THREE Spirits headed to the Gwent Levels for the third race of the Rose Inn series in midweek, reports VICKY ROBERTS.

Based at the Redwick Village Hall and named after the local pub, the fast and flat four-mile road race organised by Chepstow Harriers comprised two laps.

And Barry Burns was on fire coming in as first Spirit in 25mins 52secs to take first in the over-55 category, while Julie Glyn-Jones also stormed the 101-strong race in 37.00 for first over-50 woman, and club mate Julie Gee continued her race form in 42.48.

Race winner was Ciaran Lewis of Les Croupiers in 19.31, with club mate Louise Flynn fastest woman in 23.15.

Meanwhile, Brian Evans flew the Spirit flag solo at the 144-strong Hereford & Borders third summer race at Much Marcle, hosted by Ledbury Harriers.

He found the uphills tricky but managed to make some time back back on the downhills to finish in 39.03.

“It was a beautiful course in Weston’s Cider orchard, but it was tough running on the long grass and surprisingly hilly terrain," he said.

MonRoss Trailblazers, who hosted the first race in Ross, were out in force, Kieron Brown finishing sixth in 29:44, closely followed by Jack Millar in eighth in 30.27.

Other finishers were Richard Bevan 34.17, Elle Lumley 39.03, Andrew Stephens 39.15, Tony Davies 40.17, Catherine Finlay 40.58, Rob Potter 41.01, Rob Vidler 41.22, Rebecca Wilson 44.30 and Emma Downes 45.20.

On the weekend, Spirit’s Charlotte Brown and her family took part in different events at The Maverick Adidas TERREX Original Cotswolds 2024 based at Sudeley Castle.

Charlotte opted for the shorter 7k route which started by the castle and out onto the trails.

The route joined multiple different long distance paths including the Winchcombe, Gloucestershire and Cotswold Way, as competitors went on a rolling adventure and saw the hidden gems of the northern Cotswolds.

Charlotte finished with a smile crossing with a chip time of 47.10.

Sunday also saw Spirits Martin Blakebrough, Jeremy Creasey, Sian Fielding, Laura Mcloughlin, Julie Gee and Richard Wonson take on the Mic Morris 10k, known as the fastest race on the planet over the distance.

The course begins in Blaenavon, with runners running downhill along a closed road route to Pontypool Park.

Martin finished as first Spirit in a time of 41.01 followed by Jeremy in 45.07.

Richard enjoyed the race and finished in 52.04, with Sian coming close behind in 52.46, Laura crossing in 60.51 and Julie in her second race of the week in 65.26.

MonRoss Trailblazers Trina Sami and Rosie Davies also took part, the former for the third time and crossing in a PB 47.01, while the latter finished in 48.56.

Anyone interested in running, jogging or walking, from the open road and thrills of the trails, to the ultra marathon, Spirit of Monmouth are a community of passionate runners.

Visit the website for more details at https://spiritofmonmouth.co.uk/