Kieron Summers was the first Weston Athletic Club runner to finish the Bristol Half Marathon.

A TREMENDOUS field of 64 runners from Weston Athletic Club took part in the 27th Bristol Half Marathon.

Despite some ominous weather forecasts in the days leading up to the event, the day dawned and the skies cleared to present dry, bright and breezy race conditions.

The first club member to complete the 13.1 mile route around the city centre was Kieron Summers. He crossed the line in 1.17.30, almost two minutes quicker than last year, and a staggering 32 minutes faster than when he first ran the race five years ago. This new personal best saw him finish 57th overall, comfortably inside the top one per cent of race finishers.

Guy Bradford and Matt Wheeler took second and third club places in 1.23.14 and 1.27.00 respectively, with Matt setting a new personal best for the distance in the process.

Cheryl Valentine gave herself an extra reason for celebration on her birthday by taking the club’s first female spot in 1.40.14. Carol O’Leary followed in 1.44.39 and Nia Davies in 1.49.02. Carol was also the third female overall in her age category to finish the race.

No fewer than 31 of the club’s members achieved new personal bests for the distance, proving that all their hard work in training is paying off.

Further north, two of the club’s members were taking on challenges of their own. Clive Barker and Derek Almond both took up running last September when they joined the club’s course for new runners.

A year on, and Clive completed his first marathon in Hull in a respectable time of 4.22.31. Meanwhile, Derek was giving Mo Farah a run for his money at the Great North Run, the largest half marathon in the world with 55,000 competitors. Mo pipped him at the post, and Derek finished in 2.24.09.

Finally, Dean Bridges took on his first full Ironman distance triathlon at Challenge Weymouth. He completed the 2.4 mile open-water swim, the 112-mile bike ride and then the marathon in 14.02.00.

Entry is now open for the five-mile Weston prom run series. Runners can enter all nine races, or individual ones if they prefer. The first race in the series is on September 24 at 7.30pm, and is preceded at 6.45pm by the one-mile race.

For more information about this and the club’s other races, as well as becoming a member, visit www.westonac.co.uk