HRRL Stubbington 10K and SXCL Chawton House

HRRL Stubbington 10K

Group at 2020 HRRL Stubbington Green

Twenty nine Farnham Runners travelled to the coast to take part in the sixth Hampshire Road League event of the season, the Stubbington 10K. Now in its 35th year, it is known for it fast, flat course with few inclines, so it draws a very competitive field of 2,000 entrants. After the start in Stubbington village it winds along country lanes and finishes along scenic coastal roads.

Conditions were pleasant, not too cold, but with buffeting side wind that would have affected runners’ pace at times.

Three from the club were prize-winners, while a further four placed sixth or seventh in their age category, impressive in such a high quality field.

The men’s A team consolidated their position in the top Division, coming sixth of ten teams and staying sixth on aggregate. They were led in by a strong James Clarke, whose excellent 34 minutes 57 seconds put him 26th of 1789 finishers. Next, Matt Saker was delighted with his prize for coming second M50 with a new personal best of 36:39.

Harvey Wickham took 19 seconds from his previous best in 38:58. Neil Ambrose also ducked under 40 minutes in 39:31 to complete the A squad. These four were the identical A team as in 2019!

Keith Marshall, sixth M60, clocked 41:46, followed by Justin Clarke, seventh M60 in 42:21, taking a massive three minutes 22 seconds from his previous best. Damian Probett, sixth M55, and Tim Farrant also improved in 42:38 and 43:05 respectively to help the club’s B team score. There was an incomplete C team of Steve Bailey (43:55), along with John Phillips (48:27) and Ali Hardaway (48:29) who were both taking it easy while recovering from colds.

For the ladies, Gabriella Hitchcock took almost a minute from her PB for an impressive 41:29, as 23rd lady and 6th senior lady. Linda Tyler was first F55 with a fine 45:39, with Jane Georghiou first F65 in 48:49. This A team came ninth of ten clubs in division one on the day. They lie ninth on aggregate, so need good results in the remaining six events to avoid relegation.

The ladies B team consisted of Kerrianne Cartwright-Forbes (51:27), Clair Bailey (53:28) and Vicky Goodluck (55:34). Helen Bracey (55:43), Emma Campbell (55:48) and Hannnah Bence (57:30, PB by 3 min) made up the C team , with Tina Harrison (1:00:16), Jane Probett (1:01:33), Alison Yearsley (1:01:14), Claire Arnott (1:01:40), Julia Tagg (1:03:00), Susan MacKenzie (1:03:32), Sally Kerr (1:06:10), Jackie Wilkinson (1:07:20) and Jacquie Browne (1:10:10) in support.

SXCL Chawton House

Group at 2020 SXCL Chawton House

The following week there was a massive record turn-out of 52 Farnham Runners for the fifth of the six Southern Cross-Country League fixtures. Thirty of them were ladies, some racing for the first time. Organised by Alton Runners, for the second year the race took place at the scenic venue of Chawton House. The 5 miler was mostly on grassland around the estate, steep undulations making it a challenging course. Frozen divots before the race had softened by the 11am start and the ground was soft with muddy patches with one large, deep puddle that couldn’t be avoided.

Farnham Runners’ ladies came second and men eighth, which gave them fifth overall out of 24 teams.

Newcomer Hamish Maclean gave an impressive performance in his first race in club colours, finishing fifth and giving the team a huge boost. Charlie Hill-Venning ran strongly for 50th place, with Stuart Haig in 63rd keeping ahead of Neil Ambrose in 68th. A rejuvenated Charles Ashby skipped round for 83rd, with Colin Addison 87th and Nick Hitchcock 88th not far back.

Gabriella Hitchcock ran a season’s best 9th, with Louise Granell in 12th and Kayleigh Copeland in 17th giving the ladies their excellent ranking of second. Linda Tyler 37th, Sue Taylor 47th and Lindsay Bamford 51st were the next three.

Other placings:

Men: John Phillips 110, John Hill-Venning 126, Mike Taylor 133, Terry Copeland 140, Steve Bailey 147, Justin Clarke 150, Adam Harrison 157, Damian Probett 193, Richard Denby 200, Tom Geyton 211, Ali Hardaway 215, Craig Tate-Grimes 225, Clive Frostick 228, Geoff Brown 240, Ian Loader 264,

Ladies: Jane Georghiou 62, Caleigh Smith 66, Kay Copeland 82, Marisa Luttrell 83, Gill Iffland 86, Tori Shaw 93, Vicky Goodluck 99, Kathy Brown 110, Jane Allen 115, Clair Bailey 121, Amanda Muir 124, Penny Schnabel 125, Helen Bracey 126, Alison Yearsley 127, Jane Probett 142, Pauline Hamilton 154, Claire Arnott 156, Tina Harrison 163, Georgi Welch 186, Jacquie Browne 190, Carolyn Wickham 194, Jackie Wilkinson 195, Anna Samuel 203, Kate Parry-Shield 204.