Luke Tipping and Kate Waddicor took the opportunity to join 23,000 others at the Half Marathon in Bristol on 11th May. The route runs beside the River Avon and underneath Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s famous suspension bridge before returning to the centre for a rather twisty finish on the city’s cobbles.
Soaring temperatures made for a challenging event but Luke coped well with the tough conditions to finish just a minute outside his personal best in a very impressive 25th place overall and fourth in the M35 age category. Luke was less than a minute behind the M35 race winner.
Kate has also been running most impressively since joining the F70 age category this year. She has already qualified to represent England Masters at the Newcastle 10k on 6th July. Her fine run at the Manchester Marathon – and a massive new F70 Striders club record – has earned her a second England call-up, this time for the Abingdon Marathon in October. The Great Bristol Run was also an England qualifying event, and Kate’s second place in the F70 competition will almost certainly result in a third England call-up for a yet to be determined half-marathon in 2026. Impressive stuff indeed.
Striders Results:
| Position | Name | Time | Age Category |
| 25 | Luke Tipping | 1.15.47 | M35 (4th) |
| 6426 | Kate Waddicor | 2.12.37 | F70 (2nd) |
Max Davis of the Bristol & West Athletic Club came first in the men’s half-marathon, with a time of 1 hour 6 minutes and 24 seconds, while the women’s half was won by Rosie Hamilton-James of the Westbury Harriers, with a time of 1 hour 15 minutes and 58 seconds.
Full results: here