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13 Valleys, 5 Valleys and More Almosts’ Achievements!

Race Report for 30 September 24 by Nicole Hope

It was another busy weekend for the Almost Athletes and the weather certainly did not dampen some incredible running achievements.

Helen and Tristan Motteram completed the Warsaw marathon in a time of 5:15:17. In the Forest of Dean Autumn half marathon, Agata Pakula completed the hilly trail course in a time of 2:16:57, which is a personal best. Also running were Jan Pakula (2:16:57), Helen Pardoe (2:20:57) and Matt Jones (2:37:17).

As part of the road race series, a strong contingent of Almost Athletes took part in the Bourton Hilly half marathon. Olga Goffin finished in 1:37:27 to finish 8th female overall, and 3rd in age category. John Rea completed the distance in 1:33:23 and Jamie Baron in 1:36:57. Well done to the rest of the Almost Athletes who all put in fantastic performances over the challenging 13.1 mile course.

Going big in mileage and elevation this weekend was Dave Rogers who took part in the monster run that is 13 Valleys Ultra Marathon. 180km of running with over 7000m of elevation. Dave completed the distance in an impressive 32 hours 59 minutes, to finish 8th overall. An amazing achievement from Dave, well done to you!

Dave McGrath and Steve Taylor took part in the 5 Valleys race which is 56.5km of running and finished together in a time of 10 hours and 15 minutes (250th and 251st overall). On a comeback from injury, Lepha McCartan took on the 2 valleys race over a distance of 22.4km and 477m of elevation. Lepha completed the course in a time of 2 hours 12 minutes, great running Lepha! Also tackling this challenging course was Ceinwen Davies who ran a super race in a time of 3 hours 26 minutes.

In parkrun news, Clemens Orth took part in Pokkinen parkrun in Finland, which is the most northerly parkrun in the world. Clemens finished 44th out of 173 participants. Dave Nelson, recovering from injury, completed the Forest of Dean parkrun. Sarah Wood finished 3rd lady in a time of 21:20 at Severn Bridge parkrun, whilst Steven Wood completed the same course in a time of 20:57, finishing in 21st position. Kate Bestwick was run director at Cheltenham parkrun where 587 runners and walkers completed the 5km distance, whilst raising over £200 for Macmillan coffee morning. Graeme Stopp, Neil Tring and Lorraine Taylor all finished 1st in age category at Itchen Valley parkrun, which was also attended by another 5 Almost Athletes’ looking to secure the much-coveted letter “I” in their parkrun alphabet.

And finally, a huge congratulations goes to Rose and Ian who completed King George V Playing Field parkrun a mere 2 hours before getting married. We wish you a lifetime of happy memories.

Almosts’ Amazing Achievements!

Race Report for 16 September 24 by Claire Hawes

Club coach Fiona Barnes certainly takes the prize this week for the furthest distance run! At 11am on Saturday she began the epic (or ‘really quite difficult’, as the organisers put it) Cotswold Way Century in Chipping Campden, finishing at Bath Abbey 29 hours and 11 minutes later! Fi was 7th woman overall. Huge congratulations to Fi, and thank you to all the club members who were there to cheer her on along the way and at the finish!

Another fabulous female finisher this weekend was Patricia Dendy. No stranger to these reports Patricia really excelled on Sunday at the Angels 10k, bagging her best-ever 10k PB time of 39:25 on what is a notably hilly course. Not only that, but Patricia was 1st female and claimed a County Gold Medal in the process.

Other Almosts completing the Angels 10k were: Nick Lewis in 40:26; Duncan Mounsor in 49:58 and Dave Elliott in 52:32.

To complete the trio of wonderful women runners, Ingrid Harris travelled to Devon for 100 Marathon Club AGM marathon and ran in first lady overall in a time of 3hrs 51min.

Allan Green also ran the 100 Marathon Club marathon (of course he did!), finishing in 5hrs 30. He’d run a marathon the previous Tuesday too, finishing The Otter Challenge at Kingsbury Water Park in 5hrs 49.

There was Half Marathon action going on this weekend too. Carl and Melanie Methven completed the Richmond Half in 2:04:25 and 2:43:32 respectively. Mark Wreford Bush achieved a 1min 36 second PB at the Worcester Half in a time of 1:37:6

This weekend also saw the Cheltenham Tri Festival triathlon at Sandford Park Lido. Neil Tring was first in his age category and 19th out of 201 entrants in the run part of the Sprint Tri.

