Beach Runners in Lynn 10k

THE King's Lynn GEAR 10k race is fast becoming one of the highlights of the Norfolk race calendar and this year attracted more than 1,500 to run through the town's old streets.

THE King's Lynn GEAR 10k race is fast becoming one of the highlights of the Norfolk race calendar and this year attracted more than 1,500 to run through the town's old streets. Eight North Norfolk Beach Runners joined the crowds.

The day's stand-out performance came from the veteran Malcolm Ball who has bravely persisted with training all winter despite a series of niggling injuries and is now making his comeback at the age of 76.

Malcolm showed that he is back to top form by outsprinting the running legend, Ron Hill, to take first prize in the Over-70 age group with a time of 49:45.

At the top of the field, Rob Kett put in another superb run to finish 23rd with a fast time of 35:47 whilst Lynton Battrick, absent from racing for some months, looked to be right at his best with an excellent 38:08 and 49th place.

Clare Donovan, whose improvement this winter has been remarkable, dipped inside the magic 40-minute barrier by just two seconds to come in 81st, with Ryan Callaby putting in a terrific run just behind to finish two places outside the top 100.

Ian Jarvis followed up his personal best at Yarmouth with another excellent run to clock 46:24 whilst further back in the field Alison Swanson and Mike Marshall enjoyed the pleasant running conditions to record 53:50 and 54:41 respectively.