Highworth 5 Mile Run 2007 

While many people were still enjoying a Sunday morning lie-in or planning a relaxing day in the sun, a record entry of people took part in the Highworth 5 mile run today.

 
An event now in its 22nd year, and for the first time ever attracting nearly six hundred runners.

 

Run in the sun: competitors sprint off at the start of the Highworth  5 Mile Race

All negotiating an undulating, picturesque course in and around Highworth, which started and finished at Warneford School.

 
The first man home, Shrivenham-based soldier Tim Crossland, who beat a strong local field to win in a time just over 25 minutes.

 
Bourton Road Runners Mike Smith and Dennis Walmsley came in second and third.

 

"It was tough out there," Crossland, who also won the Swindon half-marathon in 2006, said, "the heat really made a difference at the end."
"I never normally take a drink on a 5 mile run but I had to today."

 

The top three: winner Tim Crossland (centre) with second-placed Mike Smith (l) and Dennis Walmsley, third

One competitor, Charles Brookes-Robinson eveb braved the sweltering conditions to run the route twice to raise money for the Martin Miles appeal, a charity set up to help a Highworth policeman seriously injured in a recent motorcycle crash.