The Stinger 2018

I've been looking forward to this race.  I've previously run it in 2015 and 2017, and I really enjoy its understated, no-nonsense approach and the opportunity for a good charge around cross-country New Forest course.

It was a mild, damp morning.  The Lovely Mrs S and I arrived in good time in persistent drizzle that was trying to turn into proper rain.  We said hello to lots of faces from local running clubs, and took off the layers as late as we dared - the feeling of light rain on bare shoulders is not the loveliest sensation.  We gathered on a wide open piece of Stony Cross plain, 5-milers and 10-milers alike, and we were off after a slightly fluffed air horn blast.

We seem to get a lot of race welcomes that l;ook like this

With the Hampshire Hares gang

The first km was largely downhill.  I was trying to be sensible, but found myself in second place quite quickly, and by the time we went under the A31 I was running with Neil Jennings, James Battle and another lad, all of whom were running the 5.  They peeled left shortly afterwards and I was on my own.

Well, sort-of.  I could hear the marshals calling encouragement behind me, and then I started hearing footsteps that gradually got louder.  I'm not keen on setting a leading pace from the start (I'd much rather chase than be chased) and about halfway around I was overtaken by a tall guy.  It was Daniel Campion from Lordshill, who won the half-marathon race last year (no HM this year, though).  He pushed ahead at an ambitious pace and there was no chance of keeping up with him.

There was a great mix of all kinds of surface, some testing long drags uphill and exhilarating downs.  Soon enough I was back on the return trail, passing some of the 5-mile runners with lots of cheery encouragement.

The finish took a different route this year.  Mrs S and I had checked out the final approach, and this year there was a really sharp 10-metre slope right at the end.  The 500m to the finish had countdown signs every 100m, and the course just got steeper and steeper, but the encouragement grew louder. Mrs S, who'd had a cracking run too, was shouting at me and I thought there might be someone on my tail, and it was a great lung-busting finish.  I heaved my way over the line in 1:05:24, my best time to date and it was a bit longer on this route too.  Second place - I'll take that.  Had Neil and James been running the 10-mile race, it might have been a different story. 

It's a zinger, the Stinger.

The spoils of war