GREAT Bentley Running Club hosted the Essex Half-Marathon Championships which attracted a sell-out field of 900 runners from more than 100 different running clubs from as far afield as Dorset.

In ideal running conditions with little wind and a low temperature, a fast race always looked likely and so this proved with the large field of runners quickly spread out along the route, which is mainly flat and run through country lanes surrounding the village.

Eleven members took part from Great Bentley Running Club with Kevin Cox, currently in training for the London Marathon, having the accolade of leading his clubmates across the finish line in a time of one hour 26 minutes 43 seconds which also earned him a club gold standard award.

Despite suffering from a cold, Clive Thomas ran well, finishing in a good time of 1h 27m 47s, closely followed by Kevin Jeffries in 1h 27m 53s.

Russ Sharp ran well for 1h 31m 50s, chased hard all the way by Dan Foster in his first half-marathon in a time of 1h 33m.

Lara Townsend had the accolade of leading the Bentley ladies across the finish line in 1h 38m 08s, which also earned her a club gold standard award.

Tony Adams, competing in only his second half-marathon, ran a determined race in his build-up to the London Marathon and was rewarded with a time of 1h 46m 23s.

Davina Swindell, who is currently nursing a knee injury, also ran well to finish in 1h 50m 39s, while Brian Telford had his first run at the distance for three years and finished with a time of 1h 52m 13s.

Club stalwart Barbara Law, also in training for London, ran well with a time of 1h 58m 20s and Peter Reeve finished in a time of 2h 31m 05s.

Crispian Bloomfield from Billericay Striders won the race in a fine time of 1h 08m 53s.

After the race Great Bentley were proud to be presented with the Howard Williams trophy for their half-marathon race being voted the best road race in Essex for 2008.