Yearly archives: 2014

56 posts

Results Round Up – 16/12/14

CC6 - December 2014
CC6 – December 2014

Race 4 of the Winter Cross Country 2014-15 season took place last Sunday.  A proper muddy, undulating 4 and a bit mile route organised by Lordshill and Wessex Clubs took runners from Janesmoor Pond, Stoney Cross through plenty of muddy trails and damp, waterlogged ground.

Romsey sported a good turn out and managed a top 10 runner in each of the women’s and men’s top 10 placings.  Despite the damp, dull morning a lucky 13 RRR’s headed for Janesmoor Pond to slide about in the mud until exhaustion, hopefully somewhere near the finish.

Men’s Individual Results

9 Neil Jennings
44 Jim Wright
45 Jonathan Williams
50 Christopher Brown
60 Steve Reed
61 John Quayle

Women’s Individual Results

9 Tam Ryan
16 Jo Weguelin
18 Hannah Shutt
25 Di Cross
30 Julia Abab
32 Penny Jennings
52 Deborah Rees

There is a break now, with the next CC6 taking place on the 11th January 2015 at Badger Farm, Winchester.

CC6 Update

Race 4 of the current CC6 Series took place at Fritham on Sunday.

Men’s Individual Results

9 Neil Jennings
44 Jim Wright
45 Jonathan Williams
50 Christopher Brown
60 Steve Reed
61 John Quayle

Women’s Individual Results

9 Tam Ryan
16 Jo Weguelin
18 Hannah Shutt
25 Di Cross
30 Julia Abab
32 Penny Jennings
52 Deborah Rees

Results Round Up – 08/12/14

Ups and Downs in Dorset

Several Romsey Road Runners headed down to Lulworth in Dorset for stage three of Endurance Life’s Coastal Trail Series on 6 December.  Endurance Life specialise in organising tough, challenging races in incredibly beautiful locations. It was a bright but chilly winter’s day – and perfect conditions to enjoy the stunningly course along the Jurassic Coast Path, with a calm, royal blue sea as the backdrop.

Starting with ultra distance was Romsey runner, Duncan Walling. He bravely completed a distance of 45 miles including 10,500 feet of ascent in a time of 10 hours and 57 minutes. He was placed 79th out the 110 finishers. A total of runners 166 started the event and presumably the others are still tackling those hills!

Becks Marriner was the next to start, completing her second marathon of the series; she finished in 5:19:16.

Romsey was then represented by three runners in the half marathon, the extreme-grade course – extending to more than 16 miles – looping from Lulworth Cove, past Durdle Door then back to Lulworth and along the beach before leading eastwards on a longer loop through Bindon Hillfort, past Worbarrow Bay and through deserted Tyneham Village and the army ranges back to Lulworth. With an ascent of more than 3,500 feet, it was a testing course. “It’s survival!” said one of the team, faced with stiff climb on the return leg. Jade Rolfe was the first home in 3:22:44, 174th overall, followed by Di Cross in 3:58:57 (first in her age category) and Alice Lane in 3:59:16, who ran together.

In the 10k event, Anna Duigan finished in 1:28:30 and Wendy Couper in 1:31:40.

Away from the Endurance Life, but also in Dorset, on 23rd November, John Quayle completed the Boscombe 10k in a time of 45:12.

Urgent Message from the Chairman

As you know we usually have two London Marathon places each year. The number of places is based on the number of members the club has. More than 50 members entitles us to two places. Unfortunately we didn’t realise it was the number of people affiilated to England Athletics rather than the number of members in the club that counts towards the number used when allocating marathon places. Due to the EA membership price rising to £10 we have seen those opting in to affiliating with EA drop from nearly all members to only 39 this year. This has put us in the awkward position of only having one marathon place after having drawn for two places at the AGM.

The RRR committee met last night and decided that we would appeal to club members to see if anyone would voluntarily agree to sign up to England Athletics and pay the £10. We need 11 members willing to join, and we need to do it before the 5th December(Webmaster’s note. For those joining, the affiliation would run to 31st March 2015)

If you haven’t affiliated and would be willing to do so within the next two days please email me at [email protected].uk.

