CHARD Road Runners were in action this weekend at the Yeovil Half and Full Marathon.

This road race draws a very competitive field with its near-flat profile route, and starting off first for the Road Runners was Bernie Genge in the Full Marathon.

The 9.30am start was a help in the hot but heavy conditions, and as they set off from the racing track it was off out into the countryside for the first of two laps.

Heading towards Ilchester, Genge found the going to be working for him as he was making good progress up through this fast field of runners.

Passing through the 13.1-mile marker at Podimore, Genge was settling well in a pack of runners of the same pace and, rounding off the second lap, he could see the finish line.

With a last push over the last 200 metres of the running track, Bernie crossed the line in 3h 37m 17s (58th place out of 218).

Starting next were four Chard Road Runners heading out for the Half Marathon.

Starting off from the racing track for this near-flat road race were Matt Baker, Jacqui Preston, Marie Culverwell and Miranda Elsie.

With the heat building, this was going to be a tough outing, but Baker made good early pace as the pack turned off towards Ilchester, taking in one of the small rises.

Elsie was pushing hard at the midway stage but was suffering with the temperature, which meant she had to take up a more moderate pace to set her goal of crossing the finish line.

With the road now heading back into Yeovilton, Baker was picking up places well ahead of his expectations and was heading for a personal best time.

Elsie had pushed ahead and was really eyes down for the line, with Preston keeping her focus with a tight tussle over the last section of track.

First crossing the line for CRRs was Matt Baker in 1h 58m 43s (114th out of 276), next was Marie Culverwell in 2h 10m 00s (162/276), followed by Jacqui Preston 2h 14m 41s (174/276), and fighting off illness Miranda Elsie ran through in 2h 44m 49s (240/276).