Olga puts in fine run at Oxford half marathon

ALMOST Athletes took to the line at the Oxford half marathon, where Olga Goffin recorded 1:34:19 for eighth in category and 50th woman overall.

Matt John was next in 1:44:56, followed by Matt Hampton (1:55:24) and Chris Handscomb, who knocked seven minutes off his Cheltenham half marathon time with 2:08:10.

At the Bath half, Steve Phelps smashed his PB in 1:37:42 with Steve Axford not far behind in 1:39:43, while Adele Perkins ran 2:08:16 with husband Tim Perkins two minutes behind in 2:10:16.

Dave Nelson ran the Amsterdam half marathon (2:41:58) after collecting the letter Z for his parkrun alphabet at Zuiderpark in The Hague.

A sextet of Almost Athletes took on the 10-mile Great South Run. Dave Mayo was first back in 1:27:36 followed by Josh Rimell (1:35:02); Claire Hawes (1:50:14); Iris Mayo (1:56:26); Rachael Nolan (2:35:58) and Ollie Nolan (2:35:59).

Cos Pearson conquered the Great Bruges marathon in Belgium, in 4:51:19 and Allan Green completed the Plym Trail Autumn marathon in 5:18:50.

Karla Cleverley took on the Great Bruges half marathon, finishing in 3:08:11.

A handful of Almosts took on the Battle of Lansdown obstacle race, a lapped event with 40 obstacles per lap. Jakia Hussain, Debbie Jones, Russell Jones, Kevin Keegan and

Leah Maddiss competed as a team, and finished in 2:38:46.

At parkrun, top 10 gender finishes were recorded by Matt Polson at Stretford (18:14); Ben Taylor at Mundy, British Colombia (20:11); Robert Foord at King George V Playing Field (21:25); Neil Tring at Little Sugar Creek Greenway, Charlotte, North Carolina (21:27); Mike Bryce at Forest of Dean (21:46); Rosemary Hubbard at King George V Playing Field (22:48) and Vicky Kennedy at Gloucester City (25:53).

Mark Stojanov recorded his 40th parkrun and second fastest time since 2017 at Cheltenham, where almost 500 runners gathered to show solidarity with Ukraine by jointly covering the distance between Cheltenham and Kyiv.

There were personal bests for husband-and-wife team Sally and Ian Mckinlay at Keswick (28:40 and 24:19 respectively) and Mike Kennedy achieved a course personal best (22:10) at Gloucester City.

There was also an Almost Athletes presence at Clevedon Salthouse Fields, Dallas Burston Polo Club, Exmouth, Finsbury, Fulham Palace, Great Salterns, Halifax, Kingsway, University Parks and Woodgate Valley Country Park.

A number of members assisted at or participated in - Pedal for Maggie’s, an annual fundraiser for Maggie’s Cancer Centres organised by Ela Antosiewicz and taking place on cycle routes redesigned by Graeme Stopp.