 

Results Round Up – 18/11/14

Three Romsey Road Runners headed off to the Gower for the second event in Endurance Life’s Coastal Trail series 2014/5 on 15th November. Despite an overcast, chilly start, the sun came out over the glorious South Wales coastline – the first area in Britain to be designated an Area of Outstanding National Beauty.

The course led over bogs and beaches, through sand dunes and up sharp ascents – with more than 2,300ft of climbing in the half marathon alone – with rocky descents. The scenery was stunning, the route crossing Rhossili Down, passing through Llangennith village and with views over Worm’s Head.

It was a successful day for the club, Becks Marriner was the second woman home in the Marathon in a time of 5:05:43. Jo Weguelin was the first Romsey runner home in the Half Marathon – and 175th overall – in 2:24:48, while Di Cross finished in 2:39:37; second in her age category.

‘These are wonderful races taking in some of Britain’s most attractive coastline. Highly recommended,’ said Di.

Closer to home, 4 RRR’s did Gosport Half Marathon on Sunday 16th November. Heavy rain stopped just as runners had to take off their warm clothing and prepare to start the race, luck was on their side!

This year marked a new course for the Gosport Half; consisting of two flat laps along the seafront at Lee-on-the-Solent. The outward leg was mainly run on cycle-paths and pavement, the return leg, more exposed along the Esplanade. Plenty of fresh air and views of the sea to enjoy, winds were slight, making for good finishing times.

Gosport Half 2014
Gosport Half 2014

RRR finishers:

Tamatha Ryan 1:33:09 (PB)
Rio Brookes-Gibbs 1:50:11 (PB)
Brenda Topliss 1:51:00 (1st in age category)
Becky Tovey 1:54:46

Results Round Up – 04/11/14

The annual Great South Run attracted a total of 6 Romsey Runners amongst the thousands taking part. This large event involves a circular route around Southsea and Portsmouth, finishing with a 2 mile stretch along the sea front, where the winds pick up and drafting behind a statuesque runner is an attractive option!

  • Duncan Walling  1:10:54
  • Alice Lane  1:28:37
  • Jonathan Northy  1:29:17
  • Alison Solomon 1:33:14
  • Lindsey Dunford  1:43:03
  • Linda Webb 1:49:24

Lordshill 10 2014
Lordshill 10 2014
An all lady trio completed the Lordshill 10mile on Sunday 2nd November.

This popular event is organised by Lordshill Road Runners and takes place around the lanes and streets of Nursling, Hillyfields, Lee and the Broadlands Estate starting and finishing at 5 Acres, Redbridge Lane, Southampton.

Heavy rain Saturday night made for a very wet course but thankfully for the participants the rain stopped for the race.  Pleasant running conditions were experienced, assisted by the usually mild morning, delivering personal bests for Tam and Alice and ‘best for age’ for Brenda. Well done ladies.

  • Tamatha Ryan 1:09:14,  PB
  • Brenda Topliss 1:23:56, 1st in age category
  • Alice Lane 1:27:07 PB (speeding up from the GSR by a minute and a half!)

AGM (and Free Pizza!)

Just a reminder that the Romsey Road Runners AGM is now just two weeks away. Look out for the agenda and supporting documents to be circulated next week. 
 
The club would not function as it does without members volunteering their time to take on roles on the committee. If you would like to become part of the committee and help give back a little something to the club please get in touch. It doesn’t matter whether you are new to the club or have been running with us for years, all volunteers are welcome! The roles we are looking to fill are listed below.
 
See you all on the 5th November.
 
