KATE Jacobs has soared to the top of the Wiltshire rankings after setting a new personal best in the Stroud half marathon, writes KEVIN FAHEY.

The 38-year-old Swindon Harrier finished runner-up in a time of 82mins 43secs to finally eclipse her seven-year old best of 83:04, which she recorded in Peterborough.

Afterwards Jacobs, who lives in Stratton St Margaret, admitted she was surprised by the quality of her run as originally, she had set herself a target of breaking one hour 30 minutes in order to qualify for an entry to the 2016 London Marathon.

“I did what I set out to achieve but I am really surprised by the result,” said Jacobs.

“I was so pleased with the time and to finish second in such a prestigious local race is very satisfying. I ran a very relaxed race and maybe that is why I got a better result than I expected.”

Jacobs is certainly not a half marathon specialist. She spent her summer racing on the track, winning the British Masters 5000m title and also improving her personal best to 17mins 11.39secs over the distance, which was the fourth-quickest in the country in her over 35 age group.

“I definitely don’t train for that distance, so I set off very relaxed and steady on Sunday and just gradually picked off the women ahead of me one by one,” added Jacobs.

“I eventually caught the woman in second with a mile to go and it was nice to finish the race; still feeling strong and that I had a bit more in me.

“That qualifies me to run the London Marathon next year but I still haven’t made up my mind yet as doing the marathon will eat into my preparations for the track season. I will have to decide what my priorities are for 2016.”

Jacobs wasn’t the only harrier to enjoy the benign conditions on Sunday.

Friend Nicola York slashed 11 minutes off her personal best with a time of 2hrs 17mins 20secs. Top Harrier in the men’s race was veteran Michael Tune in 29th (83:33), with Peter Keen second veteran over 50 in 41st (86:02).

  • MALMESBURY School student Zoe Wassell, who lives in Tetbury, led from start to finish in the women’s race in the Aztec West Fast 5k road race in north Bristol on Tuesday evening winning in 17:40.