Newport runners produce some strong displays
Newport & District Running Club’s Chas Bickford-Smith secured a top-15 finish in the ‘Icing on the Cake’ half-marathon.
The race started in Carding Mill Valley, up the hills behind All Stretton and over the Long Mynd to the halfway point at Bridges, before going back over the Long Mynd, and down the rocky path into Carding Mill Valley to finish.
Setting off at 9am, the runners began under clear skies before the weather took a turn as the climb began.
A congested start forced Bickford-Smith into a slow first ascend, before arriving at a wet and windy grass opening at the summit of the Long Mynd.
The Shropshire runner then made his way through the pack and down the muddy road through farms and moorlands as he made his way towards the finishing line.
After being greeted by a slippery downhill path Bickford-Smith had to settle for a time of two hours and three minutes, enough to secure him 15th place out of the 126 starters, although a sub-two hour time had looked a real possibility at times during the race.
Fellow Newport & District runner David Evans enjoyed a strong showing in the Charles Darwin Day 10k, part of a collection of races that took place to celebrate the man himself’s birthday.
Hosted at Shrewsbury Sports Village the runners completed several laps of the cycle track to complete the 10k distance, while 5k, half-marathon and marathon distances were also all available.
Evans finished sixth out of 26 finishers of the 10k run with a time of 49 minutes, 50 seconds.