RRR Committee  
COMMITTEE VACANCIES
 
Club Secretary
Main duties include – arrange and minute Committee meetings; arrange and minute AGM; arrange prizes and engraving for annual awards; secure club places for the London Marathon; renew annual subscriptions to affiliated organisations; process England Athletics membership for all club members; main point of contact for enquiries to the club; circulate relevant information to club members. 
Contact Amanda Hull for further information (secretary@romseyroadrunners.co.uk).
Membership Secretary
Main duties include – process membership renewals (including payment) for all members at the beginning of each year; collect membership forms and fees from new members throughout the year; maintain database of members; distribute membership cards to all members.
Contact David Nixon for further information (membership@romseyroadrunners.co.uk).
Team Captain
This was previously incorporated into the Fixtures Secretary role, however the Committee has recently decided to split this role so greater emphasis can be given to team events. Main duties for the Team Captain will include – promote CC6 and RR10 leagues, collect results and take club flag and kit tent to fixtures; recruit runners and timekeepers for Mile of Miles Relay teams and Test Way Relay teams; promote Hampshire Road Race League to members. 
Contact Hannah Hunt for further information ([email protected].uk). 
 
Beer Race Director
Main duties include – chair the Beer Race committee, looking after the organisation of our annual 5 mile road race event. The race director is the point of contact for the UKA, obtains the race licence, and the course measurement certificates. In addition there is sponsorship, local authority contacts, car parking arrangements, and start/finish area permissions. They have overall responsibility on race day to ensure smooth running of the event from initiating the start to the final prize giving. All of this is supported by the dedicated members of the race committee with their defined roles.
The position is really rewarding and is a great opportunity to become involved in race organisation. Most of the procedures are already in place, and fully documented with a timed sequence of events established. So it’s merely a case of working through the target dates. Romsey Road Runners have hosted this event for many years with various club members taking on the role of Race Director from time to time, all with their individual skills and ability to ensure a successful race day. 
Contact Hannah Hunt for further information (fixtures@romseyroadrunners.co.uk).
 
Newsletter Editor 
Collate articles from committee and club members to make up the four editions of the club newsletter each year. Arrange printing and distribution to club members. 
Contact Dave Evenden for further information (newsletter@romseyroadrunners.co.uk).
 
Social Secretary 
Organise all those social events that have become an important part of the club calendar, including the Pasta Party, the BBQ after the Beer Race, the club trip and the Awards Evening. If there are a few people who want to team up and take on this role, this approach has been successful in the past. 
Contact Alice Lane for further information ([email protected].uk).

Results Round Up – 21/10/14

Tam Ryan - Devizes Half 2014
Tam Ryan – Devizes Half 2014

Romsey lady, Tam Ryan completed the Devizes Half Marathon Sunday 19th October in a time of 1:34:39, finishing 1st in her age category and 2nd lady overall. “The race was a nice scenic course, described as undulating – although I’d say it was hilly!” said Tam afterwards.

Elsewhere, The New Forest Stinger proved a tempting event for numerous RRRs. This local event is organised by Totton Runners and offers runners 5 and 10 mile routes through the enclosure and open forest. Runners start and finish at Ocknell Enclosure and use gravel tracks and muddy trails to complete their chosen distance.

The weather remained dry and was distinctly warm whilst the ground was soft under foot, but not too muddy. The course, as the name suggests had several ‘stings’ in the tail, as runners negotiated several sharp inclines. The muddy final stretch denied a sprint finish for anyone with too much energy.

New  Forest Stinger 2014
New Forest Stinger 2014

RRR Finishers:
17th Neil Jennings 1:12:32
25th Jim Wright 1:15:00
58th Hannah Shutt (3rd lady) 1:23:56
90th Penny Jennings 1:30:52
107th Alice Lane 1:36:52
112th Di Cross 1:36:38
114th Mark Adams 1:38:56

Finishing the 5 mile course were:
9th Stephen Edwards 44:00
43rd Anna Duignan 56:47
61st Wendy Couper 1:04:35

Results Round Up – 07/10/14

Solent Half Marathon 2014
Solent Half Marathon 2014

Sunday, 28th September marked the annual Solent Half Marathon, organised by Hardley Runners. Billed as a friendly local race, runners are treated to a circular quiet on-road route, which takes in Exbury and the Solent shoreline at Lepe, before turning inland towards Fawley. Finishing for Romsey was the following trio:

  • Paul Burnage 1:40:27
  • Jade Rolfe 1:44:46
  • Daniel Lurcock 1:47:50

The Clarendon Marathon, Half Marathon and Team Marathon took place on Sunday, 5th October with runners starting in Salisbury (for the full marathon) or Broughton (for the half marathon) and finishing in Winchester. The route followed the Clarendon long distance footpath between the two cities, challenging runners to a tough, undulating course, with plenty of breath taking distant views on their way down. The weather was perfect, dry and bright, with cooler temperatures than of late.

