On the look out for a fast half marathon to do as part of his training for the Chicago Marathon in October, the call for county representatives at the Chippenham Half put one right into Grzegorz Kazaniecki‘s lap. As a result, he ended up heading over to the Wiltshire town to form part of a six-pronged Dorset men’s team.

He was joined there by some of the county’s finest with Thomas Corbin and Dave Hicks of Poole AC, Lewis Clarke of Poole Runners and Matt Underhill and Corey Stone from Egdon Heath Harriers. There was also a team of four females as well, with Emily Hilliar of Poole AC, Hannah Martyn of Egdon Heath Harriers, Vicky Rutter of Westbourne and Louise Fox of Dorchester RIOT stepping up.

Surprising everyone with his 2:54:35 at London in April, Grzeg will be hoping to emulate that in Chicago, or perhaps even beat it depending on how his training has gone. His fastest half marathon to date was Bournemouth Bay Run in April of last year when he managed 1.24:11. Could he now eclipse that at Chippenham?

The route for the Chippenham Half Marathon heads through the town centre before following scenic county lanes to villages and hamlets like Langley Burrell, Avon, East Tytherton and Tytherton Lucas.

Running at a fairly comfortable pace, Grzeg was cautious about speeding up because he didn’t know the course and was worried he might get a stitch, or even worse, an injury!

The weather was great on the day and the route was pretty flat at the start. Grzeg went through 10k in 37:53, which put him in Grzeg was in 23rd position out of the South West Inter Counties Team runners.

An incline with a few kilometres left to go slowed him down a touch but the final kilometre was downhill which enabled him to pick it back up again before reaching the finish line.

Registering an excellent time of 1:22:35, Grzeg took 24th place in the Inter Counties Team race and was 45th overall. He was 5th scorer out of the six Dorset men with an average pace of 6:18 per mile. That should put him in a good position for a potential tilt at his personal best when he lines up for the Chicago Marathon.

Thomas Corbin was the highest placed of the Dorset athletes, completing the course in 1:13:24. That was enough to put him in 5th place out of the Inter Counties Team runners. Lewis Clarke got round in 1:16:01 which put him in 11th place.

Dave Hicks finished up in 15th place out of the Inter Counties Team runners clocking a time of 1:16:57 and he was 1st in the V50 category. Matt Underhill completed the course in 1:20:34 which put him in 20th place. Corey Stone rounded it off for the Dorset men with a time of 1:24:49 which put him in 26th place out of the Inter Counties Team runners.

It was Cornwall who won the South Inter Counties Team Championships and they had Joshua Rowe and Tom Morton who finished 1st and 2nd. Joshua registered a time of 1:08:58 and Tom managed a time of 1:09:52. They were quite a way ahead of Adam Holland who came 3rd for Devon in 1:11:05.

It was Adam who comfortably beat Stu Nicholas in the New Forest Marathon the week before the Chippenham Half. Steven Reynolds got 4th for Cornwall as well and they were beginning to look very dominant.

Devon had two more runners in and Wiltshire had three as well before Oliver Oldfield arrived to give Cornwall their fourth scorer. He was 12th out of the Inter Counties Team runners in 1:16:10. Daniel Costello was Cornwall’s fifth runner over the line in 1:16:50 which put him 14th. It may have been just five men required to make up a team.

Emily Hilliar was first Dorset woman home, arriving at the finish in 1:25:05 which made her 8th female and 29th overall. Louise Fox of Dorchester RIOT was next in, clocking a time of 1:31:04 which made her 15th female and 36th overall. She was 5th in the V40 category.

Hannah Martyn was the next woman over the line, registering a time of 1:34:24 and that put her 37th overall. Vicky Rutter was the final Dorset lady to make it to the finish. Getting round in a time of 1:40:29, she was 21st female and 42nd overall.

Anna Harrold of Cornwall was 1st female in a time of 1:18:12 and she was 18th out of the Inter Counties Team runners. Alice Kelly of Devon was next woman in and she got to the line in 1:21:41 which put her 21st out of the Inter Counties Team runners.

Naomi Flanagham was next female in the South West Inter Counties Team competition and she was representing Devon. She got round in a time of 1:22:21 which put her 22nd out of the Inter Counties Team runners.

In terms of the scores for the South West Inter Counties team competition, Cornwall won both the Men’s and Women’s Championships. In the Men‘s one they were way ahead of the other counties, with Wiltshire coming in a distant 2nd, Devon 3rd and Dorset 4th. In the Women‘s one it was quite close between Cornwall and Devon but Cornwall shaded it in the end by six points. Wiltshire and Dorset were a long way behind in 3rd and 4th.

Grzeg had a bit of a calf injury after the race so took a few days off and so far it’s been okay. He thinks he’ll be able to manage the Chicago Marathon alright and should be fully fit and raring to go for it.

After the Chicago Marathon is done he’ll take a short break before reverting his attentions to the Boston Marathon next Spring. He plans to go on to complete all six of the Abbotts World Marathon Majors and earn himself the much coveted six star medal. With the commitment and the ambition that Grzeg has, he is certainly well capable of accomplishing that goal.