It was another step along Barry Dolman’s epic Abbott World Marathon Majors Age Group World Championships adventure as he took on Cape Town Marathon

Just nine weeks after producing the performance of his life at the Barcelona Marathon, Barry Dolman demonstrated that his remarkable improvement is no flash in the pan with another outstanding display on the international stage at the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon.

Barry’s superb personal best of 2:48:32 in Barcelona not only smashed his previous best but also propelled him to 134th in the Abbott World Marathon Majors Age Group World Rankings, leaving him firmly in contention for qualification to next spring’s Age Group World Championships showdown in Tokyo.

That Barcelona breakthrough capped a superb spell of form which had already seen Barry claim the bronze medal in the M55 category at the 2026 British Masters 10k Championships in Chichester. His time of 35:49 highlighted just how dramatically he has progressed across every distance over the past couple of years.

Cape Town did not disappoint in any way for Barry

Cape Town represented another exciting milestone. The South African race joins the Abbott World Marathon Majors programme from next year, making it an increasingly prestigious addition to the marathon calendar, while this year’s event also hosted the Abbott World Marathon Majors Age Group World Championships.

Barry travelled to South Africa with wife Sally for what proved to be an unforgettable experience.

“It was really good,” said Barry. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been to Africa and it was the first time for Sally. It is an amazing place and leaves a huge impression on you. The people and the country are amazing.”

The Age Group World Championship competitors were treated to a concert on the Friday night

Being part of the World Age Group Championships brought an extra dimension to the weekend.

“We had a group photo, concert and dinner on the Friday night in the stadium with a South African choir. Eliud Kipchoge spoke to us all before the concert, which was surreal.”

Although delighted with his preparation, Barry admitted he didn’t quite feel as sharp as he had before Barcelona.

Cape Town was celebrating being confirmed as one of the Abbott World Marathon Majors

“I had about nine weeks between marathons, which was okay, but I certainly didn’t feel as good as I did entering Barcelona. I knew matching Barcelona was going to be super tough as that course is so flat and Cape Town is a little like New York with a lot of undulation.”

Having run a huge negative split in Barcelona, Barry opted for a different approach.

The breath-taking setting for the Cape Town Marathon

“At Barcelona I went through halfway in 1:26:30, so I was aiming for about a minute quicker than that. I felt good and didn’t think I was pushing too hard but was surprised when I went through halfway in 1:24:20.”

A view of Table Mountain in Cape Town

The statistics underline just how confidently Barry approached the race. He opened with a controlled 20:42 for the opening 5km before reaching 10km in 40:48. From there he gradually increased the pace, running consistently between 6:10 and 6:20 per mile through the middle section as he positioned himself for another fast finish.

The Cape Town Marathon festivities were in full flow

However, Cape Town’s reputation as a testing course soon became apparent.

“I knew there was a pretty big hill at 31 kilometres that was approximately one kilometre long and sure enough that was nasty and cooked my legs after all the other ups and downs.”

The Age Group World Championship competitors had a talk from Eliud Kipchoge

Barry’s pace briefly slipped to 6:44 for the climb before he immediately responded with a rapid 6:18 downhill mile. Even with tired legs, he maintained impressive consistency over the closing stages, averaging around 6:33 per mile to bring himself home in an excellent 2:50:09.

The performance saw Barry finish an outstanding 353rd overall from a field of 18,525 runners while placing 47th from 2,444 competitors in the 50-59 age category.

Barry decided to go for a more evenly paced approach as opposed to a negative split

Even more impressively, Barry finished 11th in the highly competitive M55-59 division for the Abbott World Marathon Majors Age Group World Championships. American Robert Ashby claimed victory in 2:38:57, but Barry was the leading British athlete in the category, finishing ahead of Christo Oosthuizen (2:51:42) and Michael Morris (2:52:17).

Barry kept a close eye on his watch as he made his way through

Despite narrowly missing another sub-2:50 performance, Barry was delighted with what he achieved.

“It was my fastest Major by over three minutes and I think if it had been flat, I wouldn’t have been too far off the Barcelona time, so I’m very happy overall.”

Attention now turns towards another major target later this year.

“I want to get a really good block in for Chicago and go for it again.”

There was also one eye firmly fixed on Japan.