There were of course plenty of Almosts at parkruns on Saturday morning. Adrian Courtenay was delighted with a PB of 29:01 at KGV, while Rich Smith scored his best parkrun time since lockdown, 25:20, at Wickford Memorial parkrun. Dave Nelson’s outing at Limavady was memorable for the wrong reasons as a pulled calf muscle will now keep him out of action for several weeks. Andrew Lloyd returned to his home parkrun of Pomphrey Hill and was happy with his time of 32:40 on that hilly course.

Other parkruns visited by Almost Athletes this weekend were: Kingsway, Southampton, Trelissick, Riverfront, Braunstone, Gloucester North, Worcester Pitchcroft, Thornbury, Chippenham, Burnley, Darlington South Park, Wotton, Cheltenham, Newent, Seaton, Keswick, Folkestone, Lydney, Rogiet, Clapham Common, Severn Bridge, Mallards Pike, Chipping Norton School, Zuiderpark (Rob and Alison Hume ticking off their ‘Z’ parkrun on the alphabet challenge!), Worden, Riverside Walk, and Zegerplas (Jakia Hussain and Leah Maddiss ticking off their ‘Z’s!)

Another busy and successful weekend for club members!

Fiona Barnes

Parkrun to Ultra Marathon – The heat was on…

Race Report for 9 September 24 by Clemens Orth

Almost Athletes travelled the country and world, often in blistering heat, to run any distance from 5k parkruns to a 230km ultra marathon distance.

Travelled furthest afield and the longest race distance was Lizzie Renn who completed the 230km For Rangers Ultra Marathon in Kenya in 34 hours. Lizzie’s run was in support of For Rangers and Save the Rhino International.

In Switzerland Lesley Cottle completed the mountainous and challenging Jungfrau Marathon in 7:01:00.

Back in the U.K. and much closer to home, 22 Almosts took on the Chedworth Roman Trail 10 mile race. With several Almosts suffering from hornet stings, John Johnson came home for the club in 1:23:29, closely followed by Craig Jackson (1:24:53) and Joanne Johnson (1:26:42) who also came 3rd lady overall and 2nd in her age category. Shaun Carr (1:32:03), Duncan Mounsor (1:32:19), Neil Taylor (1:34:00), Steve Phelps (1:39:43), Rob Hume (1:43:58), Oliver Bell (1:44:29), Neil Tring (1:45:23), Jamie Courtenay (1:46:00), Elzbieta Antosiewicz (1:48:13), Simon Whitford (1:49:07), David Chittock (1:55:09), Cheryl Rodham (1:55:41), Kevin Richards (1:56:28), Alison Hume (1:57:24), Catherine Mason (2:07:23), Janine Bennett (2:14:00), Adrian Courtenay (2:18:48), Corinne Cooper 2:20:21 completed the field. John Johnson, Craig Jackson and Shaun Carr also won the men’s team price!

In Newcastle upon Tyne 6 Almosts took on the Great North Run, one of the most iconic half marathon road races in the world. First for the club was Steve Bowles in2:06:04, followed by Tristan Motteram (2:20:16), Helen Motteram (2:20:43), Jane Russell (2:24:08) and Rachael & Oliver Nolan (both 3:16:47).

Liza Habgood completed the very hilly Bacchus Half Marathon in an unofficial time of 2:54. Jason Hulance ran the Cranham Boundary Chase in 1:04:57.

Allan Green completed two Otter Challenge trail runs. The marathon distance at Kingsbury in 5:17 and the ultra distance at Hurtwood in 5:49 over very uneven fields and woods.

Melanie & Carl Methven completed the half marathon at the Richmond Run Fest in searing temperatures in 2:51:07 and 3:00:04 respectively.

81 parkrun runners took on one of the many UK parkruns. Alice Tredgett continued her amazing form and was the first lady over the line at Cheltenham parkrun in 19:42. Joanne Johnson was first lady over the line at Newent parkrun in 22:45. Fastest for the mens was Matt Polson at Peel parkrun in an impressive 18:15. Followed by Alistair Matthew at Chippenham Playing Fields parkrun in 20:19.