Clarendon Marathon and Half Marathon 2014
Clarendon Marathon and Half Marathon 2014

Finishing the half were:

  • Neil Jennings 1:37:35
  • Jo Weguelin 1:56.27
  • Penny Jennings  1:58:21
  • Becky Tovey 2:06:16
  • Brenda Topliss 2:06:19

and full marathon:

  • Ian Ralph 3:17:28  (13th place overall)
  • Wendy George 4:31:54
  • Di Cross 4:56:30

RRR, Tam Ryan also completed a half marathon on Sunday, 5th October: the Basingstoke Half Marathon. This race incorporated a number of challenging hills in Cliddesden and Farleigh Wallop and boasted some beautiful countryside and quaint villages south of Basingstoke. Tam described it as ‘a very hilly half but lovely and scenic with an enjoyable last 3-4 miles which was mainly flat or down hill all the way to the finish. It was well organised and very friendly, with plenty of support from the locals in the villages’. Tam finished in a time of 1:34:41, placing her 17th lady.

London Marathon Ballot

If you applied to the ballot for the 2015 London Marathon you should now have found out whether or not you got a place. If you were unsuccessful with your ballot entry and want to be considered for one of the club places, drop the club secretary and email ([email protected]) and hand in your rejection slip to one of the Committee members. Please note in the email and mark on the slip whether you have run the London Marathon before.
 
The draw to allocate these places will take place at the AGM on 5th November. 

Join the RRR Committee

Romsey Road Runners benefits from the hard work and dedication of the club’s committee, who meet on a regular basis to keep the club ticking over and to make improvements. At the AGM coming up on 5th November, we will be looking for volunteers to fill the vacancies on the Committee, so if you want to give something back to the club check out the roles on offer:

Club Secretary

Main duties include – arrange and minute Committee meetings; arrange and minute AGM; arrange prizes and engraving for annual awards; secure club places for the London Marathon; renew annual subscriptions to affiliated organisations; process England Athletics membership for all club members; main point of contact for enquiries to the club; circulate relevant information to club members.

Contact Amanda Hull for further information ([email protected]).

Membership Secretary

Main duties include – process membership renewals (including payment) for all members at the beginning of each year; collect membership forms and fees from new members throughout the year; maintain database of members; distribute membership cards to all members.

Contact David Nixon for further information ([email protected]).

Team Captain

This was previously incorporated into the Fixtures Secretary role, however the Committee has recently decided to split this role so greater emphasis can be given to team events. Main duties for the Team Captain will include – promote CC6 and RR10 leagues, collect results and take club flag and kit tent to fixtures; recruit runners and timekeepers for Mile of Miles Relay teams and Test Way Relay teams; promote Hampshire Road Race League to members.

Contact Hannah Hunt for further information ([email protected]). 

Beer Race Director

Main duties include – chair the Beer Race committee, looking after the organisation of our annual 5 mile road race event. The race director is the point of contact for the UKA, obtains the race licence, and the course measurement certificates. In addition there is sponsorship, local authority contacts, car parking arrangements, and start/finish area permissions. They have overall responsibility on race day to ensure smooth running of the event from initiating the start to the final prize giving. All of this is supported by the dedicated members of the race committee with their defined roles.

The position is really rewarding and is a great opportunity to become involved in race organisation. Most of the procedures are already in place, and fully documented with a timed sequence of events established. So it’s merely a case of working through the target dates. Romsey Road Runners have hosted this event for many years with various club members taking on the role of Race Director from time to time, all with their individual skills and ability to ensure a successful race day.

Contact Hannah Hunt for further information ([email protected]).

