Beautiful sunshine greeted the crowds as they gathered to start the run/walk alongside Trent FM’s popular breakfast presenters.  People of all shapes and sizes took their positions with friends, family and even the dog in some cases, as they looked forward to the event.

Twiggy and Emma entertained the crowd as they arrived, and they were treated to a warm up by Hoofers 24 Hour Gym and live singing from a former X Factor contestant who was there to raise money for the official event charity CLIC Sargent.  The crowd were then given an inspiring pep talk from Olympic cycling medallist Bryan Steele who attended the event as a Sporting Champion.

The runners set off at a good pace in their quest to return to County Hall after a loop around the River Trent and were followed at a more leisurely pace by the walkers.  A great atmosphere surrounded the event, with people seemingly happy to be out and about with the people that were important to them.

The 5K was sponsored by Sport Nottinghamshire as the culmination of their ‘Get Fit’ campaign with Trent FM, where people were encouraged to change their lifestyles by exercising for 30 minutes, five times a week.

Business Development Manager for Sport Nottinghamshire, Ken Pollard, said, “What a great event!  It is brilliant to see so many people here considering this is the first year and it is especially positive to see such a variety of people.

“We wanted to attract people who wouldn’t normally enter a run, and by working with Trent FM and removing the pressure to have to run, I think we have achieved that.  We’ve been blessed with the weather and everyone is smiling and laughing.  Hopefully this will inspire people to continue being active with their families and will help Nottinghamshire become a fitter county.”

Event Director Stuart Tomlinson of Perfect Motion Events said “I’m really pleased with how it all went.  Marvellous weather like this always helps things to run smoothly and the smiles on people’s faces always make the hard work worthwhile.

“It was great for the runners to see Emma walking with them and to be greeted by Twiggy and the Thunders as they crossed the line just gives them something extra to remember.  As always, the event couldn’t have happened without the wonderful volunteers who did a great job so thank you to them.  It was fun!”

To see pictures from the event or to find out more about getting in shape in Nottinghamshire visit www.sportnottinghamshire.co.uk

The race was won by Simon Tonui from Kenya, who is the brother of last year’s winner, Raymond Tonui.  Second place went to Ethiopian born Salford runner Thomas Abyu, with Winchester runner Tom Payn hot on his heels in third place.

Victory in the women’s race also belonged to East Africa with Joyce Kandia taking first place, closely followed by fellow Kenyan Joyce Kirui.  Third place was taken by Bristol & West runner Amy Chalk.

Aside from the elite field a total of 10,909 half marathon runners turned out to enjoy Bath’s biggest sporting event, all running for their own reason. 

Paul Edgar, 50, from Bristol ran on behalf of Headway – the brain injury association, the event’s official guest charity.  He said, “I turned 50 yesterday and for some reason I thought that doing a half marathon would be the ideal birthday present!  The weather was good for running and the event was so well organised that you couldn’t fail to enjoy yourself.  A brilliant day out for my birthday weekend.”

The 1.5 mile Family Fun Run, which was completely sold out this year, attracted over 500 runners and was won by 16 year old Jack Gregory from Reading.

Now in its 28th year, the Bath Half Marathon is one of the biggest fundraising events in the South West; raising £1.2million last year, with an annual target of £1.5million by 2010.  The lead charity of the event this year was the Royal United Hospital’s Forever Friends Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Space to Grow Campaign. 

Liz Bower, 32, who plays Dr. Melody Bell in BBC serial drama, Doctors, was running and raised £1,200 for the RUH, she said, “A friend’s mum is a nurse at the RUH and when she found out that I enjoy running she roped me into doing  Bath – and I’m glad she did.  The course is beautiful and it allowed you to get a good pace up.  It was also great to run alongside the elite athletes, no matter how briefly, and everyone seemed to have a smile on their face.  A terrific event.”

Race Director, Andrew Taylor from Running High said, “We think that the event went really well and we’re very pleased.  We had to delay the start by half an hour due to traffic congestion around Bath.  This ensured the safety of the runners and with the weather being this good, we hope that the short delay wasn’t minded too much.

“We’d like to thank all the event team, volunteers and sponsors for working so amazingly hard, as they do every year to make the event a success.  But of course the event was made special by the thousands of people who have taken part, pushed themselves to the limit and raised a lot of money for charity.  They make the event what it is and we thank them for their continued support.”

Male results:

1st           Simon Tonui (Kenya)                                      63:09
2nd          Thomas Abyu (Salford)                                   64:56
3rd           Tom Ryan (Winchester & District)                   65:00

Female Results:

1st           Joyce Kandia (Kenya)                                      71:49
2nd          Joyce Kirui (Kenya)                                         74:08
3rd          Amy Chalk (Bristol & West)                              76:42

 

The New Balance Endurance Series comprises a selection of three adventure races in 5, 12 and 24 hour challenges. All three events include mountain biking, running, and in the Open 24, kayaking, as the key disciplines. Navigation and careful route selection are also an integral part of the events.