Leah Maddis and Jason Hulance travelled to the inaugural Quakers Walk parkrun. Other parkruns included Whitley Bay, Arrow Valley, Worcester, Wolverhampton, Gloucester North, Stonehouse, Chippenham, Clair, Evesham, Severn Bridge, Woolacombe, Tetbury Goods Shed, Mallards Pike, King George V Playing Field, Clevedon, Seven Fields,Trelai, University Parks, and Thames Path parkrun.

Almosts also volunteered at parkrun and other running events. And would be grateful for other runners and readers to take on a volunteering roles at their local parkruns.

A Busy Week Including Our Meteor Mile and Run Cheltenham

Race Report for 2 September 24 by Dave Nelson

It’s been a very busy week for Almost Athletes, with lots of local events on over the weekend, as well as the usual plethora of parkruns all over!

The weekend saw three local races, starting on Friday night with the club’s own Meteor Mile at Staverton Airport, followed by the Alderton 5k on Saturday morning, and finally the main event of the Run Cheltenham 10k and half marathon on Sunday. Quite a few intrepid club members completed the hat-trick of events, culminating in the half, with Johnny Rea making it a double hat-trick and achieving a PB at all three events (5:25; 18:49; and 1:34:29), as well as being first club member home in the first two.

Dave Nelson did similar, achieving a “post-covid” PB at all three races (8:55, 32:00, and 2:36:13); while the trifecta was also completed by Declan Walker, Elliot Jordan, Steven Wood, Ross Greening, Duncan Mounsor, and Ingrid Harris. Despite the exertions of the three events, Duncan ran his fastest 5k of 2024 at Alderton, while Steven ran a PB at Meteor Mile (5:57). Oliver Bell also competed three times, running the 10k event on Sunday.

There were a number of other PBs achieved across the weekend. At Meteor Mile, Josh Rimell (5:37), Richard Knightley (6:14), and Caroline Rea (7:47) all achieved new bests; while at Alderton, Jamie Baron (19:35), Vivienne Ravenhill (22:18) and Ivana Wilson (23:17) all did likewise. Meanwhile, Graeme Stopp PB’d at both of those events, finishing in 6:45 on Friday and 22:27 on Saturday. There were also fantastic results from Neil Tring at both events, setting new MV65 club records of 6:23 at Meteor Mile and 21:16 at Alderton.

Not to be outdone, there were plenty of new milestones set at Run Cheltenham as well, despite the hot conditions. At the half marathon distance, Josh Rimell smashed his previous best by almost 11 minutes to finish in 1:27:48, while Sarah Wood (1:46:42) and Adele Steptoe (2:00:21) also PB’d over the 13.1 mile distance. At the 10k, Philip Brewer set a new PB of 54:26.

There were plenty of personal achievements at the races as well. Jo Johnson was first Almost lady home at Meteor Mile; Natalie Wizard ran her fastest 5k since having a baby at Alderton (31:33); and Peter Mitchener was very happy with his time of 21:21 at the same event. Hollie Galvin was delighted with her time of 56:56 at the Run Cheltenham 10k, while Prashanth Sripathi was no doubt just as delighted to see the finish line after running the half marathon in 2:11:34 while dressed in a penguin outfit! Jeanette Gullick put in an amazing performance to finish second in her age category at the half in 1:39:06, while Ingrid Harris also did fantastically well to win her category at the same event in 1:48:17. There was also a course PB for Steve Axford, who exorcised some personal demons from last year to finish in 1:28:55.

Overall, there was an incredibly strong purple presence at all three events – 43 Almosts ran at Meteor Mile; 50 at Alderton; and similar numbers again at Run Cheltenham. The club was also brilliantly represented away from the races themselves, with plenty of members either volunteering or lending fantastic support to the runners all around the course, particularly in Cheltenham on Sunday. The thanks of everyone who ran go out to them for their wonderful encouragement!

Away from the local races, Ben Stone took part in the Henley Trail Half Marathon, finishing in 2:05:59 in his first ever off-road half. At parkrun, Patricia and Kev Dendy took time out of their Italian holiday to run at Roma Caffarella, while Prashanth Sripathi toured a bit more locally, heading to Banbury and finishing third in his age category. 

