Relay teams

The Wessex league provides competing opportunities for u12s through to u20s. With a free coach provided, Isle of Wight matches are always a day to remember. It was a sunny and, even with the windy conditions, there were lots of PBs.

With apologies for any omissions, the team consisted of:

U12s

Emily Brooks

Dylan Everett

Matilda Flay

Seth Jackson

Brody Lock

Alicia Mysliwska

Samuel Ramirez

U14s

Isabella Baptist

Reuben Gates

Sofia Roscoe

Robyn Woolley

U16s

Mikey Bean

Junior Buron

Bella Crawford

Connor Grocott

Fin Hurst-Atkins

Oliver Jennings

Jessica Long

Callum Pearson

Sienna Pope

Logan Potter

Lola Thomasson

U18s

Flo Dootson

Notable performances included:

• Our throwers doing well with strong PB performances for Sophia Roscoe in discus, Logan Potter in shot and Callum Pearson in javelin
• Fin Hurst-Atkins won discus, ran a 1500 PB and also ran the 100m and 4×100 relay
• Sienna Pope with 2 PBs
• And by the officials… Simon almost won with the lap bell, Janet broke records for tripping over the track edge and Dave needs new sellotape for his stopwatch.

Sophie Roscoe discus thrower

Full results can be found on the Power of 10

What the mangers and athletes said:

“Quad kids had new faces today and loads of PBs”

“Great team spirit from all BAC!”

“We may not win but all that matters is we tried our hardest and had fun.”

“I enjoyed the long jump and 75m”

Our officials were:

• Dave Clarke (timekeeper)
• Adie Saunders (field)
• Simon Saunders (track)
• Janet Dickinson (track)
• Robin James (field)

Thanks also to team managers Caleb Buys (u12s), Bernard Buron (u14s) Caroline Pope (u16s)

Well done all!

The next Wessex match will be at Abingdon on Sunday 7^th June.

Somerset and Dorset Combined Events Yeovil

Always great to see our multi-events competing and there were some outstanding results at Yeovil.

• Imogen Pope won Y9 overall and Gold for Dorset
• Sienna Munden was 2^nd overall and Silver for Dorset
• Liberty Batt was 4^th overall in Y8 and Silver for Dorset
• Seni Purnell was 5^th overall in U18 and Gold for Dorset.

London mini-marathon

Allegra Ramirez was selected to run in the mini-marathon for the South West in the u14G category finishing 20^th.

In the YDL Upper (UK Youth Development League) Bournemouth, New Forest Juniors and Salisbury form a composite team of u18s and U20s providing opportunities to meet new teammates. With a free coach provided, the journey to Crawley proved worthwhile with sunny and calm conditions ideal for athletics. While a small team, this proved a good platform to build on with plenty of scope for others as we return to our track.

With apologies for any omissions, the team consisted of:

Oliver Canavan (U18)

Matthew Farah (U18)

Chloe Johnsom (U18)

Isaac May (U18)

William Moss (U18)

Gabriella Pitman (U18)

Alexis Seymour (U18)

Tonaya Welsh (U18)

Elijah Hunt (U20)

Amy Tonkyn U20)

Harry Williams (U20)

There were many PBs and podium places. Notable performances included:

• Winning the U18 mixed relay (Chloe Johnson, Gabriella Pitman, Isaac May, William Moss)
• Amy Tonkyn, who was unable to compete in her own events (sprints) due to injury but made the trip to support the team by throwing discus and shot.
• Elijah Hunt and Matt Farah for each covering several events
• Chloe Johnson, who was one of the top athletes of the match based on points in her 200m

Full results can be found on the Power of 10

A strong group of officials supported the athletes gaining good points (officials get points too!).

• Dave Clarke (BAC timekeeper)
• Adrienne Saunders and Janet Dickinson (BAC field)
• Simon Saunders (BAC track)
• Dave McManus and Tina Wilding (NFJ field)

Thanks also to team managers Richard Hunt (Bournemouth), Kiera Everett (New Forest Juniors).

Well done all!

The next YDL upper match will be at Guildford on Sunday 24^th May.

