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Longleat 10K 2022

Roaring success at Longleat Safari Park

Lion's share of the spoils for Nathan and Charlotte

Race organisers 2:09 Events had to be pretty nimble themselves when Longleat Estate announced they would be opening to the public earlier than expected this year, possibly as a result of the well-publicised arrival of the first southern koala joey ever to be born in Europe.

This left a choice between moving the annual Longleat 10K forward one week to Sunday 30 January at short notice or cancelling the race – something that Mike Gratton of 2:09 Events was keen to avoid after the 2021 event could not be held due to the Covid restrictions in place at this time last year. 

The decision was vindicated when over 900 toed the start line at the Elizabethan stately home and seat of the Marquess of Bath, near Warminster in Wiltshire. The race starts right in front of the magnificence of Longleat House and takes in Longleat Estate's private, traffic-free roads, with only a short excursion on public highways as you pass the Bath Arms Public House.

The route is quite hilly, with a significant climb soon after the start and again towards the end before the magnificent final downhill dash along Lodge Drive towards Longleat House and the finish line. 

The lion's share of the spoils at the UK's No.1 Safari Park went to Nathan Young (unattached, 34:36) and Charlotte Taylor-Green (Clevedon AC, 37:28). Nathan is a previous winner at Longleat with victories in 2018 (34:30) and 2020 (33:57) so this is a happy hunting ground for the former Wells City Harrier – at least in the even years.

Charlotte ran 2:36:54 in the Dublin Marathon in 2019 and ran a swift 34:09 for 10K that year in the colours of Bristol & West AC. 

Nearly 200 runners beat 50 minutes, despite the undulations, and there were 901 finishers in 1:56:43. Free race photos, free parking, and quality medals are among the attractions, although the star of the show is the course through the stunning 1,000 acres of Capability Brown landscaped parkland at one of Britain's truly historic houses.

Full results are available via the runABC South race listing

Image courtesy 21C Photos for 2:09 Events on Facebook

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