Monthly archives: May 2018

On the 19th May Romsey’s Ian Ralph and Tamatha Ryan made light work of the Centurion Running North Downs Way 50 miler. Starting in Farnham and picking up the North Downs trail through Guildford, the tough course incorporates numerous sets of steps, the hardest being 274 up Boxhill at only the half way point! The trail continues on to Reigate Hill and finishes on the outskirts of London. Despite the hot sun and a total climb of 5,600ft the pair rose to the challenge with Ian not only smashing his first Ultra race in a fantastic time of 8 hours 27 mins placing him 15th overall, but enjoying it too. Tamatha also had a great run finishing in a time of 9 hours 4 mins and was rewarded by not only coming 3rd lady overall but by being presented her medal by the world record breaking ultra-runner, Mimi Anderson.

The following day Dave Gardner and Liz Prinsep took part in the Hook 10 mile race, a rather undulating course not made any easier by the hot weather again. However, Dave still managed a personal best finishing in 1 hour 13 mins with Liz not far behind in 1 hour 26 mins. Sue Sleath and Brenda Topliss stayed closer to home running the Hampshire road race, Netley 10km, Sue finished in 43.29 mins and Brenda in 52.35 mins.

Meanwhile, Romsey Road Runner James Groves used the Swashbuckler middle distance triathlon as training for his upcoming Iron Man UK, James finished the 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride and 13.1 mile run in 5 hours 21 mins.

On the 27th May Sue Stileman made her debut at the marathon distance completing the Dorchester road marathon in 4 hours 25 mins. This race runs through picturesque villages and Sue enjoyed her experience alongside two other Romsey runners; Sue Sleath who had a good run in the warm conditions finishing in 3 hours 55 mins, followed by Alice Lane in 4 hours 42 mins. Run in conjunction, the Casterbridge half marathon route takes in the beautiful Puddletown forest and joins the marathon route to finish the course. Ian Winkworth and Liz Prinsep enjoyed the race finishing in 1 hour 38 mins and 1 hour 59 mins respectively.

Meanwhile Becky Tovey and Emily Gordon made the long journey up to Edinburgh to complete what is the UK’s 2nd largest marathon. An all-encompassing route which runs through the heart of Edinburgh, with the iconic castle as a back drop, local sights are abundant. The race has a descent of almost 90m to the finish, it is believed not only to be the fastest UK marathon route, but also the world’s. Both girls had a fantastic run breaking some bench mark times, Becky finished in 3 hours 29mins and Emily in 3hours 59mins.

Romsey Road Runners on a Winning Streak!

Always popular with Romsey Road Runners is the Houghton 11km cross country run, a mainly off-road race with pretty good terrain, this year Romsey’s Neil Jennings was first home winning the race in a great time of 42.36mins. Alex Prinsep was close finishing behind, 6th in 48.16mins, Raymond Webb followed in 56.09mins, Liz Prinsep 1hr, Penny Jennings 1hr 02mins, Gemma Quarendon 1hr 04mins, Penny Overy 1hr 08mins, Andy Cherrett 1hr 09mins, Liz Slade 1hr 09mins, Dorota Hatch 1hr 10mins, Derek Kelly 1hr 13mins, Linda Webb 1hr 13mins and Wendy Couper in 1hr 40mins. Meanwhile the same weekend, Sue Stileman was down in Dorset taking part in the Bad Cow Half Marathon finishing in a time of 2hrs 20mins and 29th overall.

The following weekend saw more trophies coming Romsey’s way at the Marlborough 20mile, Mark Stileman was 3rd overall in a time of 2hrs 35mins followed by Sue Sleath in 2hrs 49mins and 2nd Lady overall. Ian Winkworth and Abi Cooke enjoyed the self-navigating route finishing together in 3hrs 18mins. Elsewhere Vytas Jakimavicius ran the Whitstable 10km finishing in a great time of 42.09mins.

Another firm favourite for Romsey is the ‘Harewood 10km’ which Poppy was 1st dog to finish with Sue Stileman in 1hr 01min closely followed by Julia Abab 1hr 03mins, Alice Lane 1hr 06mins, Liz Slade 1hr 06mins, Karen Keane 1hr 07mins, Anna Duignan 1hr 13mins, Derek Kelly 1hr 15mins, Ruth Page 1hr 16mins and Wendy Couper finished the 5km in 43.57mins.

The results continued to pour in, Anna Duignan and Wendy Couper ran the ‘Maverick original’ 9km Dorset run on the 13th May finishing in 1hr 05mins and 1hr 21mins respectively. Whilst Alice Lane travelled a little further afield to run the “Race the Tide marathon’ in Flete Estate, Mothecombe, Devon, comprising 29 miles of tough terrain and two estuaries to negotiate, Alice had an amazing run finishing in 6hrs 19mins 6th Lady and 1st in her age category. Kirsty Jones and Andrew Archibald ran the Lymington Lifeboat 10km, a beautiful course for a good cause, Kirsty finished in 46.14mins with Andrew close in 47.40mins.

The Grand Finale for Romsey Road Runners came at last Sunday Broadlands Relay Marathon. Returning for its sixth year and run entirely around the estate, teams of up to 10 each run 2 laps of the 1.3mile course making up the 26.2mile distance, with every penny going to charity it’s popular with many local businesses supporting it. This year Romsey Road Runners entered 3 teams and much to our delight Romsey A team were this year’s winners finishing in a course record of 2hrs 31mins. Matt Brown, Neil Jennings, James Battle, Alex Prinsep, Christopher Brown, Daniel Lurcock, Lee Harris, Ian Winkworth, Matt Hammerton and Mark Stileman were very proud to receive the trophy.

Romsey’s B team weren’t too far behind finishing in 3hrs 1min and 4th overall: Sue Sleath, Richard Cross, Wayne Windebank, Mark Winkworth, Jo McKenzie, John Quayle, Ben Sharman, Cliff Reeves, Abi Cooke and Dave Gardner were all delighted with their performance. Romsey’s 3rd team finished in 3hrs 41mins and 53rd overall: Linn Webb, Liz Slade, Julia Abab, Derek Kelly, Brenda Topliss, Anna Duignan, Karen Keane, Deborah Rees, Dorota Hatch and Liz Prinsep. Finally, a big thank you to Becky Tovey for organising and Oscar the Mascot!