Stratford athletes take on gruelling Race to the Stones challenge

SEVEN Stratford AC runners took on the epic Race to the Stones race, which sees runners take on 51k in one day or 100k over two days.

The course goes along the Ridgeway, which is the oldest path in Britain, and runs from the Chilterns in Oxfordshire to the 5,000-year-old stone circle at Avebury.

Tara Lambert took the one-day option, while team-mates Lesley Kirk, Graham Black, Sarah Odell, Yvonne Caswell, Lisa Dallisson and Becky Loftus took on the two-day challenge.

Lambert completed the course in 7.01.18, to finish as ninth female of the 78 female competitors.

There was a sense of disbelief from the other Stratford athletes that they were going to do it all again on day two.

Kirk and Black led the team home in 12.54.07 and 12.54.10 respectively. Kirk was 18th female home, while Black was 34th male.

Odell was next to cross the line in 13.10.22 ahead of Caswell (14.22.06), Dallisson (14.23.52) and Loftus (18.06.00).

It was a particularly courageous run from Caswell, who had broken a finger on the first day following a fall.