Ben Price was top of the class at last year’s Cheltenham Half Marathon and the Cheltenham Harrier is hoping to earn top marks again at the end of this month.

Another A* star performance certainly would be appropriate for the 37-year-old because he is a geography teacher and day housemaster at Dean Close School and a busy one at that because he was heading to Devon for a four-day field trip with the year 13s when he spoke to The Local Answer.

Price won last year’s race in one hour, 10 minutes, 33 seconds, finishing some 19 seconds ahead of his clubmate Oli Mott, and he most definitely has his eyes on the main prize at this year’s event, which takes place on Sunday 30th September.

The win last year in what is a very decent event tells you all you need to know about Ben Price… he is a seriously good runner and, in fact, he is a seriously good all-round sportsman.

He played cricket to Minor Counties level for his native Cornwall, playing over 50 Championship games as a middle order batsman through his late teens to mid-20s, and played rugby to a good standard as well. A fly-half, he was captain of rugby at Truro School before studying at the University of Bristol where he was a 1st XV player in his first year.

Running is something that he has been concentrating on only for the past few years – he joined the Harriers nine years ago – after a snapped ACL and Saturday work commitments ended his cricket prematurely, but it won’t come as a surprise to anyone to find that running is by no means his only sporting pursuit.

“I’m actually a duathlete,” he said, “my main sport is duathlon. I run for Cheltenham Harriers, but I do a lot of cycling.”

And he’s as good at cycling as he is running because he has represented Great Britain at elite level duathlon having moved up through the age group ranks as he improved. In May he produced the best result of his career when he finished eighth in the European Elite Duathlon Championships in Denmark.

“That was quite good,” said the married dad of two young children modestly. “I’m a teacher with two kids and I was racing against guys who are full-time athletes.

“It was a 10K run followed by a 60K bike ride and then another 10K run. It was a Powerman – the branded equivalent of Ironman in triathlon – and I finished in two hours, 40ish.”

That’s pretty good going, of course, and to be successful you’ve obviously got to be decent at both disciplines.

Price clearly is even though he says he only started running and cycling properly seven or eight years ago, but which sport does he prefer?

“That’s a good question,” he said. “I love them both equally, I can’t decide. I suppose with running you only need to get your shoes on and then you’re out the door, with cycling there’s a bit more faffing about. But you can have such incredible moments on the bike whether it’s climbing a mountain or descending at 95kph!”

The prep work is clearly worthwhile though because Price certainly isn’t one of those sports people who finds training a chore.

“You get to train in so many different places and see some amazing scenery,” he explained.

“I love running in the Cotswolds and on the Cornish coast paths when I head back to my homeland with my family to spend time with Mum and Dad.”

And what about cycling?

“Provence,” he said, “because of the iconic Mount Ventoux, incredible roads, the weather and the cycling culture – cars make way for cyclists!”

Considering his passion for cycling, it’s almost a given that Price will make his way to Cheltenham Racecourse from his home in Charlton Kings by bike for the start of the Cheltenham Half a week on Sunday.

And ominously for his rivals on the big day, he says he is fitter this year than he was last.

“I’d love to win it again,” he said. “It was amazing to do it last year and I’d love to defend my title, it was an amazing feeling and I’m going to try to recapture that.”

Not that Price is taking anything for granted because he knows he’ll be up against some stiff competition.

“There are some good runners from the Harriers – Oli Mott and Alex Lee – and you get some really talented guys coming from further afield,” he said. “It’s pretty good prize money so they try to spoil it for you!

“It’s a hard course, it’s certainly not a PB course because parts of it are very bumpy - the final few miles are tough.”

If Price doesn’t win he’d like nothing more than to see another Harrier take first place but he’s certainly hoping to in among it when the finish line comes into view at the racecourse,

“Training has been very good,” he said. “I hope to be in the mix and certainly get on the podium.”

Price, who runs anything from a 5K to a half marathon, has come a long way since the end of the noughties when he started running seriously and he’s very grateful to the support he has received from the Harriers.

“I wasn’t good at it straight away,” he insisted. “It’s been a gradual progression.

“The Harriers are a great club, really good. The endurance section has built up over the past few years from a very few to up to 40 to 45 at training on Tuesday nights.

“We have a real good strength in depth and there’s always someone to push you on.”

Great Britain athlete Graham Rush is one of the standout names at the club while Dave Newport is the coach who has done so much for Price over the years.

He is also Price’s duathlon coach and will certainly be watching on with interest as the Cheltenham Half unfolds.

Whatever happens in 11 days’ time, Price will remain a big supporter of an event that has become a firm favourite on the Cheltenham sporting calendar.

“It’s a massive event,” he said. “You’ve got 3,000 people taking part and there are loads and loads of local runners involved. Lots of those are from Cheltenham Harriers but there are many more as well.

“My kids go to the infants and junior school at Charlton Kings and lots of the mums and dads from there are taking part.

“It’s a very spectator friendly course, it’s got a great feel to it.”

It will have an even better feel if he wins it again of course and cheered on by his mum and dad, his wife Rachael, a PE teacher at Farmor’s School in Fairford, and his two young children, you wouldn’t bet against it.

Follow Ben on Instagram at @benpriceduathlon