Almost 300 athletes took part in the first event in the four-part Hot Chocolate Run Series. The event ranged from complete beginners right through to elite club runners.
Despite the name, hot chocolate is only give to runners at the end of the race. There were also four choices of race distances – 5km, 10km, 15km or 20km, consisting of between one and four laps on the fast and flat roads around Dorney Lake.
Martyn Edwards, Event Director for the Hot Chocolate Run Series said: “We are over the moon with how today went – our first event in this exciting new series. Everyone did really well and we were overwhelmed with the number of runners taking part, and will better equip our registration for the higher volume of competitors in future events!
“We look forward to seeing lots of you at ‘Race Two’ on 21st February!”
As a testament to the fast nature of the course, the podium winners posted some very impressive times.
Wayne Clements led the 5km men’s event, finishing well ahead of the rest of the field in a time of 19:29 with Andrea Scott posting a speedy 23:35 in the women’s event.
In the 10km race, less than 20 seconds separated the men’s podium winners with Matt Murray defending the top spot in 38:41. However, the performance of the day must go to Abi Bagshaw who not only topped the women’s podium, but also the overall podium by over two minutes – finishing in 36:27.
Tom Miller was the clear winner in the 15km event, with a finishing time of 1:00:41 and Vickie Innes took the women’s title in a speedy 1:09:33.
And finally, in the 20km race, Toby Garbett won the men’s event in 1:20:03 and Lindsay Judge took the women’s title in 1:24:26
Inspired to take part in the Hot Chocolate Run Series? Then check out the next events in the series:
Race 2: Saturday February 21st 2015
Hot Chocolate Half Marathon: Saturday March 21st 2015
Race 3: Sunday March 22nd 2015
Race 4: Saturday April 18th 2015.
Visit www.hotchocolaterunseries.co.uk or follow the team on Facebook or Twitter to sign up, or for more information.