The Portsmouth Coastal Waterside Marathon has become something of a Christmas/birthday tradition for Stu Nicholas

It wouldn’t seem right to end the year without Stu Nicholas having run the Portsmouth Coastal Waterside Marathon. It’s been such a regular fixture for him over the years and he’s enjoyed so much success in it as well, winning it three times and coming close on numerous other occasions. You could almost say that Stu is as much a part of the history of the Portsmouth Coast Waterside Marathon as it is part of his.

Winning the race in 2021 and 2022, Stu had to settle for third place last year when James Baker picked up the win and Phil Mant of Aldershot, Farnham & District took second.

Being an out and back route following the coastline of Southsea and Portsmouth, the race is always subject to impact from the wind. It turned out to be quite strong on the day which made it a much tougher race for any as, as soon as they turned they had to face a forceful headwind for entire second half. Those who had started off to quick were sure to be suffering as a result.

Opening with a 6:11 for his first mile, Stu was then followed it up with a 6:04 and then a 6:08 before upping the anti with a 5:56 for his fourth mile. Another 6:08 saw him reach the five mile point. He then went even faster for the next four miles, with a 6:02 followed by a 5:59, a 5:56 and then another 6:02.

He went on to reach 10 miles in 1 hour and 28 seconds before going to on reach the half way stage in 1:19:29. He was out in front with James Gray at that point. Who could forget the year that Stu shared the race win with Robert Fryer of City of Portsmouth when they ran the entire race together and then went over the line together.

On this occasion though, once they turned they felt the brunt of the headwind and that was what they had in store for the second half of the race. It was going to take some strength and some character. Fortunately Stu has both of those in abundance.

Stu had to weave in an out of all the Santa’s which made for an interesting last 5k

A 6:12 for his 14th mile was then followed by a 6:15 for his 15th. Then he registered a 6:45 for his 16th mile and a 6:27 for his 17th. Just when it seemed like he might be slowing down, Stu suddenly found some resolve and got back on pace.

Clocking a 6:10 for his 18th mile, he then went through the 19th mile in 6:14 before somewhere churning out a 6:05 and a 6:08 to bring himself up to 21 miles. It was a very impressive show of strength from Stu and James Gray was long gone. He was out in front on his own and just needed to keep on the throttle to see it through.

With the wind pushing back though, it wasn’t going to be easy. Stu went through 22 miles with a 6:19 split before registering another 6:08 for mile 23. After that he started overtaking some of the half marathon back markers as well some runners who were competing in the 5k and 10k Santa Runs. It certainly made for an interesting last few miles.

Managing to get through those at around 6:30 pace, Stu cruised home for the win. Making it to the line in a magnificent time of 2:41:59, Stu had only gone and done it again. It was his fourth time of tasting victory and must have tasted incredibly sweet.

The medal was definitely significantly bigger than the mince pie

Almost three minutes went by before the next marathon runner arrived at the finish. That was Thomas Adams who clocked a time of 2:44:53. James Gray then arrived in 3rd place recording a time of 2:46:46. He’d faded quite a bit over the second half of the race in comparison to Stu.

Richard Smith completed the course in 2 hours 49 minutes which put him 4th and Martin Bradley arrived in 5th place with a time of 2:50:16. Ross Christie came in in 2:50:37 to take 6th place.

Stu’s wife Anna was there to support him and hold his medal whilst he tucked into his mince pie

Rosie Read was first female in a time of 3:01:21 which put her in 9th place and Helen Knight was 2nd lady and 1st vet in 3:11:09. That put her in 20th place overall. A total of 616 runners successfully completed the marathon, with the slowest of them taking 6 hours 45 minutes.

It was a fantastic way to end a terrific season for Stu. He’d achieved a lot, finishing 4th in the Men’s Individual standings for the Dorset Road Race League and winning the Purbeck Trail Series. He also finished first no less than 30 times in parkrun.

He’s already gone on to continue in that vain, finishing first in both his first two parkruns of 2025 and the signs were already pointing to another super strong year on the cards for Stu. Last year he also managed a superb PB of 35:35 at the Stubbington 10k and that will be next race on Stu’s agenda for 2025. That’s also the next round in the Hampshire Road Race League and formidable looking Bournemouth AC outfit will out in force for that one, eyeing up a First Division win.

