Romsey Road Runners have been busy representing the club at races across the country in recent weeks. Early February saw Alice Lane travel to Beesands in South Devon to complete the Endurance Life Coastal Trail Series marathon. This is a tough race with over 1300m of elevation. The following weekend, Alice took part in the Greenham Common 40th Anniversary Peace Camp run in chilly, damp conditions, and the week after that she travelled up to Northumbria to take part in another Endurance Life Coastal Trail Series marathon, this time running along the coast to Bamburgh Castle with her dog, Jim. The same weekend, Tom Watson and Gretel Hardwick completed the ten-mile Hard Yard trail run in East Hampshire, while Elizabeth Prinsep ran the Brighton half marathon. Liz said: ” it was a bright day but very cold around the streets of Brighton. There were thousands of runners competing, and the race was well supported with a great crowd. However, the last 3 miles along the sea front were a battle against a strong head wind. All things considered I finished with a strong last km in 1.39.”
Sunday 6 March was another busy day for RRR. Liz Slade, Emily Gordon, Amy Spencer, Elizabeth Prinsep, Alex Prinsep, Neil Jennings, Giovanni Buldrini and Matt Cheales all did the inter-club CC6 competition at Badger Farm in Winchester; Sue Sleath took on the WSR Larmer marathon in Dorset; Louise Holiday ran the Cambridge half marathon with her daughter Sophie; Jane Jackson completed the Bideford half along the beautiful Tarka Trail in Devon, finishing in 2:18 hours, and Alice Lane, Susie Parker, Hannah Shutt and John Horton took on the Grizzly, a tough, twenty-mile race over cliffs and through bogs and rivers around the coast between Seaton and Branscombe.
Louise said of the Cambridge half: “I ran the Cambridge half marathon with my daughter Sophie. Sophie was running for MacMillan Cancer Support in memory of her grandmother who passed away exactly a year before. Amazingly she has raised over £900. The race was Sophie’s first half marathon and my third. It is quite a big event with over 14,000 runners. The course is very picturesque as it winds through King’s College, along the Backs and out to the pretty village of Grantchester. It is also flat which is probably one of the reasons it is so popular! There was great support all along the route with lots of live music which made the event really fun. The weather was also kind to us, although it was pretty chilly at about 3 degrees C – it was a relief to get going but as soon as we had warmed up we both really enjoyed it.”
