A bumper weekend of racing saw the Bournemouth AC squad resources stretched to the limit with the Purbeck 10k taking place on Friday evening to kick things off. The Alresford 10k was happening on the Sunday of that same weekend and that was a very important one in the charge for the Hampshire Road Race League title. The Poole Festival of Running Relays were on as well and Abdinasir Elmi was up in Birmingham for the UKA 10,000m Championships meaning he wouldn’t be available for any of the local races.

On top of that, Patrick Kingston was tackling 20,000ft of climbing in the 57km Picos de Europa in Northern Spain. Even the Maverick Dorset event was on that weekend and Neil Smith was featuring in the 23km race there.

It was always going to be tricky for the club to pool its resources effectively to achieve favourable results in the league races but it was much needed. Last year’s Purbeck 10k brought the team a lot of success, with Rob McTaggart picking up the race win and Katie Gunn finished third female. Both the men’s and women’s teams topped the standings in their divisions as well.

Rob McTaggart and Katie Gunn were back again to try to repeat their heroics from last year and Josh Cole, Jack Barwick, Nathan Mearns and Harley Brooks were also in action. Sophie Read and Max Yao were also competing for a ladies team that were unfortunately one shy of the four woman quota that was required for the league scoring.

There was even an appearance from Ian Graham who had made a return to the local race scene at the May 5 after completing all four of the Guernsey Easter Running Festival races over the four day extravaganza.

The Purbeck 10k is probably one of Rob McTaggart’s favourite local races. This was the fifth time he’d done it. Tag had been running well all season, winning the Broadstone Quarter at the beginning of the year and finished second in the Round the Lakes 10k and the Bournemouth Bay Run Half Marathon whilst doing the races as part of a longer training run.

He also finished third in the Lytchett 10 and ran the Stubbington 10k in 31:39 and the Surrey Half Marathon in 1:09:33. He also finished 95th at the London Marathon in 2:27:12.

Struggling with illness at the beginning of the year, Josh Cole finished 8th in the Lytchett 10 and 6th in the May 5 the previous month. After getting sick during the London Marathon, Katie Gunn bounced back well finishing first female the week after at the North Dorset Village Marathon. She then went on the finish 2nd female at the May 5 and clocked a good time of 1:26:28 at the Swansea Half Marathon the weekend before the Purbeck 10k.

Jack Barwick only really started racing properly this year but he ran the Lytchett 10 and the Eastleigh 10k before going on to do the May 5 and then the Swansea Half Marathon in 1:27:02.

Sophie Read’s London Marathon didn’t quite go according to plan but the conditions on the day made it much more difficult. She had had a good build up, completing the Fleet Half Marathon in 1:31:33 and clocking a 10k PB of 40:15 at Stubbington earlier in the year. She’d had a bit of a tough time recovering from the marathon though and had experienced a dip in form which made her apprehensive about her chances of running well at the Purbeck 10k.

Nathan Mearns ran 30 miles over the 24 hour duration at Endure 24 as part of a relay time showing he had some real stamina. He also finished second in his first ever trail half marathon at the Bluebell Bash and had been running well in training with the road runners group.

Braving the double after signing up for both the Purbeck 10k and the Alresford 10k, Max Yao was hoping she’d have enough energy for each effort. She’d done the May 5, the Bournemouth Bay Run Half Marathon and the Salisbury 10 earlier in the season. Harley Brooks was making his Bournemouth AC debut as well so it would be interesting to see how he got on.

It was a star studded field with Chris Peck and Matt Underhill there from Egdon Heath Harriers. Poole AC had an incredibly strong team with the men’s individual leader Tommy Corbin racing alongside Benjamin Gibbons and Brian Underwood. They had also recruited Jaymee Domoney who is Sophie Read’s boyfriend and one of the fastest runners in the area. He’d ran a 14:27 5k and a 30:07 10k earlier in the year and won the Run Bournemouth Half Marathon in 2022 and finished second in both the two previous years. Last October he got round in under 1 hour 8 minutes.

After finishing second to Tag in last year’s Purbeck 10k, Rob Arkell of Poole Runners was back for another go and Chris Wood and Jack Galloway were also there from Twemlow Track Club. They finished 4th and 6th in the North Dorset Village Marathon after running 2:33 times at London the weekend before.

