by Chris Barber
It has been a very quiet month, events wise, for Newent Runners, with holidays , cycling adventures, and an emphasis on training to prepare for races in September and October.
Five members took part in the inaugural Severn Bridge half marathon, which was mainly based around Thornbury. John Featherstone was the pick of the Newent contingent, finishing within the top 200, with a time of 1 hour 35 minutes. Philip Rowe ( 1 hr 50 ) Ruth Mowday ( 1hr 51 ) Adrian Fishpool ( 1 hr 53 ) and Wayne Holford ( 1hr 54 ) were the other finishers. All of them were full of praise for the event which afforded great views over the estuary, and a chance to run along a piece of iconic British construction.
Jonathan Miles entered the Oxford triathlon. Though new to the sport, Jon has made great progress, working particularly hard on his swimming. Jon finished 60th out of 129 finishers with a time of 1 hour 29, for the 400 metre swim, 20 kilometre bike and 5 kilometre run.
The following Newent Runners have achieved PB’s in the towns park run, this month. Liza Barber, Simon Barker, John Featherstone, Mandy Whittington, Yvonne Featherstone, Maggie Pettit, Matthew Cole and Russ Dyer.
Newent Runners are launching a 0-5k initiative, for those who are completely new to running, or are thinking of returning after a long lay off. The sessions will take place on a Wednesday night at Newent sports centre. Two qualified and registered leaders in running fitness will be in charge of the hour long training, and the course will last for eight weeks. Please see the clubs website, or the Newent Runners facebook page for details.