FEMALE athletes from the Forst of Dean Athletic Club dressed in Where’s Wally?-themed costume for the Great South 10-mile Run in Portsmouth with Rachel Nash finishing first in 1hr 21mins 47secs.

The first man to cross the finish line was Richard Pegler in 1hr 4mins 2secs. Other times included: Leyton Fleet 1hr 6mins 40secs; Greg Nash 1hr 9mins 51secs; Claire Morgan 1hr 28mins 42secs; Vanessa Pegler 1hr 31mins 20secs; Ian James 1hr 31mins 21secs; Jo Babij 1hr 39mins 51secs; Sharla Fleet 1hr 40mins 31secs and Bev James 1hr 44mins 49secs. 

Some 10 runners ran the Stroud Half Marathon with Dave Lowthian finishing in 44th place in 1hr 25mins 2secs. First lady was Cherry Fowler in 1hr 39mins 13secs. Other times included: Wayne Bevan 1hr 32mins 35secs; Sherryl Hall 1hr 42mins 57secs; Jacqui Wynds 1hr 50mins 35secs; Anna Bevan 1hr 52mins 57secs; Gemma Hewitt 1hr 56mins 41secs; Donna Sheen 2hr 1min 58secs; Peter Hewitt 2hr 1min 57secs and John Bevan 2hr 4mins 29secs.

The first race of the 2016-17 Gwent Cross-Country League was held at Newbridge Fields, Bridgend. Forest of Dean Athletics Club’s men’s team were second in Division 3, whilst the ladies were sixth, also in Division 3. Star performance was again by Ann Nixon who finished 24th of 311 and first female veteran-55.

The club hosted the annual Yorkley Gallop with part of the proceeds

benefitting Great Oaks

Hospice. In addition to the six-mile race for runners and canis, there were also a 3.3-mile version for both and a junior run.

Marcus Bennetto finished in 41mins 47secs and the first lady was Claire Bunce in 48mins 14secs. The club presents trophies to the first man and women finisher for the club. The Yorkley Dash Cup was retained by Marcus Bennetto and the Carol Jones Trophy went to Catherine Roberts. Age category prize winners were: Hubert Ashley-Towell; Chris Moore male-veteran60; Catherine Williams female-veteran40 and Stef Francis female-veteran50. 

The cannicross race was won by Kim Mazzucca in 36mins 12secs. The 3.3 mile race saw a tie between Briony Bishop and Natalie Ashley-Towell in 29mins 35secs. Philip James was first male in 31mins 34secs. Claire Clark was the first lady of the canix race in 26mins 41secs.