This Saturday also marked a significant milestone for parkrun itself, with the venue of the first ever event, Bushy Park, holding its 1,000^th run. Over 6,000 runners turned up to celebrate, including a small contingent of Almosts. Alison Hume, Rob Hume, Zakia Hussain, Jason Hulance and Lawrie Baber-Scovell all loved the experience – even having to queue in the finish funnel for longer than they ran for!

At Lochend Woods, Hamish Adamson was 4^th overall and 2^nd in category while setting a new course PB of 21:37. Peter Morris (23:38) and Christine Harker (28:01) won their respective age categories at Cheltenham, while Rosemary Hubbard did the same at King George V Playing Fields (23:55), as did Matt Polson at Peel (18:45). There were age category placings for Lesley Cottle at Gloucester North (2^nd); Danny Carroll (3^rd), Richard Gilbert (2^nd) and Kate Nichol (2^nd) at Cheltenham, Sharon Hadad (2^nd) at KGV, Matt John (2^nd) at Berkeley Green, and Brian Maggs (3^rd) at Durlston Country Park.

The club was also represented at Worcester Pitchcroft, Eden Project, Evesham, Tewkesbury, Cwmbran, Gloucester City, Mallards Pike, Hockgraben, Trentham Gardens, Edenbrook Country, and Three Brooks.

Well done to everyone from the club on a packed weekend of action!

Parkruns, Glos Road Race Series, Trail Marathons and More

Race Report for 26 August 24 by Josh Hand

As August draws to a close, Almost Athletes are continuing the summer of speed in a rich vein. The latest round of the Gloucestershire Road Race Series saw four AAs putting in fine performances at the Haresfield 5k: Joanne Johnson (21:24), John Johnson (21:26), Daniel Magovern (23:10) and Allan Green (24:04 and 3^rd in category).

Saturday saw parkruns Europe-wide! At Worsley Woods, Neil Tring was first in  age category in a time of 22:26. Leah Maddison was at the home of parkrun: Bushy Park. Mike Bryce and James Clay travelled to Crichton, while Graeme Stopp and Sharmila Door took on the notoriously tough Woolacombe Dunes parkrun. The Dendy family ventured further afield at Milano Nord, Italy, with Patricia finishing first female. Kate Bestwick and family headed to Mallards Pike and Clemens Orth took on the Pavilion Gardens event in the beautiful Peak District.

In the Severn Bridge 10k, Coralie Pearson ran 58:53 – an impressive time on the bridge and in the wind!

Running the longest distances this week were Craig Jackson and Elzbieta Antosiewicz at the Pennine Trail Marathon. Stunning views and nearly 4,000ft ascent couldn’t stop the pair who were separated by just a second in a little over seven hours.

The largest Almost gathering was at the Pershore Plum 10k, the latest race in the Almost Athletes Off Road Series. Jamie Baron and Joanne Johnson were first male and female home for the club. There were top three age category finishes for Johnson, Vivienne Ravenhill, Ingrid Harris, Desiree Beer and Jane Russell. Well done to all 24 Almosts taking on this great race – see photo.

Running Through the Holidays and £750 for Scoo-B-Doo

Race Report for 18 August by Natalie Wizard

Last week Almost Athletes’ Committee were delighted to present the Gloucester Royal Hospital’s Neo-Natal Unit ‘Scoo-B-Doo’ charity with a donation of £750. The money will be used to help purchase vital equipment to improve the care of local premature babies. The charity is especially important to the club as several (very!) junior members have received excellent care from the team of dedicated staff in the past.

It was a quieter week on the race front as many members took off on their holidays and spent time relaxing rather than racing. Members who did still race included Allan Green, who completed the difficult 6 Lakes marathon in the scenic Uppsala, Sweden. Despite the first 6k of the course being largely tree roots and rocks, he still finished in a time of 5 hours and 43 minutes. Christopher Benjamin took on tail running duties for the 10k at the Chepstow Running Festival on Saturday ahead of running the Bath Two Tunnels half marathon on Sunday in 2:36:10. Ingrid Harris ran The Medal Madness event, organised by Rasselbock Running in Derbyshire. She was the first female home for the marathon distance and finished the race in 4 hours 19 minutes.

