Traditionally the local Boxing Day bonanza, the Round the Lakes 10k had been held in September the past couple of years in order to help the Dorset Road Race League fulfill their fixture quota. With the date of the race now being changed to April, it had an altogether different sort of feel to it this time round.

Instead of being blisteringly hot like it has been in the summer ones or freezing cold like it often is on Boxing Day, it was now a more running friendly temperature. But the wind was up on the day, with gusts of 24 mph and that was bound to have a bearing on the times as the runners maneuvered their way around Poole Park.

After not quite performing to the level they would have liked at the Eastleigh 10k, Adam Corbin and Paddy McCalister were back for a second bite of the cherry. They had been hopeful of another tilt at their PBs but the forceful winds looked like they might have put pay to that.

Most of the club’s top men had been running at the National Road Relays the previous day so it wasn’t quite such a strong line up from the Bournemouth AC men in as it has been in previous years. The 2022 one was a memorable one for the yellow and blues, when Harry Smith, Rob McTaggart and Rob Spencer made it a BAC one-two-three.

In last summer’s edition, Matt Brown ran well to finish 3rd in 33:56 and Hugo Richardson also claimed a top ten place, finishing in 35:08. Laura Daly was second female in that race as well, recording a PB of 39:06.

Also in the line up for Bournemouth AC this time round was Ryan Pegoraro. He ran a 34:26 at Round the Lakes on the Boxing Day of 2022 and had the pedigree to go very fast on his day. He’d put in a couple of good cross country performances earlier in the season and ran strongly at the Blackmore Vale Half Marathon to finish 9th in 1:19:47.

After finishing first in her age category last summer, Debbie Lennon was back again, hoping to repeat that feat. She’d been second best to Heather Khoshnevis in all three of her Dorset Road League races so far this season so was hoping that this could be her opportunity to get that age group prize.

Completing the course in 41:07 last summer, Ricky Brennan was hoping to improve on that this time round. He had since gone on to run a 38:26 at the Stunnington 10k in January so he certainly had the ability to go quick if he paced it right.

Looking to run under 8 minutes for each mile, Tim Hughes was hopeful he could beat the 50:16 time he set at the Lordshill 10k last July. So far this year he’d ran 49:38 at the Hampshire Cross Country League race at Prospect Park which was 10k in distance. And he’d run 47:21 in the Kings Park cross country race which was about 9.6km. The signs of progression were there but he wanted to be ratified with a new official 10k PB.

The only Bournemouth AC member brave enough to attempt the double that weekend was Chester Clarke. He’d ran a 5k leg at the National Road Relays in Sutton Coldfield the day before on what turned out to be very long day out. He was on the start line the following day at Round the Lakes, hoping he had enough in the legs to go well again.

It wasn’t an easy task but it was a challenge he was hoping to rise to. His best 10k time was a 39:05 that he’d managed at the Boscombe 10k last October.

Opening with a 5:24 for his first mile, Adam Corbin then went on to clock a 5:35 and a 5:41 for his second and third mile. The headwind can be quite a hindrance when coming round the lake at Poole Park but with his short stride and fast cadence, Adam wasn’t as affected by it as some of the other runners might have been.

Registering a 5:39 for his fourth mile and a 5:49 for his fifth mile that left him with just 1.2 miles left to maintain the pace over. He managed to do it well, or rather, he actually upped the pace to a 5:32 before finishing with a fast half of the cricket pitch circuit. That culminated in a finishing time of 35:02 which was excellent, given the conditions he was faced with.

That was enough to see Adam take 6th place in the overall standings. After the disappointment he suffered at Eastleigh, he’d bounced back well with a strong performance.

Starting off with a 5:35 for his first mile, Ryan Pegoraro then went through hid second mile in 5:48 and his third in 5:55. He slowed a touch over the second half of the race but hung in there well, registering a 5:57, followed by a 6:04 and then another 5:57. Also finding enough left in the tank for a fast finish, Ryan went over the line in 36:52, which put him in 9th place.

Places 19, 20 and 21 were taken by three Bournemouth AC members, with Paddy McCalister sealing 19th in 38:58, Chester Clarke in 20th, clocking a time of 39:03 and Ricky Brennan taking 21st in 39:34.

In spite of the energy sapping wind, Paddy paced his run really well and didn’t slow down at all as the race progressed. In fact, it was a superb negative split from him and his sixth mile was faster than any of his others at 6:01.

Chester’s run was a very different story. He bolted out of the blocks with a 5:42 for his first mile but he wasn’t able to sustain that pace for long. Going through 5k point in 18:38, he fell away a bit over the second half of the race. That was understandable though after all the effort he’d put in the previous day and the road relays.

Overall it was a commendable run under the circumstances and still earned him a two second PB. It was a great weekend’s work from Chester and he’d massively helped the team with his exploits.

Ricky’s time was a minute and a half quicker than what he produced last summer so that represented good progress for him. It was a minute off his Stubbington time but with the wind as it was, that was to be expected.

At last September’s Round the Lakes, Debbie Lennon was just coming back to racing after some medical issues which kept her out of action for a while. She was quite a way off her best then, finishing in 47:08 and it made her realise she had a tough road ahead to get back to her best.

She still hasn’t quite managed to recapture the form she was in in 2022 and the early part of 2023 but she’s been working hard to try and get back there. Getting to the line in 46:41, Debbie was first F55 and 7th placed female. In the overall standings she came 62nd.

It was a 27 second improvement on her time from last summer and in truth, it was worth more due to the windy conditions so that was a good sign for Debbie. She seems to be progressing in the right direction and that’s the main thing.

Finding the strength to hit the pace he wanted for his mile splits, Tim Hughes managed to stay under eight minutes for each one. That was despite the strong winds. Being a coach himself, he was able to take a strategic approach to his training that would ultimately get him used to running at the pace he’d be doing in the race.

It worked well for him and resulted in a PB of 48:56 which knocked 1 minute 20 seconds off his previous best. Needless to say, he was really pleased with that outcome and that put him in 73rd place overall out of 123 runners.

After finishing second to Harry Lauste last time out, Poole Runners man Dion Garner went one better this time, securing the victory in a time of 33:55. 5k and 10k Bournemouth Bay Run double winner, Jamie Grose, took second place, clocking a time of 34:31.

Andy Leggott of Lonely Goat came 3rd in 34:52 which put him three seconds ahead of Rob Arkell of Poole Runners who was 4th in 34:55. Twemlow Track Club man Chris Wood came 5th in 34:58.

Louis Verdi of Wimborne AC was the next man in after Adam, putting him in 7th place in a time of 36:14. Then it was David Jones of Twemlow Track Club who made it round in 36:33.

Emily Hilliar of Poole AC was first female and 10th overall in a time of 36:53. Her nearest challenger was Hayley Martin, who was also her clubmate. She got round in 39:48 which put her 22nd overall.

Hayley was quite a long way in front of the third placed lady and that was Samantha Ayers BodyFit Cumbria who crossed the line in 43:45. Hayley was first F45+ and Samantha is 53 so she didn’t quite qualify for the category the Debbie won.

As a runner, you can’t influence the conditions you race in. That is something which is out of your control. But what you can control is your attitude to the race and that is what matters most. It’s important to remember that the conditions are the same or everyone, so if you are finding it tough because of weather, there’s a very good chance your opponents are too. So you have to not let it get you down and keep the positive energy flowing.

That’s what the Bournemouth AC runners did well on this occasion and that’s why they were able to preform as well as they did despite the unruly headwind they had to face.