Through The Villages road race

The roller coaster roads of Brinscall and White Coppice greeted the half dozen Preston Harriers to the annual 8.5 mile Through the Villages race. The steep ascent right at the start of the race challenged all the local athletes with just a small pack managing to stretch away. Fully recovered from his Berlin Marathon exploits Rob Affleck used the initial miles to settle into a steady pace and was joined at the sharp end of the race by the predacious Gary Pennington, who stayed in close contention throughout. Over the closing miles Affleck’s marathon strength was well utilised to attain a healthy lead which he did not relinquish to power through the line in 1st overall in 47.18. Pennington maintained his high cadence to fight off any late challenges to be rewarded with 2nd overall in a mighty 48.04. The Proud Harrier presence was further enhanced by Kevin Hunt (53.16 2nd MV45), David Watson (56.32) 5th MV45, Alan Martin (60.30 9th MV45) and the ever ebullient Billy Johnstone (60.47 8th MV50).