Doynton Hard Half
Today’s report is about the Doynton Hard Half, a particularly difficult half marathon involving hills, mud and rivers etc.
Five members of the Forest of Dean Athletic Club took up the challenge of running the Doynton Hard Half Marathon this Sunday (the 22nd of January). The race, organised by Emersons Green Running Club takes place in the Southern Cotswolds and was first ‘run’ in 2016. With the rerun this year and a little over 400 competitors in now looks set to become an annual event. The organisers describe the race as taking place “on public footpaths, bridleways and country lanes thick with mud and other sticky things that occur naturally in the countryside. Through rivers swollen with winter rain and over hills with hellish climbs and wicked descents”. I’m told it takes place in January simply because there is more rain and so more mud. It also involves climbing 338 meters (over 1100 ft) so not surprizingly, the above combination makes completing it, a far tougher task than the great majority of half marathons.
The first forest of Dean runner back was Richard Peglar in 2:02.54 followed by Patrick Rennison in 2:03.56 and Cherry Fowler in 
2:07.29. In addition Cherry took a very credible 5th place out of 45 in her age group. Jo Edwards finished in 2:24.14 and Chris Hawkins in 2:30.16