As the Hampshire Road Race League season moved into the business end, the victory at the Alton 10 had put the Bournemouth AC men in a very strong position. They now five wins for the season and one second place with three more races left to go. Ideally though they needed a good result from all three remaining races to make certain of becoming league champions.

Unfortunately they were very thin on the ground for the Netley 10k which was the next fixture on the list. Clashing with the May 5 race from the Dorset League, a lot of the club members opted for the May 5 since it was being staged at Canford Heath, so a little close to home.

The Netley 10k is based at Royal Victoria Country Park, which is just past Southampton. At first it was only Mike Akers and Patrick Kingston who had signed up. Then Rich Brawn submitted an entry, meaning they only needed one more, or ideally two as they always like to go with five in case something happens on the day.

They were then boosted by the entries of Bryn Smith and newcomer Luke Martin, giving them the desired team of five. Luke Martin had been running really impressively in training though and always seemed to be right at the front, driving the pace. Bryn was always quick as well, even when he hadn’t been training all that much, so to have those two in the side gave them a massive chance.

In truth, it wasn’t a necessity to win at the Netley 10k, but what they really needed was a third or fourth place finish. That would then be likely to knock the seventh place finish they got at the Gosport Half Marathon off their score card.

As they were travelling to the venue on the morning of the race, Rich had a message from Mike saying that he wasn’t going to be able to make it to the race due to some last minute complications. That was exactly why it was always best to ensure they had at least one more than the required number of scorers.

What that meant was that all four men knew they would be scoring so in a sense, it amplified to pressure on them to finish as high up as they could. They all needed to give it their best shot now and hope for a good performance.

Having done the race before, Rich and Patrick though they knew what they were in for, but it turned out they didn’t. They hadn’t read the race instructions properly but it turned out that the course was no longer three laps round the country park. It now headed out into Netley village, with a loop around the village before heading back to the country park.

They were told it was undulating as well when heading round the village, so the task had suddenly got a little tougher. Perhaps not so much for Patrick though as he’s very strong on the hills. He spends a fair bit of time on the South West Coast Path around the Weymouth area, or on the Purbeck tackling the steeper climbs. In fact, he was training for a 70km fell race in Spain so had been doing some practicing for that over recent weeks.

It was Rich’s first race back after his hard fought sub three at the London Marathon so he wasn’t sure how he would go but he felt like he’d made a good recovery and didn’t seem to have any lingering fatigue from those exploits.

As soon as they race got going, Luke Martin stepped on the gas and began to work his way up towards the front of the pack. Bryn wasn’t far behind either as they headed down the path and into the wooded section. The first part of the course was the same as it used to be, with a small incline through the wooded section. Then there was a slight descent after that before they headed out of the country park and onto the open roads.

Luke went through the first mile in 5:27 so it was a strong start from him. The second mile featured quite a long climb, going up the road and into the village. It didn’t seem to slow Luke down too much though and he got through the mile in 5:33 before embarking on his third mile.

There were another couple of of small climbs on the third mile but again, Luke kept the pace high, getting through it in 5:37. He’d gone through the first 5k in 17:27 which was 5th best in the field.

The fourth mile was on more of a slightly downhill trajectory and Luke was able to up the pace on that one to 5:24 before heading into his fifth mile. The fifth mile contained some further undulations but Luke pushed through it well, registering a 5:33.

His splits had been remarkably consistent really, considering the undulations he’d faced. The sixth mile was back in the country park and this time it was heading toward the finish. There was one last climb to tackle though and since it was right near the end, it seemed very tough. That put Luke down to a 6:01 for that split but he then got back on pace for the final run in to the finish.

Completing the second 5k in 17:38, he was 8th fastest in the field for that section. Reaching the finish in a time of 35:05, Luke had finished in 9th place which was a really good result on his club debut. With performances like that, he was going to be a real asset in league competition. His average pace for the run was 3:30 per kilometre, or 5:35 per mile.

Getting through the first 5k in 17:52, Bryn Smith was 13th fastest in the field at that stage with an average pace of 3:34 per kilometre. He then went through the second 5k in 18:22 which out him 23rd best in the field with an average pace of 3:40 per kilometre. That saw him finish in 18th place out of 682 with a time of 36:14. It was a very solid display from Bryn and his average pace for the run as a whole was 3:37 per kilometre.

Completing the first mile in 5:57, Rich Brawn then went on to clock a 6:13 on the second mile. He tend to struggle a bit on the hills so the new course was a bit of a shock to the system. He knew he had to get through them as best he could though.

Going through the third mile in 6:13, he’d reached the 5k point in 19:12 at an average pace of 3:50 per kilometre. That put him in 41st place. Luckily the long slight descent on the fourth mile allowed him to pick up some speed and he was able to get back on track with a 5:53 split. The undulations kept coming on the fifth mile though and he found himself back down to 6:16 pace.

