2022 Tewkesbury Half Marathon
967 runners finished this years event, many entries having been carried over from the 2 years missed due to Covid. It was a welcome return for this rapidly improving event.
The road closures now allow a more enjoyable experience for runners and spectators alike, and record crowds came out in force to cheer on the best runners Tewkesbury could muster. Unfortunately, the unplanned closure of the A46 lead to a bottleneck of traffic in Kemerton, which wasn’t ideal but at mile 8 a slower pace wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Tewkesbury Running Club had an impressive 35 finishers, a record for the club and a big jump in numbers from previous years and an indication of the progress our club is making. Congratulations to all our record breakers and those whose hard work behind the scenes allow the club to flourish.
First home for TRC was Owen Grant in a staggering 1.14 a Club record and 5th place overall. Amazing.
Next in was Alec Vincent with a new pb of 1.27. Fantastic running Alec.
Hot on his heals was Alan Whitby in 1.29 a New Club MV60 record beating his own previous time and 2nd in age group. Well done Alan.
Next in and our first Lady was Lucy Jones in with a big Pb of 1.33. A sub 1.30 is on the horizon this year for Lucy. Amazing progress from our youngest member.
Next to cross the line was our Member of the Month Nigel Tillott in 1.35. An excellent run considering the lack of speed work in Nigel’s long training runs.
Our top 4 men getting a well-deserved (provisional) 3rd place in the team competition. Bravo.
Carley Merriman was next in for the club and 2nd Lady (14th Lady overall) in 1.37. A splendid run and big pb for Carley. Well deserved after all the training she and Lucy have been putting in.
Christian Orea crossed the line next in 1.37, with Tony Foy in 1.40 and Nick Matthews in 1.41, great running gents. Next in, having paced a friend around the course was Chris Nicholls in 1.42, an improvement of 34 minutes off his last time on this course 3 years and 3 stones ago. Well done Chris.
Noel Green was next member home in a solid 1.44. Great run.
3rd Lady in for the Club was Jane Sauer in 1.45 (Perfect pacing Chris). This excellent run gave our Ladies a provisional 2nd place in the team event (We are awaiting confirmation, but as far as I am concerned they get the Silver medals). Well done Ladies.
Tim Besien was our next runner home in 1.52. Tim is returning to form nicely.
Mungo Park crossed the line next in 1.54 earning him 3rd place in his age category. Well deserved Mungo.
Nathan Steele came home next in a solid 1.56, just ahead of Elaine Vincent in 1.57 who achieved her goal of a sub 2 hour finish. Well done both.
Continuing the flow of finishers was Nick Curd in 2.02, Sharon Lockley in 2.02 and Stu Holyoak in 2.04 and Craig Prosser in 2.08. Great running.
Sheena Moseley and Dave Aquirre crossed the line together in 2.10, Sheena getting her race goal of a sub 2.11 finish and Dave getting his race goal of finishing in 1 piece. Well done guys.
Next in was Cam Pay in 2.11… Mr 10 minute miles strikes again.
Crossing the line shortly after were Simon Compton in 2.13, Pete Davies in 2.14, Roy Northcott in 2.15 and Laura Kent in 2.16. Well done.
Tom Lee was next home accompanied by his personal trainer Mike younger in 2.17. Perfectly paced and a strong pb for Tom. Congratulations both.
Next home were Claire Gent in 2.23, Tracy Tailford in 2.28, Linda Everis (pacing her brother) in 2.29, Emma Smith (pacing her brother in law) in 2.30 along with Sam Robinson in 2.30 and Karen Samuels in a pb of 2.34.Fantastic running by all.
Apologies that I must have missed out loads of info for each runner, race reports are a lot easier and more detailed when we only have a few runners. It’s a nice problem to have
Final mention and thanks to the Best Support Crew out in force today. Too many to name but it really is appreciated and gives a boost to the runners. Happy Days.
Race Report by Cam Pay.