There was also a rare race appearance for Jacek Cieluszecki, who had opted not to renew his membership with Bournemouth AC this year since he works nightshifts and can’t make any of the Sunday races.

The evening had a sort of tropical feel to it as it was unusually humid and it felt like the threat of the thunderstorm was looming round the corner, although it never actually materialised.

The race began with an incline that went up to half way through the first mile. Then there was a bit of downhill to follow. Tag went through the first mile in 5:12 before following it up with a 5:15 for his second mile.

The third mile had a fairly tough incline and Tag went through that in 5:23. It’s an out and back course, so at the beginning of the fourth mile, you turn round in start heading back to where you came from.

Getting through the fourth mile in 5:23, Tag then went on the register a 5:28 for his fifth mile. The sixth mile included one more hill before a nice, fast, downhill finish. It was on the downhill run in to the finish that Chris Peck managed to outsprint Tag in the battle for third place.

Tag went over the line in 33:10 with Chris Peck registering a time of 33:07. It was actually 13 seconds quicker than the time Tag won it in last year but on this occasion, there were two other men who went quicker.

In fact, it was a Poole AC double, with Jaymee Domoney picking up the win in 32:12, which is an amazing time on that course. That was a 5:11 average pace with a 350ft elevation gain. Dom Willmore was second in a time of 32:37 which put his average pace at 5:15.

Proving that he’s still got it, even without being able to race at all or train to his previous levels, Jacek Cieluszecki finished 5th in a time of 33:27, which put his average pace at 5:23.

Benjamin Gibbons claimed 6th place in 34:04 and Rob Arkell was 7th in 34:11. Brian Underwood was Poole AC’s fourth finisher, taking 8th place in 34:16. That meant they only needed one more to complete the scoring team of five.

The second Bournemouth AC man in was Josh Cole. He got to the line in 34:33 which put him in 9th place. Matt Underhill completed the top 10, finishing in 34:33. At just 17 years of age, Alex Knauf arrived in 11th place with a time of 34:34.

It was Callum Wadlow who went on to complete the scoring team of five for Poole AC. He crossed the line in 34:36 which put him in 12th place. It was a really impressive showing from Poole AC and with three wins out of the first five fixtures, they were looking odds on to retain their championship.

Rich White of Dorset Doddlers was 13th in 34:37 and Tommy Corbin had been going well for the first 4k but struggled after that and his pace began to drop. Finishing in 34:44, he took 14th place overall ahead of Jack Galloway who was 15th in 35:08.

Luke Terry made it a 7th Poole AC man in out of the first 16 runners when he went over the line in 35:28 and Wimborne AC trio Louis Verdi, Mark Savage and Ben Penfold took 17th, 18th  and 19th positions. Louis finished in 36:07, Mark got round in 36:13 and Ben finished in 36:15.

Twemlow Track Club pair Nick Reynolds and Chris Wood were 20th and 21st in 36:14 and 36:25 respectively. Adam Colbert and Rob Doubleday were two more Poole AC runners in in the top 24. They both clocked times of 36:47.

Maddy Johnson was first female in a time of 38:08 which put her in 38th place. She doesn’t represent a club though so didn’t figure in the Dorset League statistics.

Completing the course in 38:25, Jack Barwick was third scorer for the Bournemouth AC men and 42nd overall. Clocking a time of 39:02, Katie Gunn came in as 2nd female but first in the Dorset Road League. Her average pace for the run was 6:17.

Lonely Goat runner Susie Hill was third lady in 40:05 which put her 56th overall. She didn’t count as far as Dorset League points go though. Gemma Bragg just shaded the battle for 4th place over Dawn Andrews of Poole AC, with Gemma finishing 62nd in 40:31 and Dawn taking 63rd place in 40:35.

Vicky Rutter of Westbourne was 6th in a time of 41:20 which put her 70th overall. Emma Mogridge of Dorset Doddlers finished 7th female in 41:56. Jenny Walker-Leach of Poole Runners leads the standings out of all the women who have done all five races so far and she finished 9th in lady in 43:29.

Nathan Mearns was fourth scorer for the Bournemouth AC men getting over the line in 42:04 which put him in 86th place. In the Under 21 age bracket, he was 4th and his average pace for the run was 6:46.

