Romsey Advertiser's Articles

 

Dear Sports Editor

'The New Forest Marathon and Half Marathon took place last Sunday, starting and finishing in New Milton. Five Romsey Road Runners took part in the on-road event, two in the Marathon and three in the Half. Iain Cross and Kerry Williams, both running their first full marathon, completed the course in fantastic times; Iain in 3 hours 5 minutes and Kerry in 4:23. Both runners have put in a lot of training and fully deserved to be rewarded with these excellent times. Iain was one of the youngest competitors and finished 17th overall out of 438 runners. Kerry, who was running for charity, was 'thrilled' with her time. In the Half Marathon, Andrea Markham and Liz Slade were running the distance on-road for the first time and completed it in 1:58:07 and 1:58:08 respectively. Carol Brunner said she was just going to plod round, but still managed a very pleasing 2:01:16. The New Forest Marathon Association's organisation was excellent with plenty of drinks stations and sponge stations, staffed by local groups. The support around the route was very welcome and all runners were grateful for the 'chip-timer' removing service at the end!

The previous weekend saw Romsey Road Runners enter a team in both ladies and mens events of the Test Way Relay. Covering the entire 49 mile route from Inkpen Beacon in the north to Eling Wharf in the south, the ladies team consisting of Liz Slade, Angie Stuckey, Tamatha Ryan, Charlotte Maslen, Julia Abab, Lynne Whitaker, Jane Field, Heidi Williams and Irisha Cross finished 4th out of 8 while the men's team, Andrew Archibald, Bruce Maddick, Tony Peelo, Greg Roulston, Paul Burnage, Chris Brown, Jeremy Hartley, Iain Cross and Paul Cross came 11th out of 12.

The 2007/08 Hampshire Road Race League (HRRL) got under way recently with the Overton 5 mile. Lynne Whitaker finished in 34:45 and currently lies in 19th place out of 119. Jane Field completed the course in 35:27 and is 25th at present. There are 10 events of varying distances in the HRRL finishing with the Winchester 10K next June.

Lynne Whitaker won her age category in the Alice Holt Forest Farnham 10K, finishing 6th out of 173 ladies in a time of 43:41. This multi-terrain undulating route takes runners through leafy forest glades and along many interesting country paths within and around the Alice Holt Forest.

Sarah Thorn took part in the London Duathlon in Richmond Park. The race comprised a 20K cycle sandwiched between two 9K runs. Sarah was very pleased with her time of 2 hours 24 minutes.

 

Many thanks.

Liz Slade