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 |
| 9 | Tam Ryan |
| 16 | Jo Weguelin |
| 18 | Hannah Shutt |
| 25 | Di Cross |
| 30 | Julia Abab |
| 32 | Penny Jennings |
| 52 | Deborah Rees |
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.
The latest edition of Relay can be found on the Relay Newsletter Page.
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].
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.
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
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!
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.
Agenda and other documents for this week’s AGM.
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.
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
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:
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.
Finishing the half were:
and full marathon:
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.
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]).
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.
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/
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The latest edition of Relay is now available from this link.
Pewsey success for RRR’s: Two Romsey Road Runners competed in the Pewsey Vale Half Marathon on 24 August, which took place on country roads just south of Marlborough. The undulating, circular route passed through scenic countryside, taking in one of the famous white horses, before finishing back at the village’s primary school. Brenda Topliss, who finished 96th overall in a time of 1:56:02, won the FV65 category and received a trophy when awards were presented after the race; Di Cross finished just ahead in 1:55:33 (91st, 20th woman); both runners used the event as part of their training for the Clarendon trail races in early October. The race was well organised, expertly marshalled and very friendly.
A further contingent of Romsey Road Runners travelled westwards to Corfe Castle in Dorset to run part of the notorious ‘Beast’ route just for fun! This annual club trip to Corfe is affectionately referred to as the Beast ‘recce’. The Romsey runners run about 9 miles of the race route, which can be confirmed as being accurately described as undulating and extremely hilly! Part of the course includes the formidable Houns-tout cliff where the runners climb around 200 steps to the top and experience breathtaking views across the Purbeck coastline; before finally returning along the cliff top and back to Corfe Common.