Victory 5, 2025

This isn't the sort of race which I would normally sign up for. However, it's part of the Hampshire Road Race League which is quite theme for Lordshill and I'm enjoying the tour of new events. I was looking forward to this because the course has the reputation of being stupefyingly dull and I was curious to find out just how remarkably boring a course can be.

The day was mild and damp, although thankfully dry on arrival. I wasn't feeling terribly energetic on arrival but I had a decent warm up, said hello to lots of friendly faces and set off in the quest for adventure amid the prosaic.

The first few hundreds metres were tricky in a rapidly narrowing thoroughfare and some tight bends. I kept tucked in behind my mortal rival Andy Parkinson for the first km or so the moved past him and thought no more about him.

Near the start, behind Andy

The course didn't disappoint. The laps around the corporate carpark were iconic in their mundanity. There were a couple of 'careful now' moments, but the jeopardy was in the context of flat tarmac and some kerbs. Disappointingly, there was a relatively interesting section where we got a view of the lake, but it was quite fleeting. The rain started halfway, but you never really notice moderate rain during a race.

In the final section I was overtaken and overtaking in equal measure. I found myself gaining on someone in a Romsey vest. I pushed and strained to catch him, but ended up two seconds behind him - and it was John Wheatley. Little did I know that Andy had been gunning to get me, and finished two seconds behind me. Had I not been gunning to take John out, I may well have been eclipsed by my deadly rival. Phew.

Last lap, and Andy is not far behind me

I finished in a chip time of 31:05, 132nd place and 4th in category. Here are my stats. A terrific way to spend a soggy winter morning.

The Lordshill crew

Gosport half marathon, 2025

I've done this race twice before; once pacing Hannah Shutt a couple of years ago, and before that in a thrillingly memorable fight-to-the-finish with Alex Prinsep in 2019.

I was diverted away from the carpark I was trying to get to, but this just meant that my warmup was a jog to the start. Not feeling terribly energetic, I spent quite a while in a queue for coffee. Thus fuelled, I made my way to the start line, enjoying the pre-race buzz and chatting to RRRs and LRRs alike.

I was aiming for a 3:55 first km and I landed on this perfectly, which was pleasing, although I didn't feel quite as fresh as I had hoped. I'd done an 8-mile walk the day before, and I was hoping that this hadn't taken the edge off. But I was feeling OK. The conditions were perfect; about 11 degrees and minimal wind.

I love the drummers on this course. They're based near the furthest part of the lap (it's a 2-lap course), so you get to hear them four times. They really gave me a boost. On the return leg of the first lap I found myself in lockstep with another guy. We exchanged a few words about our targets (I said 83 to 85 minutes) and we agreed to try to stick together. I never got his name, but he took a bottle from the water station and kindly passed it on to me. But as we approached the turn, he faded.

My un-named companion is on my left. I thought we'd run the whole thing together.

Into the second half, and the pace became more challenging. I was creeping over 4:00 pace. A few guys came past, but I think it was a net gain as I was catching. I always enjoy creeping past others in the last miles. At about the 11 mile marker I realised I had gone to sleep somewhat - easily done when you're on your own - and pushed the pace up a notch.

I pushed over the line in a chip time of 1:24:54, third in my category. This was way off my result from 2019, but I really hadn't trained for this, and it was six years ago. And I had scraped into my target range, so I'll gladly take that.

That's three races done for the 2025/26 Hampshire Road Race League season. I'm really enjoying it.

New Forest 10 mile, 2025

I'm putting my focus into the Hampshire Road Race League this year, something I haven't done before. It taking me to new races, which I love. Why on earth haven't I done this one before? It's an absolute cracker. Terrific scenery, great organisation and none of the razzmatazz of the half/marathon, an equivalent event based at the same venue.

In my quest to avoid Lyndhurst I ended up taking a particularly circuitous route to New Park. I didn't have a lot of time to register, pin on my number, find the loo and get warmed up. I wasn't feeling a lot of fire in my belly.

