Shropshire Star

GALLERY: Crowds brave rain for first-ever Oswestry 10K

About 1,000 people faced the autumnal chill and took to the streets of Oswestry for the town’s first-ever 10K run.

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And they're off! The start of the Oswestry 10K

Athletes from all over the UK took their place at the starting line in Church Street before completing the route, which took runners through Morda and Trefonen.

More than 100 people were involved in organising the race and a team of 80 people, including marshals, stewards, medics and volunteers attended the event on the day.

WATCH footage from the race:

The first man across the line was Felix McGrath from Bristol and West Athletics Club who finished in 31 minutes and 44 seconds.

He was followed 19 seconds later by Jack Pickett of Wolverhampton and Bilston Athletics Club, with Jimmy Kershaw taking third place with a time of 33 minutes and four seconds.

The first woman across the line was Claire Martin, finishing in 37 minutes and 31 seconds, followed by Bethan Jones from Oswestry Olympians running on home turf with a time of 40 minutes and two seconds, and then came Lauren Morley finishing in 41 minutes and 39 seconds.

Alan Lewis, organiser, said the event took place without any hiccups, which was a credit to the community.

He said: “From our perspective all the runners that started, finished, and it was an absolutely fantastic event.

"Many 10ks have intruders in the form of cars, bikes or horses, but this was completely incident free which is an absolute credit to the whole community, not just the people attached directly with the organisation.”

Money raised is being donated to the Borderland Rotary Club which provided marshals for the race.

The sold-out event took place following the demise of the town’s half marathon, which was only held once in 2017.

Mr Lewis thanked the volunteers who stepped forward to help.

He added: “A massive shout-out to all the volunteers and helpers including St John’s Ambulance, Oswestry Town Council and Shropshire County Council.”

Every runner received a special medal depicting Oswestry’s war poet, Wilfred Owen, while the first place male and female competitors came away with a holiday sponsored by Polka Dot Travel, a magnum of champagne from Momentum wines, cash and a trophy.

Entrance into next year’s event, taking place on October 18, has already opened and runners are encouraged to apply as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

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