Hear someone aged 20 or more talking about setting a date and it’s fair to assume that they may be talking about getting married.

However, when Chris Hammersley is talking about setting a date the last thing you’d hear are metaphorical wedding bells.

Firstly, and most importantly, it’s because he’s been married to Lynn for 48 years, and secondly, because he’s talking in his capacity as race director of the Forest of Dean Spring Trails Half Marathon.

It means that when he’s discussing dates, the only date he’s interested in is the one for the Spring half marathon, which continues to be such an important part of the Forest of Dean calendar.

“I always try to avoid Easter Sunday, Mothering Sunday and when the clocks go forward,” chuckled Hammersley. “Avoiding the clocks going forward is the third on the list but we still try to steer clear of it if we can.”

Happily, for Hammersley, he has a full set this year as the 2018 Spring half marathon avoids all three, taking place as it does on Sunday 18th March.

Hammersley, a member of the Rotary Club of the Royal Forest of Dean, has been the Spring half marathon’s race director since 2003.

The 74-year-old moved to the Forest in 1970 when he got a job as a teacher at Berry Hill Secondary School.

“I’d always been involved with sport,” he said. “I played rugby and cricket and I’m a season-ticket holder at Gloucester.”

But it was his membership of the Rotary Club just as much as his love of sport that encouraged him to get involved with the half marathon, which was previously run by Forest of Dean Athletic Club.

“I’d helped out on water stations,” he said. “A Rotary Club’s job is to support the community, and when I was asked to take over as race director there was a real threat to the future of the race.

“I thought that would be a shame and I also thought it would be a way to generate funds for good causes.”

Hammersley was right on both counts, of course.

The Spring half marathon continues to be hugely popular, attracting up to 3,000 runners each year – “I boast that it’s the largest participatory sporting event in Gloucestershire,” he said – and, crucially, since Hammersley took over as race director, the event has raised more than £500,000 which the Rotary Club have distributed to good causes.

Around 300 volunteers help to make the event the success it is, and this year’s race promises to be even better than ever because it will be part of the UK short course championships.

“It gives us national status,” said a clearly delighted Hammersley. “I took Tim Mitchell of the UK Trail Running Association – that’s an associate body of UK Athletics – round the course and he liked it even though we met a boar!

“It’s an Open event and believe it or not, a half marathon is their short course distance! A medium course is over 50-something miles and the ultra distance is over 86 miles!”

So what makes the Forest half so special?

“It’s a good time of year, early in the season,” said Hammersley. “It’s run before all the bigger marathons and gives people a chance to see where they are with their training.

“It’s pretty cool at this time of year and it’s a good chance for runners to post personal bests. Although it’s a multi-terrain course, the record time is one hour, 11 minutes which is pretty good going.

“The first mile is run on road which gives the quicker runners a chance to get on with it before hitting the trails in the forest. And the forest is obviously a big attraction as well.

“We’ve changed the course over the years. It used to be in Park End but now it starts and finishes at Speech House where there is on-site parking.”

Like the Autumn half marathon – Hammersley assists race director John Matthews with organising the September run – it’s run over one lap although the two courses are entirely different.

And although Staffordshire-born Hammersley was a very keen sportsman back in the day – he played cricket for Berry Hill after moving to the area – he admits he has never run the half marathon course.

“I’ve cycled it a few times,” he laughed, “and I’ve walked it as well as driven round it in a 4x4. I always say every year that I ‘run it’, but of course by run it I don’t mean putting on my spikes!

“I used to do athletics when I was younger but I was always a sprinter. I used to run the 400 metres and when I played rugby I was a centre or a wing.”

So he may not have run the course, but does Hammersley have any advice for those who are this year?

“Always save a little bit in the tank just in case you meet a boar,” he laughed. “The deer are alright, it’s the boars you have to watch out for!”