A beginners guide to Racewalking and the ‘Challenge’!

Time to step up to a new challenge? 

 Considering trying something new and rising to a new challenge?  Well, look no further! The wonderful world of race walking is here for YOU! 

Give it a go and who knows, you might just discover a whole new passion!  

Here are some friendly tips to help you hit the ground walking (pun intended!): 

 Master the technique: 

Race walking is much more than just fast strolling, it’s got a style all of its own. Keep one foot on the ground at all times (sneaky jogging is seriously frowned upon) and make sure your leading leg stays straight until your body passes over it. It might feel a bit funny at first, but you’ll soon get the hang of it. 

 Start slow and build up: 

Don’t worry about speed right away. Focus on getting the form right and walk just a short distance, maybe just round the block or a lap of the track. Gradually increase your time and distance. You’re not racing (yet!), so take it easy and enjoy the process. 

 What you need: 

No expensive equipment is required. A pair of trainers that offer support and flexibility will do the trick (definitely NO spikes). 

Swing those arms: 

Your arms are your secret weapon in race walking. Bend them to about 90 degrees and swing them energetically. Think of moving your hands from your sternum to your pocket and rather than punching forward focus on pulling your elbows backwards. Keep your shoulders down and your hands relaxed, don’t clench your fists. This will boost your momentum and make you feel like a pro. 

 Practice: 

Try doing some drills. When I started, I found the YouTube videos posted by Coach Carmen to be invaluable, have a look at Coach Carmen 101. It’s very important to have the right technique from the start as you will quickly develop muscle memory and rather than perfect, practice makes permanent. 

 Join the fun: 

Come and join us at the Bar End track on a Wednesday evening, sessions start at 6:00pm. You’ll be sure to receive a warm welcome. 

 Have a blast: 

Seriously, don’t stress if you’re not perfect right away. Enjoy the rhythm of your steps and the fact that you are challenging yourself and trying something new. You’re already a champion for starting. 

Give it a go and who knows you might surprise yourself with how much you love it. Any questions as you get going? Just ask. Rest assured, we’re here to cheer you on! 

Author: Nick Fleeman 

 NOW TRY THE CHALLENGE 

 If you feel even just a little bit motivated by Nick’s write up, then how about having a go at this. 

 Using the technique explained (as best you can) try doing a self-timed lap of the track. This could as be part of your usual warm up, warm down, separate from your normal session or even as part of a group, and note the time it took you to get around. Most people should be able to manage below 3 minutes 45 seconds, but it is more about enjoyment. If your time is significantly below this or you enjoyed the experience, then we would be delighted to have you join our group. Just for reference, our two senior citizen male walkers consistently go below 3 minutes and another one of our number regularly smashes the 2 minutes 15 seconds mark for a lap. 

We would be interested in seeing your times, so please feel free to let us know how you did by sending an email to derek.smith@wadac.org.uk  

Derek Smith 

Racewalking leader 

Win One Of Two Free Places in the World-Famous London Marathon!

Attention all first-claim endurance running enthusiasts! We are thrilled to announce an exciting opportunity for you to win a place in the highly coveted London Marathon!

Imagine yourself running through the iconic streets of London alongside elite athletes and passionate runners from around the world. This is your chance to be a part of one of the most prestigious marathons on the planet and create memories that will last a lifetime.

To enter the ballot, simply submit your name and contact details to Endurance@WADAC.ORG.UK by Tuesday, 19th January, for the opportunity to secure your spot in this legendary race is not to be missed!

Amazing Lily Neat represents England and brings home team bronze medal in U20 European Road Race

Congratulations to Lily Neate (coached by Nick Anderson) who has continued her fine season by collecting a bronze medal as part of the England team competing at the U20 European Road Race in Oderzo, Italy. She finished in 15th place overall in a time of 17:26, smashing her pb by a massive 6 seconds. Lily has been with the club from U11 through to the seniors. When she returns from Italy she travels straight to Birmingham to start at University. Her coaches, friends and fellow athletes wish her all the best and look forward to catching up at Christmas.

HRRL Overton 5

Very warm conditions at the Overton 5 for the start of the 23/24 HRRL season but no problem for our team of 11 women and 18 men as race wins for Andy Greenleaf and Lucy Elliot anchored team wins for both men and women and saw the defence of our league titles off to a good start.