Newsletter Editor

Collate articles from committee and club members to make up the four editions of the club newsletter each year. Arrange printing and distribution to club members.

Contact Dave Evenden for further information ([email protected]).

Social Secretary

Organise all those social events that have become an important part of the club calendar, including the Pasta Party, the BBQ after the Beer Race, the club trip and the Awards Evening. If there are a few people who want to team up and take on this role, this approach has been successful in the past.

Contact Alice Lane for further information ([email protected]).

Club AGM

The Romsey Road Runners AGM is being held on Wednesday 5th November, 7.30pm at Crossfield Hall.
It would be great to see as many members there as possible. As well as FREE PIZZA you get to have your say about club issues and vote in new members of the Committee. The draw for the Club’s London Marathon places will also take place.
 
If you have any particular issues you would like to see on the agenda please email secretary@romseyroadrunners.co.uk by 13th October.
We hope to see you there!
RRR Committee

Hampshire Cross Country League

Please be aware, Romsey Road Runners is not affiliated to the Hampshire Cross Country League for the 2014/15 season and members will not be able to compete in these races. 

This is due to poor attendance in previous years (only one member took part last year an we have to pay a club entry fee each season) and also due to the fact that only two of the five races in the league are held in Hampshire. This decision will be reviewed again ahead of the 2015/16 season so if anyone has any strong feelings about this please let the committee know.

Club Pentathlon

The club holds its own pentathlon competition each year, with your best five race results over six distances (5km, 5mile, 10km, 10mile, half marathon and marathon) counting towards the final results. There are three competition categories, men’s, ladies and over 50’s, and awards will be presented to the winners at the annual awards evening.

The 2013/14 pentathlon season began on 1st October 2013 and ends tomorrow (30th September). If you haven’t already please send your best race results for the six competitive distances to [email protected] by 13th October. You don’t need to have completed all six distances, even if you have only completed three or four please send them in.

For more information including the current standings please see http://www.romseyroadrunners.co.uk/race-diary/club-pentathlon-championship/

Results Round Up – 23/08/14

Saturday 13th September marked the annual Test Way Relay event. Runners from a variety of local clubs challenged themselves to be first get from Inkpen Beacon to Totton in a total of 8 legs. Romsey entered a mixed team and was placed 5th out of 14 teams in a total time of 5:50:24. This was despite last minute changes to the team due to injury. Thanks to Alice who stepped in last minute to run the first leg.

The team consisted of: Alice Lane 39:48, Becky Tovey 32:59, Becks Marriner 1:01:30, Wayne Windebank 35:27, Hannah Shutt 40:23, Sarah White 45:45 Christopher Brown 41:39 Daniel Lurcock 52:53.

Two RRRs took part in the 8th Annual Hursley 10k on Sunday 21st September. This is a multi-terrain route comprising of a mix of grass tracks and forest roads through the private grounds of Hursley Estate and Ampfield Woods. John Quayle, finished in 87th position in a time of 46:48 and Brenda Topliss, was 228th overall, 2nd in her age category with a time of 53:56.

Petersfield Tri 2014
Petersfield Tri 2014

Elsewhere, a further four Romsey Runners added a swim and cycle before their run to complete the Petersfield Sprint Triathlon. Organised by the Petersfield triathlon club and held in the grounds of Churchers College, Petersfield the triathlon consisted of a 400m pool swim followed by a challenging 25k bike ride and a 5k run to finish. The conditions on the day were blustery and cool to start with and around 300 competitors took part. Alice Lane completed the course in an overall time of 1:44:30 (9:46 swim, 1:04:22 bike, 27:01 run) followed by, Derek Kelly 1:46:05 (9:06 swim, 1:03:19 bike, 30:00 run), Julia Abab 1:55:14 (12:52 swim, 1:08:43 bike, 29:02 run) and finally, Liz Slade 2:05:31 (12:25 swim, 1:16:13 bike, 30:15 run).