Barry was well pleased with the performance he put in

“I haven’t got a confirmed entry yet for Tokyo World Age next year, but I’ve booked my flights,” Barry laughed. “I stand a pretty good chance of qualifying with my time from Barcelona, so I have everything crossed. That would complete the original six Majors if I can get an entry. Otherwise we’ll have a nice holiday in Japan!”

Barry also returned with one particularly memorable observation from the South African aid stations.

Barry shows off his new bits of well earned bling

“Instead of having Gatorade or Lucozade, in South Africa they used full-fat Coke! I don’t drink any of that during the marathon anyway, but it made me smile.”

And, true to form, there was one final highlight.

Barry’s Age Group World Championships medal

“The merch was really good. It was Adidas, who always do a cracking job. Wasn’t much left for others after I’d finished!”

Barry wasn’t the only Dorset athlete to produce a headline-making performance in Cape Town. Poole Runners’ Penny Jarvis delivered an astonishing run to set a new British V75 marathon record of 3:57:13, winning the F75-79 title at the Age Group World Championships. Barry admitted afterwards that he was more than a little envious of Penny’s gold medal.

Barry’s Cape Town Marathon medal

Having followed up his Barcelona breakthrough with another marathon of genuine quality on one of the world’s tougher major-calibre courses, Barry’s remarkable rise shows every sign of continuing.

The souvenirs will stay with Barry, as will the memories

Since returning from South Africa, Barry has received the good news he was hoping for. His place at next spring’s Abbott World Marathon Majors Age Group World Championships in Tokyo has now been officially confirmed, while he currently sits 162nd in the Abbott World Marathon Majors World Rankings for the M55-59 age group. With Chicago still to come later this year, the Bournemouth AC veteran has every opportunity to continue climbing the rankings as his remarkable marathon journey goes from strength to strength.

Tom Ralph was hooked in when he heard about the prospect of taking on the Netley 10k

With Bournemouth AC’s Hampshire Road Race League campaign effectively over long before the season reaches its conclusion, there was little at stake for the club as the series headed to the Netley 10k for the tenth fixture out of twelve.

Having only managed to field complete teams at the opening two races of the campaign, any hopes of challenging in Division One had long since disappeared, with avoiding relegation proving an increasingly unlikely prospect. The fact that the Netley 10k clashed with the ever-popular May 5 race in Poole meant the majority of Bournemouth AC’s available runners opted for the much shorter journey west.

The runners line up for the start of the Netley 10k

That left just one yellow and blue vest on the start line, with Tom Ralph making his first appearance since returning to competitive running.

The Netley 10k itself had undergone something of a makeover in recent years. Gone is the familiar three-lap circuit around the picturesque Royal Victoria Country Park. Instead, runners are treated to a one-lap route that ventures out through the village of Netley before returning to finish in the stunning surroundings of the country park.

It’s go for the 2026 Netley 10k

Tom has only recently resumed the sport after taking some time away from running to pursue other interests. His last race was the Seville Marathon back in February last year, where he clocked 3:23.

His last league race was the Stubbington 10k, where his time of 39:35 left him agonisingly close to a personal best that has stood since 2013, missing out by just six seconds.

This time around the aim was simply to continue rebuilding race fitness, and he produced another solid performance to stop the clock in 44:53. That earned him 145th place from a field of 699 finishers and saw him place 24th in the competitive M40 category.

It had been quite a long time since Tom laced up his racing trainers

At the sharp end of the race, there was another intriguing battle between two of the league’s standout performers. After his victory at the Alton 10, Vectis Academy’s Joshua Price returned looking to demonstrate his supremacy once again, having already wrapped up the men’s individual title thanks to an exceptionally consistent campaign that has included three victories and only one finish outside the top three.

This time, however, it was Winchester Running Club’s Henry Edwards who gained revenge after finishing runner-up at Alton. Edwards took victory in 33:55, with Price second in 34:24.

Seb Olingschlaeger completed the podium in 34:34, while former Bournemouth AC runner Matt du Cros produced a personal best of 35:23 for fourth place. Sam Brooks of Fareham followed in fifth with Edward Pottrill of Hedge End taking sixth.

