The Bournemouth AC for the Stur Half included Ricky Brennan (33), Jason Christian (49), Richard Brawn (32) and Hugo Richardson (266)
A fixture clash with the Lordshill 10k race from the Hampshire League left Bournemouth AC with only one representative at the Round the Rock 10k. That was Stu Nicholas and although he managed to finish 3rd, it meant the yellow and blues wouldn’t be scoring well for that particular round. That handed the initiative to Wimborne AC and they duly accepted the invitation with a convincing victory.
That was Wimborne’s fourth win of the season and put them in the driving seat in what looks like it could be a very tightly contested battle for promotion. The Bournemouth AC men had chalked up three wins and two second place finishes thus far so they were doing well as well. The clubs look very closely matched, amplifying the importance of each race result.
To even the score out a bit, the Bournemouth AC men were very much in need of a win at the Stur Half. Luckily they had Stu Nicholas in the ranks again but this time he had back up. Hugo Richardson and Jason Christian had also signed up, meaning they needed just one more man to secure the required four.
Captain of the Road Runners faction Rich Nelson was on the case though and eventually manage to persuade Ricky Brennan to get involved. Ricky hadn’t been training for a half marathon distance as such but he had run really well in the Alton 10 earlier in the summer and had also managed an excellent 10k PB at Lordshill.
He was in the best shape of his life by quite some margin and had been excelling on the Tuesday night training sessions of late as well. Jason Christian and Hugo Richardson had also ran at Lordshill as well. Jason got round in 38:49 which put him in 88th place and Hugo came 8th in a brilliant new PB of 34:28.
It was Hugo’s first ever road half marathon. He’d done a trail half marathon before, the Surrey Slog, which he won. He’d also recently done a 25km trail race as well which he was in 2nd place in until he took a wrong turn.
After signing up for Surrey Half Marathon on 8th September, Rich Brawn had five weeks to try to get into shape for it. He’d been running really poorly of late and struggling to hit a good pace on his training runs. Hence he thought perhaps the Stur Half would give him a better training run that anything he was likely to do on his own, so he signed up.
The runners head off on their way with a gruelling 13.1 miles ahead of them
That gave them a team of five now as well so it would ensure they’d get a set of scorers on the board, even if something happened to one of them. It could also boost their chances of getting the win they needed as well.
One of the fastest runners in the county, Tommy Corbin of Poole AC, was competing. He recorded the fastest lap of anyone at the Poole Festival of Running Relays and was well capable of producing a 1:13 half marathon or quicker.
Christopher Peck, Jonathon Churchill, Giles Heaman, Corey Stoner and Adam Davies were all in the side for Egdon Heath Harriers giving them a formidable line up.
Stu Nicholas and Hugo Richardson were up near the front
To begin with it was Tommy Corbin who was driving the pace at the front of the field. Stu Nicholas wasn’t far behind though and Hugo Richardson was just behind him. Having only just got back from a trip to Chamonix for the Maverick Trail Camp, Hugo wouldn’t have been fully fresh. He’d been thrusted into action pretty quick after his return.
Going through the first mile in 5:33, Stu then followed up with a 5:45 and then a 5:38. It was a quick start for Stu and Hugo was right there with him. They’d gone through the first 5k in 17:35. They then went through the next couple of miles at 5:50 pace before posting a 5:58 for their sixth mile.
Stu heads down the path leading back to the school field
Recording a 10k of 35:46, it was a very strong start from Stu and Hugo. The hillier part of the course was yet to come though. Since he’d been in such woeful form of late, Rich Brawn knew there was no point even trying to do the pace he would normally go for in a half marathon race so he took it quite steady.
Rich Brawn had been off form but was still hoping to get some fast miles in
A first mile of 5:54 would end up being the only time he went sub six for a mile. He then clocked a 6:12 for his second mile and a 6:06 for his third one to give him a 5k of 18:54. For the next few miles he was around 6:10 pace, reaching 10k in exactly 38 minutes. His hope was that having started slower, he might be able to move up the field a bit over the second half of the race.