Special stages, of which the details are not revealed until each race begins, supply additional challenges along the way. In the past these have included white water paddling, canyoning, swimming, caving, high ropes courses, abseiling and underwater checkpoints!

New Balance has partnered the Endurance Series in support of its expansion in to the outdoor market with a new selection of trainers and kit specifically designed to meet the needs of adventure racers.  The range includes the new 1520 shoe, designed for maximum protection, with special features for hikers, scramblers and mountain bikers.   There is also the new 840, which is a lightweight trail shoe designed to give excellent traction on uneven terrain with cushioning and protection allowing users to tackle rough trails and fells.

The New Balance Endurance Series begins with the Open 5, taking place in the Lake District, where teams will have five hours to visit as many checkpoints as they can.  June sees the second event of the series, Open 12, taking place in a secret location, somewhere ‘out west’.  Participants will have 12 hours to visit as many checkpoints as possible, on foot and by bike and there will be a requirement to be able to use basic climbing equipment.  Finally, the big one – the Open 24 – taking place at another undisclosed location somewhere ‘up north’, will bring the series to a close in July.

Entries are open to single sex or mixed sex pairs and participants can take part in one, two or all three of the events. It’s a pretty serious undertaking, but one that beginners and elite racers should be able to take on, and with the right commitment, succeed.

For 2009 New Balance are bringing over £2000 of prizes to the series, winning competitors can expect to walk away with some great kit to explore the amazing trails this country has to offer.

Open 5 - Lake District 16 May
Open 12 – Out West 27/28 June
Open 24 – Up North 25/26 July

For more details go to www.openadventure.com

Britain’s largest one day single day race, the East Midlands International CiCLE Classic returns on Sunday 26th April, and has already attracted considerable European interest.

CiCLE is Britain’s own Classic, with narrow and treacherous farm tracks more reminiscent of those to be found in the Spring 'classic races' in northern France and Belgium. It will see 200 riders navigate beautiful East Midlands roads, villages and challenging rough terrain following the ceremonial start in Oakham. The confirmed route for 2009 will see the riders complete almost 100miles, building to an exciting finish in Melton.

Regulars, such as Denmark’s Glud & Marstrand- Horsens; Slovakia’s Dukla-Trenchin-Merida; and The Netherlands Ruiter-Dekappellan squads will return to the event, seeing it as a highlight of their racing calendar. New teams, such as the Czech Republic’s top team SC Sparta-Praha, and Belgian based Irish squad An Post-Sean Kelly, have also confirmed their intent.

The An Post team boasts 2007 Irish Road Race Champion David McLoughlin, who was a member of the former Pezula squad that dominated the CiCLE Classic in 2008.

Jan Bos of the Dutch based Ruiter-Dekappellan squad returns intent on taking the top place on the podium this time after losing out to Kieran Power following a long joint breakaway ride.

Incentives are high this year, with a special Maestro UK sponsored ‘bonus award’ on offer to the winner.

Race Director Colin Clews explained; “Mike Perry of the Willier – Sports Beans squad is a big supporter of the event and offered an additional cash sponsorship to any rider winning the 2009 event spectacularly. £300 is on offer to any rider who can cross the finish line before any other riders enters the 180 meter-long finish straight.

“We’re aiming for the CiCLE Classic to be won in the classic style of great champions, and if the money isn’t won this year we’ll keep rolling it on and adding to the total each year.”

CiCLE will feature a number of new sponsors this year. Continental Tyres supply a static pit area on each exit of the infamous “Somerberg” special sector.

An East Midlands regional squad made up of promising youngsters, sponsored by one of the race’s principle sponsors, the East Midlands Development Agency (emda) will also take part in the race.

“This aspect is regarded as very important by both myself and emda,“ explained Clews. “We want the race to present the opportunity for talented youngsters to take on foreign road racing opposition on their home soil especially as 2012 approaches.” 

A further development this year is the staging of the ‘Discover Rutland CiCLE Tour’ cyclo-sportif event on the Saturday 25th April. This event, organised by Rutland County Council in association with the CiCLE Classic organisers will offer 100, and 50 miles rides, as well as a 30 km fun ride for those wanting to make a weekend of their visit to Rutland. Supporting attractions will take place in both Oakham alongside the race start, and at the Melton Mowbray finish. Entries are also now open for the CiCLE Challenge Sportif on Sunday 12th July.

See www.cicleclassic.co.uk/ for more information.