Tom finished in 44:53 which put him in 145th place

The women’s race provided one of the closest finishes of the day. Winchester Running Club’s Becky Hutton edged out Totton’s Bexy Dew by just two seconds, recording 39:04 to 39:06 as the pair finished 43rd and 44th overall. Winchester’s Leanne Smith was third female in 41:13, ahead of Portsmouth Joggers’ Kirsty Whitton, Totton’s Helen Herman-Bonaer and Jess Chamberlain.

Winchester Running Club continued their dominant season in the men’s A1 division by securing a third successive overall team victory and have already wrapped up the Hampshire Road Race League title. Denmead Striders finished second on the day, with Lordshill third and Alton Runners fourth.

Matt du Cros with his trophy after finishing fourth

Elsewhere, Hedge End headed the Men’s A2 standings ahead of Vectis Academy and Southampton, although Vectis remain in pole position overall with promotion still far from settled. Isle of Wight Road Runners were again the dominant force in Men’s A3 and appear destined for promotion alongside Hamwic Harriers.

Winchester also maintained complete control of the women’s competition, comfortably taking top honours once again to extend a season that has seen them finish first in eight of the ten fixtures and already secure the league title.

Totton claimed a sixth consecutive victory in the Women’s A2 and have wrapped up that division, while Hamwic Harriers topped the Women’s A3 standings ahead of Isle of Wight Road Runners, with both clubs looking set for promotion.

In the B Leagues, Winchester headed the Men’s B1 standings and have already done enough to be crowned champions, while they also lead the B2 table. Hedge End were the leading Women’s B1 team at Netley and continue to top that division ahead of Denmead Striders.

Jason Christian was part of the Bournemouth AC contingent competing at the Lymington Lifeboat 10k

The picturesque Lymington Lifeboat 10k once again attracted a strong field, with Bournemouth AC‘s Jason Christian, Helen Beddoe and Julia Austin all producing encouraging performances.

Making his long-awaited return after an injury-plagued first half of the year, Jason Christian had every reason to feel pleased with his performance despite finishing a couple of minutes outside the time he recorded at the same race last year.

Jason had recently come back from injury

Jason was one of the Corbin’s Cruisers preparing for the Manchester Marathon before injury brought those plans to a premature end. In truth, he never made anywhere near the start line, with the lack of training leaving him facing a lengthy road back to fitness.

Jason started quite far back so had to work his way through the field

Having started one of his recent parkruns far too quickly following his comeback, Jason almost went to the opposite extreme at Lymington by lining up much too far back on the start line.

That left him with plenty of work to do as the race unfolded, but he responded impressively, carving his way through the field by overtaking an estimated 75 runners over the 10-kilometre course.

Jason went over the finish line in 41:59

His reward was a finishing time of 41:59, good enough for 42nd overall and fourth place from 100 runners in the M50 category.

Jason was pleased with the time he produced

While it was around two minutes slower than the 39:51 that earned him the M50 victory at Lymington last year, the performance represented another encouraging step in his comeback after spending so much time on the sidelines.

Helen Beddoe was also competing for the yellow and blues

Helen Beddoe continued her busy spell of racing by producing another strong performance just four days after tackling the opening round of the Upton Summer Series.

Fresh from achieving an excellent sub-four-hour clocking in her first officially measured marathon at the ABP Southampton Marathon, Helen negotiated the Lymington course in 44:52.

Helen did well to finish 10th female and 4th in her age category

That earned her 93rd place overall from the 789 finishers, while she was also the tenth female home from a field of 410 women and fourth in the F40 category from 101 competitors.

Although the time wasn’t quite up with some of the excellent 10k performances she produced last year, it was another step in the right direction and an improvement on the mark she recorded at the Bournemouth Bay 10k back in March.

Julia Austin got round in 52:03 which made her 59th female

Julia Austin .completed the course in 52:03 to finish 254th overall. Julia was 59th female and placed fifth from 75 runners in the F60 category.

Also deserving plenty of credit was Bournemouth AC youngster Lillie Press.

Julia was 5th out of 75 in the F60 category

Best known for her sprinting exploits, with the talented 15-year-old capable of running under 30 seconds for 200 metres, a 10k road race sits well outside her usual comfort zone.

Undaunted by the challenge, Lillie dug in superbly to complete the course in 1:07:21, finishing 647th overall and 29th female.

It may not have been her specialist event, but stepping up from the track to tackle 10 kilometres on the roads took plenty of courage and determination.

