This Sunday saw a great turnout of Romsey Road Runners at the New Forest Stinger, as well as a win! The 10 Mile event has been organised by Totton Running Club for a number of years and has always been popular with the club. However this year must have been a record turnout with thirteen entries and some very strong performances!
Matt Hammerton took the overall win in 1:00:37; almost 7 minutes ahead of the second place finisher! Matt has recently qualified for the notoriously tough Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc, having spent the last few years eating Ultra Marathons for breakfast. He holds the fastest known time for Clarendon Way as well as the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path and won the Test Way Ultra in 2022.
Hannah Shutt was 3rd woman in 1:11:40 and Sue Sleath saw a return to form and with 1st V60 woman in 1:17:16. Neil Jennings finished in 4th place in 1:07:47.
Despite the challenging wet and slippery conditions there were some great times across the board; Ian Ralph 1:11:27, Steven Melligan-Hart 1:13:06, Lorna Crouch 1:17:46, Duncan MacDonald 1:19:30, Nigel Hemsted 1:22:46, Susie Parker 1:27:28, Em Gordon 1:28:51, Penny Jennings 1:34:42 and Penny Overy 1:38:44.
On 7th October I took part in ‘Lakes in a Day,’ the 50-mile British Trail Running Middle Distance Championship which goes from the top to the bottom of the Lake District. I wanted to see what my limits were. It was absolutely the hardest thing I’ve ever done.
I was a nervous ball of energy on the start line and had to stop myself sprinting the first few miles, remembering it was 50 miles, not Ganger Farm Park Run! After the first climb, we crossed a waist-high river. It was absolutely terrifying. Then I “ran” (plodded) uphill through a bog with no defined footpath, in a cloud, on my own. When I got to around 600m I starting panicking about descending Hallsfell ridge in 60 mph winds, but we got diverted to avoid the slippery ridge. This added an extra 5km to the overall distance but it was a good thing because the wind knocked me over several times ascending Helvellyn. At that point, I cried on a man called Gary who held my hand till I pulled myself together.
I told myself I was dropping out at Ambleside, but when I got to Ambleside, changed my shoes, had some squash and realised there was just 35km left to run it all felt bizarrely achievable so I cracked on. I tried to view being submerged in Lake Windermere up to my pants for the next 1km as a good thing, a free ice bath.
At the final checkpoint, I realised I had a chance of being in the top ten ladies. I was a bit unclear of my actual position but my competitive edge spurred me on in the dark, trying to not confuse sheep eyes with race signage, and I made it in just two minutes ahead of the 5th lady. The first three women did insanely amazing times. For the British Trail Running Championships I’m very happy as a Romsey *Road* Runner who lives nowhere near any mountains to have come fourth!
I’ll be very happy to not think about racing for a while. It’s been a wild 6 months of training. Fun, but not sustainable!!
Sunday, 4 June saw the return of Romsey Road Runner’s popular annual event, the Beer Race. As the name suggests, the runners are rewarded for their efforts on this scenic and undulating 5-mile route round the lanes of Braishfield village with a delicious pint of beer at the end, provided by local brewery Flack Manor.
The very talented bakers of Romsey Road Runners cooked up a mouth-watering array of cakes and biscuits which also went down well. Up and Running kindly provided the spot prizes, and Giovanni Buldrini was on hand to administer post-race massages.
The men’s event was won by Chris Fawcett in a time of 26:52, and the female winner was Erin Williams in a time of 30:52.
The adult race was followed by the children’s fun run where 58 eager competitors took part. Once the competitive elements of the day were completed, the club settled down to enjoy a well-earned BBQ in the sunshine. Thank you to everyone who took part and helped to make the day so enjoyable and happy. We look forward to seeing you all again next year.
April is traditionally the start of marathon season, and members of Romsey Road Runners have been in action throughout the month competing in the iconic 26.2-mile race.
Mark Judkins and David Morrison kicked things off for the Club in fine style on April 2nd at the Brighton marathon. Mark set a new PB of 4:37, while David finished in a blistering 3:01, also a new PB. Mark said of his experience: “I had a great Brighton marathon in near perfect conditions. Tough course, but I was pleased with a 1 min PB.”
On the same day, Giovanni Buldrini was in action in Italy, completing the Maratona Di Russi in 4:06, while the day before, Romsey’s Hannah Shutt took on the 50-mile Test Way Ultra finishing in 9:37 hours and coming 1st lady.