I would like to say a massive thank you to all of you who ran the Overton 5 which was a fantastic start to the new HRRL 2023/24 season! Overall WADAC had 29 athletes who came out to run on this very hot Sunday afternoon. Lots of great results…. the men did brilliantly with Andy Greenleaf coming 1st (25.31), Freddy Slemeck 2nd (25.55), George Belfield 8th (27.26) and Nick Wood 21st (29.17) winning the men’s A team.

The WADAC women started as they left off last season with some great fantastic running all round. WADAC “A” Team came 1st overall, with the team comprising of Lucy Elliot coming in 1st Female overall (30.11), Sarah Gurney 5th (32.29), Kathy Bailey 9th (34:18) and Vanessa Monteleone (36.01).

There were also lots of fantastic individual 1st age category results, well done all

Thank you all once again and I look forward to seeing more of you at our next race - the Solent Half where you can enter here Solent Half Marathon (hardleyrunners.co.uk) . Entries close 24th September.

HRRL Race fixtures for 2023/24 season

• Solent Half 1 October

• New Forest 10 mile 29 October

• Hayling 10 mile 5 November

• Gosport Half 19 November

• Victory 5 3 December

• Stubbington 10K 7 January

• Ryde 10 mile 4 February

• Salisbury 10 mile 17 March

• Alton 10 mile *

• Netley 5k *

• Alresford 10K *

• Lordshill 10 7 July

*Dates to be confirmed For more information about the league and number swaps (if needed) please check the HRRL facebook group for entry information and the HRRL swaps page to seek or make available race entries or check out our website for more information Hampshire Road Race League | Competitions | Winchester & District Athletics Club (wadac.org.uk) or Hampshire Road Race League – a running club competition (hrrl.co.uk)

Sarah Gurney

HRRL Team Manager

RR10 Race 10, Hursley IBM - Results

What a blast that was! The last race of the season at Hurley IBM. Superb results, well done everyone that took part in any of the 10 races. You were all a part of scoring for one of the many WADAC teams that made up this league. Thank you!

Hursley House, home to IBM and in the 1940's the developers of the Spitfire, positively glowed in the evening sun as we sped past and enjoyed the beautifully kept grounds. The course was 4.5 miles, grass and gravel tracks, short, sharp inclines and some super tight cornering. None of this seemed to slow our Winchester runners though.

Helen Hall led the ladies home, first lady to finish and excellently supported by Erin Willmers who was 3rd (first of many RR10's we hope!) and ever reliable, jolly, chatty and consistent Ellie Davies 5th. Ellie has excelled in all 10 races this year. Our ladies team came first.

Our men's team came first on the night and comprised of Jacques Caignard 5th, James Moore 7th, Glenn Churchill 8th (first of many...), Paul Boyd-Leslie 11th and super consistent Pete Sansome 12th.

Overall big season achievements are:

Ladies won the league

Men came 2nd behind Romsey by 2 points

Ellie Davies was our top performing lady, 2nd overall, beating 99.19 of the other female runners in the best of 6 races (PFB)

Paul Boyd-Leslie was our top performing man, 10th overall beating 96.41 other male runners and also winning the M50 category, beating every other M50 in every single race that he took part in

Pete Sansome 2nd M40 beating 98.43 of his age category

Wayne Bevan 3rd M40 and beating 97.97

Martyn West won M70, beating every other M70 in every single race that he took part in!

(W60 is an age category that has lots of scope for a bit more action next year!)

Simone Paulson has taken part in 6 of the races and has gently got a little larger at each race and baby is due in a couple of months time!

Finally, enormous thanks to Alan Tulip, who publishes and processes the results so quickly, calmly and efficiently.

Well done everyone. Sit back and relax and recharge ready for the first CC6 on Sunday 8th October at 9.30am.

RR10 Race 9, Whiteshute Ridge, Winchester

It was Winchester's turn to host our RR10 on Wednesday evening amidst the heavy rain showers and forecasts of thunder and lightening that the day threw at us. Luckily for everyone the rain stopped just after 5pm and the sun moved in to give us a lovely evening for marshalling and good but slippy conditions for the runners on the course.

Numbers were well below the other races and even 40 people less than our last race, not surprising due to the weather conditions.