Patrick Kingston (24) lines up outside the race HQ barn ahead of the Cairnsmore Hill Race

Patrick Kingston‘s latest search for his desired fix of hills and trail took him to Dumfries and Galloway for the Cairnsmore Hill Race. Patrick had been keeping a record of how much elevation he had racked up throughout the year and he was close to 40,000 metres.

He’d done the CxM Sierra Blanca ‘Destroyer’ in the mountains of Marbella. That was 2,800m of ascent. He’d also done the Krakonošov Hundred which incorporated 4,000m of ascent and the Mini’Hard which included three big climbs equating to a further 1,700m of elevation. He also ran 84 miles of the TDS route from the Ultra-Trail-du-Mont-Blanc which saw him add a further 9,000m of vertical to his total. The Shere Marathon brought him a further 1,200m of ascent as well.

When you consider the training that he did for all those events as well which included some long stints along the South West Coast Path and the Purbeck, it’s not surprising he managed such a high total.

Patrick waits with the other runners for the race to start

The route for the Cairnsmore Hill Race headed out to Knocktrim where there was a steep climb awaiting through the Door of Cairnsmore. It the headed north along the Knee of Cairnsmore and up to the summit of Cairnsmore of Fleet. Turning south west from the trig, it’s then a long descent down to the finish for the remaining four and a bit miles.

The start line for the Cairnesmore Hill Race

The course length was 17.5km and included 800m of ascent. The sixth mile contained the steepest climb with 325m of ascent to get through in that mile alone. The Galloway Mountain Rescue team were on hand providing marshals and manning the checkpoints as well as serving up the post race hot soup and refreshments. Fell running experience was a must though and navigational skills could be required in the potentially wintery conditions.

Patrick enjoys testing himself on hilly courses

With most of the first seven miles being uphill, it wasn’t an easy race but Patrick dealt with the slopes well as he usually does. Completed the course in 2 hours 11 minutes and 4 seconds, Patrick finished 27th out of 58 competitors and he was 4th M40 over the line.

The winner of the race was Robert Sparks of Edinburgh University Hare and Hounds in 1:31:49, with Harrison Stubbs of Westerfields CCC taking 2nd in 1:34:10. David Parrish of Dumfries Running Club was 3rd in 1 hour 35 minutes.

The race gets underway

Elena Heger of Shettleston Harriers was 1st female and 5th overall in 1:43:07. Alison Banford was 2nd female and 1st lady in 2 hours and 53 seconds. Ally Wright was first male vet in 1:48:57 and he was an M50.

The barn made a good venue for the race headquarters

Patrick has a brother who lives over in Marbella and he headed out there just before the new year to get some more climbing in. He finished with 40,722m of ascent in his summit bag. It was a really impressive year of running from Patrick and he’d achieved some remarkable feats. No doubt he’ll be hoping for another year of thrills, spills and plenty of hills in 2025.

The stormy conditions didn’t stop Neil Smith getting stuck in at the Endurance Life Dorset event where he competed in the Half Marathon

On the weekend that Storm Darragh ravaged certain parts of the country, the Endurance Life Dorset event had been scheduled to take place. Located in Swanage, the course was a tough trail route along the Jurassic Coast Path.

Bournemouth AC man Neil Smith had signed up for the Half Marathon and that started at Kimmeridge, heading over to Kingston first, the onto Worth Matravers. After that it was over to Durlston and up to Swanage where the race reached its conclusion.

It was a race that featured some very tough terrain including the sandy beach at Swanage

Neil was running it with his mate Matt Hodson and they weren’t perturbed by the weather, even though the wind out there was pretty ferocious. It was a very hilly route they had to tackle, with 2,900ft of elevation to get through.

It was a very hilly route with 2,900ft of elevation

The pair set off on their way, determined to get to that finish line, no matter what it took. They battled well to get up the massive climbs, even though some of them were super steep. Making it to the finish in 2 hours 31 minutes and 22 seconds, Neil came 101st in the overall standings out of 181.

It was an impressive performance from Neil given the huge elevation and the forceful headwinds he had to face on route. It can’t have been one of the easiest runs he’s ever done that’s for sure but he completed the course and that was quite some achievement in itself.

