The British Masters 5K road championship was hosted as usual, by Horwich as part of their Festival of Racing Event. The threatened showers drifted away, and the sun shone for the three laps of mainly flat, closed roads. 147 Veterans, aged 35 to over 80 competed.
In the individual 5 year age group rankings, Bingley scored three third placings:
Peter Pyrah M60 (18m-43)
Les Haynes M70 (21m-33)
John Smithurst M75 (24m-59)
We also took two team awards, the M65 to 74 first team award going to Les Haynes, Peter Ellerton (22m-33) and Stuart Thompson (24m-15). Stuart, despite suffering with a hamstring injury, stuck to the task in the hope of getting a team result.
Bingley also had a M45 to 54 team, thanks to John Smithurst opting to drop 2 age groups to provide the third man. They were rewarded with bronze medals, collected by John Convery (17m-13), Peter Pyrah and John Smithurst.
Outstanding performances from the results were M50 Guy Bracken, N. Shields Poly 16-03; F55 Jane Clerk, Norwich 19m-14; M65 Roy Treadwell, Oxford 19m-24 and M70 Martin Ford, Cheltenham 19m-46.
Report by Peter Ellerton, mens vets rep.