40 WADAC members came and helped with the marshalling, providing delicious cakes for the runners and scanning of finishing tokens. Thank you to everyone that came to help, it really is very much appreciated, as these races could not take place without your help. Particular mention must go to Sarah Witt for excellent mapping and along with Mark Craven being a lead marshal, John Mills for organising marshal parking and Kevin Frisby with his team for runners parking and signs. Great job everyone.

The last race of the season is Wednesday 16th August at Hursley IBM, 7pm. Please come and have your last blast of the RR10 season. Our ladies team is currently 1st (by 1 point) and our men's team is 2nd! There is also a bar at the end of this race that we are very welcome to use!

See you there.

August Harestock Handicap

Exciting Racing at the August Handicap with Susy Perry a comfortable winner, Carrie Oliver 2nd and Ruben Price 3rd.....but that's only half the story

The August edition of the Harestock Handicap was something of a challenge for the handicapper so apologies if this gets a bit anorak....

Firstly it was a fine evening for running and we had a good turnout with Ethan Skipwith making a very welcome first appearance at the Handicap plus Ruben Price and Susy Perry making their first appearances of the year.

So our winner was Susy Perry (7'54) taking full advantage of the handicapper being caught up in a momentary lapse of reason to power round and be home, hosed and getting cold well ahead of the arriving pack. Carrie Oliver (9'55) was 2nd after starting as the low handicap and holding off all bar one. Ruben Price (5'41) was 3rd with a fine run through the crowd after starting as the high handicap and passing all bar two. Already something of a dream outcome for the handicapper with the podium being filled with athletes from all across our pace spectrum...in handicap racing everyone is in the race and anyone can take that podium place.

On top of that there was a large and competitive bunch of runners racing hard to the line with perhaps 10 athletes in a congested sweetspot....with racing that tight there's soon going to be a demand for sprint training! Then almost incidentally Susy was our 8th different winner this year....8 months, 8 different winners...stuff of dreams.

Excitement too with the quality on display. Ruben Price (5'41) was our fastest on the night and narrowly missed out on the course record currently held at 5'39 by Adrian Fautly. Ethan Skipwith (6'00) was next a fine performance on his first handicap run and good enough to put him straight onto the honours board at No11. The fastest lady was Susy Perry (7'54) but that's only narrowly ahead of Mikaela Price (7'55).

In the overall standings Paul Oxley remains top of the pile with Ian Parker and Colin McManus still in close attendance and tied 2nd at the moment. Plenty time yet with 4 races still to come and 2 discards still to be number crunched into the mix...probably just as well as the Ollies are currently neck and neck to be 4th and 5th overall.

The next handicap event will be the first Thursday in September, the 7th....19.30 first start. I am told that Ruben and Ethan plan to be there again so that course record could be under threat! It would be lovely to see some more of the speedy runners there too so we can have a bit of a burn up at the sharp end....the course is only 1.14 miles, just a pick-up effort for you guys.

HRRL Grand Prix – End of Season

Wow! All 6 Winchester teams finished first. Both the ladies’ and men’s A, B and C teams finished first in their respective Hampshire Road Running Leagues. Check out the Lordshill 10 km results and the award winners for the 2022-23 Grand Prix season.

The award winners for the 2022/23 season were:

Main competition: Ladies: 1st = Tamsin Anderson, 2nd = Karla Borland, 3rd = Sarah Shedden. Men: 1st = Dave Gaskell, 2nd = Tom Stephenson, 3rd = James Moore.

Age-graded competition: Ladies: 1st = Sarah Gurney, 2nd = Joy Radford, 3rd = Lucy Elliott. Men: 1st = Paul Horler, 2nd = Steve Oliver, 3rd = Justin Corrie.

12 races out of 12: Tom Stephenson and Paul Horler

Most improved runner: To be announced at the awards ceremony

A total of 35 ladies and 77 men ran in HRRL races this season

Please see the HRRL Grand Prix pages for the individual race performances and Ladies or Men for the summary tables

July Harestock Handicap

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!

RR10 Race 7, River Hamble Country Park - Results

On a slightly damp evening with otherwise perfect running conditions, WADAC athletes enjoyed possibly the best course of the year so far. The trails were long, flowing and wide, making for an evening of fast and consistent running, finishing on the big hill that we all both love and hate seeing at the end of this course.

