Runner makes triumphant return

A RUNNER won the Watlington 10km on Sunday after narrowly missing out last year.

Josh Frewin, 28, from Tring, won the race in a time of
43 minutes and eight seconds.

Mr Frewin, who runs with Tring Running Club, said it was not quite as fast as his run last year, where he missed out on first place by fewer than
30 seconds to his teammate.

He said: “I thought it was slightly muddy. There were patches of mud, particularly at the start and the finish but on the hill it was fine.

“I’ve done it twice before, last year I came second, and before that I came 10th.

“Last year I was quicker though because I had two other people rather close to me and they were pushing me on. There was a bit of a gap on this one, so I wasn’t being pushed as much.”

More than 100 runners took part in the biannual race, which takes off from the car park where the Ridgeway and Hill Road meet.

The trail follows the ancient Ridgeway up until the edge of Hill Road before turning into the Chiltern Hills.

It involves descent down Shirburn Hill followed by a steep ascent and descent down Watlington Hill. Runners anticipated slower finishing times after Saturday’s showers left muddy conditions on the track.

However, when the race started on Sunday morning at 10.30am the clouds had cleared to give runners a clear view of the Oxfordshire plains along the course.

Ian Hewitt, 41, from Oxford, placed second in a time of
45 minutes and 47 seconds.

He said: “It was great, it was tough though. The first bit is kind of easy, and I was in about fifth place I think and then on the hills I just gradually moved to overtake people.

“Coming down the last hill I was just trying to hold on. A branch took out my glasses, my glasses just got ripped off by a branch, so I had to stop for a second to pick them up.”

Duncan Miller, 37, from Berrick Salome, finished third in a time of 45 minutes and 52 seconds.

Mr Miller said it was his first and only race for the year, having welcomed his second child six weeks ago. He said: “I found the first bit, the flat, quite good and then I was just slow down the hills but had a good final race down the descent, it was good fun.

“I was thinking when I was out there, it must be one of the most beautiful 10kms in the UK. Coming down the valley with the slight camber, watching of course for rabbit holes, but it’s incredible.

“I’ve down it twice before. I’ve got a six-week old baby and we’ve got a two-year-old as well, so this is my one race for the year because it’s local and it doesn’t take too long.”

Hannah Calderwood, 44, from Wheatley, was the first woman to cross the line in a time of 50 minutes and
16 seconds.

She said: “It’s a really beautiful route. I’ve not done it before but it’s really lovely. It’s hilly, obviously, but it’s a really nice route and the weather helped.

“Trail running is my favourite type of running. I’ve not done a trail around here like this before though but it’s good.

“The downhills were quite hard because they’re quite twisty on the ankles with the tree roots so it’s almost harder than the uphills.”

Icknield Community College physical education teachers Jack White and Joseph Dodd ran along with students Jude Bradley, Sophie Sears and William Naber.

Mr White said: “We used to have a running club at school and then we have done the 10km about three times now, so we keep coming.

“We try to get as many as we can to run it at school, but it can be hard.

“It’s a very hard course, very hilly, so I few times you have to walk, but there is some downhill which is nice. It’s nice to see the kids do it.

“The second hill is the hardest part because that is at about 8km in, but it’s straight down after that.”

Christian Smith, 42, from Greenlands, finished in one hour and seven minutes in his first time attempting the course.

Mr Smith, who works at the Catherine Wheel in Hart Street, Henley, said: “Going uphill was quite slippery — there were quite runny patches in parts, but the course is fine. It’s a course that I normally walk my dogs on.

“I had a pint and shared a pizza with my mum and nieces afterwards which was nice. ”

Following the race, runners traded their bib numbers in for a complimentary beer from the Spire and Spoke Pub. Howard Papworth, one of the event organisers, said it had initially been created 16 years ago to provide a winter cross-country event for the local area.

He said the event has continued to grow since the first race which saw between 30 and 40 runners take part, and that they kept the event simple and accessible with a £12 entry fee.

He said: “There weren’t that many local races in winter and most were flat.

“What we market is a proper fell run, off-road winter cross-country and that was how it developed.

“Originally, we just had winter and then we started doing summer ones.

“We don’t get anywhere like this many runners in the summer, because this is the cross-country season.

”Some of these other races you pay £25 and you get a goodie bag and a medal, but actually you don’t need all of that stuff, so we try to keep it really simple.

“Just pay, you have a race, and you get a beer at the end, it’s much cheaper.”