I focused on nailing a sensible pace at the start and kept to 3:51, which was OK but was nevertheless the fastest km of the race. I was happy to pull past John Wheatley. After about 4k we were on the Rhinefield Road; high ground with stonking views but a testing headwind. Then into the Ornamental Drive, always a pleasure. The sun was shining, we were out of the wind, and everything was bathed in autumnal gold. I was loving it.

The 'water feature' at the halfway point hadn't materialised this year. Most of the course was gravel track and pretty decent underfoot. Into the second half, I found myself slowly chewing my way through the order and picking people off. The cumulative pace figure on my watch moved from 4:00 to 3:59, helped by a long gradual downhill section which I tried to maximise. There were a couple of spicy hills following this where I took out a couple more weary souls. Then back into New Park, and a push to the finish line.

That's not an ideal arm swing

My recorded time was 1:04:36. I was 51st overall and 9th in the M50 category. Here are my stats. I was delighted to have hit a negative split for the race. It was all sunshine and smiles at the end, with no immediate rush to find warm layers. 

Top-notch race memento

Hursley 10k, 2025

Good old Hursley 10k. I did this in its first year in 2010, and then every year except 2014 (injured) and 2016 (in Ireland) that decade. No race in 2020 (pandemic obvs) and it's now back.

My friend Alan Graham tipped me off about this race; after all, he and I were both featured on the sign-up webpage. 

I rely on Alan starting ahead of me... I usually catch him after a mile or so

The ground was firm and conditions were perfect, so I opted for road shoes. There were plenty of friendly faces there. Doing a warm-up, I realised there were plenty of cowpats to avoid in the start and finish field.

Setting off, I found myself in about ninth place. Perfect. Off the initial field and I passed Alan as we moved on to the (longer than I remembered) tarmac section before heading into the woods, which is where the race properly begins. Lots of hills - nothing too drastic, but steady wars of attrition which are hard work, but in which I reckon I can gain a competitive edge.

Gradually I moved up the field. 'You're fifth', a marshal told me at one point. In the distance I could see number 4, and I focused on closing the gap. There was a decent 50m hill between 5.5 and 7 km where I made a lot of ground, and I took him on the downhill after this.

It was then a full-on push to the finish with no one in sight, but mindful of potential late challengers. Luckily, there were none and I crossed the line in 40:57 chip time in fourth place. And 1st M50 to boot. Here are the stats.

Everything had gone as well as I could have expected. I had maintained my top-ten finisher record and I had felt strong. I'd run this in 38:29 in 2019, possibly my most successful racing year, but results like that seemed (a) impossible and (b) immaterial today.

Winning geezers, M50 and M60 respectively

Worcester half marathon, 2025

This was my fourth attempt to get through the EA Masters qualifier, and my first road half since Tatton nearly two years ago. Training had gone well; I'd spent the summer upping my distances and thoroughly benefiting from Lordshill coaching and endurance sessions. The journey had been as it should be; hard, satisfying and enjoyable. The knee niggle that had developed at the start of the week had gone, and I was feeling good.

     
Worcester is cool and quirky

Sue and I had spent the day before exploring Worcester, so I had a reasonable familiarity with its geography. The start line felt relaxed and friendly. I had an enjoyable chat with the only other M55-er I could find, a geordie called David who said he was hoping for 1:20. Yikes, that's probably out of reach.

Steady steady for the off. I felt light as air and struggled to hold the pace for the first km back to 3:50. We crossed the river, swept around the university campus, and then back again to the east side and around the race course. It was calm and peaceful out there and I tried to concentrate on maintaining good form.

Passing the halfway market, the race changed. We were into the city centre, taking multiple twists and turns, with plenty of two-way stretches (an opportunity to admire the pace of the vanguard) and loads of crowd support and music playing. It was great fun, but over this section the largely flat course was punctuated with plenty of little inclines which were testing. As I started to feel fatigued I offered up some gratitude for the sheer privilege and joy of doing one of the things I love best, and there was Sue shouting and waving.