Finding the hill on the last mile really tough going he was knocked down to over 7 minute mile pace whilst heading up the climb. It wasn’t great but he just didn’t have anything left in the tank by that stage. Registering a 6:18 for his last mile split, he then made his way to the finish.

Clocking a 19:04 for his second 5k, he was 38th fastest in the field for that section with an average pace of 3:49 per kilometre. His finishing time was 38:16 which put him in 42nd place overall. His average pace for the run was 6:07 and he’d finished 6th out of 38 in the M40 division.

Since his watch didn’t start properly, Patrick Kingston didn’t really know how fast he was actually going. As it turned out, he’d gone through the first 5k in 19:58, which was 4 minute per kilometre pace. That put him in 62nd place overall and 7th in M45 division.

He then went on to complete the second 5k in 20:10 which was 79th best in the field for that section. His average pace for that was 4:02. That put his finished time at 40:08, which got him 69th place and 6th in his age category. His average pace for the run was 4:01 per kilometre.

That was enough to put the Bournemouth AC men in 4th place out of the A1 division teams. That was a pretty decent result really, all things considered and they had to be happy with it. It was enough to keep their title charge on track at least.

Ryde Harriers were Bournemouth AC’s main title challengers but they really needed to win all the remaining races to be able to topple BAC. Fareham Running Club had brought quite a strong side over to the Netley 10k though and they managed to pip Ryde to the post for first place. That was a real bonus for BAC.

The Isle of Wight based club had to settle for second place, with Alton Runners finishing third. That was despite Christopher Newnham winning the race for the islanders in a time of 31:52. That was an average pace of 3:11 per kilometre and it was enough to see him finish a minute and a half ahead his nearest rivals. Andrew Winterbottom of Winchester Running Club and Brandon Cuell of Fareham.

Andrew took 2nd place in 33:19 and Brandon was third in 33:30. Ellis Meades-Woolley, also of Farenham, then arrived four seconds later to take 4th place in 33:24. Dylan Poulton of Alton Runners finished 5th in exactly 34 minutes and Gary Marshall was Ryde Harriers second man in, taking 6th place in 34:44.

Matt Risden of Southampton was 7th in 34:47 and Danny Mackney of Croxtons Running Club came 8th in 34:57. Erin Willmers of Winchester Running Club was 12th overall and 1st female in 35:37.

Emma Jolley of City of Portsmouth AC was having a bit of a battle with Rich Brawn and it was one that she eventually went on to win, finishing in 41st place in 38:14. That was two seconds ahead of Rich and saw her come in as 2nd placed lady. Georgina Annett of Andover was 3rd female in 38:59 which put her in 53rd place overall.

Rachel Walsh of Alton Runners finished 4th in a time of 40:04 and she went over the line just in front of Patrick Kingston, taking 68th place in the overall standings.

It was a win for Lordshill in the Women’s A1 division with Liss finished 2nd and Alton Runners in 3rd. Lordshill are top of the standings for the season so far, with Denmead Striders in 2nd and Fareham in 3rd.

Surprisingly, Hedge End had a score equal to Fareham’s men and they were first in the A2 division with Overton Harriers in 2nd and Liss in 3rd. Winchester Running Club and Liss were level at the top of the standings in the Men’s A2 division for the season so far.

Winchester Running Club could be on their way toward a clean sweep in the Women’s A2 division as they picked up their 10th win of the season out of 10. They’ve already sealed the division win and promotion but they are clearly keen to keep the winning trend.

Vectis Academy got the best score out of the Men’s A3 teams. Hardley Runners were still way out in front for the season so far though. Vectis Academy also won in the Women’s A3 division as well with a better score than every team in the league other than Lordshill. They were 2nd for the season so far, with Victory AC currently leading the way.

The next race will see the Bournemouth AC men head up to the more northerly reaches of Hampshire for the Alresford 10k. The 4th place finish had lifted Bournemouth AC to the top of the table, ahead of Fareham Running Club, Denmead Striders and Alton Runners. A win at the Alresford 10k would secure the league title with one race to spare as it would mean no one could mathematically match them for their best nine results.

The yellow and blue army had assembled a strong side for the Alresford 10k, despite it being on the same weekend as the Purbeck 10k. Luke Martin and Bryn Smith will be featuring again and they will be joined by Ben Collins and Jack Davies. Ben Moss and Will Moss are also in the squad and there will even be an appearance from BAC road runners head honcho Rich Nelson. After tackling the Purbeck 10k on the Friday, Katie Gunn and Max Yao will be doing the double as they are also featuring at Alresford.