Stubbington 10k Jan 2024 - Photos by Out to Grass Photography, Laura De Lisle and Rachel Walsh.

On 7th January, 27 men and 13 women from Alton Runners travelled to the South Coast to take part in the Stubbington 10k which is organised by Stubbington Green Runners. The race started in the centre of Stubbington village following a new route that had been established in 2023. The official race website RUNABC.CO.UK describes the route as “an attractive route that passes Lee-On-Solent Golf Club and Alver Valley Country Park before sweeping along the coast road to Hill Head Beach and back.”

1,780 runners finished the race which is part of the Hampshire Road Race League.  The race was won by Aiden Lennan of Southampton Athletics Club in 30 mins 54s. First home for Alton Runners was James Perrett who finished in a chip time of 33 mins 47s.

The women’s race was won by Cassie Thorp of City of Portsmouth Athletics Club in 33 mins 41s. First woman home for Alton was Rachel Walsh who finished in a chip time of 39 mins 33s. Rachel was thrilled to achieve a Personal Best (PB) time as it was the first time that she had run a 10k race in under 40 minutes. In doing so she also broke her own senior women’s club record. This was a just reward for all of the training and hard work that she has put in. Christian Coles also achieved a sub 40 minutes 10k for the first time in a chip time of 39 mins 15s saying “It was perfect running conditions. Running felt easy and I was very pleased with my time. Other PBs were achieved by Emily Hall (59 mins 48s), Andrew Tarrant (41 mins 23 s) and Richard Bravery (51 mins 13s). This was the first time for over a year that Emily had run a 10k as she had some time out to have a baby. She has kept fit by jogging and walking park runs pushing a baby buggy or carrying her baby in a papoose baby carrier. Emily’s husband Alex congratulated her saying “Not only was it her first 10k for over a year, it was also her first sub 60 minutes 10k, so definitely a PB for Emily. I am very proud of her!”

Andrew was happy with his performance despite having to overcome sciatica which affected his right hip and leg and his lower back. “The conditions were perfect” he said” and the training really paid off. I was two minutes late starting but I felt really good running through the field, making up the ground and achieving my PB.”

Richard agreed  that the conditions were perfect although he said that it was a bit cold to start with. He was pleased to beat his previous PB by 5 minutes and 29 seconds.

Sarah Hart was close to achieving a PB, finishing in a chip time of 53 mins 54s. She then spent the afternoon walking, swimming and weight training. A 10k run is clearly not enough for her. A 10k run wasn’t enough for Alex Hall and Adam Penny either. They finished in 35 mins 46s and 42 mins 10s respectively then went on to play football at Anstey Park. Alex and Adam’s side lost 4-2. Adam said afterwards “I’ll probably regret it tomorrow but eager to get playing again after the Christmas break.” Alex said “The reason that we lost could have something to do with us having nothing left in the tank. This will probably be my last game of football for a while though as I need to concentrate on my marathon training. I will be running in the Boston marathon in April with fellow Alton Runners Richard Taylor and Neil Kinder.”

The team were expecting it to be very wet as in the preceding days it had been raining heavily causing widespread flooding. This wasn’t the case however and although it was cold, it didn’t rain and there was very little wind.  Philip Scrase confirmed that as far as he was concerned it was a nice route and the conditions were perfect for running. “It was the first time I had run the revised route” said Philip “It seemed a lot flatter than the old route, which helped me get a good time (48 mins 28s).” Nicola Fitpatrick and Su Trim agreed that it was perfect weather for running which was reflected in their times of 45 mins 11s and 50 mins 28s. Nicola credited her fast time to the new shoes that she was wearing but other club members disagreed with her saying that it was more likely to be all the hard work and training that she had done.

Christopher Colley admitted that his time of 45 mins 32s was not a PB but he was still pleased with it as it was a PB for Stubbington and almost 2½ minutes quicker than in 2023. “The conditions were perfect.” He said “and I was pleased with the long sleeved top that I received as a memento.”

The Alton Runners were:

Men: James Perrett, Matthew Eade, Alex Hall, Christopher Birch, Richard Webley, Christian Coles, Alistair Morey, Alistair Smith, Andrew Hook, Adam Penny, Andrew Tarrant, James Kidwell, Darren Burgess, Jamie Kilner-Smith, Christopher Colley, Richard Bacon, Philip Scrase, Darren Garfoot, John Greenhalgh, Patrick Tuite, Richard Bravery, Gordon Law, Jim Armitage, Ian Urquhart, Tim Fagg, Chris Buckle, Darren Mansfield.

Women: Rachel Walsh, Laura De Lisle, Nicola Fitpatrick, Wendy Kilner Smith, Diane Byrne, Su Trim, Sarah Hart, Pippa Perrett, Jane Law, Katherine Powell, Jane Scrase, Emily Hall and Caroline Freeman.

Alton Runners next race will be a Southern Cross Country League match which we will be hosting at Chawton House on 21st January.