Last week saw the conclusion of the Spring Treble, with the “Barlaston Ups and Downs” race. Starting and finishing at Oulton Cricket Club, just north of Stone, this 5-mile race features a mile-long steep downhill section that runners must later run back to finish, but not before completing two very hilly laps of Barlaston Downs, to make a race that features around 225 metres of climbing.

(Left to right): Ollie Stokes, Alex Millington, Nick Wylie, Peter Johnstone, Selwyn Plant, Ralph Humphries, Graham Rogers

Alex Millington was 9th overall, and took first in his age category for the whole series, with a time of 33 minutes, 37 seconds. Peter Johnstone was next, finishing 37th in a time of 39:54, followed by Graham Rogers, who ran a time of 42:58 to finish 60th. Ollie Stokes was 105th with a time of 50:58, whilst Selwyn Plant finished 114th in 52:07. Nick Wylie crossed the line 117th with his time of 52:53, and Ralph Humphries was 126th in 57:44.

Afterwards, there was time for a celebratory drink!

After the race, all runners who completed all three races were given a bottle of beer and a packet of Haribo, and afterwards, the NDRC runners all went to the pub afterwards for beer, chips and more!