Some Garden City Runners kept their running events in Hertfordshire this week - Rebecca Barden was not one of them though.

She travelled to the World Marathon Age Group Championships in Sydney, vying to join the current big six world marathon majors.

Barden said: "They put on a great event for us age groupers, including a cruise of Sydney Harbour on Friday evening and a group photo on the steps of the Sydney Opera House on Saturday morning."

All that though was before the race itself, which had the GCR heading off just behind the elite runners, meaning she got swept along with the early pace.

She said: "The first half felt good. We ran over Sydney Harbour Bridge which was amazing before heading out to Darling Harbour and then a long out and back.

"The course was undulating and felt like a slog at times but I managed to keep a steady pace until about mile 17, then started to suffer about five miles from the end.

"My quads seized up and running downhill, which is usually my special skill, felt very painful.

"The last two miles were just a matter of keeping going until the finish by the Opera House.

"But after my struggles at the finish I was pleased with my time of 3:37:48."

The Hatfield 5k Series came to an end with the third and final running, with organisers delighted at its continued success.

Multiple distance world champion and record holder Sarah Roberts from Dacorum AC ran a new world age best of for a 74-year-old woman in race two, clocking 21:17, while fellow world age best champion Yuko Gordon from Fairlands Valley Spartans not far behind.

There was also a new women’s course record in race two, set by Annabel Gummow from Herts Phoenix who clocked 16:22.

She also won the overall series with Sam Pedley from Bishop Stortford taking the men’s title.

The fastest Garden City Runner was Joe Ansboro who ran 16:14 in race two, placing him fourth, while Jessica Timmins was the fastest women in just over 20 minutes.

The club's men finished third in the team standings for the series, the squad comprising Adam Wadley, Peter Harvey, Paul Guy and Martin Mitchell.

Harvey said: "This year’s series was very popular with a full field of 300 runners for each race.

"Race one was warm, race two a little windy and race three cool with a breeze.

"The course is flat and extremely good for facilitating personal bests and a donation of £900 was made to KitAid along with much kit from the runners to support athletes in the poorest countries."

At the Stevenage 10k, men's captain James Huish was third overall in 37:06 while Steve Ellerd-Elliott was 20th in 41:45.

Daniel Follon's 47:24 was a PB and nearly four minutes quicker than his time over the same course last year.

The Suffolk Coastal Path 50k was another ultra ticked off for Kath Evans, finishing in 7:10:08.

The delayed 2024 English National Cross Championships 2024 saw Chris Jones and Dom Thomas in action at Weston Park near Telford.

Jones finished the 12.5k senior men's race in 52:14, good enough to finish 270th, while Thomas was 384th in 59:00.