On to the river promenade, and I was focused on the bridge in the distance, forgetting that there was a complicated bit of chicanery around the docks first. I was feeling fatigued now (for me, it's about enduring the difficult teenage kms) but I was palpably catching people and I felt in control. Cross the river, 2km to go, and I'm passing more runners, some of them audibly on their uppers. Then the final bridge and the approach to the finish, which is all a bit of a blur.

My chip time was 1:23:15. I felt the race had gone as well as I could have hoped for and that was absolutely enough. Here are my stats. Had I got the top 3 M55 position that I needed? It took a while to figure this out, The answer was no, not this time I was fifth, well behind David who had got his fifth and nearly eight minutes behind first and second, who had knocked insane 75-minute times.

Chasing the elusive England shirt is a terrific adventure. The quest continues. I'll get there.

Totton 10k, 2025

This is a new-ish local race which is now part of the Hampshire Road Race League. Lots of local runners were taking part, so it seemed like an obvious candidate. Two weeks ahead of forth attempt to make the EA Masters grade in Worcester, it was also a good tune-up / check-in opportunity.

The carpark was a fair way from the race HQ, so by the time I'd jogged there, got my number and been through the portaloo queue there wasn't much time left to get to the start. With a field of over 600 it was a busy affair. I found myself next to David Shepherd waiting for the gun.

It was a breezy downhill start, then a series of left turns on a two-lap anticlockwise course. The undulations made it interesting - nothing very steep or arduous, but enough to give it some texture. I was enjoying myself slowly reeling people in. I went past Andy Parkinson, who has been my mortal rival in the RR10s again this year (he's been one M55 place ahead of me every time) and the thought of him sticking behind me was motivation to keep the pressure on.

I finished spent, but satisfied. My pacing and overall competitiveness has been good. The chip time of 39:07 wasn't spectacular, but that's a secondary consideration. Although I was 7th in the M50 category I was unofficially 1st M55, which I'll gladly take. Here are my stats.

Reassuringly grim

Michelmersh and Timsbury 10 mile, 2025

This was my first race organised by Out There Running, a newish venture set up by local lad and friend Steve Melligan-Hart. 

The published route around the hilly landscape north east of Timsbury looked wonderful - mostly on familiar, well-trodden paths but in a new configuration. A lot of RRRs were marshalling and I knew quite a few entrants, and the start field had an energised yet friendly atmosphere. The conditions were excellent - high clouds and the lightest of winds.

The course didn't disappoint. Plenty of hills in the first half, culminating in a long grind up to the top of Parnholt woods. I like the discipline of these long steady hills - get in gear and fight a war of attrition against the runners in front. We were quite spaced out by this stage but I took out one guy, and then a lady on the corresponding long, fast descent into Braishfield. After that I was on my own. Through the fields around Manor Farm and then the final descent down into Timsbury.

I finished in 6th place in 1:12:03 (not quite the same as my stopwatch time). T

I'd like to do this one again for sure - just cup of tea.

Alresford 10k, 2025

 I'm terribly late in writing this up, so it's a sketchy post.

Alresford is a charming and quite posh town in Hampshire. It was my first time running this and I'd been told by several people that (a) it's a cracker and (b) it's hilly. It's also a fixture on the Hampshire Road Race league circuit. Sounds good, eh?

Both of these things were true. There was a good LRR contingent there (my first non-RR10 race outing with a decent club representation) and a friendly vibe. The undulating course (veering into quite nifty inclines a couple of times) made it interesting. I managed to hold my own and crossed the finish line in 39:19 (here are my stats).

Instead of a medal everyone got a buff, a flapjack and a bag of local watercress. Fantastic!

This beats a medal any day

There were more goodies to come - I managed to get the M50 prize and a box of nibbles and local produce. Happy days!

Reading 10k, 2025

This was something of a comeback event, testing myself on a fast road 10k after last year's injury nonsense. Looking back, it was actually my first road 10k since September 2023. It was also my third attempt to qualify for EA Masters, following the Telford 10k in 2022 and the Tatton Park Half in 2023.

I had felt that training had gone OK but was conscious of my lack of recent race experience at this sort of thing. I found myself at the start line this morning next to another M55 contender, Simon Lodge from Stevenage. Setting off, he rapidly drew away and I realised he was in a different league. 

