The Bristol Half Marathon was the destination for 5 ORCs last Sunday. With the appalling weather of Saturday clearing away, the runners were lucky to have good conditions for the race which is in its third year as part of the Great run series. It attracts up to 10,000 runners wanting to enjoy the fast, flat course and the great atmosphere this race has with music all along the route. Ed Dumpleton was the first ORC home, running a excellent race to knock an incredible five minutes off his current PB, to finish in 1.35.43. It is almost exactly a year ago that Ed first took up running since leaving school, when he joined the beginners group at the club, and with hard work and dedication he has risen through the groups to now run with the fastest runners. Next home was Jason Ewing who also had a great race and achieved a new PB by finishing in 1.40.25, followed by Jayne Peachey who had done little training specifically for this race, but still came home in a very good 1.47.33. Ged Fitzgibbon was next in 2.03.04 and Rachael Haydon completed in 2.16.57, thoroughly enjoying the whole experience.
Two weeks previously Andrew Thorne took part in the Dingle Marathon in Ireland. Known as Ireland’s most scenic marathon, the course designed for runners to enjoy the breath taking scenery and rugged coastline of Slea Head and the Dingle Peninsular. Set in this sort of location it was not the easiest of course with some challenging sections and a tough uphill climb at mile 22, but despite this and the heavy rain in the second half Andrew still managed to complete in under his target time of 4hours, finishing in 3.55.36.
Many thanks to Jane for the run report