Neil completed the course in 2 hours 31 minutes and 22 seconds

Another man with Bournemouth AC ties, Mark Hillier, was running it as well. Mark is, probably best described as an ‘adventurous’ runner. He’s done some insanely tough races in the past such as the Oner, which is 80 miles with 10,000ft of climbing. He’s also done the Marathon des Sables, which is 254km in six days over the deserts of Morocco. He’s also done the 230km Al Andalus Ultimate Trail which is 230km over a five stage format.

Mark Hillier was also competing in the Half Marathon race

He even did a 100 mile race in the Pyrenees after bring pulled out of it by the medics with five miles to go the previous year. That is a man who will not compromise on his goals, no matter how demanding and difficult they are.

Completing the Endurance Life Dorset Half Marathon in 1:56:50, Mark finished in 19th position and was 4th Vet 50 over the line.

Charles Ford won the Half Marathon race in 1:30:05, with Kelvin Weafer taking 2nd in 1:31:10 and George Parry taking 3rd in 1:34:35. Jenny Marshall was 1st female in 1:54:14 which put her 16th overall. Mary Marshall finished just behind her in 1:55:17 which made her 2nd female and 17th overall.

Mark finished 19th in 1:56:50

There was also meant to be a Marathon and a 37.2 mile Ultra in the Endurance Life Dorset event but they both got downgraded to 13 miles distance in the end due to the stormy conditions.

There were some women who ran faster times than Jenny in other two 13 mile races. Georgie Baker managed it in 1:47:50, finishing 11th in her race and Victoria Ratcliffe, a V45, was 2nd female in 1:48:37, which put her in 12th place. In the other race, Amelie Karlsson completed the course in 1:46:47 and she finished 8th overall.

There was also a 10k race which was won by Matthew Dewey in 43:50. He was quite a way ahead, with V55 Mark Stileman taking 2nd place in 47:44. Under 20 man Mateusz Kowalski was 3rd in 49:24. Emily Ellis was 1st female, crossing the line in 51:42 which put her 5th overall.

It had certainly been an experience for Neil running in such stormy conditions and over such a testing route as well. That can only mean good strength gains for him going forwards, as well as some good memories to take with him too no doubt.

Stu Nicholas was in action at the very first New Forest Xmas Trails event where he was competing in the 30km race

It had been an extremely good year for Stu Nicholas as his back catalogue of achievements grew bigger and bigger. Winning the Purbeck Trail Series was a feat to be proud of and finishing fourth in the Men’s individual table for the Dorset Road Race League season was a massive accomplishment.

He’d also finished first in 29 parkruns over those 11 months, demonstrating remarkable consistency. There was still time for a couple more successes for Stu though going into December.

The first of those was a brand new Christmas trail running festival that took place in the New Forest. Organised by BigFeat events, the New Forest Xmas Trails started out from Avon Tyrell Outdoor Activity Centre in Bransgore.

Stu had some muddy terrain to contend with but it didn’t slow him down much

There were 14k, 30k, Marathon and 50k distances for entrants to choose from and Stu opted for the 30k race. The route was fairly undulating and it was wet and muddy underfoot. That didn’t stop Stu from going out and attacking though as he would any other race. There was quite a testing incline on the first mile which meant that Stu opened with a 7:45 for his first split.

He then clocked a 7:26 for his second mile before getting into his stride and registering split times of just over 7 minutes for his next couple of miles. There was another significant hill to get up on the fifth mile but Stu managed it no problems, clocking a 7:01 for that mile.

Stu was way out front in the 30k race

He cranked up the pace a notch after that, posting a 6:26 followed by a 6:13 before getting through the next four miles at around 6:30 pace. Then he registered a 6:46 for his 12th mile. A 7:16 for his 13th mile was then followed by a 6:25 for his 14th.

Despite the undulations and the tricky conditions, Stu was strong over the latter stages of the race, going at well under 7 minute mile pace for his next four miles. The course ended up being slightly longer than the advertised 30km. In fact, it was more like 32km but Stu managed to see it out and take top spot on the podium, crossing the line in 2 hours 15 minutes and 52 seconds.