Trev Elkins collecting his trophy for first vet

At the sharp end of the race, another man with Bournemouth AC connections, Rob Spencer, went one better than last year when he was narrowly edged out by teammate Adam Corbin. Securing the overall victory in 35:13, Rob covered the opening miles at around 5:30 pace before maintaining his advantage over the testing second half of the course to cross the line 32 seconds clear of Henry Lloyd Williams of Lymington Triathlon Club.

Rob Spencer was looking to improve on his runner up spot last year

Luke O’Brien was third in 36:03, John Caddick of Aldridge Running Club finished fourth in 36:41, while former Bournemouth AC athlete Trev Elkins rounded out the top five in 37:01 and claimed the M40 honours.

Geoff Newton was competing Great Britain in the M80 category at the European Masters Non-Stadia Championships

“The European Masters Championships run on a two-year cycle. The main stadia championships happened in the summer of 2025 over two weeks in the summer. The Indoors and the Non -Stadia happened in the spring of 2026. The Indoors happened over 8 days in Torun, Poland and the Non -Stadia a month later over a long weekend in Catania, Sicily.
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I think the format of the Non-Stadia stinks, but in the past, I have turned it to my advantage. Basically, there is a 10K road race on the Friday, a cross-country relay on the Saturday and a Half Marathon on the Sunday. Now I am an old man I need at least two clear days to recover from the 10K and as the half marathon has always in the past been the better event for me, I gave the 10K a miss. This gives me a relative advantage over the runners who have done the 10K. That’s the theory. Unfortunately, I have done very little training recently due to foot problems (more of that later) so perhaps this was the wrong choice of race. There were also  programmes of Race Walking and Nordic Race Walking but that sort of thing has no appeal for me.
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Catania, situated in the shadow of Mount Etna, is the second city of Sicily and a city of contrasts. Etna erupted in 1693 and razed the city to the ground, so the entire city was rebuilt in the same baroque style, which has mostly survived to the present day as in recent times the city has not prospered. So away from the posh shops in the centre there is much graffiti, litter and dereliction. There is however a lot for the tourist to see in the daytime and in the evening the city centre is thronged with people enjoying the performance of the street entertainers and eating and drinking.
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The city centre is unsuitable for running, as the streets are all surfaced with black, uneven lava blocks, polished shiny by the scariest drivers in all Italy (which really says something). A few Km away from the centre there are quiet tarmac roads by the coast, lined with a scattering of posh hotels and private beaches. These have been bypassed by a new fast road, so it was possible to close these roads for the duration of the races.
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The half marathon was two laps of an almost flat out and back course. No shade. The start and finish were located a few hundred metres from a turning point.
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Not inspiring but at least the four turning points provided opportunities to view the rest of the field. Runners over 80 are always thin on the ground, particularly over the longer distances. There were only six M80 entries for the half marathon. Two Swiss including Hans Weidermeier who won the 10K, another Brit Martin Ford (4^th in the 10K), Ake Jonson a Swede who was 2^nd in the 10K , and Letterio de Lorenzo an Italian. The Italian like me had given the 10K a miss.
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On the day Martin and the other Swiss did not run. Thinking the Italian to be the main threat I tracked him until the just before the turn at nearly 5km and as I felt good by then I pushed on a bit and caught up Mike Mann, an M75 I know well and ran with him for the rest of the 1^st lap. At the 2^nd turning-point I was well clear of the Italian and the Swede with the Swiss a long way back. However, at halfway my lack of training began to make its presence felt. Mike speeded up and I gradually slowed. I was still clear of Ake and Letterio  (Hans had dropped out) but perhaps they were slightly closer by the third turn.  By this time my feet were becoming quite painful.
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With less than 1km to go and the last turn in sight, I heard the sounds of pursuit. My old foe Ake Jonson. At the last turn I accelerated as best I could and drew away for a short while. However, this did not last, and Ake came past like I was standing still and the gold turned to silver in sight of the finish. Can’t blame it on my tactics, just the lack of training. The Italian had slowed even more than me, but at least he was assured of the bronze as the Swiss had dropped out. Times were very slow with Ake 2:03:02, me 2:03:38. L de L 2:07:16. Ake and me had come up against each other seven times previously with the results Five to Two in my favour. It’s now Five to Three.
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Afterwards even walking was painful. I had planned to visit Mount Etna 2 or 3 days later and look at some of the craters but gave up on that idea as too much walking might be involved.
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Geoff came close to gold but had to settle for silver in the end