Our ladies team finished first and our men's team third.

The ladies team comprised of Ellie Swire 2nd, Ellie Davies 3rd and Emma Carter 8th. The men's team was made up of Wayne Bevan 9th (even after a 3am start!), Paul Boyd-Leslie 10th, Pete Sansome 11th, John Reed 20th (first timer) and James Moore 32nd.

Last night had the lowest number of runners so far this season due to other events taking place and the start of the holiday season for some. 396 runners took part, 233 men (22 WADAC) and 163 ladies (13 WADAC).

Race 8 is Wednesday 19th July 7.30pm at University Playing Fields, Wide Lane. Only 2 more that we are able to run in, so it would be magnificent if we could have 2 bumper numbers of WADAC runners before the end of the season. It is an interesting course as you are able to see a lot of the action happening around you and it is flat, fast and even ground, perfect for speedy road runners.

Please also put 2nd August in your diary for marshalling and cake duties at Whiteshute Ridge when we host Race 9.

HRRL Lordshill 10K

Flash results from the Lordshill 10k.....Tamsin Anderson wins again as do our ladies A team Age Cat wins for Tamsin, Sarah Gurney, Joy Radford & Martyn West Tom Stephenson and Paul Horler complete all 12 events and bag "12 out of 12" awards.

There was something of an end of term feeling to the Lordshill 10k, of course it is the end of the 2023/24 race season but there was a large WADAC contingent there and it all felt a bit more emotional than that.

It's not the prettiest of courses but apart from the long drag up to the finish it is reasonably flat and the weather was perfect....a good day for fast times. It's another out and back course so we all had chance to see the sharp end and to wave to our teammates down the field.

The ladies race was a real thrill with our Tamsin Anderson and Emma Jolley of Portsmouth locked in a real mano a mano battle every step of the way....Tamsin prevailed by perhaps 50m (10s) at the end. Tamsin was supported as ever by Karla Borland, Sarah Gurney and Sarah Shedden so with that strong squad our "A-team" was never really under any threat.

With the league title already sewn up a few of our top names were missing this one but we still had David Mills making his annual HRRL appearance and finishing 5th in 33'32. Despite good supporting performances from Lloyd Dickson, Nicolas Rooms and Tom Stephenson our men's "A" team probably won't have won this one.

It takes a while for the full season results to be calculated by the league admins but it looks like our men might have completed a clean sweep winning A, B and C leagues and our ladies might have won their A league and come very close in their B and C leagues too. Fantastic performances from our endurance athletes.

Last but not least Paul Horler and Tom Stephenson have both competed in all 12 of the HRRL league events....fantastic commitment and admirable diary and fitness management.

It all starts again for 2023/24 with the Overton 5miles event on 3rd September 2023, entries are already open!

Finally a special thank-you to our HRRL Team manager, Sarah Gurney, picking up the baton that Saul Duck has carried with distinction for many years. A fantastic motivator and always leading from the front.

Marathon du Mont Blanc 2023

The Marathon du Mont Blanc is part of a festival of high altitude trail running events that attracts top athletes from around the globe....including a few WADAC runners over the years. 2023 was no exception with 5 athletes taking part in a long weekend of Ultra Adventure Running.

Marathon du Mont Blanc 2023

The Marathon du Mont Blanc is one of the flagship events in the trail running calendar, comprising of several races across a weekend in Chamonix, France. The event attracts top talent from across the globe, including a hardy team of WADAC athletes who made the journey over to compete. The menu includes:
A Vertical Kilometre (VK), a challenging 10km on the XC ski trails, a 23km, 42km, and 90km events, all of which are balloted entries, and one of the most popular events, the duo étoilé (translation: “starry duo”) in which pairs of athletes run 21km under the cover of darkness up and down the mountain side.

As you can imagine, these events are hilly and pose a unique challenge for UK-based road and XC athletes – the Chamonix valley is unique across the world in terms of steepness and prowess! Difficult conditions to replicate in training back home. However, the team had competed in the South Downs Way Relay, Welsh Castles Relay and even the Hampshire Hoppit marathon the week before to ensure adequate (and possibly too much) preparation.

