Daniel

June 23rd saw the 6th Giants Head Marathon and 100th race for the Whitestar running Company. Starting in the beautiful Sydling St. Nicholas, the race runs through the very challenging and hilly Cerne Valley and under the famous Giant. Despite the heat of the sun, it was a good day for Romsey with not one but two podium finishes. Tamatha Ryan finished 1st lady in 4.14 and 10th overall, closely followed by Abi Cooke who finished 2nd lady in 4.32 and 23rd overall. Ian Winkworth came in at 4.36, 2nd in age out of 465 finishers, whilst Pete and Maria Hartley-Oinn ran the Sydling Bell 10km finishing in 1.05 and 1.16 respectively. On the Sunday of the same weekend, Stuart Pinch, Ray and Linn Webb all ran the Southampton Airport Runway run 5km.

Romsey also fielded a good contingent in the ever popular Lordshill 10km. This proved to be another hot run but still some great times were recorded. Alex Prinsep 38.30, Mark Suddaby 38.48, Amanda Hull 42.29, Nigel Hemsted 44.26, Becky Tovey 44.59, Mark Stileman 45.28, Paul Whitaker 48.23, Liz Prinsep 48.47, Brenda Topliss 50.42 and Sue Stileman 54.26.

With the new month came new goals. The Summer Plod took place on the 1st July and four Romsey Road Runners enjoyed the tough but picturesque 10mile route around the Meon Valley. Mark Stileman was 1st home finishing 4th overall and 1st in age in a time of 1.18, Hannah Semeraro had a good run and came 4th lady in 1.34, followed by Abi Cooke 6th lady in 1.38 and Sue Stileman in 1.53. Alice Lane also had a great start to the month finishing 3rd lady in the Abbotts Anne 10km in a terrific time of 56.43.

Romsey Road Runner, Nigel Hemsted, whilst on holiday in Scotland was tempted to enter a local 10km race ‘Vale of Leven’. Nigel completed the flat course in 44.33 and was 2nd in his age category. The following weekend, on the 8th June, twelve team mates travelled to Reading to take part in the Endure24 event.

Considered to be the ‘Glastonbury’ for runners it is a 24-hour race consisting of a 5-mile loop around beautiful surroundings of Wasing Park, with all camping facilities available. Runners set off at midday on Saturday and run as many laps as they can in 24 hours. There are many options for different types of groups; solo, pairs, small and large teams. Becky Tovey and Tamatha Ryan ran as a pair clocking up 29 laps in 23 hours 48 mins and 145 miles between them, winning them 1st place in the female pairs. Abi Cooke joined Alex and Liz Prinsep to run as a small team completing 26 laps in 23 hours 48 mins. Mark and Ian Winkworth made another small team with Marc Nichols completing 25 laps in 24 hours 1 min. Finally, Alice Lane, Jo McKenzie and Julie Shanker put in a sterling performance, unfortunately Julie was forced to pull out on her first lap due to a knee injury meaning Alice and Jo had to carry on as a pair. The girls managed 17 laps in 22 hours 46 mins.

Meanwhile on Sunday 9th June, Sue Sleath travelled to East Sussex for the Weald 50km Ultra Trail Challenge which she completed in 5 hours 43 mins. The same day, Francesca Hough took part in the internationally acclaimed event Man V Horse, an extremely popular race that has been taking place since 1980 in Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales. Runners quite literally race horses and their riders to the finish, Francesca completed the tough course in 5 hours 15 mins. On the Sunday of this weekend, Mark and Sue Stileman ran the Lacock 10km, Mark finished in 42.21 and 1st in age and Sue came in 53.30.

The following weekend, Saturday 16th June, saw Tamatha Ryan complete the beautiful South Downs marathon in 4 hours 2 mins placing her 1st in her age group. Kate Olingschlaeger and Ben Sharman thoroughly enjoyed the half marathon with Kate finishing in 1 hour 56 mins and Ben in 2 hours. Sunday 17th saw the postponed Eastleigh 10km take place. The weather was perfect and eleven Romsey Road Runners put their training to the test and were not disappointed with some fantastic personal bests achieved. Neil Jennings just missed out dipping under 35 mins but still got a PB with an amazing time of 35.04, other times included Alex Prinsep 37.26 PB, Mark Suddaby 38.45 PB, Ian Winkworth 39.51 PB, Rémi Francois 40.28 PB, Ray Webb 46.41 PB, Keith Morris 47.01 PB, Liz Prinsep 49.01 PB, Nikki Skeates 58.41, Linn Webb 1.01 PB and Bridget Wells 1.01.

