So with one race to go, Warren needed to be in the first five on the final night and beat Chris Large by seven place to tie and eight to take the title after finishing third last year. Clearly, Chris just had too stop that happening.

Advantage one went to Warren as Chris was laid up in bed with one week to go, but this may have been counter-balanced by Warren doing a 22 mile run over the weekend as marathon preparation.

 However, the tide turned further to Chris' advantage as the Easter holidays meant that only 13 people turned out for the run on the night, therefore reducing the number who could get in between the two of them.

The race started in the shelter of the wall in Parson's Close, but as soon as each runner hit Grovebury Road they turned in to a very cold wind that stayed in their faces until the corner. It made pretty tough going for everyone and correspondingly the times were not the usual raft of April PB's, but nevertheless there was a very close knit group at the end of lap three battling for positions.

Chris was caught and passed by Warren somewhere near the football club and then the question was how many people would finish between them. Over the last quarter mile, Amelia got away from Chris and then Ian H, Gary and Andy all added to the points between them down Grove Road. In the meantime though, Chris had gained a place back by passing new man Mark Cohen himself and was desperate to get to the finish, knowing there were still a few behind.

As it turned out, that was it and a strong run by Warren to come home third for 23 points was not enough as Chris gained 18 for eighth place and earned a total of 112 points for the season. Warren finished with 110 which would have been enough for victory in two of the previous three years.

Both results were richly deserved as Warren has run all seven races and achieved three personal bests while Chris' six races have seen four PB's. On the night, there were two further best times earned by the two who manged to pass / stay ahead of Warren, with Stu Blofeld running 14.02 and John Boulder 19.04. Both were very good runs on a cold and windy evening.

The battle for third place was equally hot this year, with four people finishing within five points of each other. John Boulder with 87 points was just pipped by Gary Stratford (88), Andy Inchley (90) and Amelia Wallace with 92. All of them scored strongly on the night but Amelia's five consistent races were enough to earn the bronze medal.

 Things to note at the end of the season are that only seven people completed five races and they occupied the first seven places. In addition to Warren, Stuart and Andy also ran all seven races across the season. The fastest times of the season were 13.44 by Jordan Clay and 17.37 by Kate Owens. 41 different people took part with 30 men and 11 women, (7 of the 11 ladies only did one race!!) and 19 of them achieved PB's at some point in the season.

 All in all, it was a very good competition with the two people who consistently improved the most turning out as the leading contenders and using the event to really improve their speed. It will undoubtedly be back on in early October so make sure you start the new season positively with a strong turn-out on the 2nd. Also, have a read of "Andy's Handy Hints" if you really want ot know how to win!

Many congratulations to Mr Large.