Jamie Bell, like many others, is a big fan of the Cheltenham Half Marathon.

This year’s race takes place on Sunday 21^st September and 21-year-old Bell, who competes for Cheltenham Harriers, can’t wait to get on the starting line.

“It’s a brilliant event, the crowds are amazing,” said the one-time Pittville School pupil. “The atmosphere is incredible.”

Bell first took part in the race in 2021. “I ran one hour, 15 minutes, 15 seconds,” he said. “I was chuffed with that, I was aiming for one hour, 30.”

He ran the next two half-marathons in Cheltenham too, but missed out last year because he was at a wedding in Cyprus.

At the time of writing, that time of 1.15.15 remains his personal best at the distance and he admits that it is something that niggles him.

“I just want to go under 75 minutes at this year’s Cheltenham Half,” he said.

And there’s every chance that he will because he trains six times a week, so is obviously in good shape.

He used to run a bit at school but it was when he went to Hartpury College that he started to step up his running.

“I remember being put in the cross-country team at school,” he said. “I didn’t know what I was doing, I just turned up and ran but I got through to the nationals.”

He knows what he’s doing now, of course, although in those early days he admits it was still a bit hit and miss.

“I started running seriously about four years ago but I didn’t know my best distance, I used to just see how far I could run,” he said.

That changed when he ran his first Cheltenham Half and soon after he joined Cheltenham Harriers.

Bell, a personal trainer, lives in Cheltenham so the Harriers were an obvious club to join and he’s enjoyed every minute with them.

“I train with them two or three times a week, they’re a great club,” he said.

This year's Cheltenham Half, which starts and finishes at Cheltenham Racecourse, gets under way at 9am.