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!