First up was Mark Craven a.k.a. “Cravendale” who was truly out until the cows came home racing the 90km. Having deferred his entry to 2023 following cancellation due to bad weather in 2022, Mark was keen to get out on the trails. No stranger to tough conditions, having previously completed the Marathon des Sables, Mark started at 4:10am and began the 1500 metre ascent to Brévent from Chamonix town centre. Mark MOOved his way up the field, avoiding congestion on the narrow switch-backs, summiting in 2 hours 36 minutes. Due to heavy snowfall still present at altitude, Mark had a challenging descent to Flégere and did udderly brilliant to not fall off the mountain side, reaching the first checkpoint 3 minutes inside the cut-off time, with only minor grazing. Whilst this may sound slow to some, this was excellent tactics to preserve energy in the early part of the race. Mark then climbed further into pastures new, ultimately reaching the town of Le Chatelard in Switzerland, where he was slightly over the cut-off time and had to withdraw from the race after 45km and 11hours 54 minutes on the trails. Unfortunately, Mark was only 4 minutes outside the cut-off, which he could have easily gained had the descent from Brévent not been so icy. It’s as clear as black and white that Mark will be back to complete the 90km next time.

Back earlier than expected, Mark didn’t milk it by complaining about tiredness and he was immediately out the door to cheer on the other WADAC athletes who had entered the VK. Bracken Dawson (a.k.a. “Release the Bracken”) was first out the gates tackling the 1000m climb under the gondola from Chamonix town centre to Planpraz. With 2.4 miles of distance and 1000m of gain, the unfamiliar can imagine summiting the height of Scafell Pike from sea-level in ¼ of the distance of the popular hiking route. The VK therefore results in a strenuous climb and arguably falls outside of the “running” category! Bracken put the hammer down and summited in 53 minutes and 49 seconds. Next up was James Moore, a.k.a. “The Titan Sub” after his brain imploded and he flooded the apartment by leaving a Velux window open, despite multiple warnings from our Airbnb host. The titan redeemed himself by getting a much-needed beard trim, which enabled him to summit the VK in 55 minutes 35 seconds, a 7 second PB from last year. Next up was Adrian Faulty (a.k.a. “Faulty Towers”) whose calf was barely functioning, after an injury leading up to Welsh Castles a few weeks earlier. Adrian didn’t let the dodgy calf stop him and managed to complete the course in 49 minutes and 6 seconds, the fastest in the group. Finally, Dan Cunnington (a.k.a. The Cunnington Camel) tackled the large hump of a climb up to Planpraz, using longer than average legs to gain height quickly. Dan finished in 49 minutes and 35 seconds.

Matt Webster was lucky enough to gain a ballot entry for the 23km, and wise enough not to rendezvous with the rest of the group and therefore doesn’t receive any nicknames. The 23km (more like 26km) is a challenging course starting in the heat of the Chamonix valley, running up to Montroc and finishing at Planpraz. Matt finished in a time of 5 hours 10 minutes, which is very impressive considering 1,656m of elevation gain. Whilst Matt was running, the Titan, Faulty Towers and The Cunnington Camel began the 10km race on the XC ski trails. Fresh from his new haircut, and with minimal food stuck in his beard, the titan ran an impressive race, finishing in 44:30, a 5 minute PB from last year! The camel finished shortly before, in a time of 44:15, and Faulty Towers led the pack in 42:57, finishing in 26th overall out of 1878 competitors.

The last race on the agenda was the star-studded duo étoilié, a few hours after the 10km. The pairs lining up for WADAC included Release the Bracken and the Titan, formally entering as team “Send it”, as well as Faulty Towers and the Cunnington Camel, entering as “Winchester Elevation Kings”. The race starts in Chamonix town centre at 7:30pm, following a mandatory head-torch check and with ample support from the residents and tourists, before beginning the climb up to Montenvers and the Mer du Glace via the Chamonix luge as the sun goes down. The elevation kings proved worthy of their name, as the Camel used those ultra long legs to match Faulty’s pace on the climb. The pair summited at the first checkpoint in 3rd place overall, which is very impressive considering the calibre of the field. After dropping a few places on the ridge line, but having a radical refuel at the aid station (many slices of cake were consumed), Faulty towers began faultering with a dodgy knee. The pair hobbled their way down the descent back to Chamonix finishing in 46th place out of 577 teams in a time of 2 hours 56 minutes and 55 seconds. Meanwhile, team send it were exercising much more even pacing, and running faster than their previous attempt in 2022. Release the Bracken and the Titan put in a huge effort on the descent, matching the pace of teams around them, and despite the Titan having to perform a natural toilet stop mid-route, team send it were gaining on the elevation kings. They finished in 50th with a time of 2 hours 58 minutes and 17 seconds, which wasn’t far away from an all WADAC sprint-finish.

