FEBRUARY being the shortest month, you might expect there to be limited opportunities for runners in events on the roads and across country - but this is far from being the case, as the Great Yarmouth Road Runners illustrated recently.

FEBRUARY being the shortest month, you might expect there to be limited opportunities for runners in events on the roads and across country - but this is far from being the case, as the Great Yarmouth Road Runners illustrated recently.

Seven races in the space of just 14 days saw some 24 members involved, some of them appearing in more than one race.

The first of the races was the Great Bentley half marathon, an event once graced by busloads of seasiders, though on this occasion it was left to Phil Quantrill to fly the flag - something he did in fine style, finishing highly placed in a field in excess of 900 and obtaining a personal best for the distance to boot.

The following Wednesday the runners came to Great Yarmouth for the seventh race in the East Anglian Cross Country League over the attractive course through Fritton Woods set up so expertly by Jeff Helmore and his team. Helmore was one of the 14 local runners taking part and was more than pleased with his performance after a lay-off of over a year.

Two big races then coincided the following weekend, with the Bungay 20k attracting eight of the Road Runners, Phil Quantrill leading the way home followed by newcomer Matthew Sutton. And a little further north, a new 10k race at Swanton Abbott with half that number, led home by Richard Blake with Paul Brookshaw a minute behind.

The following Wednesday at Bury saw the final race in the midweek cross country league over a challenging parkland course. Richard Blake and Stephen Haughton led the way home, with just three other runners, meaning there were not enough to make up a B team.

Last weekend again there were two races on the same day - but this time quite different in their relative attractions. Paul Brookshaw was pleased with taking a sizeable chunk off his pb in the Bury 20-miler, an arduous race which has been on and off the calendar for quite some time, while Mike Spragg enjoyed the final race in the Horsford Cross Country series as the cross country season draws to a close.

Results. Great Bentley half marathon: Phil Quantrill 1-21:50 (pb).

EACCL Race 7, Fritton Woods: 1 James Jackson 200 pts, 13 Shawn Mason 188, 14 Dan Chaney 187, 16 Richard Blake 185. Total team A 760; 18 Jordon Reed 183, 21 Jeff Helmore 180, 22 Stephen Haughton 179, 25 Mike Spragg 176. Total team B 718; 30 John Bone 171, 37 Alex Smith 164, 39 Matt Nicholls 162.

Ladies: 3 Alice Wicks 198, 4 Briony Lowe 197, 11 Carole Spong 190. Total ladies team 585.

Bungay 20k: 17 Phil Quantrill 78:48, 39 Matthew Sutton 84:48, 95 John Bone 91:09, 160 Antony Croucher 96:44, 192 Paul Anderson 100:18, 289 Carole Spong 110: 01, 396 Ivan Lees 132:46, 406 Jim Spong156:17.

Swanton Abbott 10k: 18 Richard Blake 38:53 (1st over 55), 21 Paul Brookshaw 39:54, 87 Karen Manning 48:15, 101 Mark Peach 49:51.

EACCL Race 8, Bury: 15 Richard Blake 186 pts, 19 Stephen Haughton 182, 23 Mike Spragg 178, 25 John Bone 176. Total Team A 722; 29 Paul Westgate 172.

Bury 20: Paul Brookshaw 2-24:10.

Horsford Cross Country race 3: Mike Spragg 54:32.