I tried to focus on sustainable pacing. 3:41 for each of the first two kms... too fast? I think so. The first half had a headwind, but I struggled to feel the benefit of the tailwind on the way home. Although I never reached 3:41 again, my pacing was OK. I was hoping to go sub 38, but I heaved over the line in a chip time of 8:14. Here are my stats.

Simon had clearly beaten me, but I hadn't seen anyone else with M55 on his back. Was I in the top 3? I was 6th in the overall category results...

...and on further inspection it tuned out that three of the caps ahead of me had registered for EA Masters. So no cigar today.

The quest continues!

Compton 10k, 18 May

 I had a toss-up between this race and the Netley 10k. Maybe Netley would have been better training for my Reading 10k Masters' attempt on 1 June, but I couldn't resist the appeal of a low-key trail event.

And it didn't disappoint. The whole event was very good-natured. I caught up with fellow LRRs Aland and Wayne beforehand. The lady compering worked herself into a crescendo of excitement a full five minutes before the start. Thankfully she handed over to someone else for the final countdown.

The course was excellent. Hilly chalk trails, great views, some technical sections, and enough competition to make it interesting. I gradually moved up the field throughout, and enjoyed the downhill final 2km to the finish. I was happy with sixth place, first M50 and a post-race massage courtesy of physio students at Winchester University. Here are my stats.

Sid to Axe, 2025

I ran the full version of this race, the Exe to Axe, back in 2007. I remember it being (a) spectacular and (b) exhausting, but I have no record beyond that. Eighteen years on, I booked myself into the shorter and newer Sid to Axe race, not wanting to overdo a recently-recovered knee injury.

Being a point-to-point race, I arrived at Seaton good and early to catch a minibus to the start in Sidmouth. I was pleased to find free parking and intrigued to learn that there were only five of us in the minibus. We had a good old chat on the journey and arrived in Sidmouth as the morning chill was fading and the warmth was starting to build in the sunshine.

It was the most low-key and bijou start to a race I had ever encountered. Three more people turned up. Only one looked like he might be a competitive player but told me he didn't have much racing experience. We stood on the promenade, were counted down by the race director and off we went.

It was fairly apparent after a few seconds that I wasn't going to get any competition as we set off up the first hill, which was really rather juicy. About a kilometre in I briefly took a wrong turn and doubled back on myself, losing about 30 seconds, to find I was a few metres ahead of the possible contender. But I never saw him again.

Going into the first descent, the path seemed to be directing my left along the edge of a combe. Heading further inland, my suspicions grew until I reached the edge of Salcombe Regis and saw signs directing me back to the coast path. I'm going to have my work cut out to recover from this, I thought. Eventually I found the coast path and met some walkers to told that no one was in front. So I carried on, unaware that at least four of us had taken the wrong path.

The landscape was every bit as wonderful as I'd hoped, and my decision to wear road shoes was vindicated as everything was baked hard underfoot. At Weston Mouth we had to go right down onto the beach and then up a 160m hill - hard work. Then into more familiar territory approaching Branscombe, and up the steepest section to the top of the hill, by which point fatigue was starting to set in, but Seaton shortly came into view, I was into Beer and then on the final straight.

Looking back towards Branscombe. Sidmouth is in the far distance.

The final 300m or so were on the shingle beach, which felt quite right and proper. I had a brief chat with the crew at the finish line, grabbed a banana and my medal and scarpered as I needed to get to Dorchester for lunch with Jem. As I left I saw another runner approach the finish line. Second place? No - this was the winner of the Exe to Axe.

My finish time was 1:41:59, 28 minutes ahead of second place. That's not a result I've ever had before or expect to get again!

Cracking race... loved all of it.

Don't hold your breath for a repeat of a result list like this

This is a medal worth keeping

Ox 'N' Wood 10 mile, 2025

I signed up for this on a whim a couple of weeks ago. A point-to-point trail race in decent scenery... sounded good. It had an unusual format - no formal start, just rock up any time between 10 and 2, collect your number with chip, cross the mat and you're off.

