THE READING Half Marathon was a truly family affair for one particularly athletic couple.
Women’s winner and hometown hero, Naomi Mitchell, took part alongside her husband Jonnie who finished just outside the top 50.
Of the win, Naomi said: “I’ve run Reading half maybe eight, nine times since I was 17, so it was great to win it this time.
“The weather was perfect and there was a tailwind down the A33, which is exactly what you want. I just had fun today, it was great.
“I’ve got a marathon in two weeks, so this was practice for that. Just took it a little bit steady, but it was still a really good time today.”
Jonnie was left slightly disappointed by his run, but was full of praise for his wife’s achievement.
He said: “For me personally, I didn’t have a very good run, but I’m absolutely delighted for Naomi.
“Winning this has been on her bucket list of things to do so I’m so happy she’s managed to do that.
“She’s run for Reading AC since she was nine-years-old, so to win it for Reading in Reading is mega.”
He added that although the couple complete steady training runs together, Naomi’s pace in speed sessions is often too hot for him to handle.
The Reading AC athlete took the gold medal with a time of one hour, 12 minutes and 11 seconds, just over two-and-a-half minutes quicker than Jonnie.
He said: “We love training together. I try to be as useful a training partner to her as possible, but the truth is she’s on a whole other level to me.”