Elsewhere Mark Winkworth and James Wilson opted for the Arlesford 10km with the pair finishing in 46.42 and 49.04 respectively. Mark and Sue Stileman ran the Cheltenham Challenge 10km, Mark finished 5th overall in 42.11, 1st in age and Sue finished in 58.53. Finally, to round off a series of tremendous results, Kirsty Jones won the Falkirk Race for life 5km in a fantastic time of 20.02.

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!

The spring marathons began with Brighton on the 13^th April. Three Romsey Road Runners took on the 26.2miles and each was delighted to achieve a new personal best. With near perfect weather conditions, first home was Dave Gardner in a time of 3hrs 33mins taking a big chunk off his previous pb time, hot on his heels was Becky Tovey finishing in 3hrs 34mins with Joanne McKenzie close behind in 4hrs 13mins.

The weather wasn’t so kind the following weekend on the 22^nd April when 30 Romsey Road Runners turned out to give their all in the scorching temperatures in both the London Marathon and the Southampton marathon, half marathon and 10km. The heat took its toll but everyone fought bravely on to the finish line. It was the 38^th London marathon and Matt Hammerton started behind the elite men having earnt a place on the championship start. Matt crossed the line in an amazing time of 2hrs 48mins with Mark Stileman following closely in a fantastic 3hrs 4mins. Alice Lane did a great job representing Romsey with the club place and finished in 4hrs 44mins and Brenda Topliss achieved 5hrs 23mins. Sadly, it wasn’t to be for Nigel Hemsted who was carrying a calf injury, he flew round the first 15km only to have to make the brave decision to pull out just before the 20km mark when his calf got worse.

Meanwhile, in Southampton there were a few personal bests in the marathon, Neil Jennings was the 11^th runner overall to cross the finish line in a fantastic time of 2hrs 56mins with Remi Francois completing his 2^nd marathon in a time of 4hrs 2mins. In the half marathon Alex Prinsep finished in 1hr 30mins, Jonny Williams 1.39, Penny Jennings 1.55, Keith Morris 1.56, Liz Prinsep 1.58, Cliff Reeves 2.01, Mark Winkworth 2.01, Annie Tomlinson 2.03, Liz Slade 2.06, Ian and Katy Winkworth 2.16, Anna Duignan 2.17, Dylan Needham 2.17 and Sarah Savage in 2.30. In the 10km race, Ray Webb won his age category finishing in 48.17, other runners included Franky Tripp 52.40, Trevor Bond 56.45, Colin Williams 56.54, Hannah Hunt 57.52, Lin Webb 1.04, Heidi Godfrey 1.06 and Wendy Couper also winning her age category in 1hr 21mins. Well done to all!

In recent weeks Romsey Road Runners competed in various races with some runners challenging themselves to new distances. On the 25th March Cranleigh 21 provided a good training run for several runners who are preparing for Spring marathons. Dave Gardner was very happy with his new personal best, finishing in a great time of 2hr 45mins closely followed by Jo McKenzie and Becky Tovey in 3hr

5mins. Meanwhile, over in Wickham, Mark Stileman came 2nd overall in the inaugural Hundred Acres half marathon in a time of 1hr 23mins whilst his wife Sue completed the 5km race in 25mins.

During the Easter weekend David Nixon showed he hadn’t lost his touch in an orienteering trail event at the Cannock Chase Festival, David finished 2nd place overall. Whilst the majority of us ate Easter eggs, Alice Lane, Julie Shanker and Becky Tovey made the journey to Devon for a 4-day Coast to Coast challenge covering 117miles over 4 days. Starting in South Dartmoor and finishing in Exmoor the girls braved every element and terrain possible to successfully complete what they had started together with much relief and a massive sense of achievement. Over in the Isle of Wight, Sue Sleath had a good run in the West Wight 3 hills race, a rather muddy 8 miler finishing in 1hr 4mins and 2nd lady overall.

