Bourton Roadrunners' summer race takes place, appropriately enough, on Father’s Day.

Appropriate because race director Tim and his wife Ellie have just become parents for the first time to their baby daughter.
As parents of any age will know, the Carters’ lives have just got a whole lot busier, but fortunately Tim has still found time to organise Bourton Roadrunners’ Bourton Hilly Half + 10K which run on Sunday 16th June.

He has taken over as race director from Gill Carrick and that’s not the only change because the 2019 event has been switched from its traditional Saturday evening slot to a Sunday morning.

The organisers have also added in a 10K race which will go off at 9am, the same time as the start of the half marathon.

So why the change?

“The club always run the Bourton 10K in February which is extremely popular,” said Carter. “People love running around the village but for some reason the hilly half has not been so popular.

“We’re hoping to get a couple of hundred entries across both races – we’re not expecting huge numbers – and the hope is that we can build it up over the next few years.

“This year we just want everything to go smoothly with everyone enjoying a fantastic event.”

Carter, who is an architect, said there were plans to introduce a fun run for kids in the future but for now he is very much concentrating on this year and he’s certainly excited by some of the plans that have been introduced.

“Bourton Vale Cricket Club have very kindly let us use their cricket field for the finish,” said Carter. “The runners will run around the perimeter of the pitch before finishing in front of the clubhouse, where we'll be offering drinks and cake, creating a great atmosphere with everyone cheering the other participants."

The race will start in the Steeps in the village with the half marathon runners doing two laps of the course and the 10K runners one.

Carter, who has been a member of Bourton Roadrunners since moving to the Cotswolds three years ago, has too much on his plate to take part in either race but the 34-year-old is a decent runner.

He has been running competitively for 15 years and he says his favourite distance is the marathon.

“That’s the one I’m best at, it’s a good challenge,” he said,

And he certainly is good at it because he’s run the London Marathon three times recording a best time of two hours, 33 minutes a couple of years ago.

Ellie too is a member of Bourton Roadrunners, although she obviously won’t be competing on 16th June.

Her husband, meanwhile, hopes he will be organising the event again next year.

“I hope this race isn’t a one-off,” he said. “I hope it’s successful for the club and everyone taking part and, if it is, hopefully I’ll get asked to be race director again next year.”

And what can runners new to the event expect from this year’s Bourton Hilly Half + 10K?

“It is hilly, I’m not shying away from that,” said Carter. “The Steeps is a big part of the race and will make for a lovely event. We've got beautiful scenic Cotswolds towns and countryside, and we're a very friendly running club who primarily want to make sure that everyone has a good time and a great day out.

“And because it’s the first time we’ve run the 10K at this time of year, someone will be setting a new record!”

Entries for the two races on 16th June are via EntryCentral and more information can be found at www.entrycentral.com/festival/1721 and www.bourtonroadrunners.co.uk/hilly_half_&_hilly_10k.htm