A LAST-MINUTE race entry paved the way to a fourth-place Stroud Half Marathon finish and a PB for Stroud runner Jordan Frapwell.

The 22-year-old hadn’t planned to take part, but took the place of Nigel Nash to storm to the line on home soil.

“Being the first Stroud man home is a great feeling,” said Frapwell.

“After my Half Marathon debut in Cardiff a few weeks ago in a time of 1.14.30, I wanted to see how far I could push the body this time and I’m delighted to post a PB of 1.13.22.

“I knew the leader was up the road and the group of four I was in were working well together.

“At 10 miles I surged and dropped two of the boys, but this was short-lived as my legs said ‘no’ at 11miles, so the last couple were emotional and it was just a case of digging deep.”

Frapwell is aiming to turn professional and a sponsorship deal has allowed him to pursue his dreams.

He added: “I’m fortunate to have recently gone into partnership with A-Star Traffic Management, who believe in my vision of making it in triathlon, it’s a massive help and has given me more motivation than ever.

“I’m heading to Bahrain in December to do my first Half Ironman, which involves a 2.8km swim, 90km bike and a half-marathon to finish it off with the aim to qualify for the World Half Ironman Championships next year for my age group.”

Veteran Rob Keal from Nottingham, and last year’s leading lady, Annabel Grainger took the tape on a perfect day for running.