Over 700 runners made their way to the Surrey hills near Bracknell for the first Saab Salomon Turbo-X race of the year. (This year there is a series of 4 of these off-road, wet and muddy 10 mile adventure runs.)<br /><br /> After some recent big national and international wins it came as no surprise that the Saab Salomon Outdoor team completed a strong showing, claiming first and second places overall. <br /> <br /> The crack Saab Salomon Outdoor Team of John Heneghan, Tom Owens, Nick Sharp and Nicky Swinburn all made the long trip south to Bracknell and the foursome were joined by Team manager Tim Lloyd, team physio Andy Walling and PR man Matt Ward for the race. (Now that's team work!)<br /><br /> PhD student Heneghan triumphed on the tough mixture of wide trail, singletrack, mud and bog conditions to record a comfortable win over Tom Owens in a winning time of 1.03.07. Nick Swinburn finished an accomplished fourth after his great run at the opening round of the WMRA Grand Prix last week, and course-record run in the Rhyl 5k last Wednesday evening. However, it wasn't such a happy occasion for Nick Sharp, who had made the trip FROM the Lakes. A detour off course mid-way through the event meant that Nick had lost considerable time and came in well below where he would have been expecting to finish.<br /><br /> Speaking after the race John Heneghan said: <i>"The course was a challenging one. I went fully submerged in one of the water zones, and there were one or two navigational challenges along the way, but otherwise it went very well".</i><br /> <br /> Tom Owens reiterated Heneghan's observations, stating: <i>"It was fast course, very hot, really pleased with my run. There were boggy bits which really took the sting out of you, but the water was refreshing on such a hot day. It was a really good workout and lot of fun!"</i><br /> <br /> Chris Daniels of Thames Hare and Hounds was the first Vets (40+) finisher in an accomplished 5th place and the first over 50 was Steve Low in 29th place. (The results don't SHOW the first female finisher – or any female finishers, but well done to whoever won the category!)<br /><br /> Full details on the Turbo X race series and all of the Salomon Trails events can be found at <a href='#' onclick="newsitewindow('www.saabsalomontrails.com')" class='main'>www.saabsalomontrails.com</a>
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