April 2nd was also Southampton marathon day. This year, Romsey didn’t have anyone in the marathon event, but there were plenty doing the half and 10k. Neil Jennings ran an impressive 1:19 in the half marathon after recovering from a bout of Covid, followed by Penny Jennings (1:55), Alice Lane (1:56), Susie Parker (1:51), Rob Sherringham (1:51), Sue Sylvester (1:58), Lauren Freestone (running her first half marathon in 2:04), and Emma Bailey (1:57). The 10k saw Mark Stileman pace his friend Mitch Robson to 39:21; Andy Brown finish in 40:56; Steve Melligan-Hart, returning from injury, in 43:28, and Bridget W in 1:15. Also on April 2nd, Romsey’s Lottie Budd (2:07 PB) and Molly Maslen (2:15) headed to Kew Gardens to compete in the half marathon.
Dorota Koschmidder-Hatch ran the Bieg Piasnicki 10k in 1:06 on the 15th April, and on the 16th, Romsey fielded runners in the Manchester marathon, Boston half marathon, Pepperbox Chase half and 10k, and the Newport 10k.
Andy Brown set a richly-deserved new marathon PB of 3:02 at Manchester, while Sam Weston completed his first marathon in an impressive 3:18. Sam said of the experience: “I went into it equal parts excited and nervous. The crowds and atmosphere made it a lot of fun and I had the opportunity to high five many children and hit lots of Mario power-up mushrooms which I’m sure helped me come under my 3:20 target time.”
Meanwhile, Alice Lane (2:25) and Tom Wharton (1:59) were in action at the Pepperbox Chase half marathon near Salisbury. Lin Windsor completed the 10k in a solid 1:06. Lottie Budd was back in action in Boston, Lincs on the same day, finishing the half marathon in 2:09 after helping a struggling fellow runner to reach the finish line, and Sue Sylvester was in Newport, completing the 10k in 52:19.
April 23rd was London marathon day and Romsey fielded four runners for the event. Penny Overy (4:53), Alice Lane (4:05), Nigel Hemsted (3:27) and Hayley Weston (3:17) took on the wet conditions to do themselves and the Club proud. Alice said of the experience: “it was a cold and very wet start to the annual London marathon. However, the support from the other runners and spectators really made up for it. It’s such a wonderful event bringing out the very best in humankind.”
As the marathon runners were pounding the streets of London, Mark Stileman was in the slightly more rural environs of the Corsham 10k near Bath, where he set a blistering time of 37:21 to come first in age. Tam Ryan and Sue Sleath were also out in the countryside, this time around Avebury, taking part in the 36 mile Pewsey Downsaround.
The weekend of March 18th/ 19th was a busy one in Romsey Road Runners’ calendar. Saturday was the Endurance Life Coastal Trail Series in Sussex. Romsey was ably represented by Matt Hammerton who won the Ultra (53k and 1500m of elevation) in a storming time of 4:27 and Tam Ryan who finished the (also very hilly at 1200m) marathon in a fantastic time of 5:38 to come 2nd in age.
Saturday night was Big Feat Event’s Big Night Out. Romsey’s Hannah Shutt came home first lady in the 16-mile night-running event in a time of 2:06, while Tim Parker took 3rd place in 1:50 and Steve Geary finished in a solid 2:12.
Sunday was the Eastleigh 10k, an event that is always well supported by the club. It’s known for being a fast and mostly flat race and draws over 2000 runners eager to improve their road-running times. This year, twenty-nine members of the club took part and between them produced a great set of results.
Eastleigh 10k Finishers
Romsey’s Alex Prinsep led the charge by setting a fantastic new PB of 33:57. He was closely followed by Alex Young with an impressive 34:20 and Neil Jennings, who also set a superb new PB of 34:52. Matt Brown came home in 37:34; Andy Brown 43:12; Nigel Hemsted 44:22; Steve Geary 45:00; Liz Prinsep 45:14; Keith Morris 45:55; Alice Jenden with a super-impressive first 10k time of 46:40; Susie Parker 48:28; Mark Judkins with a fantastic 50-second new PB of 48:47; Emma Bailey 49:12; Ray Webb 50:39; Lauren Freestone with an impressive new PB of 54:11; Stuart Rowe 55:16; Lottie Budd with a fantastic new PB of 57:55; Sue & Mark Stileman (who were pacing Lottie) 57:55; Nikki Skeates 58:16; Rob Gowman 58:41; Bridget Wells 59:43; Jane Jackson 100:43; Lin Webb 101:42; Gemma Ingason with a great PB of 104:36; Deborah Rees 111:26; Clare Somerton 111:48 Jessie Hughes 112:24 and Karen Collins with a great post-Covid time of 120:53. They all did themselves and the club proud.
