The annual Cotswold Hilly 100 took place on Sunday 31st May 2026. This was my second year as Ladies Captain and so it fell upon me and Dave Lee to organise the Teams again. Initially we only had around 10 Ladies and 10 Men keen to take part, so it made logical sense to organise one Ladies Team and one Men’s Team with both Dave and I standing in as reserves. We also had a couple of kind volunteers who had offered to support runners on the day. The team organisation was much more straight forward this year, especially for me as there were only a couple of minor changes prior to the event. Although Dave did have a few more changes to make to the Men’s team, but he managed to work it all out in the end. So, well done, Dave!
The teams always start from Stratford-Upon-Avon Clock Tower at either 5am, 6am or 7am. I opted for a 5am start for the ladies, to give them a bit of a head start, and Dave chose a 6am start for the men’s team. So, it was a very early start for Joy Woolass and her family as she was the first to run for the Ladies team. She said her biggest challenge was getting out of bed so early. However, the weather was nice and cool, and the streets were quiet. It was also the start time for many other teams, so Joy ran with other competitors, which certainly motivated her to keep going. This year was the first time the baton contained a chip time, and people could log into the app to follow their teams progress throughout the day. Joy completed her run in a time of !:22:11 a few minutes quicker than she had thought which was a fantastic start to the day and she handed the baton over to Sonia for leg 2.
Sonia Karamat had not run leg 2 before, as she had always opted for leg 1 in the past, which is much flatter and shorter than this one, but she also did a fantastic job. Sonia also completed her leg a few minutes quicker than she predicted in 1:42:43 with her husband Sohail supporting her along the way. She also found that other clubs and support crews were encouraging her along the route, which was lovely. She enjoyed the team spirit and runner updates during the day which made it a truly great experience.
Our Leg 3 ladies’ runner was Claire Coventry who was supported by teammate Niamh (and vice versa). It was Claire’s second time running this event (last time she ran leg 7) and she said she loved it, describing the course as both beautiful and challenging (1034ft – 10.56miles long). Claire ran in an amazing time of 1:41:11 which was almost identical to her time last year despite it being a much tougher leg this time round, so very well done Claire!
Leg 4 was run by Sheila Johnson, who opted for the hilliest route with an elevation of 1097ft, she felt it would be a great personal challenge and a wonderful achievement, and it certainly was. She has run the Hilly many times before this, with her husband Dave who always supports her enroute. She really enjoys the brilliant atmosphere and wonderful supporters who all drive around cheering you on and the fantastic camaraderie at the finish. Sheila finished her leg in a super time of 2:00:42 and handed the baton over to Niamh Ling.
Niamh ran leg 5 and was supported by fellow runner Claire and this was Niamh’s first time running the Hilly 100. She was also a great predictor and guessed that she could run it in about 1hr 30, and sure enough she did complete it in 1:30:06, so amazing, well done!
One week before the event, one of ladies who was scheduled to run had to withdraw due to injury, so thankfully Mary Connolly quickly stepped in as a replacement runner, which was fantastic! On the day, she took the baton off Niamh and ran brilliantly despite the tough hills and slightly longer route (10.57miles) compared to some others, but apparently the views and team spirit more than made up for it. Mary was supported by her husband Daniel who also loves this event, she completed her run in an excellent time of 1:38:29 and says that it’s definitely worth taking part.
Sue was our next lady to run, she was given leg 7 this year (10.28miles), which has its own challenges of traffic and hills as the route takes you along some busy main roads. Thankfully she was supported by her husband Paul, and Sue ran a fantastic time of 1:23:47 completing the route with a downhill finish into the lovely little town of Moreton-in-Marsh. She was greeted by the event organisers who collected her time chip baton.
Leg 8 was a Mass start from Moreton-in-Marsh, which meant that, at 12:00 midday, despite legs 5,6 & 7 not yet finishing their legs, the ladies team Leg 8 started. The organisers allow this, so that teams can all finish whilst it is still daylight, for safety reasons. This year our original leg 8 runner Alison Lowe was having a bit of trouble with her hamstring, so we decided that we would split the leg, so each of us (her and I) would run 5 miles each. The rules state that one team may use this option for injured runners so we thought we would give it a go. Alison started first and ran incredibly well, I was more than happy for her to continue (as it was fun supporting) but she didn’t want to aggravate the injury, so after approx. 5 miles I took the baton and continued to complete the leg. Sam Lowe (Alison’s son) kindly supported us both and gave great encouragement along the way and I was very grateful to them both for the opportunity to take part. Our combined time was !:34:28. I think we were both pleased with that, given that we were both nursing injuries.
Sam Nicholson took on the challenges of leg 9 this year after completing leg 5 last year, and was supported by Debbie Niblett, who had never done this before, and both her and Sam did a great job. The slightly later start for Sam meant that the weather was getting hotter now, which made it even more challenging, however Sam kept on going and finished her run in a respectable time of 2:19:51. Sam urges anyone thinking of signing up next year to give it a go, as each route is different but enjoyable.
Leg 10, also known as the glory leg was ran by Mylene, she has run the Hilly 100 many times before with her friend always supporting her along the route. She feels that it is a great team event with lovely views and it’s a unique opportunity to represent the club. As it was the final leg, Mylene finished her run by crossing the finish line at Stratford-Upon-Avon cricket club, where a crowd of runners and spectators had gathered to cheer in all the teams. Mylene was the closest to her estimated time as she predicted 2:00 hrs and finished in 1:59:58, how amazing is that?! Well done Mylene for great running and great predicting.
When all teams had finished, the Massey Ladies and Men put on their lovely new purple T-shirts and gathered for team photos and celebration drinks in the sunshine. We may not have won any awards this year, but everyone ran so brilliantly. Furthermore, Massey Ferguson Running Club still hold the course record for the Hilly 100 set in 1989 by the incredible Men’s team in an impressive time of 9hrs and 24mins. Will it ever be beaten? Who knows?
– Zoe Moore (Ladies’ Captain)