So that's what happened. It was a chilly bright morning with the warming March sunshine competing with a brisk north east wind. I arrived at Charlton Athletics Club at the edge of Andover, vaguely wondering whether it ever gets confused with Charlton Athletic FC. I stripped off layers, got my number and headed off.

The quiet trails were lovely. There was a mile or two of country lanes and then it was a long progression of footpath heading north through woods and over grass fields of chalk valleys. From a few minutes in I was steadily passing runners, some doing the one-way 10 miles, others the out-and-back 20. It was all very matey and cheerful.

It was steadily uphill for much of the course. At 10k the slope inflected and it was a good uphill slog on one of those never-ending slopes. I panted my way to the top and enjoyed breezing down the steep hill on the other side, high-fiving with John Wheatley on his returning leg for his 20 miler. Then back uphill again, a niftily steep ascent on the edge of a dramatic dry valley. 

From here it was for the most part a breezy descent on trails and then roads. I saw some Romseyeque colours ahead - hello Nat Stacey and Sue Sylvester. Then over the finish line to briefly greet Alice Lane before she set off for her second leg.

All done and dusted. I had been a bit anxious about the transport home... would I have to wait forever for the minibus freezing my bits off? Luckily, no. I found a seat next to James Blyth - my fourth friendly face - and I was just starting to shiver when we set off. Poor James had been waiting for almost an hour.

I checked out the chip timing leaderboard. You're in pole position, it told me. Wow! Early days, I thought... but it stayed that way.

Rolling starts make it impossible to know how you're doing.

What a terrific new bit of geography to explore, and what a privilege to be on the trails on a day like this.

England National SC Championships, 2025

 This race has been an ambition for a while; that is, at least six years back to 2019 when I took part in the 'Southerns' at Parliament Hill.

This was my first outing with Lordshill Road Runners. The day didn't start terribly auspiciously. I got my timings badly wrong (ahem, a whole hour wrong) and ended up running a mile to catch the minibus a few minutes late. I took my seat feeling mortified and in a lather of sweat.

It was great to get to know the Lordshill and Totton folk on the minibus. I'd only met the LRRs in the dark on club nights. I'd left my lunch behind in the rush and was peeved about having to shell out for overpiced stuff at Fleet Services.

We arrived at Hampstead Heath in plenty of time, set off from the carpark along a tarmac path and entered another world. The whole race zone was a fiesta of mud. The club tent zone was Glastonburyesque in its level of wet churn. We sorted out numbers and I wandered around a bit, watching some of the other races, scoffing some food and searching for a loo with minimal queue. The scale of the event was immense - much bigger that the Southerns. I sniggered to myself at the poor spectators who had come with unsuitable clothing.

Lordshill Ladies

The ladies join battle

The chaps

3pm, the hour of the senior men's race, approached. I put on my spikes, ran around a bit and headed down to join nearly 1800 other blokes at the start, just as the sun burst through. . I was delighted to bump into Rob Finch on the way. Standing at the start line, feeling like part of a medieval army, the chatter melted away as we moved into position and listened for the gun. 'Can we wait for my Garmin?' some wag shouted, and laughter washed over the crowd. And then - bang - we were off.

As expected, the charge up the hill was messy and cramped. We funnelled into each other at the top and I was slowed to a walk as we passed through the bottleneck and onto the course proper.

Oh. My. Goodness. The mud was extraordinary in its gloopy ubiquity. Downhill - stay on your feet; flat - dance through the swamp; uphill - heave against the laws of physics. It was slow and hard. There were odd sections when it was almost like running an normal trail race, but not many. I managed to trip over twice, leaving my arms and legs covered in quick-drying matt emulsion.

Freshly mudded and bloodied

Don't let this scrawny wee chap get you

Hanging in there while the mud congeals

On and on it went. Some guy complained at me, quite deservedly, when I managed to spit on his legs. Sorry about that. I shared a brief 'what the hell are we doing here?' moment with someone on a particularly arduous uphill section. Towards the end I kept saying to myself 'this will be the last hill' before realising there was a bit more to follow. Eventually it was downhill and then onto the finish straight, which was, of course, a muckspreader of a finale. 

