FIONA McLean was representing Chard Road Runners in her first ever marathon – the New York Marathon.

In a massive field of 50,000 runners, McLean’s goal for the event was to enjoy this slightly hilly marathon and get across the line with a smile.

Setting off slowly in the vast crowd of participants, McLean – after a little jostling – settled into a good steady pace, keeping her 5k times to plan.

With the hillier section of the race more towards the end, McLean started to put her SW Coast Path training to work, and so she was really starting to pick off places in the still very crowded field.

With the finish line now in sight, she gave it one last push and completed her first ever marathon in 4h 49m 19s – a fantastic achievement.

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CRRs were represented at only one race this past weekend, with Adrian Male taking part in the new Dark Valley Half Marathon, which was held at the Moors Valley Country Park in Ringwood.

This is a challenging, hilly off-road trail race in the dark from start to finish and, setting off with more than 300 other half marathon runners, Male began amid a blaze of head torches, into the forest trails and mud.

With the heavy rain of the previous 24 hours making its presence felt, the going was soft, but still Male succeeded in making excellent progress up through the field.

At the 7.5-mile mark, he was in the top 50 runners and feeling strong as the hills were taking their toll on some of the frontrunners.

With the going becoming a little firmer coming towards the end, Male was really making up ground towards the finish.

He crossed the line in 1h 50m 37s, giving him 39th place out of 312 participants in the event.