Blaisdon Races!

Tuesday 16th July saw 7 Tewkesbury Running Clubs athletes head towards the Forest Of Dean for the Blaisdon 10K. Starting and finishing from the local Red Hart pub, this picturesque out and back race runs through the quiet woodland lanes past Flaxley Abbey before turning back home after a near 300ft climb.

James Head had put last week’s Bourton Mile performance behind him as he lined up for one of his favourite races of the year. Starting off steady, James picked the effort up during mile 3 and then set sail for home at the turn around point to record a satisfying 37mins 50secs in 6th place and collected the Male V40 prize for the 3rd year in a row.

Jon Mansfield is also no stranger to the Blaisdon course, having raced to some very impressive times over this course and is the holder of the Strava course record with an incredible 35:16 minutes. Jon raced with the lead pack for the 1st mile and although he said he was hoping to go a bit better, still stamped the finishing clock with a respectable time of 38mins 40secs in 13th place.

Simon Meadows hasn’t quite been in the form of his early season times, but he battled well; not only with the hilly Blaisdon course but also with his quest to gain points for the Gloucestershire Road Race series (of which this is race 8 of 12). Simon’s time of 39mins 25secs in 16th place is still noteworthy effort.

Shona Crombie-Hicks had yet another title to defend, having won all previous 3 editions of this race hosted by Forest Of Dean AC. Not satisfied with the early pace of the race, Shona woke up the leading pack of 7-8 men as she grabbed the lead after the first 800m. After a quick starting mile, Shona again ran a good solid race and won the Ladies race for a 4th year timing in at 39mins 30secs.

Nigel Tillott was back to racing rather than organising races and was ready to see out the Blaisdon 10K for his first time. Nigel was also keeping his eye on the points for the road race series and managed to finish 3rd V55 in a satisfying time of 42mins 45secs in 29th place.

Vicky Earls had heard about the fearsome Blaisdon course with its 2 and 1/2 mile long slow climb and a 400m ‘kicker’ at the end. However this did not put Vicky off and with a liking to hills, Vicky decided to pay the entry fee and take her chance. Tackling the race with relish, Vicky was very pleasantly surprised to see her time at the end of the race, 60mins 29secs; her 2nd fastest 10K ever.

Mike Ward continues to defy his age as he turned out to race the Blaisdon 10K just 3 days after the Bourton 1 Mile race and recorded a Season’s Best of 73mins 26secs to finish as 2nd V80.