Stu’s wife Anna making her way round the 14km route

It was a sublime run from Stu and put him way ahead of anyone else. In fact, his nearest challengers were two women – Jess Cooke and Kim Crane. They completed the course in 2:23:26. Stu’s average pace for the 19.76 miles he covered was 6:52 per mile. 124 runners in total took part in the 30km race.

Anna and Stu show off their medals after completing their races

Stu’s wife Anna did the 14km race and she made it a special day for the couple by finishing as first female in a time of 1 hour 22 minutes and 24 seconds. Again, the course was slightly longer than advertised but Anna ran it well and crossed the line a minute ahead of Emma Lindell who was second lady.

Anna and Stu with a couple of their friends

Anna finished 10th overall, with Simon Jennison securing a convincing victory in 1:06:01. Christopher Chester of Hedge End was second in 1:14:28. There were 180 finishers in in the 14km race and 108 of those were women, underlining what a terrific result it was for Anna.

Anna loved the design of the Christmas themed medal

There was one more race to go this year for Stu and that was the Portsmouth Coastal Waterside Marathon. He’d won that three times before and would no doubt have been hoping to add to that tally in this year’s race.

Hugo Richardson (1197) readies himself for the 15k race at the Maverick Exposure Lights Dark Castle event

It’s just like any other race really. Except that you run it in the dark, over hilly terrain, with mud, bogs and slippery bridges to negotiate, with only a headtorch to light the way. The Maverick Exposure Lights Dark Castle event is staged from Corfe Castle on the Purbeck and the route heads through the village or Corfe, across Corfe Common and over to Church Knowle before going up onto the ridge at Knowle Hill.

The views at night are quite a sight to behold with the lights of Poole Harbour in the distance and the glow of Corfe Castle over to the right. After heading along the ridge to Stone Hill Down, the route then follows a track to Blue Poole where the trails are muddy and slippery. Herds of Sika deer will be watching on from the woodlands, making it an even more unique experience for the participants.

The runners are on the start line ready to get proceedings underway

Hugo Richardson was competing in the ‘Long‘ distance race, which was 15km, and he was joined at the event by Kate Bowers who featured in the ‘Middle‘ distance race which was 11km. Hugo has had an excellent year, with many first place parkruns to his name and he also registered a 34:28 at the Lordshill 10k and did his first ever road half marathon in 1:18:02.

It would be a new experience for Hugo running with a headtorch over a tough trail route

He’s also put in several high quality performances on the track and in cross country, finishing 7th in the Hampshire Schools’ Championships and 29th at the Southern Cross Country Champs.

Recently recording her first ever sub 20-minute parkrun, Kate Bowers finished as one of the top ten females in both the Purbeck 10k and the Round the Lakes 10k, proving what a great asset to the club she will be.

Running at night with a headtorch over that sort of terrain was a new experience for Hugo. But he took to it well, starting with a 6:22 for his first mile. Quite a lot of that was uphill as well. He then hit the one very long incline which took him up to 2.2 miles. The second mile took him eight minutes before he then began the long descent down. That lasted till 6.6 miles, enabling him to register a succession of quick miles, with a 6:37, followed by a 6:21, a 6:29, a 6:01 and then a 6:39.

The flare is let off and the race begins

Getting through the last couple of miles in 7:44 and 7:15, Hugo completed the race in 1 hour 2 minutes and 1 second which put him in second place. It was very tight though with only 10 seconds separating him and Hamish Reilly who got the win. They were quite a way ahead of anyone else in the race, with the third place man coming in two minutes behind Hugo. A total of 253 people successfully completed the 15km race.

Kate Bowers sets off on her way

The ‘Middle’ distance race contained that same long climb starting from just before the first mile and taking Kate all the way up to 2.5 miles. Then she picked up the pace well as she came back down the slope.

Getting through the 11km in 56:01, Kate finished 7th overall and second female. Again, it was a tight one though with only 20 seconds separating her and Melanie Phair who was first female. She was 6th, just one place ahead of Kate in the overall standings. John Smart got the win in 49:43 with Poole Runners man Steve Claxton taking second in 51:24. There were 162 athletes taking part in the 11km race.

Kate arrives at the finish after completing the 11km distance

It was good to see Hugo and Kate being prepared to try something different and the way they threw themselves into it was commendable, as were the results the came away with.