It was a steady start from Rich as he eased himself into it
Stu gives a wave as he edges closer to the finish
There was an incline to contend with on the sixth and seventh mile which put Stu and Hugo down to just over six minutes per mile. Then another incline on the ninth mile saw them post a mile split of around 6:10. A nice downhill stretch on the 10th mile enabled them to pick the pace back up and then went through that in 5:47, giving them a time of 58:36 for 10 miles.
Hugo certainly made his mark in his first ever road half marathon
That left them with just 5k to go but in the Stur Half, it’s a pretty challenging few miles. Managing 6:21 pace for his seventh and eighth mile splits, Rich was then down to a 6:42 for his ninth mile. He’d been overtaken by Joe Godden of Poole Runners at one point and had tried to stay with him for a bit, knowing that Joe always finishes races strongly.
It wasn’t long before he realised he wouldn’t be able to sustain the pace though and had to let Joe go and then battle on on his own. A 6:16 for his next mile saw him make it to 10 in 1:02:24. He knew the real hard work was yet to come though.
Stu crosses the line in 6th place in 1:17:48
The trajectory started going up ever so slightly on the 11th mile and Stu and Hugo clocked a 6:13 for that one. Then on the 12th mile they faced part of the final big climb. It was a real beast to tackle at that stage but they coped well, registering just over 6:20 for that one. The incline continued up to 12.4 miles before a bit of respite at the top.
Hugo took 7th place in 1:18:02
There was then one last little kick before a downhill section leading to the school field where the finish line awaited. Stu had begun to extend away from Hugo on that final mile, clocking a very strong 6:08 to Hugo’s 6:20.
That gave Stu a finished time of 1:17:48 which put him in 6th place with Hugo crossing the line in 1:18:02 to take 7th place. That was remarkably consistent with Stu’s Stur Half time of 2019 and it was actually just two seconds quicker. For Hugo, it was a fantastic first attempt at a road half marathon and definitely an effort to be proud of.
Rich was battling it out with Vicki Ingham, Hayden Clarke and Clive Kennedy-Burn
Having gone past Adam Davies and Corey Stone of Egdon Heath Harriers, Rich was feeling like he might be able to press on but slowed down considerably when he hit the hills on the 11th and 12th miles. He was closing in a guy ahead of him who was wearing a black vest though.
Rich dug in and give it his all on the way to the finish
What he wasn’t expecting him though was for anyone from behind to catch him. Mark Savage from Wimborne AC did though and then, out of nowhere, Haydon Clarke and Vicki Ingham of Poole Runners caught him up as well. He tried to stay ahead of Vicki and was determined not to relinquish the place.
Vicki was definitely the stronger of the two going up the hill though. Luckily for Rich, the downhill section near the end saved him and he managed to accelerate away. There were still three other athletes to contend with though and it ended up being a sprint finish between Mark Savage and Haydon Clarke and then another one between Rich and the chap in the black vest who was Clive Kennedy-Burn.
Rich crossed the line in 1:22:37 which put him in 25th place
Clive had enough strength to see off Rich in the end as they approached the finish line. That meant Rich had to settle for 25th place in 1:22:37 and 11th in the MV40 category.
Facing the Sturminster Newton Half Marathon a couple of times before, Jason Christian’s best time was exactly 1 hour 27 which he did two years ago. Could he beat that this time round?
Jason Christian was fourth man over the line for BAC in 1:26:51
Starting off with a 6:10 for the first mile, Jason kept his splits remarkably consistent for such an undulating route. He was around 6:35 pace for most of his miles. The 11th and 12th miles were a little slower of course, with the toughest hills coming into play but it was a strong run throughout from Jason.
Clocking a finishing time of 1:26:51, Jason came 39th overall and was 5th in the MV50 bracket. It was nine seconds faster than his previous best so he was happy with that and he’d come away with a decent average pace of 6:37 per mile.
It was a decent course PB from Jason
The completed the scoring team of four for the Bournemouth AC men and it was enough to see them top the standings in the Second Division, ahead their main rivals Wimborne AC who took 2nd. That took the BAC men back to the top of the table although they were effectively level pegging with Wimborne AC for the season so far.