If you are interested in the event, come and chat to any of us at training and we may see you on the start line in Chamonix next year!

Text and photo blame : Cunning Dan

Lakeside 5k Series #3

WADAC athletes enjoyed the Lakeside 5k last Wednesday posting a smattering of PB's and SB's

What to do on a Wednesday evening when there is no RR10?

Try the Lakeside 5k series, it's also on a Weds night and popular with many local clubs and with speedy youngsters looking to post a time. Laid out in the familiar Lakeside carpark complex it's a bit twisty but despite using the gravel path down past the lake it still counts as a road 5k for your cv.

Lovely to see 7 runners from WADAC at the June event and a healthy mix of younger and older folks in our colours. George Belfield led us home with a fine 16'42 (PB) to take 6th place.

It's an uncomplicated and happy event - like running should be

HRRL Grand Prix – Alresford 10 km

Results from the 11th race of the season, the Alresford 10k Team wins for both the men and the ladies. Tom Stephenson and Paul Horler have competed in all the races, still on target to receive the “12 out of 12” award.

Please see the HRRL Grand Prix pages for the individual race performances and Ladies or Men for the summary tables.

We've now had over 100 athletes representing WADAC in this seasons HRRL events.

Tom Stephenson and Paul Horler have competed in all the races and so remain on target to receive the “12 out of 12” award.

