KINGTON St Michael runner Sam Hull stormed to victory in the 10k event as a pre-race flood failed to put the dampeners on the Castle Combe Chilly on Sunday.

Unattached runner Hull finished 22 seconds clear of City of Bath AC competitor Matthew Young, with Team Bath’s Guy Landon third and also the first male veteran home.

Event organisers DB Max, from Trowbridge, had arrived at the Castle Combe circuit to find that water on the track and central field had drained to one point on the track.

With competitors coming from across the country to take part in the 10k, duathlon and British Universities and Colleges (BUCS) Duathlon Champions, DB Max’s Will Whitmore said: “We were presented with a bit of an emergency first thing.

“It was bad enough to see our event marquee had been uprooted and ripped apart but when I saw the water on the track as well, it became a serious problem.

“I’ve been asking Castle Combe to build a lake for some time but right on the race track was not what I’d had in mind.

“It was a bit of a high pressure situation but I was confident we could get the circuit ready in time for the race.

“It was a close call but we called it right and the day was a huge success.’’ A total of 218 runners tackled the 10k event, which started the day’s programme.

Julia Zakrzewski was the fastest lady with a time of 39:58 and Frome Running Club’s Anne Huggett took third in 43:43.

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