Great Yarmouth Road Runners were out in force at Dereham Road Runners’ annual 10-mile road race, which attracted a field of 500.

It was the fourth race in the Grand Prix series and also doubled up as the Norfolk County Championships for the distance.

The good conditions allowed for no fewer than nine personal bests. The first of the day came from Andrew Dormer. finishing in 1:07.27 after an exceptional run. Gaining confidence from his recent marathon debut he was thrilled to finish in 59th position overall.

New member Terry Hubbard dipped under the 1:20 mark to finish in 1:19.53. There were few smiles wider than Julie Webster’s as she crossed the line in 1:23.11, setting a substantial PB. Julie was closely followed by Rob Bailey who has been improving rapidly this season.

Mother and daughter Lorrain and Emma Dawson are never far apart in races. It was to Emma’s delight that she set a new PB of 1:24.41 with her mum a few seconds behind. Lorrain raced bravely today with thoughts of her dad at the forefront of her mind. It was a fitting tribute to his memory that she managed to win her age group and a gold county medal.

The gold rush continued in the 55-59 age category with the GYRR ladies taking the three top spots. Behind Lorrain the silver was taken by Anna Coulborn who also claimed a PB as this was her first time at this distance. Fighting back from injury Pauline Leeves raced herself into bronze medal position.

Congratulations to Linda Drew, another improving athlete, who ran a PB of 1:31.02. Alison Bilyard made her debut at the 10-mile distance to finish in 1:51.29.

Full GYRR results: Andrew Dormer 1:07.27, Gary Pillar 1:11.54, Penny Studley 1:14.24, Mark Womack 1:14.47, Terry Hubbard 1:19.53, Julie Webster 1:23.11, Rob Bailey 1:24.32, Emma Dawson 1:24.41, Lorrain Dawson 1:24.50, Anna Coulborn 1:27.19, Pauline Leeves 1:28.33, Linda Drew 1:31.02, Pandora Buck 1:38.23, John Bound 1:40.15, Alison Bilyard 1:51.29, Vikki Brownsell 1:55.26, Anita Betts 1:57.19.

Great Yarmouth Road Runner Simon Bekker took part in the 23rd Essex and Halstead Marathon.

After limited training in the lead-up to the event, Simon put in a typically gutsy performance to finish in 3:41.21.