Hugo did well to finish second in the 15km race

After several years off the circuit, Nick Kenchington was back in the game at The Stickler

It takes a courageous runner to dare to take on the 10.1 mile multi-terrain event they call The Stickler. With 1500ft of gruelling climbing on the menu it isn’t one for the faint hearted and the route includes ascents up Okeford Beacon, Hod Hill and Hambledon Hill, otherwise known as the Dorest three peaks.

None of the clubs younger runs seemed to want a piece of The Stickler so it was down to two of the seasoned vets to fly the flag on this occasion. After picking up the 1st M60 prize at the Loch Ness Marathon in a time of 3:14:39, Nick Kenchington had announced himself back on the scene in style. Now he had a more local race so show that he could still grapple with a tough, hilly profile and make his mark.

Geoff Newton was doing The Stickler for the second year running

Geoff Newton was the only current Bournemouth AC representative at last year’s edition of The Stickler and he was back again for a second helping. He completed the course in just under 1 hour 44 minutes last year and was second M70 behind Nick Brooke of Dorset Doddlers.

On the weekend before The Stickler, Geoff had ran the Mendip Muddle which was a 20km fell race with 420 metres of elevation. The route is said to be an interesting one, featuring Roman lead mines, underground rivers, a nature reserve, an ancient rabbit warren, an Iron Age fort and prehistoric tumuli.

Unfortunately the conditions were atrocious this year though and it became a real survival exercise this year. Geoff finished in 2 hours 27 minutes and 2nd in the V70+ category.

Conditions at The Stickler, on the other hand, were actually better than last year. There was no fording of the rivers this time as last year the Stour had overflowed and the runners had to wade through deep water, less than a kilometre from the finish.

Nick heads down the platform toward the finish

Finishing in 45th place out of 510 runners, Nick Kenchington was first in the V60 category. Although he feels that the hills seem to get tougher as he gets older, it was a third win of the season for Nick in the over 60’s category.

Geoff was the second best M70 out there on the day

Completing the course in 1:44:45, Geoff came 245th overall and had to be content with second place in the V70 category, once again beaten by his old nemesis Nick Brooke. Nick got round in 1:38:50 which put him in 187th place overall.

Although he improved on his winning time from last year by over three minutes, Christopher Peck of Egdon Heath Harriers had to settle for second place on this occasion. Charles Pitt Ford was focused enough to seal the win in 1:06:01, which put him 43 seconds ahead of Chris.

They were quite a way ahead of anyone else, with Matthew Harris of Oxford University taking third place in 1:08:32 and Jake Stephens of Chippenham Harriers securing fourth place in 1:08:59.

Angus Young finished fifth in 1:10:08 and last year’s runner up, Christopher Wright, of Dorset Doddlers, took sixth place in 1:11:07. Anna Philps of Purbeck Runners was first female and 29th overall in 1:19:16 with Emma Hines of Swindon Harriers coming in as second lady in 1:19:59. She was 30th overall. Ali Young was third female in 1:21:04 which put her 34th overall.

Graeme Miller (left) and his dog Chester were the fastest of the Canicross persuasion

Former Bournemouth AC man Graeme Miller was first canicross runner with his dog Chester. The canicross runners started way after all the other runners but Graeme worked his way up into 24th place with a gun time of 1:18:20. His chip time was 1:14:40 which would have put him 17th overall.

It was an improvement of 1 minute 40 seconds over their time from last year for Graeme and Chester so that was a pleasing result. Robert Henderson was the second canicross runner over the line and he finished just after Nick Kenchington. His chip time of 1:18:51 would have put him a lot higher up though.

It’s always great to see the traditional Dorset trail races still thriving in the modern world and The Stickler is one of a few iconic events the county has. It’s certainly renowned for being on the tougher end of the scale as well.

Equally it was good to see two of Bournemouth AC’s most experienced campaigners prepared to throw themselves into the mix in a race of this sort. That should serve as an example to younger runners out there that, with the right approach, courses like this are doable and can be a lot of fun.

Grzegorz Kazaniecki’s next visit on his quest for the Six Star Marathon Major Medal took him to Chicago

With the goal of bagging himself the much coveted Abbotts World Marathon Major Six Star Medal, the latest stop of the journey took Grzegorz Kazaniecki across the pond to the Windy City of Chicago, Illinois. That was to be his third major after London last year and Berlin the year before.

