The Endurance Life event in Dorset proved to be popular for Romsey Road Runners on the 2nd 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.