Romsey’s Abigail Cooke had to wait a long time to achieve her goal of completing the SDW50 (South Downs Way 50) having pulled out last year due to injury. Abi was extremely happy to lay the ghost to rest this year, her patience and training paid off, when on the 8th April she flew round the tough “50mile” course from Worthing to Eastbourne in a fantastic time of 9hr 50mins. Keeping up the long-distance theme Francesca Hough completed her first Ultra, the Test Way Ultra, a 44mile route from Coombs Gibbet along the rather muddy Test Way to Totton. Francesca finished in a great time of 10hr 47mins.

Romsey wrapped the results up with some personal bests in the ever-popular Salisbury 10miler. First home for the club was Mark Stileman in 1hr 1min, closely followed by Alex Prinsep in 1hr 5mins and Ian Winkworth taking 5 minutes off his PB to finish in 1hr 7mins.  It was Keith Morris’ first attempt at this distance he was pleased with his time finishing in 1hr 19min. Liz Prinsep also gained a new personal best in 1hr 24mins, Katy Winkworth debuted at the distance finishing in 1hr 26mins, followed by Sue Stileman returning from injury in 1hr 33mins.

At the Bournemouth 10k, Mary Nixon made it round in a fantastic 1h 3mins.

Looking for a challenge Romsey’s Ben Sharman travelled East to take part in the Jerusalem Marathon on the 9th March. The race was started by the legendary long distance runner Haile Gebrselassie and considering the 631m of climb Ben did very well to complete the course in a great time of 4 hours 14 mins.

On Sat 10th March Dorota Hatch made her debut at one of the Maverick Inov8 events and was very happy to complete the middle-distance trail of 13km in 1 hour 21 mins. There was more action further west at The White star Larmer Tree events this weekend. Set in the gardens of the Rushmore estate, that were created for public enlightenment and entertainment, Romsey’s runners were not disappointed by the beautiful surroundings and peacocks! First to run was Hannah Semeraro who completed the 10mile course finishing as 10th Lady in 1 hour 31 mins. Mark Stileman and Sue Sleath had remarkable results in the half marathon finishing 2nd male and 2nd female in times of 1 hour 40 mins and 1 hour 56 mins respectively. Ian Winkworth had to wait for the light to close so he could don his head torch and complete the Dark Larmer. Ian had a good run, finishing the 9mile course in 1 hour 5 mins earning him 9th place overall and 1st in age group. Abi Cooke and Francesca Hough both travelled down on the Sunday to take part in the marathon distance, completing the tough course in great times, Abi finished in 5 hours 16 mins closely followed by Fran in 5 hours 21 mins.

Not too far away Tamatha Ryan and Stewart Liesnham were taking part in the Imber Ultra 33mile race, a friendly charity event incorporating the Salisbury plains and the Imber Range. The race is surrounded by iron age hill forts and mainly run on metalled roads, bridleways and tracks. Tamatha completed the windy course in 5 hours 23 mins earning her 2nd Lady overall whilst Stewart set a new PB in 5 hours 31 mins.

Sadly, snow stopped play for many races the following weekend but several Romsey Road Runners got the opportunity to brave the elements. Anna Duignan, Wendy Couper and Alice Lane took part in another of the Endurance life events, Anna and Wendy completed the 10km distance finishing 2nd and 4th in age groups. Meanwhile, Alice fought her way through high winds and snow to bravely complete the 34mile ultra in 8 hours and was rewarded by coming 1st in her age group.

Hannah Semeraro and John Horton made the journey to Seaton in Devon to take part in the popular Grizzly race. Organisers were forced to shorten the technical course to 10miles which Hannah completed in 1 hour 31 mins and John and his family in 1 hour 44 mins.

On the 11th February Nigel Hemsted took part in the popular Bramley 20mile race. Ran on quiet country lanes, the race consists of two loops and is deemed as a good training run for a spring marathon, also offering a 10mile option. Romsey’s Nigel finished in a very respectable time of 2hours 29minutes. Meanwhile Cliff Reeves earned himself a new personal best in the rescheduled Twixmas 10km held on the 18th February in Porchester. Despite being off road and slightly over the 10km distance, Cliff completed the race in superb time of 52.12minutes.