And finally, Annie Tomlinson (still not running because of injury) completed the ladies only Cycletta bike event starting and finishing in Beaulieu. Annie finished 5th in the Macmillan fund raising cycle event in the ‘Challenge’ distance of 72km, in 2:50 and has raised just over £200 pounds for Macmillan Nurses.

Results Round Up – 16/09/14

Bounder 2014
Bounder 2014

Six RRR’s took part in the Broughton Bounder on Sunday morning, in the 4th annual staging of this local running event. The Bounder is a 9 mile trail event held over the undulating landscape of the Test Valley and includes over 300 metres of ascent. Runners start with a stiff climb out of the village before tackling a mix of rolling chalklands and several hills, which afforded long distance views in the clear conditions.

Matt Hammerton, previous winner of the event, just missed out to fellow RRR Peter Baksh. Both runners ran a close race throughout but Peter was able to kick ahead of Matt and hold a lead over the final half mile. At the finish just seconds separated the two. The battling performances of Baksh and Hammerton awarded RRR with the team prize for the 4th year running.

Individual Results
Peter Baksh
54:36
Matt Hammerton 54:45
Steve Reed 1:11:54
Jo Weguelin 1:22:09
Alice Lane 1:33:35
Charlotte Maslen 1:41:44

The winter CC6 events are about to commence, and anyone interested in taking part is welcomed to join RRR and participate.

Held through the winter, these low-key local cross-country races take place once a month at 9.30am on Sunday mornings, between October and March. Distances are between 4 and 5 miles and are run off-road; expect to get muddy feet! There is no need to enter in advance, just turn up on the day in a RRR club vest and run. Each club takes it in turn to co-host.

CC6 Fixtures
12 October – Fleming Park, Eastleigh
9 November – Dibden Enclosure, New Forest
23 November – Kings Garn Gutter, Stoney Cross (Romsey & Halterworth hosting)
14 December – Janesmoor Pond, Stoney Cross
11 January – Badger Farm, Winchester
15 February – Denny Wood, New Forest
1 March – Wilverley, New Forest

New members are very welcome.

Results Round Up – 09/09/14

A number of RRRs took part in this season’s Lakeside 5km series. This 5k sprint series is run at Hilsea Lido, Portsmouth on Wednesday evenings, over the summer. The final race took place on 27th August.

Tam Ryan completed 4 out of the 5 races. “After a frustrating first race and a disastrous final one, I managed to get my time down to 20:34, which is a personal best,” said Tam.

In the fourth race Tam came in as 3rd lady winning her age category in the overall series.

Lakeside 5k 2014
Lakeside 5k 2014

The Lakeside 5k series saw a number of other RRRs participating, with an especially large turn out at the last one.

Completing the final race for Romsey were: Jade Rolfe 20:17, Wayne Windebank 20:57, Paul Burnage 21:06, Tam Ryan 21:22, John Quayle 21:44 and Di Cross 24:39.

Club Handicap Challenge

Monday 8 September saw the club’s annual 5km handicap challenge play out round the streets of Braishfield.

Throughout the summer, members of the club ran in one or more of three separate 5km time trials to set the best time they can.  Using these results the club’s session leaders  set a handicap time for each individual that they are then challenged to try and beat.  The runner who beats their handicap by the greatest margin lifts the coveted trophy.

This year saw 33 members toe the start line with only 11 managing to beat the handicap.  Well done to everybody who took part, but the all important results are…

Jo Weguelin came in 3rd with a time gap of 27 seconds, narrowly pipped to 2nd by Tony Peelo with a time gap of 28 seconds.  But our winner on the night, and this years club champion, was Haly Nomm in a time of 00:24:30 and most importantly 39 seconds below her handicap time.

IMG_20140908_195906

1st Haly Nomm -39 seconds
2nd Tony Peelo -28 seconds
3rd Jo Weguelin -27 seconds
4th Sarah Humphries -23 seconds
5th Daniel Lurcock -22 seconds
6th Julie Shanka -20 seconds
7th Wayne Windebank -17 seconds
8th Paul Burnage -15 seconds
9th Rebecca Marriner -14 seconds
10th Derek Kelly -14 seconds
11th Karen Mason -11 seconds