Runners remember Ollie

MORE than 200 runners gathered in Kintbury on Sunday in memory of a local athlete who died nine years ago.
The Kintbury 5 is a five mile race organised by Newbury Athletics Club member Dave Wright in memory of former member Ollie Johnson who was tragically killed in an accident in 2005, aged 18.
The race, which is run on quiet roads and tracks around Inkpen and Kintbury, helps raise funds for the Ollie Johnson Trust.
Of the 209 adult runners who completed the senior race, Gareth Watkins, who just last week won the Bayer 10K title in Newbury, took top spot with a time of 25:54 – the best time since the race started in 2005.
The ladies race was won by Laura Woodley in a time of 29:52.
This year’s event, which started and finished at Kintbury Recreation Ground, saw Reading Roadrunners enter 36 participants and Newbury Atheltics Club enter 44 runners.
A total of 25 Kintbury residents took part as well as both the sponsors and the headteacher of the local school.
The Ollie Johnson shield, which is presented by his parents for the fastest junior runner, was won for the third successive year by 19-year-old Bert Leach, who managed to finish second overall.
A total of 44 children took part in the race. Nuffield Health donated bottles of water to refresh the runners and the race’s main race sponsors were Newbury based companies Rayner Bosch Car Service and Mick Cornwall Digital Aerials & FreeSat. Installation.
The Ollie Johnson Memorial Trust was established in 2005 to offer help and support to young athletes within the club and to enable them to reach their full potential. The fund also purchases specific equipment for the young athletes, including track suits for juniors who compete for the club regularly.