Since he hadn’t really been doing many long runs of late and certainly not any longer races, Ricky Brennan didn’t really know what he would be capable of. He had a pace in mind though that he thought he might be able to keep to. It soon became apparent to him though that he wasn’t going to be able to hold that pace for a duration and he began to tire and slow down. It was a bit of a battle from there on in.
Ricky Brennan started well but found it tough to maintain the pace
The half marathon distance can seem quite far if you’re misjudged the pace early on. To his credit though, Ricky dug in and showed character to grind out a 1:30:15 finish which put him 51st overall.
Ricky crossed the line in 1:30:15 which put him 51st
Unsurprisingly it was Tommy Corbin who picked up the race win and he finished exactly a minute ahead of Lester James from Team Bath who came 2nd in 1:13:22. He was quite a way ahead of Chris Peck who took 3rd place in 1:15:24.
Jonathan Churchill claimed 4th place in 1:17:10 with Kevin Willsher of Lordshill taking 5th place in 1:17:31. Luke McKenzie of Poole Runners spearheaded a side that would go on to register their first win of the season in the Men’s First Division. It was mightily close between them and Egdon Heath Harriers though, with only three placings separating the two teams.
Vicki Ingham was 1st female in a time of 1:22:41 which put her 26th overall. The next woman in was Molly Rasch who came in just ahead of Jason Christian, reaching the line in 1:26:19.
No other ladies finished for ages before Julie Wargent arrived to take the 3rd female spot in 1:32:16. Her Egdon Heath Harriers teammate Hannah Martyn was 4th female in 1:35:37.
The Poole Runners women picked up the win though in the Ladies’ First Division, with Egdon Heath Harriers having to settle for 2nd in what was quite a close contest. Poole AC were 3rd with Littledown Harriers in 4th.
In the Ladies’ Second Division, it was bottom of the league Dorset Doddlers who managed a surprise win, with Wimborne AC in 2nd, Lytchett Manot Striders 3rd and Purbeck Runners 4th. Despite not having anyone racing in the last two fixtures, the Bournemouth AC ladies still topped the table in the Second Division.
The BAC men were the lowest scoring team in the Second Division
In the Men’s Third Division it was Dorset Doddlers who picked up the win ahead of Dorchester RIOT and that was also how they are currently positioned for the season so far.
In the Ladies’ Third Division it was Westbourne who claimed the win, with Bournemouth Joggers taking 2nd and again, that was how the league positions stood after eight league races.
Egdon Heath Harriers still topped the table in the Men’s First Division for the season so far, with Poole AC occupying 2nd and Poole Runners in 3rd.
A sixth league win of the season brought the Poole Runners Ladies to within one win of confirming the league title. Poole AC were a distant 2nd with defending champions Egdon Heath Harriers third.
It was a third second place of the season for Chris Peck in terms of league placings and that elevated him above Dave Hicks to the top of the standings in the Men’s individual table.
That fourth place in terms of league scorers lifted Stu Nicholas to 4th in the overall standings behind Chris Wood of Twemlow Track Club. The 3rd placed scorer position that Jonathan Churchill managed put him in 5th place ahead of Luke Terry of Poole AC who was 7th scorer at the Stu Half.
It was a valuable win for the Bournemouth AC men as they returned to the top of the table
After turning in below par performances in most of his four races, Rich Brawn was 16th in the overall standings for the season so far.
After her 5th win of the season, Vicki Ingham was looking untouchable at the top of the Ladies’ First Division. Hayley Martin of Poole AC was still 2nd for the season so far with Emma Caplan in 3rd.
Debbie Lennon was in 16th place for the season so far and trailing Heather Khoshnevis by quite some margin in the 60 to 64 category.
The next race of the season is the Round the Lakes 10k which takes place on 29th September and for that one, Bournemouth AC were expecting wins in both the Men’s and the Women’s divisions. This year it isn’t on the same weekend as the SEAA Road Relays as well so that will be a massive help to them in getting competitive teams out.
With a fast, flat course and the possibility of good conditions, the Round the Lakes 10k promises to be another epic showdown, with Poole AC once again stepping up to host the event that replaces the cancelled Hoburne 5.