Alice Lane and Julie Shanker made the long journey north on the 24th February to take part in the Northumberland Endurance life Ultra Marathon starting in Benthall and finishing at Bamburgh castle. Julie sadly had to make the hard decision to pull out at 20miles due to injury but Alice was able to finish, completing the 35mile route in a time of 7hours 32minutes. The following day, a cold crisp Sunday, saw the Winchester 10km road race. This one lap route with a mix of urban and countryside starts outside Winchester Guildhall and finishes at the City of Winchester football club. Representing Romsey were Alex Prinsep finishing in a time of 38.36 followed by Steve Cleeves 42.07, Ben Sharman 47.23, Paul Whitaker 48.25, Liz Prinsep 51.41 and Sue Stileman in 55.32minutes.

Sue Sleath and Tamatha Ryan took on the long-distance walkers association New Forest challenge marathon, a self-navigating route through the beautiful surroundings of the scenic forest starting and finishing in Burley. The pair made it back for a welcome hot meal in a little over five and half hours.

Becky Tovey was fortunate enough to travel to Abu Dhabi again for the ITU world triathlon. Whilst most of us were dealing with snow, Becky enjoyed a warm swim and was trying to avoid tan lines as she cycled around the formula 1 course before finishing with a half marathon run. Completing in an overall time of 5hours 32minutes Becky pitched each discipline well and enjoyed the race.

The Romsey 5mile race on Sunday January 28th was a great opportunity for Romsey Road Runners to put their recent training sessions to the test. Set within the grounds of the Broadlands estate, the flat and mainly tarmac route was a perfect course for personal bests. First home for Romsey was Mark Stileman in 30.20 followed by Alex Prinsep 30.36, Ian Winkworth 31.14, James Groves 31.35, Nigel Hemsted 33.29 (2nd in age), James Wilson 36.16, Paul Whitaker 36.18, Ray Webb 36.20, Keith Morris 37.19, Cliff Reeves 38.54, Liz Prinsep 39.55, Julie Shanker 40.21, Sarah White 41.03, Shelly Provan 41.27, Sue Stileman 43.28, Lynn Webb 46.25, Jill Baker 48.22, Sarah Savage 50.55 and Lynne Lawrence 56.54.

Another very popular event is the “LDWA Stonehenge Stomp” held in Amesbury was able to make a welcome return for its 30th Anniversary thanks to the aid of Salisbury Running club. Some 900 walkers, runners and dogs enjoyed the well-marked scenic routes of 10km, 20km, 30km and 40km distances encompassing the famous mystical stones. Dorota Hatch completed the 20km whilst Sue Sleath, Abi Cooke, Tamatha Ryan and Francesca Hough completed the 40km route.

The Endurance Life event in Dorset proved to be popular for Romsey Road Runners on the 2^nd December. With the ocean as a backdrop to the Jurassic coastal path and starting in the picturesque Lulworth cove, various distances were offered from 10km to Ultra plus 46miles.  This challenging race with its mixture of trail and grass is listed as an extreme course but Romsey runners were not to be put off. Mark Stileman had an extremely gutsy sprint finish just missing out on 1st place by 4 seconds! With 175ft of climb Mark came 2nd in a time of 48.32 and 1st in his age category. Regulars at this event Anna Duignan and Wendy Couper finished in 1hr 20mins, 1st in age category and 1hr 40mins, 2nd in age category, respectively. The half marathon was over 16miles with 3559ft climb, Alex Prinsep had a solid run finishing in 2hrs 45mins and 40th out of 450 finishers followed by his mum, Liz Prinsep, in 3hrs 52mins. In the marathon, which is over 27miles and climbs 4910ft, Becky Tovey took a slight detour but still managed to finish in 5hrs 44mins, followed by Remi Francois in 6hrs 29mins. Making their debut at an Ultra distance Julie Shanker, Alice Lane and Jim the dog completed the gruelling 33 plus mile course with 5780ft of climb together in a time of 9hrs 20mins.

Not put off by the hills of Dorset Mark Stileman fought to stay upright through the mud fest that was the Tadley Xmas 10km. Unfortunately, it was Marks turn to take a detour costing him a place but still finishing in a fantastic time of 39.13, 5th overall and 1st in age category.

