Tewkesbury Running Club
Member of the Month
2026
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January
It’s 2026 and we start a new year with someone who tends to shy away from the limelight and just gets on with things. The past year has seen him progressively raise his game, gaining small achievements along the way, culminating with an impressive PB in January’s Linda Franks 5 race; his time of 42:08 equates to a speedy 8:38 m/m pace – quite incredible, and quite rightly surprised many. Seven days later the distance was doubled for the Boddington 10m, in which he confidently ran another PB in 1hr 27mis – that's 8:42 m/m for 10 miles, really impressive! Behind the scenes, he is also a member of the TRC committee and with his regular input is highly valued. A firm favourite among the club whose enthusiasm never seems to wane and a founding member and the leader of the Tewkesbury Walking and Talking (T.W.A.T) club. If you haven’t already guessed, many congratulations to Cameron Pay, our January Member of the Month.
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February
February sees a new recipient of Member of the Month, a fun-loving lady by the name of Lynda Gardiner! Surprisingly not winning the accolade before, Lynda (when not on holiday) can be seen regularly at the weekly club runs, the Thursday evening sessions and Saturday morning runs. Truly committing during February, as she targets another international ½ marathon this coming March, in Madrid. Last Sunday she took part in the exciting Bourton 10K with the club. As seen in the photograph below, she flew through the course and finished in a respectable time. Her presence during races and training is up-lifting and highly enjoyable. With only two months in, we look forward to seeing what else she can achieve this year. Many congratulations.
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March
Tewkesbury’s March Member of the Month accolade goes to Ruth Greening. Ruth’s impressive good form and her exciting potential has got everyone in the club following her – quite literally! Since joining the club last year, and more so recently, Ruth can be seen on week-night club runs and Saturday mornings chasing the fast guys down (if not leading the charge). She completed her first half marathon for TRC at Cheltenham 2025 in a time of 1:43 hr/min. This was followed by the Stroud 2025 event in 1:46 – both runs proving her endurance pace is around the swift 8 m/m pace, although dropping off later in the year. 2026 saw her get her love for running back; clearly training on another level and clearly dedicated by signing up for the Madrid 1/2m and joining the TRC ‘on tour’ group. She had a fantastic run in Madrid – race day nerves were really pulling at her ahead of the start though. However, once she conquered the nerves amongst the 28,000 runners, Ruth got down to business and worked diligently to weave her way through the masses. Regardless of zigzagging through slower runners, Ruth powered to the finish as the first Tewkesbury runner in an amazing time of 1:41:39 – her new PB for this distance.
Apart from her Madrid masterclass, Ruth is a proving real asset to the club – not just her running but her friendliness, kindness and even her eagerness to join Coach Mike’s Hill sessions!
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April
Our April MotM award goes to everyone's favourite French homme, Stephane Plisson.
It’s been a great month for Steph, joining in with many of the training runs, the Saturday morning socials and the amazing birthday run over the sun-kissed Malverns. But it was in the Tewkesbury half marathon where his va-va-voom was for all to see. He had a fabulous run, and it was a surprise to learn that it was his very first half marathon! He’s run in some short, obscure races around the country and even tamed a stage in the Cotswold Way Relay, so April 2026 will certainly be his month to remember for parading along the Tewkesbury High Street at the end of 13.1 miles.
Steph has been a fine addition to TRC – he’s forever kindly offering transport to runs and races, and his tales of France are fascinating. Congratulations, Stephane, our latest Member of the Month.
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May
The May MotM goes to a long-standing member who has made a resurgence within TRC of late - Clive Sentance. A club member for over 25 years, Clive is one of our few runners who has managed to run 5km comfortably under 17 minutes – 5:20 min/mi pace to be precise (and in the days before carbon supershoes were aplenty). He’s currently our loved Treasurer who gets involved in all aspects of the club. A fine seasoned runner, the financial guru, supporter of the Cotswold Way Relay, attends most club runs, he’s always happy to transport runners to events and has arranged Wednesday summer ‘away’ runs... even popping up along the route when he was injured to make sure runners hadn’t got lost! At the time of writing, he’s under doctor's orders to abstain from running! However, he’ll soon be back. Congratulations Clive, a true allrounder.
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June
Taking on a great event in June, Tewkesbury Running club favourite Andrew Gillett travelled across to South Africa for the legendary Comrades Marathon – the World’s biggest and oldest ultra marathon dating back over 100 years. Andrew has the fortune to have relatives in SA making the visit less daunting but that didn’t make the 54 miles from Durban to Pietermaritzburg any shorter, or the first 22 miles any less inclining! For most of Andrew’s time in the running club, he has juggled niggles and injuries. He’s certainly had to suffer during his runs in the past, and at times, stop running altogether with injury. Taking on such a challenge is quite heroic, even for Andrew who has completed a trickle of marathons over the last few years. Joining the 20,349 official starters, Andrew magnificently finished what 2,073 runners couldn’t, to beat the cut-off 12 hours and cross the line in a super time of 9 hr 23 minutes. A truly wonderful achievement and caught the imagination of his many fans within TRC. Congratulations on winning our Member of the Month award for June.
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July
July's member of the month needs little introduction after an incredible few weeks. Using a bizarre, and genuinely frightening mountain marathon as a starter, Ruth Greening's main event was her epic Severn Way Ultra. Ruth is new to longer-distance running and for her 40th birthday celebration, she chose not to have a Spa Day and Prosecco but to put herself through a 60-mile run along the banks of the River Severn. For Ruth, it wasn't just a testing long run, it was a testing day - and during the July heatwave, also a survival challenge! Running through overgrown paths following the river south, any affection for nettles and brambles were painfully erased. Ruth also had to contend with the cracked ground that eagerly offered twisted ankles. Regardless of her comforting supporters en route, the run was hard, and the later miles were physically and mentally draining - in fact completely draining as the afternoon ended and nightfall arrived.
Leaving a trail of broken runners behind, including established ultra runners and triathletes, not only did she win the race, but she was the only athlete to complete the course! A truly amazing achievement.
Being chosen as MotM needs a little more than winning races; this is where Ruth shines with her lovely presence at the club - her contribution, her friendship, her aura. Congratulations on your second award of 2026.
