The new year is almost upon us and for runners in and around Gloucestershire there are certainly plenty of high-profile races to look forward to in 2024.

Chief among them is Dursley Running Club’s always popular showpiece event, the Dursley Dozen, and with the event just a few weeks away, race director Mark Grafton is confident of a very big turnout.

This is the 34^th edition of the club’s infamous, lung-busting trail run, which will be held on Sunday 18^th February.

A maximum of 550 runners will be on the starting line at 10.30am for a race which will take them up, down and around Stinchcombe Hill, a 12-mile course which offers stunning views of the Severn estuary and boasts just over 2,000 feet of climbing.

“There’s 1,400 feet of elevations in the first six miles,” said 63-year-old Grafton, who lives in Nibley and has been a member of Dursley Running Club for some 15 years.

“The first six miles are brutal but it’s a great course. It’s very challenging but it’s do-able.”

Last year’s race was won by Chris Phillips of Saddleworth Runners Club in one hour, 23 minutes, 37 seconds, a time that Grafton described as “pretty rapid”.

The Dursley Dozen is one of the county’s big trail races  and is regarded by many as the perfect event for runners who enjoy a challenge as well as racing off-road.

“The time of year means that it will be muddy,” continued Grafton. “It’s a great test.”

It’s a test that Grafton, who ran for Chiltern Harriers when he lived in Buckinghamshire, is yet to undertake competitively himself, although that’s something he’d like to rectify in the future.

“I’ve helped to organise the Dursley Dozen before so I’ve run the course but I’d definitely like to run the race,” he said.

“It’s much better when you’re competing alongside other runners.”

Grafton is an experienced runner of some 35 years but this is the first time that he has been a race director.

And it’s a role he’s enjoying.

“There’s a good strong team,” he explained. “There’s a lot more than just one person involved.”

His youngest daughter, 27-year-old Corrie who lives in Bristol, is among the entries and while the race is clearly uppermost in Grafton’s mind, he still has time to put on his running shoes and get out and about himself.

When he spoke to The Local Answer he’d just returned from Lanzarote, where he ran four races in four days with 13 other members of Dursley Running Club ranging from a 5K beach run, which he described as “pretty tough”, to a 21K half marathon.

To enter the Dursley Dozen, visit https://race-nation.co.uk/register/dursley-running-club/the-dursley-dozen-2024. For further information, visit https://www.dursleyrunningclub.org.uk/races/dursley-dozen/