TOM Merson was back on winning form in the Magor 10k road race in Wales at the weekend.
The Bristol & West AC runner (pictured below far left in a different race) bounced back from a rare defeat on his home patch the previous week – he was beaten in the Exeter 10 by Berihu Te
sfay – to cruise to an emphatic victory in a time of 31mins 58secs.
Actually make that probably the biggest win of Merson’s career in terms of winning margins as runner-up Ian Owen of San Domenico finished 3mins 45secs adrift.
Merson told me that he warmed down with a gentle yomp up Pen Y Fan, which at 886metres above sea level is the highest peak in south Wales, situated in the Brecon Beacons National Park!
Top woman in fifth overall was former Bristol half marathon champion Emma Stepto of Cornwall AC (36:20), who is on the comeback trail after injury.
Clevedon AC’s Simon Hancock ran a season’s best of 45:58 in 52nd while Bristol & West’s Over 55 veteran Graham Crump was 60th (46:38).