Personal bests galore were achieved by Romsey Road Runners in Gosport Half Marathon. The fast and flat course includes a section along the seafront promenade with views of the Isle of Wight. In perfect weather conditions ten runners completed the distance: Matt Hammerton on form again was first home in 1.14, followed by Alex Prinsep making his debut at the distance and finishing in an impressive time of 1.26 and Ian Winkworth took a massive chunk off his previous time with a new PB of 1.33.  The great performances kept coming with Mark Winkworth 1.38 (PB), Dave Gardner 1.43, Richard Cross 1.45, Liz Prinsep 1.46 (PB), Ben Sharman 1.47 (PB), Alice Lane 1.53 and Caroline Crump 2.37 (PB).

The 25^th November saw Tamatha Ryan complete the Centurion Ultra 50 Grand Slam! A series of four fifty mile races throughout the year on some very challenging routes including the North and South Downs. The last race in the series was by far the toughest both mentally & physically composed of five loops of 10 miles around a very technical and hilly wood in the Chiltern hills. With temperatures at zero and the last three hours spent running in the dark it made for a tough challenge. A very relieved Tamatha finished in 11hours 13mins earning her the prestigious Grand Slam medal for completing all four Ultra races in the series this year.

Sunday 26^thprovided an array of races. Cliff Reeves earned himself a personal best in the hilly Downton Half finishing in 1.55. Julie Shanker also got a PB in the AVR Wiltshire half marathon in 1.52. Mark and Sue Stileman ran the “Avebury 8 Nine” a 9ish mile trail race in Wiltshire. Mark finished just over the hour coming fourth over all and winning his age category and Sue crossed the line in 1.38. Finally, Anna Duignan and Wendy Couper ran the Meon Valley Reindeer Run 10km finishing in 1.03 and 1.19 respectively. Well done to all!

Close to home, a lovely local race is the Totton Stinger, a multi terrain run through the beautiful New Forest on trails, woodland and heathland. This year three distances were offered to runners, 5 miles, 10 miles and 13.1 miles. Romsey road runners took on all three in impressive style! In the 5 mile distance Sue Stileman finished second in the V40 category in a time of 49:38 whilst Anna Duignan came in second in the V60 category in 55:08. Another win for was had for Mark Stileman in the 10 mile race, who crossed the line first overall in an amazing time of 1:08. Also running 10 miles was Penny Jennings in 1:31, Joanna McKenzie in 1:36 and Mark Adams in 1:58. The remarkable performances continued in the half marathon too, Neil Jennings was second overall in 1:26 and Sue Sleath was 1st Lady (7th Overall) in a fast time of 1:42, Jim Wright was eighth overall in a time of 1:43. The same weekend saw Elizabeth Prinsep run the Exeter’s Great Western Run in fantastic PB of 1:54 coming 12^th in her age group.

Last weekend, was the turn of the famous and extremely popular Great South run. This 10 mile road race held in Portsmouth passes landmarks such as HMS Victory and the Spinnaker Tower. Romsey Road Runners put in fabulous performances with all our competitors accomplishing personal bests! Times included Alex Prinsep 1:07:16, Dave Gardner 1:11:36, Ian Winkworth 1:13:11, Mark Winkworth 1:15:46, Liz Prinsep 1:24:40 and Karen Pethick 1:53:56. Meanwhile Mark and Sue Stileman travelled to Woodstock, Oxfordshire to take part in the Blenheim 10k, a mostly flat race but undulating in parts. Mark finished 7^th male overall in 38:58 and wife Sue was 29^th female overall in 53:42. The remarkable results continued at the Abingdon Marathon a race first held in 1982 that incorporates a number of Championship events. Places on this event fill up early as is a flat fast PB course, and it certainly was for Romsey’s Alice Lane who achieved her personal best of 4:16, followed by Brenda Topliss in 4:44.

Finally, to end this impressive run of results, this weekend saw our runners compete in three races; the inaugural Breamore 10k, the challenging Beachy Head marathon and the Dorset stickler. The Breamore 10k, a completely traffic free course on bridleways and estate tracks takes in the wonderful setting of Breamore House and there’s even tea and cake at the end! Sue Stileman reported the race was hilly but managed a good time of 59:46 and Anna Duignan came 4th in her age category in 1:07.

