ORGANISERS of the Forest of Dean Spring Trail Half Marathon hailed the event as athletes battled it out on a picturesque day.

Over 1,900 runners got off the mark at Speech House in ideal conditions, a stark contrast to the cancellation forced by the Beast from the East last year.

Organised by the Rotary Club of the Royal Forest of Dean, the half marathon was won by Ben Livesey, of Notts AC, in an impressive time of one hour 10.44mins, a course record.

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