Big weekend in Hampshire XC and RRL

Two big races in the main club competitions in Hampshire Cross Country League and the Hampshire Road Race League, with a strong representation from the club and some brilliant results across the two days.

Hampshire League – Wellesley Woods, Aldershot

First up on Saturday was the Hampshire League Cross Country, over at Wellesley Woods – virtually a home race. AFD did a great job of hosting round 2 of the league on the same course as last year. We had Superb representation in both the Female (10) and Male (13) senior races.  Firstly, great numbers of athletes out, and secondly what a fantastic atmosphere there was in the club tent, the envy of many teams, noted as opposition athletes were (genuinely) cheered in by a sea of red, white and black. It was so good to see familiar faces and some who haven’t raced in a while, the club vest suits you all!

Conditions were mixed, with heavy fields and grippy trails in the woods making it hard work throughout, but not too much of a slog.

In the women’s race, the seniors had the best result so far, finishing 9th overall (out ALL teams!) and 2nd in division 3. For the Vets it was a solid 5th position.

The men scored well in both the seniors and the vets, finishing 9th overall in the seniors, and 5th in the vets, just 5 points behind AFD in 3rd. The old adage of every point counts really does when you’re fighting with the big clubs (does that make us a big club?).

Overall results are difficult to follow, and with an unknown number of races remaining, it’s hard to know how they will score the league overall. Also the women’s results don’t have an overall league for the first two races (at time of writing). But it’s fair to say we’re punching well above our weight in both mens and women’s senior and vets leagues. We’re in the top half of league 3 for the women, potentially top 2nd or 3rd. Hopefully we’ll know more in due course.

For the men, the seniors are comfortably 6th in Division 1, and 3rd in the vets league. When you consider the clubs we’re surrounded by, we should be very proud of this. In the vets league we have AFD breathing down our backs in 4th place! We’re also currently ahead of Basingstoke.

These results are all down to the whole team. Every single athlete. We are in a very strong position in seniors and vets leagues, and with at most 2 fixtures left to play, we really want strong teams out for the remainder of the season.

Post race Cookies and brownies were provided by husband and wife, Greg and Leanne. Thank you both! My kids were every so slightly wired that evening.

FULL RESULTS

More photos

HRRL – Gosport Half

We also saw a team of 10 of us out Sunday for the Gosport Half Marathon on Sunday. There were a few pairs of tired legs from yesterday’s cross country, but spirits were high during the epic warmup (imagine stacked man throwing limbs to 90s dance bangers on a stage in the breezy south coast air!). Debbie’s single-word description of the course was accurate; boring. But no real complaints were heard as 3 pb’s were recorded by Stevyn Mills (1:18:48), Jonny Brewster (1:29:12) and Debbie Mangan (1:40:14) amongst some terrific running by the seaside. Greg Wright took a quite brilliant 4th, a day after a 10km cross country. That’s just showing off in my book.

Back home in just over an hour, definitely one to consider if you want a fast half next year. Rebecca Hinshelwood’s (1:39:31) highlight was the bongo band somewhere along the sea front. Not many races can offer you that! I missed out on ice cream and a fish supper, but made it back just in time to walk the dogs. This is the life of a part-time athlete.

Full Results

Please consider racing for your club. We all win when there are more of us in the race, wherever you finish.