Welsh Castles Relay 2023

The Welsh Castles Relay (WCR) is essentially the Tour de France for amateur runners. It is community running’s best kept secret with only 65 teams of 20 running each year. It’s an honour for a club to be allowed into the event and a highlight of the road race calendar. The race covers the length of Wales from Caernarfon in the North to Cardiff in the South a total of 205miles split into 20-stages. Each runner must complete a Stage which is a race in itself with all 20 stages added up to give the team a time – quickest time wins!
nIt’s a real team event with all the transport, accommodation and catering so first a quick thank-you to the organising team led by George Belfield and especially to the chefs who cooked for us on Friday night and the minibus drivers who delivered everyone perfectly all weekend, you were all excellent!
nAs far as racing is concerned, Pete Sansome and Nick Davies started off the madness for WADAC in Caernarfon on Saturday morning following the ceremonial lap of the castle, led this year by Pontypridd Roadents. An early cheer spot at Inigo Jones Slate mines brought the first use of the team Vuvuzela as the runners charged down the disused railway path to Penygroes. Pete led our teams home with a 12th place.
n
nNext up was Venessa Monteleone, on Castles debut with Tamsin Anderson on stage 2. Tamsin had a brilliant run bringing home WADACs first stage win since 2019 and an iconic yellow stage winners t-shirt!
nA great thing about the WCR is that the hosts, the fantastic Les Croupiers club from Cardiff are supported by all the other clubs as they fulfil their mandatory marshalling duties and discretionary water stations en route. Our marshalling spots this year were on Stage 3 in Criccieth and on the Stage 5 run in to Barmouth. Both ideal spots for an ice cream whilst also wearing the high vis with purpose.
nStage 3 also brings the first ‘mountain stage’ of the race with some serious elevation towards miles 10, 11 and 12. Matt Gleed on his 40th birthday weekend stepped up to the start line with James Moore and both reported loss of feeling in the feet after the 18% decent in to Maentwrog. It’s brutal! Both opted for gin as means of recovery.
nRunning however is the easy part, the logistics of moving, feeding and homing the teams is the real challenge with a caravan of cars, buses and bodies following the race through the small Welsh villages. Like the TdF, the race rips through these unsuspecting locations bringing a burst of colour and excitement for just a few minutes and then on it goes!
nOn stage 4, Susy and Siobhan did the business with Siobhan completing what I think was her first race for the club and Susy battling it out for the stage win. Perry made an excellent go of it eventually losing out to a South West runner in the last kilometre but a good run nonetheless.
nOur fantastic Treasurer Pete Curtis reckons he had the hottest stage ever in the history of the race on Stage 5. Running aside, thank you Pete for all the hard work you put in behind the scenes to make the club tick. He was joined by Guy Hoskins who managed a respectable 27th place on return from injury.
nStage 6, 7, 8 and 9 came and went with good performances from Bracken Dawson on mountain debut and excellent day trip contributions from Matt Grote, Steve Cluett and Si Gillet. Our other runners on these stages were Steve Goodwin, Paul Horler, Sam Parkinson and Charlie Hoskins (who had handed over her children back to Guy once he had recovered from his run!). It must be said that stage 8 really is worthy of being made a mountain stage even though it is not one!! At one point on day one, after stage 8, our two Winchester teams were separated by only 4 minutes!
n
nAs the first day draws to a close, the burden of logistics and changeovers gets easier so cheering and shouting also gets easier. Stage 10 therefore becomes a bit of a party for those who have run already. Magnus Gregory and Colin McManus had the honour of leading us in to Newtown and a well earned rest. The latter working his way through the mountain stages in order. Magnus charged home in 16th place and his photo made all of the social media channels for the race organisers with a picture that sums up the race as a whole. See for yourself! Colin then brought enormous cheers from the Winchester and Lliswerry runners as he conquered the tough half marathon course after a day driving the minibuses.
nLess than 12 hours to regroup, George Belfield and Sarah Gurney got things started on Sunday at 7am. Another Mountain Stage, both runners braved the hills up out of Newtown and got the first top 10 finish on the road for the Winchester Open Team.
n
nStage 12 and 13 (Caroline Carr, Mark Craven, Simon Williamson and Lynn McKeague) just about avoided the heat and got us to Crossgates, some stopping for the fabled bellybuster breakfast to refuel. Caroline Carr got over her tumble at Hursley RR10 to have a great run on stage 12. I’m sure that someone always injures themselves on the Wednesday before WCR. I’m not saying don’t run but can we just be a little more considerate of the Team Managers nerves!
n
nAnd then the Queen Stage – Drovers. Kate Green and Dean Rawlins paced it perfectly to finish just 2 places apart after what is the most feared and well supported climb in the race. Just have a look at their Strava for the race profile! It's definitely a hill.
nPete Siddall was allowed to stop driving the 17 seater minibus for 12.3 miles down from Drovers to Brecon and was joined by Alex Lane. Alex had another good race for the stage win and was pipped in the closing stages but made up for it but jumping directly in the river after the finish of her stage.
nTo the last mountain stage of the race up past Talybont Reservoir in the Brecon Beacons. It’s the only race with an off-road section and is largely unsupported with no access to cars. Dan Cunnington and Andy Costello had a close run race and came in 12th and 18th. Dan is one of a number in the team to have run South Downs Way Relays just the weekend before so an excellent recovery!
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nOn Stage 17 Fiona Bolton was joined by Adrian Fautly who had debated where to run or not due to an injured calf. Having started conservatively, he found himself in 3rd after an incline and then proceeded to catch and pass the other 2 runners for the stage win, our second stage win of the race. Excellent running from a man in form!
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nWith more great running from Sarah Witt, Jon Reed, Lou Snook, Justin Corrie, Steve Oliver and Lloyd Dickson on the final few stages, our race in 2023 brought a 20th place finish for our open team in a time of 23 hrs 41 mins and 44th place for our veterans team in 26 hrs and 19 mins.
nThe other thing to mention is the annual matchplay with sister club Lliswerry Runners from Newport. It’s a little bit of friendly rivalry layered on top of the Castles and adds a little spice to each stage. As ever this was hotly contested but Winchester came out on top returning the Dragon Trophy back to Hampshire after narrowly missing out last year. Thanks Lliswerry for a great race as always.
nI’m sure I share the thoughts of the team when I say a huge thank you to our excellent coaches for getting us in to shape and helping us to succeed. This race is refreshing reminder of why we run. To get the most out of ourselves and most importantly, to have fun and get the most out of each other! If you didn’t run, where the hell were you? See you all next year!