On Sunday, thousands of runners descended on the county town of Staffordshire for the annual Stafford 10k road race. Amongst them were 12 Newport & District Running Club members, who had made the short trip down the A518. Starting and finishing on the bridge over the river Sow, next to Victoria Park and Stafford Railway Station, the route is an anti-clockwise course, which takes runners on a tour of the town centre, then the outskirts of the town to the north and east. Finishing off with a trip down the Isabel Trail, then a pass in front of the college, the route features just over 40 metres of climbing.

(Left to right): David Evans, Ralph Humphries, Matthew Humphries, Neil Fairbrother, Harry Stokes, Darren Hesbrook-Edwards, Mark Betteridge, Phil Cross

After last year’s rain-soaked race, the sun was out for the 2025 edition, which made for a much more pleasant experience for the runners! Harry Wilmot led the NDRC contingent, taking 63rd overall in a rapid time of 39 minutes, 36 seconds. Mark Betteridge was next, 158th overall in a time of 43:18, followed by Darren Hesbrook-Edwards, who finished 167th in 43:33. Harry Stokes, who was possibly the youngest person in the race, just a day after his 15th birthday, the minimum age to take part, finished 213th in a very impressive time of 44:25 on his 10k race debut.

Jonathan Pierce (far right) with friends at the start area

David Evans finished in 246th place with his time of 45:28, just ahead of Jonathan Pierce, who was taking part in the Stafford 10k for the first time, and took 311th place in 46:45. Jonathan’s running day didn’t end there, as he completed another 20k after the race as part of his long run mileage for the day! Dale Fordham clocked 50:47 to finish 540th, just ahead of Phil Cross, who was 542nd overall with a time of 50:56, and Ralph Humphries stopped the clock at 55:45 in 844th position.

Dale Fordham approaching the finish line

Tracey Powell was 980th with her time of 57:28, whilst Matthew Humphries finished 1,149th in 1:00:55 and Catherine Gutteridge clocked 1:03:10 to finish 1,248th. Laura McEvoy was next, finishing 1,251th in a time of 1:03:12, whilst Neil Fairbrother, who was walking the race as part of his injury recovery, completed the course in 1:06:03 to finish 1,525th.