ATHLETES from Dudley Kingswinford Running Club joined international class runners and more than 20,000 other entries to tread the streets of Birmingham for the Bupa sponsored Great Birmingham Run.

With so many runners toeing the line, the field was set off in different coloured waves dependent on predicted finishing times. It meant there was always someone to chase or someone chasing to make for a competitive event.

Although the course was not a particularly fast one, through the city centre and through the picturesque Cannon Hill Park before an uphill last couple of miles through Edgbaston before a Broad Street finish, there were plenty of fast times recorded.

It proved a busy day for the club with nearly 50 runners pulling on the blue hoops and almost as many members supporting along the route.

Ben Foster was first back for DK in 1.15.45 to claim 36th place, Matt Biggs was 69th in 1.19.41, Kevin Duckworth was 126th in 1.22.58, Dave Norman finished in 1.25.13 for 184th place, Richard Bate recorded a PB in 1.27.28 to take 276th, Simon Hughes was 738th in 1.34.06, Mark Judge was 812th in 1.34.49, getting the better of Richard Tonks in 815th in 1.34.51. Mark Homer was 968 in 1.36.30, Phil Smith was 1096th in 1.37.28, Keiran Pitt finished in 1.39.22 in 1351st and Darren Marklew was 1412nd in 1.39.45.

There were plenty of other good times, course and distance debuts and PBs amongst the remainder as they were joined by Roger Beddard, Tahir Yasin, Paul Baker, Simon Freeman, Ruth Heaton, Dave Ede, Russell Fox, Kathryn Sneyd, Stacey Jones, Andy Litchfield, Sandra Farnell, Joanna Clare, Karen Doy, Sally McConville, Andy Fraser, Lee Avery, Suzi Geraghty, Narinda Hughes, Gina Collins, Natalie Litchfield, Fiona Mersey, Lorraine Collins, Tina Wilkinson, Clare Holdcroft, Fay Stokes, Samantha Smith, Tracey Nicholls, Don Taggart, Sam Hemming, Charlotte Tonks, Samantha Hadley, Helen Smith, John Gould, Phil Morris and Enid Brazier.