Basically, I need to sort out my feet so I can enjoy running again. My provisional diagnosis is that its either arthritis or just a combination of old age and too many miles on the clock from 60+ years of running. So, no easy answers. I don’t get on too well with current trainers with their stacked heels which cause me more pain than my old lightweight racing flats.
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My current plan is to give up on road racing and concentrate on more forgiving surfaces like cross country, trail racing and track and to repurpose my 15 years old road racing flats for training and to wear the trainers down the pub instead. Hopefully this may give me another year or so before I retire from the sport for good. Will my body give out first or will these already much-mended old flats fall apart first? Time will tell.
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Brits were well represented in Torun but surprisingly less so in Catania. The first 6 male finishers overall in the half marathon were Italian and the first Brit finished in 50^th position. In an ideal world I should have been drafted into the GB M75 team in the HM and come away with a “silver” team medal. Alas the GB Team Manager declared Martin Ford instead of me, but Martin decided not to run. The other members of the M75 team Mike Mann and Trevor Edgeley were spitting feathers when they found out. This sort of thing was never a problem in the past when we indicated our availability on a notice board at the registration venue. Now everything is done on WhatsApp, but a procedure for sorting this out seems yet to have been developed. Mobile phones are supposed to make communication easier!”

By Geoff Newton

A Bournemouth AC team strong in numbers and high in quality had been assembled for the May 5

After what had been a highly encouraging start to the Dorset Road Race League season, Bournemouth AC found themselves in an unfamiliar position heading into the fifth race of the campaign. Despite strong performances earlier in the year, both the men’s and women’s teams had failed to field scoring teams in the previous two fixtures and were desperately in need of getting their season back on track at the May 5.

Fortunately, if there was one race capable of reigniting Bournemouth AC’s challenge, this was it.

Bournemouth needed a good performance from both their men’s and ladies teams

Historically, the yellow and blues had always managed to produce strong turnouts at the popular five-mile fixture around Ashdown Athletics Stadium, often fielding highly competitive teams. This year they arrived with one of their strongest line-ups of the season and, spearheading the charge, was a young man rapidly establishing himself as one of the most exciting talents in the region.

Jon Pepin was one of the lead contenders

With Jon Pepin in their ranks, Bournemouth AC always had a chance.

The 18-year-old superstar arrived at the race carrying a remarkable collection of recent performances. Having already won the Run Bournemouth Supersonic 10k in a time under his previous best, he had recently clocked 4:36 for the mile at the Bannister Miles meeting in Oxford alongside a 4:16 1500m. His season had also included a personal best of 8:33.50 for 3000m, second place at the South East Schools’ Inter Counties Cross Country Championships, fourth in the Hampshire Schools’ Championships and a highly respectable 64th at the English Schools’ Championships.

Jon arrived with great pedigree

As if that wasn’t enough, he had blasted a new 10k personal best of 31:38 at the RunThrough Battersea Park 10k in February, underlining the exceptional form he was carrying into the race.

Luke De-Benedictis

Supporting him in the men’s squad were several runners who had already contributed strongly throughout the season. Luke De-Benedictis had impressed with 11th place at the Broadstone Quarter Marathon, 19th at the Stubbington 10k in a PB of 33:48 and 13th place finishes at both the Lytchett 10 and Bournemouth Bay Half Marathon.

Matt Brown returned to league action following a third-place finish in the opening race of the Upton Summer Series, while Jake Mowat arrived fresh from a Stubbington 10k PB of 35:16 and fifth place at the Bournemouth Bay 10k in 36:16.

Matt Brown

James Hulbert may not have quite hit top gear so far this season, but a runner of his calibre is always a major asset and he came into the race having recently completed the London Marathon in under 2 hours 55 minutes.

Jake Mowat

Arthur Riley was another valuable inclusion. After recording a sub-1:21 performance at the Yeovil Half Marathon in March, he had been enjoying some shorter racing following his astonishing completion of the Arc 100 in January – a gruelling 104-mile ultra along the Cornish coast featuring over 20,000 feet of elevation in stormy conditions.