The Eastbourne Beachy Head marathon is one of the biggest off-road marathons in the UK. This challenging event, set against the stunning backdrop of the South Downs National Park, sees thousands of runners take part including Romsey’s Tamatha Ryan and Sue Sleath. The scenery is awesome and the clear sunny weather provided great visibility on this beautiful day, Tamatha said “this almost made up for the hideous ups and downs”. Sue and Tamatha both had great times for this tough race, with times of 4:04 and 4:21 respectively.

The Dorset Stickler is a friendly and popular race that takes runners over 1500ft climbing across three peaks of Dorset: Okeford Hill, Hod Hill and Hambledon Hill. Our runners reported that they had great weather to experience the serious hills and the stunning views, times included Mark Stileman 1:14, Jim Wright 1:26, Abigail Cooke 1:29, Julie Shanker 1:48, Alice Lane and Jim (her dog!) 1:52 and Paul Whitaker in 1:54.

Clarendon Marathon proved to be a winner for Romsey Road Runners this year!

Travelled in the past by ancient Kings and Queens, the picturesque route follows mostly trails & tracks from Salisbury to Winchester but the race was made rather more challenging this year by the recent rain. However, this did not deter Romsey’s Matt Hammerton who appeared in fine form finishing 3rd overall in an impressive time of 3:02. The chasers weren’t far behind him, battling it out Neil Jennings was next to finish in 5th place in 3:13 closely followed by Mark Stileman in 3:15, 6th overall also earning him 1st place in his age group! Ian Ralph had a solid run finishing in 3:30 and 18th place overall. The ladies certainly didn’t disappoint either, Sue Sleath had a fantastic run and was pleasantly surprised to learn she was 1st lady and 29th overall, in a time of 3:45. Tamatha Ryan also had a superb run finishing in 4:16 also winning her age category.  Clarendon offers several distances. Penny Jennings consistently runs the half marathon every year, this year she finished in 2:07 followed by Sue Stileman in 2:20 and Bob Gold in 2:41.

Starting in the same city, the Salisbury half proved a good race for Romsey personal bests; Dave Gardner earned himself the first one finishing in a time of 1:37, Mark Winkworth was next in 1:44, another PB, closely followed by his brother Ian Winkworth in 1:45. Jo Blatherwick achieved the next PB in a time of 1:54 and not far behind was Ben Sharman in 2:00 and Alice Lane in 2:41.

Anna Duignan travelled to be on home soil to complete in the Great Scottish Run in Glasgow. Despite the plentiful rain, Anna beat her time from last year coming in 2:05 and fifth in her age group. Her daughter, an ex RRR runner also had a great run in 1:32.

The following weekend saw another great set of results from the Bournemouth marathon festival. On a warmer day than expected several distances were offered, on the Saturday Trevor Bond competed in the 5km finishing in 23:24 gaining a PB and finishing third in age. Ian Winkworth ran the 10km distance with his wife Katy completing in 58:33 and Elaine Bond finished in 1:14. The half marathon provided Matt Hammerton with another impressive run finishing in 1:14, 6th overall and 1st in his age group. Matt has now qualified for a championship place in the London Marathon, all the more impressive only a week after running the Clarendon marathon! Richard Cross was next to complete the half marathon distance in 1:45 and Keith Morris achieved a PB finishing in 1:51. Finally, James Battle completed his very first marathon in a highly commendable time of 3:15 with Alice Lane also taking on the distance and finishing in a great time of 4:52.

Romsey Road Runners have been hard at it!

Tamatha Ryan ran the Chiltern wonderland 50mile ultra race on the 16th September. A circular route starting in Goring on the popular Thames tow-path, taking in the beautiful Chiltern Hills and picturesque villages made famous by British film and TV. This event is the 3rd of 4 in the 50mile grand slam that Tamatha has now completed finishing this in a time of 9hours 41mins and 6th lady overall. During the weekend Abi Cooke took part in several races on the Isle of Wight. These included: Race 1  St.Boniface Fell 3.8k, Abi finished in 25.20mins Race 2 The Ventnor Horseshoe 12km completed in 1hr 18mins; Race 3 The Wroxall Round 21km which Abi finished in 1hr 58mins gaining her a 16min personal best.

