On Boxing Day I took part in the Clevedon Boxing Day 4 Mile Road Race organised by Clevedon Athletic Club. This annual event has become a staple in the North Somerset racing calendar and this year saw the biggest ever field with well over 1000 participants. The prestigious race first took place in 1977 and has been described as a great way to run off the Christmas excess!

This is a race I have wanted to do for many years because there is a lot of family history associated with it but have never managed to so am glad to have finally run it. My mum, Carole Williamson (nee Bradford), was one of the founding members of Clevedon Athletic Club in the 1970s and was involved in many of the early editions of the race and has won it in the past.

The race takes place around Clevedon starting and finishing near the seafront. It is a road race on closed roads and fairly flat but there are some hills. The start line stretches across Elton Road next to the race HQ which is The Harp pub. The first mile is through the centre of town before weaving to the outskirts in the second mile. The start of the third mile is also the start of the famous Holly Lane hill which takes you back into town and towards the seafront. The fourth mile follows the coastal road back to the start and then down to the Salthouse Playing Fields where the finish is.

The conditions were good. It was a bit damp but apart from that everything else was fine. It was a very mild day for December so a good racing temperature and there was little wind. The race is all on road so a quick surface and apart from the hill on Holly Lane is fairly flat so definitely a course for fast times (the men’s course record is 18:28!).

It was a very quick and congested start but that was always expected from a race that attracts many of the areas top club athletes. I set off with the lead pack and after about half a mile it started to string out. Felix McGrath (Bristol & West AC), Jack Millar (Bristol & West AC) and Tobi Loughlin (Team Bath AC) pulled away and opened a small gap. I was in fourth and gradually closing in on them. Tobi fell back a bit and by the time we reached the hill at 2 miles I pulled level with him and went ahead up the hill.

He stayed within touching distance of me and Ben Hamblin (North Somerset AC) caught us up and over the next couple of miles there was a group of three of us. I tried putting in a couple of surges in the last mile to pull away but couldn’t drop Ben. We came into the finishing straight level but Ben just had an extra gear and beat me in a sprint finish (I don’t have the sub-4 mile pace anymore!).

Felix McGrath won in 18:58 followed by Jack Millar in 19:10. Ben Hamblin was third in 19:34 and I was fourth in 19:35. Claire Hammett (Thames Hare & Hounds) won the women’s race in 22:15 with Freya Bradley (Westbury Harriers) taking second in 22:23 and Deborah Bruce (Unattached) third in 22:39. In total there were 1293 finishers. Full results of the Clevedon Boxing Day Race here.

Well done to everyone who raced and thank you Clevedon Athletic Club for organising a great event!