Type 2 fun. The race was anything but pleasurable... but I wouldn't have missed it for the world. It was a glorious experience, although intensely awful at times in the moment. Getting myself sufficiently free of mud afterwards to be able to get onto the minibus was quite an exercise. 

In the end I finished in 826th pace out of a field of 1783 - so top half, which felt respectable. At 5:02 km pace, I was way slower than in 2019, but that just reflects the conditions. What a cracking day out.

The men's team results

Goodbye Parliament Hill

We all survived somehow

Lytchett 10, 2025

This was a new race for me, although not completely unfamiliar, as Mrs S ran it a few years ago - possibly in 2019 - while I bimbled around the area on my bike. Today I was solo while Mrs S was away. It was an early start from home on a clear and cold morning. I arrived in good time, got my number and chatted to a few fellow runners over Thermos coffee and went outside to warm up.

The marshals were warning of ice on parts of the course. This struck a chill in my heart. Ever since my FOOSH incident 11 years ago I've held huge respect and trepidation about icy roads. You really need to know that your contact with the hard surface beneath you is going to keep you upright; otherwise you're in Timmy Tiptoe rather than Rampant Race mode.

Standing in the sun before the 9am start, I felt a flush of warmth and put my hat in my pocket. After an inaudible briefing we were off, and back in the shade my hat promptly went back on again. The pace felt sensible. On the smaller lanes I kept to the middle of the road where the surface was a bit rougher and drier, and I my ice paranoia gradually abated.

The race was on the livelier side of undulating. Much of the course was longish sections up or down hill, with a cumulative elevation of 228m. I overtook a fair few folk and felt strong in the final section, although I was hounded down and royally overtaken less than 100m ahead of the line in 1:03:35. 

I didn't feel that my speed was up to much, but all uphill sections were contained within the first 12k, for which my average km pace was 4:00 compared to 3:42 for the remainder. And this was my first race of any distance since the Salisbury 10 last March, which BTW was 2 minutes quicker and has an elevation of just under 100m, which probably makes it quits.

I was keen to press on to Dorchester to meet up with Jem and Oscar. I was hoping to be respectably placed in the old geezer category but not first place so that I wouldn't have to hang around for the presentation, which sounds but isn't meant to be horribly ungrateful for a really friendly and competently-organised race. Proper job, Dorset Striders - this is a highly commended event.

Romsey 5, 2025

This is a nifty local race on fast tarmac and packed gravel around the Broadlands estate. It's quite pricey and the organisation has been a bit erratic in the past, but it's nonetheless a decent fixture in the racing calendar. More significantly for me, this was my first test of speed since my knee starting whinging in the middle of last year. And I hadn't run this particular race since 2019 when I got a chip time of 29:48.

The weather this morning remained dunkelflaute - cold (3 degrees), calm, cloudy - really very dreary but really not bad racing conditions. There were a few Romsey folk there but not a huge contingent of club folk because it clashed with a CC6 race. A warm-up and few stretches later, and I was on the start line, trying to get into a calm zen-like state and stay in 'glide' mode for the first km or so.

It seemed to work. I thought about my breathing and my posture, and as the field opened up I felt good. I was quite close behind a lady with Erin written on the back of her shirt. As we finished the first short lap it became clear that (a) she was the leading lady and (b) her pacing was excellent. I stayed a few paces behind her and kept going.

The out-and-back leg of the final lap was enjoyable as it was an opportunity to see the leaders (Matt Bennett and Shaun Brown were right up there) and to wave at others on the way back. I felt myself gaining on Erin but remained cautious about overtaking until the final straight when I edged past. I also picked up an Aldershot runner and heaved over the line.

I deliberately hadn't looked at my watch while racing. I had a look. 28:48... wow! And my chip time was 29:45. I was absolutely thrilled.

This has been a proper-confidence booster and a cracking start to the year.

The locals