On Sunday I raced the second race of four in the Bitton 5k Summer Series organised by Bitton Road Runners. These are flat and fast races along the paved Bristol-Bath cycle path starting and ending at Bitton Station.

It was a nice evening for it with mild conditions and the course is fairly sheltered because of the covering from the trees which was fortunate as it has been very windy recently.

There was a solid turnout for the race considering it was a Wednesday evening with athletes from many local clubs showing up to race. Looking around at the start there were some familiar faces but I figured it might be a solo run.

It is a very relaxed start as we take over the cycle path and everyone lines up before we are set off and the stop watches are started. Nobody went off too quickly and I immediately found myself at the front. I felt comfortable and kept the pace going but no-one decided to come with me.

The race is an out-and-back so at 2.5km there was a marshal who I ran around and headed back. I saw that I had a decent lead and kept my pace going to the finish. I managed to take the win in a solid time and was happy with a good run out on a Wednesday evening.

I won the race in 15:31 followed by Jamie Crawford (Bristol & West AC) in 16:16 and Michael Feltham (Westbury Harriers) in 17:18. Katie Vooght (Bitton Road Runners) was first woman home in 19:38 with Elsa Kingham (Bitton Road Runners) second in 19:58 and Helen Owen (Bitton Road Runners) third in 20:52. In total there were 46 finishers. Full results here.

The race HQ is at Bitton Station and then the start/finish is just around the corner on the tarmac cycle path heading out towards Bath. The cycle path remains open during the race but there are plenty of Bitton Road Runners marshals on the course to ensure any pedestrians and cyclists are aware of oncoming runners.

Well done to everyone who raced and thank you to Bitton Road Runners for organising another great Bitton 5k Summer Series race! I’m looking forward to the next one in July!

If you are interested in taking part in the next race in the series then you can read more and sign up on the Bitton Road Runners event page here.