Monthly archives: October 2022

2 posts
Ronners in blue Great South Run finishers t-shirts

RRR in action at the Great South Run

Results

The Great South is a ten-mile road race held on the streets of Portsmouth with a field of 25,000. It’s usually well represented by the Romsey Road Runners and this year was no exception, with 19 members taking part. The weather Gods were smiling and the day dawned bright and fair- perfect conditions for running – so the club was hoping for good results and the runners did not disappoint.

Ronners in blue Great South Run finishers t-shirts
Great South Run Finishers

Ryan Snell was the first RRR to finish in an impressive time of 56:36, swiftly followed by Matt Brown in 1:02. Sam Weston followed soon after in a very creditable 1:09, setting himself a new PB in the process, while his wife Hayley was just behind him in 1:11, also setting a new PB. Nigel Hemsted finished in 1:15; John Quayle 1:17; Em Gordon also 1:17; Liz Prinsep 1:19; James Byrne 1:25; Mark Judkins also 1:25 and setting himself a new PB into the bargain; Ray Webb 1:25; Nikkie Baptista 1:26; Lin Windsor, who was running in her first ten-mile event having taken up running the previous year, finished in a superb time of 1:30; Cliff Reeves 1:36; Lottie Budd 1:37; Lin Webb 1:44; Bridget Wells 1:46 and Gemma Ingason in 2:03, also setting a new PB.

The Studland Stampede, a 12k (7.5Mile) multi terrain trail run starting and finishing on the beautiful Studland beach, was also held on Sunday. The route offers stunning views of Old Harry Rocks, Brownsea Island and the Isle of Wight and is not for the faint-hearted. Sue Sleath finished in 1.00, 4th lady and 1st in age group; Julia Abab and Derek Kelly both finished in 1.31.

Also on Sunday was the Bath Half, another large city road race consisting of two laps and attracting a field of over 7000. Romsey’s Jonathan Stevens took part, netting himself a PB in a superb time of 1:37. Jonny said: “I set off too quickly but managed to hold on to get a PB. I believe it was a new, revised route this year…my first time. Would recommend the race to others, they’ve managed to find the only flat 13 miles in Bath, bar the last 400 meters!”

21 runners mostly in yellow clarendon shirts with 3 in purple london shirts standing in a field

RRR at the London and Clarendon Marathons 2022

Results

Sunday 2nd October was a busy day for Romsey Road Runners. Four members headed up to London to take part in the marathon, while twenty-five opted to stay closer to home and take part in the Clarendon, a point-to-point race offering several distance options along the ancient Pilgrim Way linking the cities of Salisbury and Winchester.

In London, Alice Lane netted herself a Good For Age qualification for next year’s race by finishing in a superb time of 4:03; Liz Prinsep finished in an impressive 3:48; Ben Sharman in a solid 4:14 and Megan Batchelor, who was running in her first marathon, finished in 3:59.

21 runners mostly in yellow clarendon shirts with 3 in purple london shirts standing in a field
Clarendon and London Marathon Finishers

Megan described the experience as: “a real mix of emotions and a mental test. The crowd lifts you the whole way, I’ve never experienced anything like it. Seeing my family just after mile 18 gave me a huge boost and then seeing them again just before the end was exactly what I needed to keep pushing. I even went for a ‘sprint’ finish at the end. I can honestly say the feeling of crossing that finish line almost gives me the drive to want to do it all again!”

London also offered runners the chance to compete virtually, which is what Romsey’s Hayley Weston did, clocking up a fantastic time of 3:34 to secure herself a Good For Age qualification for 2023. Dave Gardner also took the virtual option, finishing in 6:28.

Back in Hampshire, the Clarendon dawned overcast and wet, stirring memories of 2020 and Storm Alex which turned many of the tracks to muddy rivers. With rain forecast throughout the day everyone was prepared for a similarly soggy outing, but it proved not to be the case as by mid-morning the weather Gods were feeling munificent and the sun shone.

Dorota Koschmidder-Hatch was running her first marathon at the Clarendon and did herself proud in a brilliant time of 5:15. Matt Hammerton, recovering from Covid, took fifth place in 3:11 and Ian Ralph finished in a solid 3:51.

Dorota said of her first marathon: “the support from club members was amazing and the scenery truly made it worthwhile. I really enjoyed the first 24miles, but the last 2 were tough. Will I run another one? Maybe after I forget how much my legs hurt!”

In the half marathon, Romsey’s Neil Jennings blasted his way to victory, taking first place with a superb time of 1:27, while Matt Brown came 5th in 1:43 and Sam Weston 12th in 1:49. Duncan MacDonald 1:52; Nigel Hemsted 1:55; Keith Morris 2:14 and Bob Gold 2:35. Sue Sleath was 2nd lady in 1:50; Penny Jennings 2:13; Sue Sylvester 2:19 and Lottie Budd 2:32.

Sam commented: “I went into the Clarendon Half expecting beautiful views and brutal hills and it did not disappoint! The conditions were absolutely perfect and it was a great motivator to see so many members of the club along the way. Everyone I met was friendly and considerate along the sometimes narrow trails. I’d do this again over an overcrowded city race any day!”

RRR also fielded two Relay teams. The imaginatively named “Get in Gear, feel the Burn and Battle the hills in Style” of Steve Geary, James Byrne, James Battle and Mark Stileman took 4th place in 3:19 while team “Us and Him Again” (Derek Kelly, Anna Duigan, Liz Slade and Julia Abab) finished in 4:47. RRR’s Lin and Ray Webb also ran the Relay with friends Frankie Colling and Sharon Ardley to finish in 4:19.

Derek said “conditions on the first leg were slippery in the rain, but by the time I reached the changeover point and gave the baton to Anna, the rain had stopped and the sun came out. It was still shining when Liz started leg three and it continued shining for Julia on the final leg from Farley Mount to the finish at Winchester. It was a day full of fun and camaraderie with cheering, encouragement and support between the runners. We loved it”.