Marlborough Downs 20
STUBBINGTON’S evergreen long distance runner, Graham James, led the way over the no-prisoners-taken Marlborough Downs at the weekend.
On a beautiful May morning, with running conditions firm underfoot, Graham battled with 130 other runners to complete the undulating 33-mile course on a loop from Marlborough College, out towards Devizes and back.
He finished 25th overall in an excellent time of 5hrs 16mins 57sec for fourth in the Vet 50 category. On a sun-kissed day, the race was won by Allen Smalls from Colchester Harriers in 3:51.33.
Another Stubby who favours the longer distance is Aaron Kingston, and he battled his way over a mixture of grassland, woodland and chalk hills to 70th place in a time of 6:10.46 with team-mate Paul Hailwood checking in with a 98th place finish in 6:58.07.
Running alongside the main race was a 20-mile trail run over the Downs which attracted 102 runners.
First Stubby home was Dave King in 45th place with a time of 2:56.46, with Julia Park just half an hour behind in 74th with 3:24.07.
Sarah Martin placed 93rd in a time of 4:12.37, followed by Sharon White in 98th in 4:14.03 and Tracie Jarvis in 99th in 4:22.30.