New Forest

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New Forest Stinger 2023

This Sunday saw a great turnout of Romsey Road Runners at the New Forest Stinger, as well as a win! The 10 Mile event has been organised by Totton Running Club for a number of years and has always been popular with the club. However this year must have been a record turnout with thirteen entries and some very strong performances!

Matt Hammerton took the overall win in 1:00:37; almost 7 minutes ahead of the second place finisher! Matt has recently qualified for the notoriously tough Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc, having spent the last few years eating Ultra Marathons for breakfast. He holds the fastest known time for Clarendon Way as well as the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path and won the Test Way Ultra in 2022.

Hannah Shutt was 3rd woman in 1:11:40 and Sue Sleath saw a return to form and with 1st V60 woman in 1:17:16. Neil Jennings finished in 4th place in 1:07:47.

Despite the challenging wet and slippery conditions there were some great times across the board; Ian Ralph 1:11:27, Steven Melligan-Hart 1:13:06, Lorna Crouch 1:17:46, Duncan MacDonald 1:19:30, Nigel Hemsted 1:22:46, Susie Parker 1:27:28, Em Gordon 1:28:51, Penny Jennings 1:34:42 and Penny Overy 1:38:44.

A number of runners in Romsey vests at the New Forest Stinger
Romsey Road Runners at The Stinger

Results Roundup

RR_071013aThe last week has been a busy one for Romsey Runners, a mix of triathons, half marathons and full marathons scattered all over the place. First, Tam Ryan completed in her first triathlon and won her age category, in 1.16.23 seconds. The Southampton Fast Twitch Triathlon, is a sprint tri consisting of a 400m pool swim, 12.78 mile bike ride and 3 mile run out and back from Applemore Leisure Centre in the New Forest. Also finishing was fellow club member, Jo Weguelin in 1:24:03.

The Clarendon Way half and full marathon took on Sunday 6th October and was unusually dry underfoot. Starting from Salisbury for the full marathon and Broughton for the half participants follow the Clarenden Way cross country to Winchester. The route is undulating but rewarded with stunning views.RR_071013b

First home was Neil Jennings in 1:41:13, followed by Penny Jennings 1:58:23, Hannah Richardson 2:05:29, Ken West 2:07:29, Alice Lane 2:15:25, Robert Gold 2:41:11. Mark Stileman completed the marathon distance,coming in 3rd place overall in a very impressive 3:11:05.

The Great Scottish Run Half Marathon attracted 29,000 runners including Romsey’s own Anna Duignan. Starting in George Square in the centre of Glasglow, runners headed out and crossed the Clyde before heading back to Glasgow Green. Competitors past some of the city’s most famous landmarks, including the Riverside Museum, Finnieston Crane, Clyde Arc, the new Hydro venue, and Bellahouston Park. Anna finished in 2:10:47 and raising money in support of Cancer UK.

And finally, 6 RRR’s took part in the Wiggle New Forest Sportive 70 Mile Cycle Ride. Riders could chose routes of 41, 70 and 102-miles around the New Forest National Park. Around 6,000 cyclists signed up for the Hampshire event, selling it out well in advance of the day. Ian Ralph completed the 70 mile distance in 4 hrs 22 mins, Paul Cutbill, Hannah White, Tam Ryan, Becky Tovey and Sarah White all finished together in 4 hrs 43 mins, whilst Jimmy Hunt completed the 100 mile distance in 5 hours 28mins.

Results Roundup

The Test Way Relay took place on 14th September. Organised by Totton Runners and transcending the Test Way, this off road event is very popular with local running clubs. A total of 8 runners; male, female or a mix team complete 8 legs of distances varying between 7.1 km to 11.2 km. The event starts at Inkpen Beacon early in the morning and runners head south, finishing leg 8 in Totton.

The Romsey mixed team finished 3rd in a total time of 5 hours 40 minutes and 59 secs; behind Stubbington finishing 2nd and Totton who were the winners.

Taking part in the New Forest half marathon a week later were Christopher Stocks, completing the course in 1:49:33 and Max Dawson in 2:21:34. Finishing the full marathon was Elaine Armstrong in just over the 4 hour mark in 4:06:51. The weather was warm and humid; with little breeze, perfect for a long Sunday run with friends through the picturesque New Forest. This undulating route starts and finishes from New Milton with loops out to Sway and Burley on-route.

RR_30092013Lynda Brown ran the Eton Man 10k – a fast flat course around Dorney Lake, at the Eton Rowing Club in a personal best. Lynda finished in 44:12, securing her in 3rd place lady and 1st in age category.

Also out competing, Jimmy Hunt finished the New Forest Middle Distance Triathlon (half Ironman) in 4 hrs 55 minutes, finishing 19th in a field of 230. Hunt completed a 1.9km open water swim, followed by 56miles on 2 lap route around the northern part of the New Forest, taking in Fordingbridge, Rockbourne and Sandleheath and ended with a tough and undulating out-and-back run of 13.9 miles on bridleways.

Results Roundup

RR_15072013Sunday 14th July saw the New Forest 10 Mile Road and Forest Track Race take place, organised by New Forest Runners. The race started and finished from New Park Farm, Brockenhurst. The route is very nearly all off-road, using gravel tracks and paths within the National Park. It is essentially flat, but can get warm within the shelter of the enclosures, little breeze getting through to cool the runners. There were 4 events, 3 children’s races and the main 10 miler.

Five Romsey Road Runners participated in the 10 mile route. First man home was Neil Jennings in 1:16:08 and Penny Jennings made it a family affair, finishing as first Romsey lady to finish in a time of 1:23:10.

Christopher Stocks finished in 1:21:11, followed by Anna Duignan in 1:58:59 and Alison Soloman in 1.58.59.

There were a total of 775 finishers, enjoying the fine sunny weather, a sharp contrast to last year’s event which was cancelled due to the heavy rains and flooding of parts of the route. What a difference a year makes!

Results Roundup

Results roundup 281012On Sunday 28 October, Jimmy Hunt took part in the Swashbuckler Duathlon consisting of a 5.5km run, a 20km bike and the same 5.5km run to finish off. Starting at the picturesque Bucklers Hard on the banks of the Beaulieu River, the run course took in a relatively flat out and back route that set the scene for a fast time. The bike route headed off through the beautiful village of Beaulieu before a loop back out across the Forest and back to Bucklers Hard, followed by the final run. Jimmy was pleased with his performance, finishing 5th overall in 1 hour 20. Continue reading

Results Roundup

Results roundup 211012The 30th Abingdon Marathon took place on Sunday and a team of 5 Romsey Road Runners entered the event. The autumnal morning gave chilly and foggy conditions but this did not deter the 732 runners from lining up and completing the flat course, which included a two lap section around the villages of Drayton, Milton, and Sutton Courtenay, before becoming back through the town and into Tilsley Park for a finish in front of the grandstand. The well-organised event received excellent support from local residents.

Continue reading

Results Roundup

Results roundup 230912Wet and blustery conditions did not deter Amanda Hull from Romsey Road Runners from achieving an outstanding performance in the recent New Forest Half Marathon. Amanda completed the undulating course in 1:28:05 – gaining automatic entry to next year’s London Marathon. Amanda finished 3rd female and was presented with her prize by local well known athlete, Liz Yelling. Wendy Yelland and Elaine Armstrong also completed with times of 1:44:23 and 2:11:15 respectively. Continue reading