July Harestock Handicap

Harestock HandicapSeniors - Endurance Running

9 Jul

Pete Curtis made a rare appearance at the July handicap...catching and passing Colin McManus in the home straight to run off with the win

The July handicap was anything but normal with many stalwarts away on holiday and a challenging mix of new faces, seldom seen old friends and a few regulars all pitching up to present the handicapper with a real challenge. Big thanks then to Stephen Lowy for stepping up as our guest handicapper for this far from standard handicap event and for maintaining the "new winner every month" streak for 2023.

Our winner on the night was Pete Curtis, running with new found freedom and giving it some welly to catch and pass Colin McManus in the home straight. Paul Oxley was third home just ahead of the main pack.

Fastest on the night was John Reed (6'27) with Pete Curtis (6'39) significantly improving his PB and moving up the honours board. Fastest ladies were Karen Hazlitt and Michaela McCullum who completed a very relaxed trip down memory lane with a sociable 9'05!

In the overall standings little change.....the scoring system ensures that the race stays open so anyone could still win but Paul Oxley keeps scoring steadily and remains our leader, now leading from Colin McManus, Steve Oliver, Ian Parker & Ric Pike.

It was also a dramatic evening in the race for those coveted 12 out of 12 medals....we're down to there being only two people in the whole world still in with a chance...good luck Ian Parker & Paul Oxley!

Steve Oliver

Steve leads the Thursday "SOS" training sessions & does a bit of Team Management.
He's a decent marathon runner and an active older bloke.

Disciplines: Endurance running

Ages: Seniors Days Tuesday & Thursday evenings

My coaching background: At a CC6 race in late 2011 we were chatting about how difficult it was for a “medium paced” runner to find the right training group once they had progressed beyond their first “beginner” experiences but still felt a bit intimidated by the “fast” groups.

Some “friends” – including my wife – suggested I might enjoy filling that medium paced gap and the rest is history. I am now qualified as a Leader in Running Fitness and take an all comers medium paced running group on a Thursday evening.

Why I enjoy coaching: It is fun. Not just the sessions themselves (I generally train alongside the athletes in my sessions) but also I get a buzz from seeing runners developing into athletes who are competing in the Black & Gold and scoring for our teams.

My sporting history: I have always enjoyed running as a way of trying to keep fit and enjoy some personal time whilst away on business and trying to combat aeroplane food and/or jetlag. I enjoyed a number of mass participation fun runs, half marathons and marathons over the years before trying club running as a mid-life novice with WADAC back in the noughties. Since then I have tried my hand (or rather my feet/legs/breathing) at most of the events that WADAC compete in and managed to enjoy most of them. The best advice I was given Rest that niggle before it becomes an injury.

July Harestock Handicap

HRRL Grand Prix – End of Season

RR10 Race 7, River Hamble Country Park - Results