Coombe 8 is Taylor-made for Ben as Kenilworth's men claim team prize

Spa Striders and Kenilworth Runners female contingent at the Broadway Half Marathon, including ladies' race winner Claire Murphy, far left.

Kenilworth Runners' Ben Taylor produced an excellent run to win the Coombe 8 multi-terrain race in Coventry on Sunday in a time of 46min 47sec.

Clubmate Andy Siggers, a previous winner of the race, was third in 48:25, with Andy Crabtree fourth in 49:12.

Despite having four finishers in the top 11, Spa Striders’ men’s team comprising Chris McKeown (5th in 49:32), Adam Notley (6th in 51:05), Dave Mills (8th in 52:09) and Steve Taylor (11th in 52:45) just missed out on the team prize, with Alex Atkinson’s 18th place in 54:14 ensuring Kenilworth took top spot.

Marc Curtis led home Leamington C&AC’s men in 54:09 for 17th, with Craig Bower 22nd in 54:44.

Leamington C&AC’s Natalie Bhangal broke the Kenilworth stranglehold with victory in the ladies’ race, knocking four minutes off her 2017 time to finish first in 54:19.

Kenilworth Runners’ Sarah Rose continued her recovery from injury to finish third lady in 55:25, with Leamington C&AC’s Jenny Jeeves fourth in 56:36.

Clare Hinton led Spa Striders’ women home in 59:28.

Hinton was joined by Carolyn Wilkinson (63:24), Susie Stannard (63:57) and Ruth Tennant (67:33) in the first-placed ladies’ team.

Kenilworth Runners’ Kev Hope had a good run in the Broadway Marathon on Sunday, finishing fourth in a time of 3:31:05.

In the first half of the race Hope was just behind eventual winner, Neil Wicks of Stratford upon Avon AC (3:20:40). However, muscle cramps at 20 miles caused him to slow down and lose two places in the final six miles.

Another nine Kenilworth Runners took part in the marathon but were enjoying the beautiful scenery as much as racing the clock.

With a start time of 8.15am, visibility on the first hill climb was poor and the sight of the Broadway Tower appearing out of the mist was eerie.