That left just one more man required to complete the scoring team for BAC. Harley Brooks obliged on that front, completing the course in 43:40 which put him 101st overall and 5th in the Under 21 category.

Sadly that was only enough for another 5th place finish for the Bournemouth AC men at the Purbeck 10k. Poole AC of course topped the standings with five scorers in the top ten. Egdon Heath Harriers took 2nd place, with Twemlow Track Club taking 3rd and Poole Runners 4th.

Teresa Green of Egdon Heath Harriers was 10th lady in 43:48 and she was highest in the standings out of any woman who has done four of the five races so far.

Finding the lumps and bumps of the Purbeck 10k course quite tough to contend with, Sophie Read completed the course in 43:56. That saw her place 12th out of the 169 women in the race and 106th out of 413 in the overall standings.

It confirmed to her that she was some way off her best at the present time and it was frustrating as it felt like she was having to almost rebuild again from scratch after the marathon. She will have another opportunity at the Lordshill 10k though so will be hoping to see some improvement then.

Hamish Murry of Purbeck Runners was the first over 70 man over the line. He got round in 45:20 which put him in 139th place. Isabella Louth of Poole AC was the first Under 21 female to make it round. She clocked a time of 46:55.

Heather Khoshnevis was first over 65 lady and she completed the course in 48:34 which made her 35th female and 186th overall. Penny Jarvis of Poole Runners was the first over 70 lady to finish in a time of 49:12 which made her 43rd female and 202nd overall.

Max Yao completed the course in 51:33 which saw her come in as 62nd female and 240th overall. Ian Graham was the final Bournemouth AC member to reach the finish and he got over the line in 1 hour and 5 seconds which put him 2nd in the over 75 category and 341st overall.

Only David Heath of Poole Runners could top that in the over 75 division. He came 273rd overall in 54:29. Ian was pleased to finish ahead of Ken Parradine of Littledown Harriers though who got round in 1 hour and 36 seconds and was 345th overall.

Poole Runners topped the standings in the Ladies’ First Division for the third time this season and it is looking like they are prime candidates to retain the league title they won handsomely last season.

Poole AC were 2nd, with Littledown Harriers taking 3rd and Egdon Heath Harriers placing 4th. With only three runners, Bournemouth AC were confined to a fifth place finish. It looks like relegation could be on the cards for both them and the men’s team unless they can seriously up their games in the remaining seven races.

Wimborne AC topped the standings in the Men’s Second Division as they have in every race so far this season. All they need is two more wins now to guarantee promotion to the top flight. Littledown Harriers were 2nd and Westbourne 3rd, which is exactly where they are in the table for the season so far.

Dorchester RIOT were the lowest scorers in the Ladies’ Second Division for the third time this season. Wimborne AC were 2nd with Westbourne in 3rd.

In the Men’s Third Division it was another win for Lytchett Manor Striders who have won each of the first five fixtures. Two more wins would see them confirmed for promotion to the Second Division. Weymouth St Pauls Harriers were a distant 2nd, as they are in the table for the season so far.

Lytchett Manor Striders also recorded their third win of the season in the Ladies’ Third Division, with Verwood Runners taking second and Bournemouth Joggers third. Verwood Runners still top the standings for the season so far but it looks like Lytchett Manor Striders could be the better of the two.

Tommy Corbin is still top of the standings out of all the runners who have done all five races so far, with Chris Wood in 2nd and Adam Colbert 3rd. With three 2nd place finishes and one third, Chris Peck has arguably the best card for the season so far, with Josh Cole second best out of those who have done four races.

There are plenty of other runners who have done three races so far who could threaten for the top position in the men’s individual and Tag has the best card out of those far, with a 1st, a 3rd and a 4th place finish.

With a 1st, a 2nd and a 1st place finish, Katie Gunn is in a really good position to challenge for top spot in the women’s individual table. She went on to compete in the Alresford 10k a couple of days later and she ended up finishing third female there.

The next race of the Dorset Road Race League season is the Blackmore Vale Half Marathon which was rescheduled after cancellation in February. That’s one in which it usually proves tough to get a team out for the yellow and blues but with the current positions not looking too healthy, they could really do with a good result there.