
Long distance athlete Adrian Lavery had a fair race considering he has been missing out on recent training sessions.
Club Captain Cathy Dudfield finished with a huge smile as she ran over 18 miles for the very first time. Finishing a inside her target time of 2hr 40 mins, the day gave her a massive shot of confidence - ideal for her marathon debut in London.
Dudfield's training adviser, experienced marathon man Clive Baker, was a proud finisher as he recorded the same time as the improving Captain.
Stuart Buchan was hit by a trio of lower limb niggles which affected him midway through the course. Nevertheless, he crossed the line in 2hr 46 mins.
Results
119th Jon Mansfield 2.24hr
171st Baz O’Driscoll 2.30hr
243rd Cathy Dudfield 2.39hr
244th Clive Baker 2.39hr
292nd Stuart Buchan 2.46hr