At parkrun this week, many members took part both in the local area and further afield. Rob and Alison Hume ran Nant y Pandy parkrun on Anglesey reporting back that the course was beautiful albeit very hilly and challenging. Alison recorded a time of 30:05 to come first in her age category and Rob finished in 28:25. Other Almosts running other Welsh locations included Rich Smith who came 19th at Brynaman parkrun in 27:34 and Mark Pelling in Cwmbran (40:14). Zakia Hussian travelled to Scotland to run the equally stunning Holyrood parkrun in Edinburgh in a time of 35:51. Sarah Wood was first in her age category at Oxford parkrun with a time of 22:33. Hollie Galvin was second in her age category at King George V parkrun (29:16). Dave Nelson ran Sence Valley Forest Park in 33:10 before taking on the role of run director at Cheltenham Junior parkrun on Sunday morning. Kev Dendy had his first go at run director for Winchcombe Junior parkrun this weekend alongside Sue Low who completed her 50th volunteering session for the weekly event.

Bugatti 10k Proves a Summer Delight!

Race Report for 11 August by Claire Hawes

Almost Athletes put on three races a year and thanks to race director Phil Jeyes’ experience and expertise, plus a lot of volunteer help from club members, each one runs as smoothly as a classic car!

Last Wednesday’s Bugatti 10k was no exception. On a warm evening there were several PB’s for Almosts: Lewis Jones achieved his in 42:27; Adele Perkins in 54:39, Jane Russell in 59:28 and Sally McKinlay in 59:47.

Other results were: Steve Axford 39:40 (1st MV45), Patricia Dendy 40:06 (1st LV 40), Matthew HIckman 40:40, John Rea 40:43, Elliot Jordan 42:53, Declan Walker 42:53, Mark Wreford-Bush 45:08, Steven Wood 46:09, Sue Pearce (46:16), Richard Knightley 46:21, Peter Mitchener 46:26, Olga Goffin 46:34, Katy George 47:28, Sarah Wood 48:09 (1st LV50) Jamie Baron 48:05,Polly Lane 48:41, Duncan Mounsor 49:13, Rose Hubbard 49:54, Graeme Stopp 50:27, Ian McKinlay 50:40, Jenny Combellack 50:52, Dave Elliott 51:16, Ingrid Harris 51:28 (1st LV60), Allan Green 52:01, David Davey 52:02, Ivana Wilson 52:16,Lawrie Baber-Scovell 56:33, Lesley Cottle 56:56 (1st LV65), Mark James 57:46, Nicole Hope 58:19, Bob Spawton 58:26, Coralie Pearson 58:45, Mike Line 58:51, Liz Garner 59:08, Mark Eavers 59:21, Catherine Harker 59:20, Felicity Read 1:01:31, Carl Methven 1:01:58, Cathy Booth 1:02:10, Glenda Gill 1:04:03, Janine Bennett 1:05:27, James Wilson 1:05:34, Sandra Stuart 1:08:49, Vicki James 1:09:14, David Nelson 1:09:15, Darren Lewington 1:09:37, Melanie Methven 1:07:02, and tailrunner Rachael Nolan came in at  1:17:27.

Almost Athletes Take on the Trails and Take Over Cheltenham Parkrun

Race Report for 6 August by Alison Hume

It was a relatively quiet week for Almost Athletes, although there was sizeable club representation at Standish Woodland Chase, the next race in the club’s offroad race series.  First three to cross the line were Jamie Baron, John Johnson and Sue Pearce.  Ingrid Harris was first in her age category and, continuing his recent run of good form, Bob Spawton earned a course personal best.

Other runners (race results unavailable at time of going to press): Janine Bennett, Amy Broomhall, Mariel Chretien, Adrian Courtenay, Jamie Courtenay, James Fyrne, David Garnett, Rose Hubbard, Mike Line, Peter Mitchener, Tim Perkins, Jonathan Shuman, Rich Smith, Neil Tring, Catherine Williams and Victoria Willoughby.

