There aren’t that many annual races that take place on a Wednesday evening but the Maiden New Ten is one of those slightly unusual events – a midweek, multi-terrain 10k organised by Maiden Newton Runners and, for Clint Taylor, one of the races that he looks forward to most.

Having enjoyed the event last year, Clint was back again, accompanied by his regular racing partner Zoe Meaton, who sometimes joins in with the Bournemouth AC training sessions. The pair have built up quite a race CV together, although their approach to competition is to have fun, first and foremost.

They’ve tackled plenty of events together, including last December’s Slow and Dirty, a 19km trail race along the old railway line at Sturminster Newton, and the Run to the Sea 50k in October. Clint has also been keeping himself busy lately, taking on the SOBO 5 and Lordshill 10k on the same weekend before going on to score for the team at the Blackmore Vale Half Marathon, where he ran 1:55 on a particularly hot day.

With only 10k to worry about at the Maiden New Ten, Clint and Zoe decided to go their own separate ways on this occasion.

Clint got things underway with a sensible 7:51 opening mile before the course served up its main challenge. Mile two brought the big climb of the race and the combination of gradient and multi-terrain footing saw the pace drop to 9:35. That split came with 211 feet of elevation, though, so there was plenty of hard work packed into those nine-and-a-half minutes.

The reward for getting over the top was a welcome descent, and Clint made the most of it. Mile three flew by at 7:11 before he settled into another solid 7:37 for mile four.

From there, it was really a case of keeping things controlled through the closing stages. Clint managed that nicely, recording 8:03 for mile five and 7:49 for mile six.

There was still a slight incline to negotiate on the way to the finish, but he came through it well to stop the clock at 49:40.

That was good enough for 29th place from 169 finishers, with an average pace of 7:59 per mile. The course had delivered a total elevation gain of 482 feet, making that sub-50-minute performance all the more impressive.

Zoe was having a strong race of her own and crossed the line in 58:11, finishing 78th overall. Of the 73 women taking part, she was 20th female, while her 7th place in the FV45 category came from a field of 18.

Clint also made it onto the category podium, taking 3rd place in MV45, with 20 runners in the age group.

At the sharp end, Michael Legg of Crewkerne Running Club took a convincing overall victory in 36:38, with Rob Parker of Bridport Runners second in 39:03. Yeovil Town RRC’s Adrian Kettle and Joseph Keen completed the top four in 40:58 and 41:16 respectively.

The women’s race was considerably closer. Phillippa Loakes of Poole Runners edged Emma Watson-Jones to the line in a remarkable battle for first female – although remarkably, both runners were awarded exactly the same chip time of 47:00.

Sally Bugler of Bridport Runners took third female in 47:36, with Donna Pearce of Lytchett Manor Striders fourth in 47:44.

For Clint and Zoe, though, the finishing positions were arguably secondary to the reason they turn up to races in the first place. They enjoy racing, they enjoy the challenge and, most importantly, they have fun whilst doing it.

Another Maiden New Ten done – and another excellent evening out on the trails.