Best foot forward for Westbury runners

AS two Westbury runners rest their feet after beating personal bests at Bath Half this month, another will be trying to cram in a final practice before her marathon debut on the Mediterranean coast on Sunday.

 Barcelona Marathon

Ex-Matravers student Bronte Cavalla will be running the Barcelona Marathon on Sunday 15th March, to raise money for Worldwide Cancer Research. 18 year-old Bronte now studies at Bournemouth University, and has spent the past few months fundraising and training for her first marathon attempt.

Bronte said, “I had always had it in mind do volunteering whilst at university, and my friend  and I thought the marathon seemed like the perfect opportunity to raise money for charity. The fact it is in Barcelona made the thought of taking part even more exciting!

“I have taken part in long distance events at school and run in my spare time, but I’ve never  done anything like this; it will be a challenge for me.

“It was difficult to get back into a routine after some time off at Christmas, but training has gone well. I’ve enjoyed being able to run along the beach in Bournemouth.

“I think Worldwide Cancer Research is an amazing charity and the work the charity does across the globe is impressive. Knowing I’m going to be helping the fight against cancer feels brilliant.”

To sponsor Bronte’s marathon effort, visit her  fundraising page at www.justgiving.com/bronte-cavalla.

Bath Half Success 

Philippa Brewer and Fiona Price both ran personal-best-beating times at the Bath Half Marathon earlier this month, and will soon begin training and hoping to do the same at their next events. Philippa ran the course in 1:51.49 – just shy of her 1:50 target but 18 seconds quicker than her previous best.

Philippa said, “I really enjoyed the race. It’s a good one because there is always a good crowd to help carry you through. Plus they always bring vital jelly babies for runners! The atmosphere in the race was fantastic too; everybody was chatting to one another and giving words of encouragement and advice.

“In hindsight I should probably have done a bit more training as I struggled with the last three miles, but it was still a good run. The weather was dry and not as windy as expected, so that helped too.

“I like the route in Bath because it’s mostly flat so you can get a quick time in.  I’m hoping to do it again next year and will be signing up to do the Chippenham Half in September.”

In the process of beating her previous record, Philippa also managed to raise £250 to donate to the Wiltshire Air Ambulance.

Award-winning runner Fiona Price came second in her VF45 category, finishing in 1:24.49.

Fiona said, “I was very happy with how the race went, and with knocking two minutes 11 seconds off my personal best! I love the race in Bath and I think this was the best one so far. I’m bound to say that because of my time, but it’s so consistently well organised and there is fantastic support the whole way round the course.

“We were all panicking at the start line about the forecasted high winds, so I was grateful that the weather turned out so well – it really was a great race.”

Fiona is now training for the European Masters 10k in Italy in May.