ANTONY Glover’s magnificent form in the Sodbury Slog continued today. For the seventh year in a row the Westbury Harrier finished top veteran over 40 in a race regarded as one of the very best off-road events in the West Country.
Fleet-footed Glover (pictured below) placed 10th overall of the 988 runners and first veteran over 40 (65:44).
Since lifting the M40 prize in 2014, the first year he was eligible for the category, Glover has finished second overall, third, seventh, fourth, fourth and fifth in 2019 – last year the race was can celled due to Covid.
By anyone’s reckoning that is a terrific record and Glover has certainly made this race his own.
Annabel Granger is another local runner who continues to hold back the years as she proved again this morning by winning the women’s race.
The Bristol & West AC runner, who recently helped her club win the overs gold at the British Masters Cross Country Relays, squelched and slithered her way to victory.
Granger completed the course in a time of 1hr 11mins 36secs to finish almost a minute clear of former Olympic modern pentathlon silver medallist Heather Fell, who competes for Team Bath AC.
The previous week Fell had won the Over The Hills multi terrain race so had been confident of a high finish on her debut in the famous Slog challenge and she duly delivered.
In third place was Stroud AC’s Kimberley Newcombe (1:13.27) barely a second ahead of Bristol & West’s Catie O’Donoghue (1:13.28). Fifth woman was B&W’s Elaina Gard (76:14).
Overall men’s winner in a swift time of 60mins 2secs was Edward Chuck of Dulwich Runners with Avon Valley Runners’ Mark Threlfall second (60:29).
There was a splendid third place for Westbury Harriers’ two-times defending champion Ben Rawlins (pictured right) in 61:22 – Rawlins won the race in 2018 and 2019 when it was last held; the 2020 version was can celled due to Covid – with Andy Salmon finishing top B&W runner in fourth (62:38).
Coincidentally Chuck was runner-up to Rawlins in 2019 so he was clearly a man on a mission today to over-turn that result.
Leading Thornbury Running Club athlete was Sean Leadbeater in 12th (68:34) and Jason Scott led the Portishead Running Club contingent placing 21st (71:56).