Alice Jenden said of her Eastleigh experience “I had been doing the 10k training programme led by Ian and Steve. The programme prepared me really well for the race, and although it was tough, crossing the finish line and achieving a PB was just amazing! Thank you to Steve and Ian.” Nigel Hemsted noted that “although it’s not the most attractive course, the Eastleigh 10k is a very well organised race, and fast with only one hill to contend with. I set off with a target of 45 minutes, and was able to run with the 45min pacemakers for the first half of the race. I then passed them and finished in a time of 44:21.” Alex Young reflected that he “really enjoyed the event, especially seeing my club mates achieve their goals, and I’m motivated to apply myself to training with the aim to improve on my time next year.”
Finally, Alice Lane rounded off an excellent weekend of racing for the Club by heading down to Dorset to take part in the LDWA’s Cerne Giant trail ultra. This was part of Alice’s preparation for the Lakeland 50-mile race in July. Alice completed the challenging event in a superb time of 6:52 hours. She commented afterwards that it was “fab” with “lots of hills and mud and beautiful sunshine all day. The LDWA were amazing, supplying lots of food and I got a certificate too.”
In years gone by Romsey Road Runners traditionally blew the Christmas cobwebs away with a social club run. This year the tradition was revived on New Year’s Eve with the Steeplechase, four routes of differing lengths each ending at Romsey Abbey. The longest started at Winchester Cathedral and clocked in at just over 19 miles; the half marathon went from Farley Mount; the 10-mile route from the church at Kings Somborne and the 6-mile from the medieval church at Mottisfont. All the routes were mainly on trails following the Clarendon and Test Way paths.
Runners outside Romsey Abbey after the NYE Run
Forty-three intrepid souls (including four walking-wounded, one Jack Russell, one Cockapoo and two spaniels), set off in torrential rain and wind from the four start points with the aim of all converging on Romsey Abbey at 2pm for a photo call before heading off to the nearest pub. Conditions were dire, with tracks turned to rivers and bogs, but it all added to the fun, particularly the sections over the water meadows which were knee-deep in water. The four dogs – Poppy, Jim, Elsie and Monty – took to it with gusto, bounding cheerfully through the mud and swimming through the waterlogged sections, clearly thinking it was all a great adventure.
RRR’s wonderful session leader Moira Sankey ran the 6-mile route with friends Lin Windsor, Karen Keane and Richard Vie. Moira said, “the 6-mile route from Mottisfont involved a few styles and paths that resembled paddling pools of the ‘cool’ variety. The weather was seasonal, (rain and wind- in other words ‘great fun’ if you are a runner!). Although the 6-mile run was the shortest, I take it from my fellow runners that it was the hardest – happy to go with that!”
Alice Jenden, who only recently joined the club, also took part in the 6-mile run. Alice said, “It was a windy and wet day but I really enjoyed it. There was a sense of true camaraderie as we ran through mud, climbed over fences and powered through some deep puddles. It was a great way to meet more people from the club and I can’t wait to do the next one!”
Deb Ferre ran the 10-mile route from King’s Somborne with her friend Julie Shanker. Deb said “it was lovely being out there enjoying the elements. The first half was easy going but we knew what we were in for from Kimbridge- lots of mud & very wet feet! It was great to be part of a fab club event – can’t wait for the next one!”
Lottie Budd, who took up running in 2022, also took part in the 10-mile with her faithful hound Elsie. Lottie said, “never in my dreams would I have thought I’d run 10 miles enduring lashing rain in my face, being completely soaked through, mud covering my shoes – only for the mud to be washed away by running in what felt like a brook, rather than a trail – yet laughing and having the best times!”
Jonathan Pillinger-Cork who took on the 19-mile run said, “starting just before 11am on a wet, cold NYE in Winchester, the long uphill out of the city turned out to be the easiest bit, with me, Neil Jennings and Tim Parker all making good progress before the mud started at Farley Mount, then it was mud, river, mud, downhill river, mud, gate, fall over etc till the end. With the water in the water meadow up to my thighs and Squabb Wood turned into the “River Squabb”, it sounds bleak and pointless…but it was not. The company of Neil and Tim was just the catalyst for keeping a good pace and making it to the end. Meeting up with other runners on the course gave us all the fillip to keep going. In summary, the running was tiring, muddy and very, very wet, but the people were encouraging and supportive – it was just what was needed on NYE.”
Nigel Hemsted also ran the 19-mile route with friends Elizabeth Prinsep and Giovanni Buldrini. Nigel said, “once we reached the edge of Winchester the route was in glorious countryside. Despite the constant rain and wind which built up later in the run we kept cheerful, and had jelly babies to keep us going. The highlight of the route was saved to the end with ankle deep mud in Squabb Wood and then a kilometre of wading through water across the Romsey water meadows. It was a great day with a real sense of achievement when we reached Romsey Abbey.”
