10k

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.

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.”

The weekend of March 19th-20th was a busy one for Romsey Road Runners. Saturday saw Nikki Sparkes complete the Lulworth Marathon, a tough run with 1823m of elevation, in a solid time of 6:52:07, while Tim Parker took second place in the Maverick Hampshire trail 16k in an impressive time of 1:05.

On the Sunday, Amy and Giovanni completed the Weymouth half marathon in 2:13 and 1:40 respectively. Amy said of the race: “the course was spectacular, with the first section along the seafront then through a nature reserve, a hill fort and finishing with the harbour. We are both really happy with our results.”

Also on Sunday, James Byrne completed the 5k run, 21k cycle and second 5k run of the Buccaneer Duathlon Sprint at Buckler’s Hard in a fantastic time of 1:54. James said: “being a keen cyclist as well as a runner I was curious to try an event which combined the two. There was a strong headwind during the cycling section but the route through the New Forest was huge fun. I’d highly recommended the event for anybody who is curious about dipping a toe into a multi-sport event.” James had also completed his milestone 25th parkrun the day before.

Sunday was also Eastleigh 10k day. This local road race with PB potential attracts some of the fastest club runners from around the UK. Leading the charge for RRR was Ryan Snell who came 55th overall in a time of 33:58 which got him 7th V40 place. Next in was Neil Jennings who finished the “brutally fast but enjoyable” race in 35:07, quickly followed by Alex Prinsep who set a new PB of 35:24. Mark Stileman was the fourth RRR home, taking 10th V50 place in an impressive post-injury time of 37:23. Mark was very happy to comprehensively beat his previous Eastleigh 10k time of 37:38 set in 2013. Keith Morris (44:13) and Elizabeth Prinsep (43:43, 2nd VF55) both achieved new PBs, with Keith very pleased to “finally go under 45 minutes!”

Clem Kinsgtone completed her first 10k in five years at Eastleigh in a time of 1:01; Cliff Reeves in 54:01; Steve Geary in 42:46; Rob Gowman in 58:37; Alice Lane in 51:35; Lin Webb in 1:03 and Isabelle Prinsep in 52:58. Gemma Quarendon got herself a PB of 52:04; Dorota KH a PB of 54:19; Lin Windsor a PB of 54:58; Sam Weston a PB of 40:36; James Wardle a PB of 1:04; Gemma Ingason a PB of 1:07; Natalie Gore PB of a 1:08 and Coach Ian Ralph, who was running to support the club’s Eastleigh 10k training group, finished with Natalie in 1:08.

Dorota noted that she was “particularly impressed with our 2021 class of Couch to 5K runners who smashed their first 10k at Eastleigh, less than a year after starting running.” Lin Windsor, one of those 2021 C25Kers, said that she was “really pleased with a time of 54:58 for my first proper race,” adding her thanks to all at the club for their support and encouragement. Natalie Gore, another graduate of the club’s 2021 C25K class, was thrilled to achieve two PBs during the race: her 5k time dropped from 34:04 to 33:30, and her 10k time from 1:14 to 1:08. Sam Weston, who also did the 10k training course said it had been “great to be part of a group of people with a shared goal and a clear training plan. The support we’ve all felt over the last ten weeks and on the day has been a real boost.”