MONROSS Trailblazers have been racking up the miles at home and overseas in recent weeks,

The club kicked off the Hereford 5K Series in style last Wednesday night with 13 runners racing in the first race, starting and finishing at the Racecourse.

Kieron Brown was first home in the 224-strong field, crossing 26th in 17.56, 15 seconds ahead of Tom Walmsley in 31st.

Nick Cook came home in 18.54, Calum McLeish 19.12, Martin Turner 20.50, Andrew Stephens 20.53 and Andrew Wright 21.26.

Jess Rainey was also fourth senior woman in 22.18, while Catherine Finlay placed second over-50 woman in 25.14, followed by Emma Humphries 26.02, Rosie Davies 26.04, Emma Davies 26.05 and Richard Bevan 29.00

Eight Blazers also took on the Forest of Dean Spring Trails Half Marathon.

Neil Harper raced home in 1.42.37, with Andy Stephens in 1.44.45, Gary Griffiths 1.54.26 and first MonRoss woman Lucy Macdonald in 1.57.43 all ducking under the two-hour mark.

Trina Sami also finished in 2.02.14, closely followed by Pip Cottrell 2.03.12, Rosie Davies 2.05.53 and Rebecca Foster 2.09.32.

The same day, Nick Cook and Leah Marsden took on the Gloucester Half, the former crossing in 1.30.29 and the latter in 2.14.39.

Further afield, Kieron Brown took to the streets of the Czech capital for the Generali Prague Half Marathon, an "Elite Label" event attracting a massive 17,000-strong field.

And he sped home in 1 hour 22mins 42secs to place 431st and finish in the top three per cent of the SuperHalfs series race.

Elle Lumley also flew the MonRoss flag at the Málaga Half Marathon , coming home in a sizzling 1.33.42 to place 103rd woman, while Jake McBride took on the Paris Marathon, finishing in 3.30.06.

And also going the extra mile were four Blazers who took on the gruelling 15.8-mile Llanbedr-Blaenavon Fell race through the Black Mountains, with 4,500ft of climbing over Crug Mawr, the Sugar Loaf and the Blorenge.

Richard Cronin crossed in 28th in 2.46.51, followed by Gavin Jones in 52nd in 3.08.58 and Andrew Stephens in 78th in 3.28.31, while Sam Harness unfortunately had to pull out mid-race.

The Pen Tir Plus Fell Race over seven miles with over 1200ft of ascent from Cwmdu also attracted four Blazers.

Martin Woodhead placed 14th and second over-60 man in 59.50 , followed by Andrew Stephens in 17th (1.01.35), Pip Cottrell in 36th and third over-60 woman (1.17.27), and Louise Harvey in her first fell run in 38th (1.25.36).

Meanwhile the club celebrated its achievements with its annual awards at the recent AGM, where each winner received a handcrafted MonRoss spoon, organised by Rob Potter.

Winners were: Best Newcomer – Ben Humphries; Most Improved – Rachael Aitken; Parkrun Champion – Gavin Jones; Endurance King – Kieron Brown; Endurance Queen – Emma Davies; King of the Hill – Kieron Brown; Queen of the Hill – Elle Lumley; Performance of the Year (M) – Rob Nicholls; Performance of the Year (F) – Faye Johnson; Volunteer of the Year – Nessa Ward; Club Member of the Year – Martin Turner.

The Inspiring Contribution and Outstanding Achievement Award for his incredible Enduroman adventure also went to Sam Weale.