HARWICH Runners were represented in five and 10-mile races on Mersea Island.

Richard Flutter put in a solid performance over the shorter distance, clocking 32 minutes and 12 seconds, to place seventh in the field of 163.

It was his fastest time over five miles since July 2014.

Jo Higgon completed the same distance in 50m 47s.

Opting for the longer 10-mile course, Bill Haining finished an excellent 14th overall.

His time of 1h 9m 29s was his quickest for the distance in a Harwich vest since joining the club two years ago.

This was the more popular event, with 206 finishers, and Jeff Higgon crossed the line in 74th with a very decent time of 1h 22m 32s.

Meanwhile, it was a beautiful day for the latest Harwich Parkrun.

There were quite a few runners from other parts of the UK, plus a large group from Holland, who were using the Parkrun as a warm up for the Essex Way Relay.

Runners came from Yorkshire, Lancashire, Bexley Heath and, much closer to home, Ipswich.

This week there were 111 participants, including 21 first-time runners, and 23 recorded personal best (PB) times.

The first finisher was Harwich Runner Mark Lloyd, with a time of 18m 2s.

It was his ninth win in 15 appearances.

The next four finish positions were filled by members of the Dutch party, including the first lady back, Annemieke Bloem, with a time of 19m 25s.

This earned her fourth place.

The second lady finisher was Elspeth Knott, of Harwich Runners, in 23m 50s, and in third was Catherine Walsh, of Ipswich Triathlon Club, with a time of 24m 11s.

The top finishing Harwich Runners were Simon Day, seventh in 19m 45s, Josh Newlyn, eighth in 20m 11s, Archie Barrington, 11th in 20m 48s, and Ann Piercy, fourth lady in 24m 55s.

Twenty-nine members of Harwich Runners took part, including Will Roxby-Clarke, who finished 21st, pushing his son Charlie in a buggy, in 23m 37s. Michael Ball made his first appearance at Harwich and finished in 26m 19s.

Five members achieved personal bests for the Harwich course.

Jez Downs just missed out on a sub 25-minute time, finishing in 25m 1s.

Others to gain PBs were Glyn Peck (28m 50s), Zoe Orr (32m 20s) and Edward McCreadie, who has been out injured for almost a year, in 30m 28s.

Also deserving a mention is 10-year-old Aidan Downs, who went under 30 minutes in a new PB of 29m 55s.

Not to be outdone by the rest of the family, mum Lian, who is recovering from a broken bone in her foot, finished in 35m 57s.