Almosts Sizzle in the Sun

Race Report for 29 July by Andrew Lloyd

Two weeks have passed since a wet evening marked the conclusion of Almost Athletes Handicap Run Series involving four 7k runs pounding the streets of Leckhampton. This highly inclusive event opens the field to runners of all levels with surprising results. This year it was a first for the club as the shield was shared between Andrew Lloyd and Lee Chapman who tied on overall points. Better late than never then for the late arrival of summer. Johnny Rea celebrated by claiming first place at The Railway Ultra-Half Marathon in Telford at the weekend in a time of 1:30 beating his pb by 5:03. Further north Mark Willicott was completing the Montane Lakeland 100 in a time of 37:21 with the splendid backdrop of Coniston Water. 

Closer to home a good contingent of Almosts travelled a short distance to the Wye Valley Tunnel Race for both the 10k and half marathon distances. In the 10k Jo Johnson was first Almost home in 49:05 closely followed by Ben King in 49:06. Staying in South Wales there were several participants at the Magor 10k where Josh Hand was first home in 38:55 while Dave McGrath finished in 41:27 making it a new age category record for the club. Steve Taylor also completed his 10k in 46:34. 

In a different vein three Almosts accepted the challenge of the Clevedon SwimRun. Described by the organisers as a tough parkrun the event involves about 6k of running rudely interrupted by about 1k of cold water swimming in Clevedon marine lake. Phil Jeyes got over the finish in 1:04 with Steve Yarnold following in 1:23. Credit must go to novice Claire Hawes who drew fully upon her Almost resolve to complete the course despite near exhaustion. 

Dave Nelson made a regular visit to his native Scotland for the Alford 10k. In hot and hilly conditions he ran the course in 1:10 beating his time for the same event last year by a sizable 3 minutes. Only the day before Dave had completed the tough Crathes Castle parkrun in 37:08. 

Of course parkruns provided the usual opportunities for runners. Mallards Pike saw Sarah Wood as first lady overall home in 22:35 while husband Steve came first in his age category in 22:25. Neil Tring matched this with a first in age at Babbs Mill in 22:49 which also earned eleventh overall. Sue Low chalked up her 75th different parkrun at Pocket in Cambridgeshire while in the deep South West Chris McMahon took time out from the family holiday along with many others to run the Eden Project parkrun in 25:42 which was his 82nd event. At Newbury parkrun Patricia Dendy crossed the line in 40th overall place with a time of 21:36. More locally Elliot Jordan crossed the line at Cheltenham in 20:26 while Victoria Willoughby was first Almost female home in 25:41. There were other participants at Gorleston Cliffs, Ipswich, Gloucester North, Newport, Wycombe Rye, Burnley, Wotton, Wimpole Estate, Porthcawl, Keswick, Blandford, Hereford, Harecourt Hill, Sligo, Evesham, Tewkesbury, Mount Edgcumbe, Gloucester City, The Pastures, Severn Valley Country, Mundy, Ross-on-Wye, Stratford park, King George V, Beacon, Peel, University Parks, Holyrood, Wakehurst, and Y Promenad. 

Finally and not for the first time Almosts have been active in supporting community running events. Credit must go to Sue Sturgeon for her role in delivering the inaugural Winchcombe Junior parkrun which was a great success. Mention also to Janine Bennett who was event director for the Cheltenham parkrun. This weekend becomes an Almost Cheltenham parkrun take-over with club members providing support across the entire course.        

See a selection of photos below

A Racy Week Starts with the Blaisdon 10k

Race Report for 22 July by Dave Nelson

As summer progresses (sort of – no-one has told the weather!), Almost Athletes show no sign of letting up in their pursuits of races, medals, and PBs!

This past week saw a contingent from the club compete at the Blaisdon 10k last Tuesday. On a hot evening, Josh Hand was first home for the club, finishing 15^th overall and 4^th in category in 39:17. Not far behind was Patricia Dendy, who put in another outstanding performance to take 2^nd female and 1^st in category, coming home in 40:24. Also running were Matthew Hickman (40:33, 5^th in category); Dave Elliott (50:33, 3^rd in category); and Allan Green (52:07, 2^nd in category) – some outstanding results from all those in purple at this one!

