Any weekend with a Royal Wedding, an FA Cup Final and the annual Burton 10 Mile race is destined to be a hot one, and that’s exactly what around 300 runners were faced with at the Washlands on Sunday morning.
In what was the 3rd race in the Burton and District Summer League series, Tamworth AC fielded their strongest team this season, with eight athletes starting the main race, and another three of the club’s younger contingent in the Michael Kelsall Family Fun Run.
The race started at a fast pace for the hot conditions, and after 3 miles Ben Evans and new recruit Sylvain Létendart had broken away at the head of the lead group. Evans looked as strong as ever throughout the first 5-mile lap and made his move to push ahead into the lead just before the halfway mark, as Létendart pulled out of the race with an injury. From there on the win never looked in any doubt and Evans drew on his many miles of marathon training to cross the line with a time of 58.44, a full minute ahead of second place.
Dale Langley was next home in 11th place with an excellent time of 64 minutes. He was followed by Howard Bush in 64:34, and then Dave Williams with 66:47. Steve Deegan was back with the team to put in a hard earned 69:30 finish, with Derek Bolton next on 78:47.
Lisa Stretton was the only Tamworth AC lady in action, making great work of the heat to finish with a time of 81:35.
The club also saw success in the 1.8-mile Michael Kelsall Family Fun Run, with James Stretton making it a double win for the green and whites.
After the run James said “I was very pleased with my win. After competing on Saturday, my legs were a little tired so I wasn’t expecting too much but a race is a race! I made a good start and was happy to take the lead at the halfway stage. I gritted my teeth and extended my advantage to gain the comfortable win. It was great to see Ben win the adult race. I’m hot on his heels, watch out Ben!”
Also taking part in the fun run were James’ sister Katie Stretton and Lottie Evans, daughter of the 10 Mile winner, making it a great day out for the club and families alike.
Tamworth Athletic Club 