IN-form Hereford Couriers ace Eliot Taylor romped to victory when Croft Ambrey Running Club staged the 13th edition of the annual Shobdon Wood Race.

The race, held in excellent running conditions, attracted a record field of athletes who tested themselves over the challenging hilly course on woodland tracks and trails.

Taylor pushed hard from the start to open up a vital gap over his rivals.

Once he had opened up a comfortable lead he was able to relax and coasted home to an impressive victory in a time of 35 minutes 10 seconds.

Builth & District runner Mike Pfeiffer finished second, ahead of John Pullen, of Wye Valley Runners, in third.

The team race was a triumph for the host club with Croft Ambrey scoring a convincing win thanks to a powerful run from Mark Lamonby, who finished fourth, an outstanding performance from 17-year-old Andrew Davies, who was fifth, and another strong run from Dave George put him in eighth place.

The women’s race was won in fine style by Emma Gould, of West Bromwich Harriers.

She ran a superb race to finish sixth in the overall event overall in an impressive 38.42. Croft Ambrey completed the double with their women’s team also collecting the team prize.

Ruth Stafford was the lead finisher in fifth place while Shobdon resident Sam Harper was 10th. The Croft trio was completed by an fine run from Kim Wood who came home in 18th place.