Also that Sunday was the more local Hursley 10km always a popular race for Romsey Road Runners and an especially muddy one this year. Mark Stileman didn’t disappoint finishing in the top ten in a time of 41mins and first in age, Sue Sleath followed in 46.25mins (2nd in age), Ian Winkworth 51.33, Paul Whitaker 51.59, Alice Lane 56.23, Julie Shanker 56.43, Sue Stileman 57.57 and Maria Hartley-Oinn 1 hour.

With races plentiful Mark Winkworth got a great personal best in the Andover food bank 10km finishing in 45.30 and James Battle flew round the Littledown 5mile race in 28.49.

Sunday 24th Sept was host to two popular half marathons and Romsey were keen to take part. The Solent half twists through the New Forest, around Exbury and along the Solent shore at Lepe. Dan Lurcock was first home in a fantastic time of 1.35 followed by Sue Sleath in 1.37 (1st in age). Abi Cooke gained another personal best in 1.41, James Instoe 1.51 and Brenda Topliss 2.10.

Alice Lane chose the Winchester Half marathon to mark her “Big Birthday” and a large group helped her celebrate. Ian Winkworth finished in 1.44 followed by Becky Tovey in 1.47, Mark Winkworth in 1.51, then Richard Cross 1.51, Julie Shanker (PB) 1.55, Fran Hough 1.59, Birthday Girl Alice 2.07 and Anna Duignan 2.18. Meanwhile, Mark Stileman and his wife Sue took part in the Highclere 10km, Sue crossed the line in 52.54 and Mark put in another great performance finishing in 37.29, 7th overall and first in age.

Romsey Road Runners have had a busy summer far and wide.  At the end of August Ken West completed the Quebec half marathon in a time of 1hr 58mins while Sue Stileman achieved a personal best by 13 minutes in the Portishead half marathon with a time of 2hrs 2mins. The first weekend in September saw four of our runners brave the elements and complete the race called “The Beast”, a very challenging 12 mile off road route centered around Corfe castle in Dorset with beautiful coastal views, aptly re-named each year to reflect the features of the course; This year’s course entitled “24 Again”. Mark Stileman was first home for Romsey in 1hr 35mins; Sue Sleath was next in 1hr 52mins closely followed by Jim Wright in 1hr 53mins. Sue Stileman toughed it out with an injury finishing in 2hrs 44mins.

Elsewhere, our new member Abby Cooke made her debut for Romsey in one of the Hampshire road league races The Overton 5mile finishing in 37mins 7secs. Whilst it was a big day on Sunday 10th September with the New Forest Marathon team offering an array of distances to challenge competing runners. With a mix of road & trail Sue Sleath, Julie Shanker and Alice Lane completed the marathon distance finishing in some great times Sue in 3hrs 44mins placing her 2nd in her age category, Julie in 4hrs 47mins, and Alice in 4hrs 49mins. In the popular half marathon a stellar performance from James Battle saw him finish in 1hr 20mins earning him a personal best and a place of 11th overall out of 1905 finishers! Keith Morris also accomplishhed a PB completing the half marathon in 1hr 52mins. Finally, Alex Prinsep completed the 10km distance finishing in 41mins 43secs and 16th overall out of 1291 finishers. Other impressive runs were recorded by Richard Cross achieving 51mins 54secs, Elizabeth Prinsep in 54mins 04secs, Anna Duignan 1hr 04mins and Jennifer Willis in 1hr 11mins.

Becky Tovey had been fortunate enough to gain a place in the Great North Run through the ballot entry, and although the journey was long and the sheer volume of runners made the race slightly challenging, the atmosphere was electric. Becky had an enjoyable solid run, realising an ambition, and finishing in 1hr 38mins. Other races last weekend included the friendly Stockbridge 10km which Jo Mckenzie completed in 50mins 31secs, positioning her a commendable 7th lady overall. Also back in Dorset was another of the highly entertaining white star events called “the Bad Cow weekend” offering runners various distances. Peter & Maria Hartley-Oinn completed the half marathon in 2hrs 5mins and 2hrs 24mins respectively.