Moving on to the weekend, and a number of Almosts headed to the Wye Valley Tunnel races, which featured four separate race options. In the “Valley View” 10km, there was an excellent turnout of 13 of the purple army, with John Johnson leading them home in 45:26. He was followed by Joanne Johnson (49:05), who finished in an excellent position overall as 4^th lady and 1^st in age category. Joining them were Ben King (49:06, 2^nd in category), Barry Irvine (54:53), Katie Coleman (55:25), Suzanne Rodger (1:06:04), Corinne Cooper (1:13:09), Ceinwen Davies (1:13:09), Sue Low (1:14:14), Kate Bestwick (1:15:59), Sue Sturgeon (1:16:54), Rachael Nolan (1:23:45), and Oliver Nolan (1:24:17).

There were also two half marathon options, with the first, the “Tintern Station Half Marathon”, attracting five Almosts. Jeanette Gullick came home first in 1:51:11, taking home first in her age category; and she was followed by Matt John (1:56:21), Graeme Stopp (1:59:07), Paul Jones (2:12:15) and Christopher Benjamin (2:45:22).

Going longer were Ingrid Harris, Allan Green, and Coralie Pearson, who all took on the 10-lap Wild One marathon in Worcester. Ingrid was first lady home, finishing in 4:06:47; while Allan took first in his age category in 5:09:37, and Coralie was second in hers in 5:56:57. Meanwhile, Karla Cleverley pulled double duty in Dorset over the weekend, first of all taking on the 12-hour Cider Frolic on Saturday, then following that up with the 10k Piggy Plod on Sunday. Karla’s 3-person team completed 4 laps each in the 12 hours of the Cider Frolic, taking 6^th overall position.

Finally for racing, Olivia Wiles took on quite the challenge a couple of weeks ago in the form of the Man Vs Coast ultra. Comprising on 25 miles, 4,343ft of elevation, and including body boarding, rock climbing, scrambling and sea swims; Liv finished in 7:36 overall!

Away from racing, as always this weekend there was the standard plethora of parkruns taken on by club members. At Evesham, Sue Sturgeon, Elliott Jordan and Brian Maggs all finished first in their age categories; while Victoria Willoughby did likewise at Watermeadows parkrun in Towcester. At Lydney, Hamish Adamson finished second overall; as did Nick Lewis at King George V Playing Fields and Ben Taylor at Mundy. Meanwhile, Sarah Wood was first in her age category at Cheltenham, as was Lynne Macedo at Newent, Joanne Johnson at Gloucester City and Robert Foord at Mallards Pike. All told, 88 Almosts took part in 35 different parkrun events both at home and abroad.

A selection of photos are shown below

Almosts Take to the Water

Race Report for 15 July by Andrew Lloyd

An otherwise light week for events saw a decent turnout of Almost Athletes for the annual Lundy Island Half Marathon on sunday. Boarding a boat from Ilfracombe, the contingent disembarked on the Landmark Trust island for a challenging multi-terrain 14 mile course taking in many of its natural features and wildlife. Thankfully the weather remained kind and despite a few falls on the rugged landscape all who planned to get beyond the 3 hour cut-off at 10 miles managed to do so. First Almost home was Alison Hume in 3:18 closely followed by husband Rob in 3:19. They were followed by Coralie Pearson ( 3:38), Tim Perkins and Adele Steptoe (3:42), Ceinwen Davies ((3:50), Sam McGrath ( 3:50), Charlotte Jamieson (3:54) and Rachel Nolan (4:14). Special credit to Dave McGrath ( (3:50) and Steve Taylor (3:50) for their leadership and encouragement in seeing everyone over the finish line.

Staying on the nautical theme and in the South West, Philip Jeyes took on the Croyde Ocean Sprint Triathlon. The event involved a close to 1k ocean swim between an 18.5k bike ride and 5.5k trail run. Philip described the challenge as brutal but still managed completion in 2:28. By some way this was more difficult than the mid week Sprint Triathlon at Cromhall Quarry which he managed in 1:35. Staying local three Almosts completed the Tri in the Park at Pittville involving a 400m pool swim, 10k off road bike ride and 2.5k off road run. It was a first time for Amy Broomhall completing the challenge in 50:10 which earned her second female placing. Also attempting her first tri was Caroline Rea completing in a credit worthy 1:02 and earning 17th place female. Nicole Hope completed the trio of Almost finishes with
the fourth female placing in a time of 51:06.

