Sherry Phillips President of the Rotary Club of the Royal Forest of Dean presents Faye Johnson with the cup for first female Forester,
Sherry Phillips President of the Rotary Club of the Royal Forest of Dean presents Faye Johnson with the cup for first female Forester, (Mark Yonge)
Richard De-Camps was the first Forest-based runner to finish.
Richard De-Camps was the first Forest-based runner to finish. (Forest Review)
The start of the race at Speech House
The start of the race at Speech House (Forest Review)
Max Shepherd and Georgia Brinton ran in style.
Max Shepherd and Georgia Brinton ran in style. (Mark Yonge)
Colin Parry of Forest of Dean Athletics Club
Colin Parry of Forest of Dean Athletics Club (Forest Review)
The first three women to finish: Chelsea Creak, Chelsea Baker and Ellie Monks.
The first three women to finish: Chelsea Creak, Chelsea Baker and Ellie Monks. (Mark Yonge)
The top three runners:  James Tilley, Lee Gratton and Ben Robinson.
(Mark Yonge)
The team from the Royal Navy.
The team from the Royal Navy. (Forest Review)

The Forest of Dean Spring Trails Half Marathon this year had more than 1300 registered competitors.

The race, organized annually by the Rotary Club of the Royal Forest of Dean, is run under UK Athletics' rules and is intended for serious competition runners as well as recreational runners.

This Spring Trails Race has been chosen by the Trail Running Association to be the British Trail Running Championships Short Distance event.

The race started and finished on the Speech House field on Sunday (March 22) and the 13.11-mile course was run almost entirely on Forest trails

The day was cool and the course was not too firm, and running conditions had favourable comments from the runners at the finish.

The winner was Lee Gratton of Rugeley Runners in Staffordshire in a blistering 01:09:45. Ben Robinson of Bristol & West was a close second and James Tilley of RunThrough came in third in 01:11:56.

Chelsea Baker of Bristol & West was the first woman across the line in 01:19:24.

Team mate Chelsea Creak was second in a time of 01:20:5 and Ellie Monks of Southampton Athletic Club was third in 01:22:03.

The first Forest of Dean resident to cross the line was Richard De-Camps of Gloucester AC in 01:12:43, and fifth overall.

First Forest of Dean female was Faye Johnson of Monross Trailblazers in 01:35:13.

The funds raised by this race go to support many local charities, while many runners are running for their own charities, too.

A Rotary Club spokesman said: “We would like to congratulate all those who ran, helped towards the event and those who made the day a success.

“We can now look forward to the next event: the autumn half marathon on Sunday September 28.