Joy for Chataway and Fowler at Kenilworth Half Marathon

A record 713 competitors completed the 13.1-mile race which incorporated the Warwickshire Half Marathon Championships and was the ninth race of the Warwickshire Road Race League.

The men’s race was a strategic battle with runners hesitant to take the lead of the group from eventual winner Chataway, 30, who is not attached to any running clubs and is registered as being from the ‘London area’.

By five miles the lead group had been whittled down to five and by eight miles just the three podium finishers were locked in a tense battle for victory.

Chataway led the group from start to finish, surviving a handful of failed attempts by second- placed finisher Richard Simkiss of Kenilworth Runners to break away.

Chataway eased away in the closing stages to finish in 1hr 13min 34sec, 14 seconds clear of Simkiss and 21 seconds ahead of third placed Damian Carr of Coventry Godiva Harriers.

Simkiss was crowned Warwickshire County Half Marathon Champion for the third year in succession ahead of his team mate Phil McCorquodale, who ran a massive new personal best, knocking nearly five minutes from his previous half marathon effort and finishing fourth overall.

A successful day for the race hosts Kenilworth Runners was cemented with seventh position overall for Phil Gould and tenth position for Andrew Siggers securing the team competition.

In the ladies race Eleanor Fowler of Nuneaton Harriers ran 1:22:42 to add the Warwickshire Country Half Marathon crown to the 10K and five mile championships she won earlier this summer.

She finished six minutes clear of second placed Myshola Kirkham (1:28:59) of Coventry Godiva Harriers, a previous winner of the event.

Third placed Amanda Deavey (1:29:27) of Northbrook AC struggled with stomach cramps during the race but soldiered on to narrowly beat Carolyn Wilkinson (1:29:25) of Spa Striders, who is returning to form following a spell away from competitive running following childbirth and won the Female V35 category .

Ashley Miles (1:16:52) of Sphinx AC won the Male V35 category while Stephen Hundal (1:21:00) of Leamington C&AC, and Dawn Compton (1:35:42) of Stratford AC were the winners of the Male and Female V45 categories respectively. Bournville Harriers runner Edwin Hartley (1:26:33) was the fastest man in the male V55 section and his female counterpart Anne Hughes of Northbrook AC won her section in 1:53:36.

Graham Lawrence (1:34:06) of Solihull and Small Heath AC won the Male V65+ section while Sue Stewart (1:56:58) won the female V65+ section.

The Spa Striders team of Wilkinson, Melissa Venables (1:30:33) and Clare Hinton (1:36:05 pb) won the women’s competition.