It's peak half-marathon season, with over 15 of the popular 13.1-mile races listed in runABC South's comprehensive calendar of events last weekend, including the Devizes Half Marathon on Sunday (22 March), which had a few peaks of its own!

The single lap Devizes course highlights include Etchilhampton Hill (190m) at two miles; Clifford's Hill (243m) at six miles, and a sting in the tail at 12 miles on Gipsy Lane (162m). Despite these high points, the total elevation gain is a mere 620 feet or 189 metres – still as breathtaking as the stunning views – as Devizes proudly sits at 120m above sea level.

The historic market town in Wiltshire takes its name from the Latin 'ad Divisas'. Devizes was founded in Norman times at the boundaries of several surrounding villages, and the town grew up around its 11th-century castle.

The Devizes Half Marathon was revived in 2012 and has consistently won Gold awards and rave reviews since then for the quality of its organisation by LPS Events. This year's event was a race for the ages as the leading places were claimed by runners from differing age groups.

Tom Dudden, of Team Bath AC, led the way with 1:16:59, competing in the over-40 category. Tom was followed by under-20 junior Riley Heyes (1:18:31) and over-50 master Will Howarth (1:22:19) – both of the local Devizes Athletics Club.

Claire Bowles (Chippenham Harriers, 1:36:29) won a close women's race from W40 master Ali Vaz (Thornbury RC, 1:36:43) and Hayley Weeks (Backwater Valley Runners, 1:38:16).

Two hours was beaten by 123 runners, as 287 finished in less than three hours.

The full results are available via the runABC South race listing here.

The pre-race stretch routine is shown below, courtesy of Devizes Half Marathon on Facebook!

The main photo above, showing some of the course scenery, is courtesy of the event website.