This weekend marked the opening race of the Burton and District Summer League season at the Run in the Forest 5-mile event. The popular event, hosted by South Derbyshire Road Runners, is run in and around the paths and tracks of the Conkers centre with the scenic backdrop of the National Forest.
Tamworth AC was well represented with eight runners on the day. Just a week after competing at the Manchester Marathon, Ben Evans found another great performance to win the race with a time 28:06, nearly a minute clear of the second-place finisher.
A clearly delighted Ben said “I really wasn’t expecting to run so well today after Manchester, but I just felt great once I got going. I’m very happy with such a great the start to my road season, and I’m convinced there’s even better to come from me this year. Proving that to myself will drive my training over the summer.”
Howard Bush crossed the line in 10th place, just missing the 30-minute mark with a time of 30:05. He was followed closely by Dale Langley in 11th place with 30:24.
Club Chairman Dave Williams was next to finish with 31:43, before Charlotte Bush claimed third overall female with a time of 33:54.
Making her mark on the senior category, Charlotte said “I started off fairly comfortable with the pace, but found myself struggling on some of the hills around the 3-mile point. In order to catch up on some time, I really pushed in the last mile and managed to just get under 34 minutes, which was my goal.”
Derek Bolton completed the race in 35:40 and Katie Stretton put in a great run as the youngest competitor on the day; finishing in exactly 40 minutes. She was closely followed by Lisa Stretton with a time of 40:07.
The next Burton and District Summer League race will be the Uttoxeter Half Marathon on Sunday 6th May.
Tamworth Athletic Club 