Earning herself purple legend status this week was surely Hollie Galvin. Hollie completed the 100k non-stop Race to the Stones ultramarathon which traverses the ancient Ridgeway path between Uffington White Horse and the Avebury Stones. Hollie survived a fall at 16k and further health issues at 60k before walking through the night to finish with a gruelling last 3k sprint to achieve her sub 25 hour target in 24:56. A great achievement for Hollie.

Meanwhile in the capital Agata and Jan Pakula completed the Saucony London 10k in a time of 57:27. The same duo had completed the Bushy parkrun only 24 hours earlier in 27:06.

Elsewhere as usual parkruns kept many Almosts active. Almosts very own Peter Mitchener was run director at the Cheltenham parkrun last weekend where Lewis Jones was first Almost athlete home in 20:31 while Sarah Wood earned a ninth overall female placing in 23:22. Victoria Willougby recorded a course pb in 24:56 and a first in age category on her 60th appearance at the event. Meanwhile across town at King George V Playing Field parkrun Hamish Adamson got home in 23:35, Duncan Mounsor in 24:35 and Felicity Read in 29:44. Around the region Matt Polson completed a top 20 finish at Eastville Park, Bristol with a time of 20:25. Graeme Stopp and Kate Nichol were Almosts in a sizable entry at Banbury with times of 24;04 and 27:53 respectively. This was also a top 20 female placing for Kate.

Alison Hume (34:14), Coralie Pearson (42:45) and Rachel Nolan (49.04) warmed up for the Lundy Half Marathon at the Woolacombe Dunes parkrun. There were other Almost runners at Mile End, Stonehouse, Glossop, Severn Bridge, Tetbury Goods Shed, Kingsway, East Grinstead, Fulham Palace, Evesham, Tewkesbury, Llanerchaeron, Gloucester City Teignmouth Promenade, Trentham Gardens, Storeys Field, Sharpham Road and Promenade.

The summer of speed continued with two major events in the last few days. On Sunday, a huge contingent of 38 Almost Athletes either ran the Gloucester 10k or facilitated its enormous success by fulfilling vital volunteer roles. Our female runners once again took the team prize with Joanne Johnson (44:02), third overall and first in age group, Olga Goffin (43:56) second in age group, Sarah Wood (47:04) third in age group, and Amy Broomhall (49:44) successfully holding off other clubs. The were further top five age group finishes for Victoria Willoughby, Hayley Woolnough, Neil Tring, Iris Mayo and Cathy Booth. There were also PBs galore for Graeme Stopp, Philip Brewer, Johnny Rea and Josh Rimell.

10k triumphs for the Almost Athletes 

Race Report for 1 July by Josh Hand

The summer of speed continued with two major events in the last few days. On Sunday, a huge contingent of 38 Almost Athletes either ran the Gloucester 10k or facilitated its enormous success by fulfilling vital volunteer roles. Our female runners once again took the team prize with Joanne Johnson (44:02), third overall and first in age group, Olga Goffin (43:56) second in age group, Sarah Wood (47:04) third in age group, and Amy Broomhall (49:44) successfully holding off other clubs. The were further top five age group finishes for Victoria Willoughby, Hayley Woolnough, Neil Tring, Iris Mayo and Cathy Booth. There were also PBs galore for Graeme Stopp, Philip Brewer, Johnny Rea and Josh Rimell. 

Monday evening’s slightly cooler conditions leant themselves to some impressive times at the ever-popular Frampton 10k. The women’s V40 category was dominated by impressive Almost Athlete performances: Katie Coleman won the age group and finished seventh overall in a time of 41:35, Joanne Johnson was second in age, running 46:01 and Polly Lane fourth in the category. John Johnson (42:41), Charmaine Brunt (50:05) and David Nelson (1:08:55) also completed the event, finishing in style on the ever beautiful and popular village green.  

Meanwhile there were parkruns far and wide with Ben Stone at Wotton under Edge, his first event since September, Prashanth Sripathi and family in Southampton, Kate Bestwick in Lanhydrock and Sue Low in Hellbrunn parkrun, Salzburg. Numbers remained high at both Cheltenham and King George V with Dan Magovern running a fastest time in two years.

The club now looks ahead to the Cotswold Way Relay this weekend and is delighted to be sending three strong teams to compete in this fearsome yet beautiful challenge.