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Good weather during the setup on Saturday afternoon heralded an ideal day for the entrants of the 24th annual Rotary Club of Calne 10km Fun Run on Sunday 1st April. Nearly 300 runners and walkers, from as far away as Devon and Middlesex, entered the race to sample the delights of the countryside in Bowood, as well as raising money for Wiltshire Blind and Calne Welfare Charities. 

Lord and Lady Lansdowne started the race at 10am after saying a word of thanks to the participants for supporting the event.

The recent good weather meant that the course was in a superb condition for running.  The race started with a mile stretch on tarmac, ideal to give the runners a chance to find their legs and spread out before starting the cross country sections, firstly on footpaths and then tracks through the woods.  The last mile and a half was past the scenic lake at Bowood and through the park before a final 100m sprint to the finish on tarmac.

For the third year in a row, the winner was 18 year old Simon Nott from Calne (pictured above).  Another year of progress saw him shave a further 31 seconds off his previous record and achieve the new course record with 32 minutes 12 seconds.  This was a full 3 minutes and 10 seconds faster than second placed Peter Merritt from Devizes who finished in 35 minutes 22 seconds, followed by Ronan Landon in 36 minutes 34 seconds.

The fastest lady was Elisa Barr from London in 45 minutes 14 seconds, very closely followed by Caroline Anstey in 45 minutes 16 seconds and Alison Meredith in 46 minutes 6 seconds.  First in the 16 and under category was Adam Stevens from Devizes in a great time of 40 minutes 27 seconds – someone to watch for the future.

162 runners finished the course within an hour. Race Director, Alastair Muir, presented the prizes and medals.   Prizes and medals were kindly donated by Regency Presentations of Calne and Ronhill clothing.

This was the 24th annual 10km Charity Fun Run organised by the Rotary Club of Calne. It is anticipated that the Rotary Club of Calne will be able to give £1,500 from the event – to be split between Wiltshire Blind  and Calne Welfare Charities.  The main sponsors of the event were Patford House Surgery in Calne and www.Sportzform.co.uk in Chippenham. The organisers als thank St John Ambulance who provided First Aid cover, all the Rotarians and their friends who provided the marshals and helpers, and the Bowood staff who helped so much and kindly opened the coffee shop, which was welcomed by spectators and runners before and after the event.

Photos with kind permission from Ivor Watkins

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