Moving into February is always good news.

For a start, it means we’re that much closer to Spring, while the young (and not so young) romantics among us will have had the 14th day of the month ringed in their diary for many weeks now – and for those who are unsure, the 14th falls on a Thursday this year!

It is also the month that the ever-popular Bourton 10K takes place – a race that is getting bigger and bigger all the time.

This year’s event, run by Bourton Roadrunners, starts in the High Street at 10am on Sunday 24th February and will see more runners than ever taking part.

“It’s exceptionally popular,” said Chris Dry, who is in his third year as chairman of Bourton Roadrunners. “It’s a longstanding very popular event and this year we’ve increased the number of entries to 700.”

Not that that has left them short in terms of runners.

“The entries opened at 7am on Saturday 1st December and all the places were taken in 27 minutes,” said Dry with obvious pride.

And the popularity of running – particularly distance running – shows no sign of slowing down.

“The entries for the Snowdonia Marathon were also open on the same day and they all went in 15 minutes,” added Dry, who lives in Andoversford. “It’s the Experience Economy. People are less interested in buying stuff, they want to experience things whether it be in the arts or sporting events and running is one of the easiest things to do.”

And while research has shown that this is very true, race organisers have still got to put on a decent event to attract competitors, so what makes the Bourton 10K so good?

“It’s fast, flat and traffic-free,” said Dry. “It’s a road race but the roads are closed to traffic around the village and along Rissington Road for a short period of time. It’s also a good time of year because there aren’t many races like this one in February, most of them start in the Spring before all the summer and Autumn races.

“For competitive runners, the Bourton 10K is an attractive race.”

Last year’s race was won by Will Ferguson of CLC Striders in an impressive 32 minutes, 18 seconds but Dry is keen to stress that the race is for people of all ages and abilities.

“For lots of people it’s their first 10K,” added Dry. “There are lots of average club runners like myself who take part and just try to do their best.”

Dry isn’t taking part in this year’s run – he’s on marshalling duties – and it’s an event that every adult member of Bourton Roadrunners is expected to help run.

“If they want to run themselves, they have to find someone else to marshal instead of them,” said Dry.

Ian Shoemark, the father of jockeys Conor and Kieran, is the race director and is part of a decent running family himself.

“Conor is one of our strongest runners,” said Dry. “He ran the Chester Marathon is around two hours, 46. Ian is very good too and his wife Niamh is fiercely competitive.”

Dry, meanwhile, is a relative latecomer into the sport. The 56-year-old has been running for the past eight years and admits he’s “not a seasoned athlete”.

And while that may be so he’s certainly made up for lost time, as is shown by his position as chairman of one of the most progressive clubs in the county, a club that boast 80 adult members and 80 juniors.

“I used to do a bit of cycling and a bit of swimming,” he explained, “but then I thought, ‘If I want to do a triathlon, I’ve got to go running’.”

So how did he get on?

“I couldn’t run a mile,” he chuckled.

That was back then. Five marathons later – including the most iconic of them all in London – he is living proof that running really is a sport for anyone and everyone.

To that end, he is delighted with the success of the club’s beginners’ group which meets every Wednesday morning at 9am outside Bourton Leisure Centre.

“A tremendous number of people have taken it up,” he said. “They start by modestly pacing themselves, but then they run 5Ks,10Ks and longer runs at the weekends.

“A lot of people think they can’t do it but it’s as simple putting one foot in front of another. All you need is a pair of running shoes, it couldn’t be more straightforward.”

Dry is keen also to stress the importance of the club’s junior section.

“They’re a very strong part of our club,” he said. “We’ve got some seriously good youngsters coming through.”

And while that is obviously very good, as with the seniors, runners of any ability are welcome.

“The whole thing is about encouraging people to take more exercise,” added Dry, a civil servant. “Health and wellbeing is a big part of our agenda.”

And clearly it is a very good agenda but, like all good clubs, they are always looking at ways to tweak things to make the club even better.

And this year the club’s half-marathon will be run slightly differently to years gone by.

“Traditionally it’s always taken place on a Saturday evening in June but the numbers have declined in recent years,” said Dry. “The new race director Tim Carter, who is one of the club’s stronger runners, wants to run it on a Sunday morning, so it will take place this year on 16th June.”

And judging by the way everything else is run at the club, it’s surely got every chance of being a great success.