Preparations for the Chicago Marathon had gone well for Grzeg and he was hopeful that he could have a chance of beating his PB of 2 hours 54 minutes and 35 seconds which he did at London in April. Representing Dorset in the Inter Counties Half Marathon contest at Chippenham, Grzeg ran a 1:22:36 time as part of his training block leading up to the marathon.

Grzeg picks up his number for the Chicago Marathon

He does tend to be quite susceptible to injuries though so he approached it with a degree of trepidation. He was right to as well as after the race he had a bit of a calf twinge which forced him to rest for a few days after. He expected to still be fully fit for Chicago though so he wasn’t overly concerned at that stage.

Grzeg and his Polish friends at the Chicago Marathon expo

Two weeks before the marathon was due to take place he caught a cold which caused him to start to feel a bit weak. He wasn’t prepared to give up on his target though of getting a PB so persevered with his original plan.

Going the first 5k in 21:03, he then began to feel a pain in his calf. That forced him to slow down, posting a 22:03 for his second 5k. The pain seemed to subside after that so he set about gently trying to make up for the time he’d lost. That led to a 20:15 for his next 5k and a 20:47 after that. At 20km he got a stitch though, or a pain near his liver.

Trying to push on through it wasn’t easy and he had to keep slowing down. He went through the half way point in 1:28:52 which put him on course for possibly a sub three, but most likely not a PB.

Seemingly unable to shake off the pain, he stopped to walk several times but it still wouldn’t go away. Nothing seemed to help. That left him struggling for the last 20km which was a long time. His last two 5ks were 28:21 and 28:24 and all thoughts of a time he would have been pleased with had gone out the window. It had turned into a battle for survival. He just wanted to make it to the finish and collect his medal. That was it.

Grzeg and his compatriots after completing the race

Showing the grit and character to see it through despite his troubles, Grzeg made it to the line in 3:15:45 in the end. It wasn’t the time he was hoping for but that is unfortunately how marathons can be sometimes. They don’t always go according to plan.

His overall finishing position was 6,961st and in the 45 to 49 age group, he came 655th. There 52,084 people who successfully completed the Chicago Marathon that day.

Poole AC man Barry Miller was also running the Chicago Marathon and after reaching the half way stage in 1:22:56, he went on to complete the course in 2 hours 51 minutes which put him 1,510th overall and 175th in the 40 to 44 age group.

Neil Sexton of Poole Runners was there as well and he got round in 3:23:36 which put him 9,366th overall and 890th in the 45 to 49 age group.

It was a tougher battle than he thought it would be but Grzeg got the medal in the end

Elleanor Rollett of Dorchester RIOT did it too and she finished in 3:31:13 which put her 2,658th female and 12,054th overall. In the 55 to 59 category, she was 21st as well, so that was a good result for her.

Taking a few weeks off after the marathon, Grzeg is now fully recuperated and back running again. He’s already looking forward to his next marathon challenge which will see him head back across the pond for the Boston Marathon. That will be another of the Six Stars ticked off, or Seven as it is now with Sydney being added into the equation.

He’ll certainly be hoping that Boston will go rather more smoothly, like his London one did last April, and if he can put another good training block together he may well have another tilt at bettering his PB.

On 4th February, Brooke broke the Lee Valley Athletic Centre all time 200m track record when she won the Southern Individual Championships with a championship best performance time of 23.58 sec. 

Brooke followed this up a fortnight later with Bronze in the 200m in the MIcroplus UK Athletics Indoor Championships at the NIA in Birmingham.  

Brooke, who is studying at Bournemouth University, continued her tour of the country, and the following weekend was in good form going into British Universities and Colleges Sports (BUCS) Championships, held in Sheffield on 25th February. She took Bronze in the 60m sprint in a time of 7.48 seconds and followed this up with Gold in the 200m in a championship best performance and new indoor best performance time of 23.37 seconds.  

Brooke, who is coached by Zac Kerin,  ends the winter indoor season ranked 6th best Under 23 on all-time list. She is currently ranked 3rd in the Europe 200m Indoor list.