Seventeen-year-old Harry Butcher continued his emergence through the ranks and was beginning to demonstrate that he could become an important contributor to the club’s future success, while Casper Jakobsen arrived with a recent 33:42 clocking from the Running Grand Prix at Goodwood.

Harry Butcher

The women’s team also looked capable of making an impact.

Emma Caplan

Emma Caplan lined up after claiming first female honours at the opening race of the Upton Summer Series and looked well placed to lead Bournemouth’s challenge. Kitty Cook had been making noticeable improvements throughout the year and was edging ever closer to breaking the elusive 20-minute barrier for 5k. Kate Bowers, sixth female at this race twelve months earlier when Bournemouth AC claimed victory in Division One, brought further strength to the squad.

Helen Beddoe completed the team after recently achieving a sub-four-hour marathon debut at the ABP Southampton Marathon just a fortnight earlier.

Kitty Cook

The race itself is a twisting and turning five-mile test that starts and finishes on the track at Ashdown Athletics Stadium, home to both Poole AC and Poole Runners. Home advantage appeared firmly in Poole AC’s favour with Tommy Corbin, Lewis Clarke, Brian Underwood, Callum Wadlow and Luke Terry all lining up in what looked a formidable men’s team.

Kate Bowers

Elsewhere, Chris Wood returned after his superb victory at the North Dorset Village Marathon, while Rich White, Mark Savage and current men’s individual league leader Louis Verdi all added further quality to the field. The women’s race also featured several leading contenders including Lizzy Allison, Vicki Ingham, Helen O’Neile, Emma Mogridge and current standings leader Victoria Pye.

Luke De-Benedictis starting the race

Jon Pepin setting the pace

When the race got underway, Jon Pepin immediately took control.

Luke De-Benedictis

In truth, “took control” barely does it justice.

The Bournemouth AC youngster simply grabbed the race by the scruff of the neck and ran away from everyone.

Matt Brown

Rich Brawn

Arthur Riley

Tom Casson

Emma Caplan

James Hulbert

Kitty Cook

Nathan Mearns

Chris O’Brien

Jon Pepin led the race throughout

Covering the opening mile in just under five minutes, Jon followed with splits of 5:13 and 5:18. Behind him, Tommy Corbin, Lewis Clarke and Callum Wadlow attempted to organise a pursuit, but the gap stubbornly refused to come down.

Jon won the race in 26:08

Jon showed no signs of weakening. A fourth mile of 5:19 kept the pressure firmly on his pursuers before he accelerated again with a blistering 4:57 final mile. By the time he reached the track for the finish, the race was effectively over.

Crossing the line in a superb time of 26:08, Jon secured a commanding victory.

Tommy Corbin claimed second in 26:54, Lewis Clarke followed in 27:06 and Callum Wadlow took fourth in 27:11. Dorset Doddlers’ Rich White was fifth and first veteran in 27:13, while Brian Underwood completed the top six in 27:51.

Lewis Clarke couldn’t catch Jon Pepin

Casper Jakobsen showed he’s going to be quite an asset

Casper Jakobsen produced another strong performance for Bournemouth AC. After opening with a 5:19 mile, he maintained his rhythm throughout to finish seventh overall in 27:59.

Casper got round in just under 28 minutes

Matt Brown

Matt Brown was close behind. Consistent early pacing helped him secure eighth place in 28:08, giving Bournemouth AC two runners inside the top ten.

Matt finished 8th in 28:08

Steve Kellaway, Philip Bridge, Gergely Arvay and Lee Dempster occupied the next positions before Luke Terry completed Poole AC’s scoring quartet, sealing a fourth First Division victory from five races and reinforcing their status as the dominant men’s team this season.

Luke De-Benedictis finished 18th in 28:41

Harry Butcher performed with admirable maturity

Further down the field, Bournemouth AC’s depth began to show.

Luke De-Benedictis (28:41), Harry Butcher (28:43) and Jake Mowat (28:46) crossed in 18th, 19th and 20th places respectively to complete Bournemouth AC‘s scoring team and secure second place in the Men’s First Division behind only Poole AC.

James Hulbert finished 24th in 29:13

James Hulbert was next home for the club in 24th place with 29:13. Arthur Riley battled through after perhaps going out a little enthusiastically and still managed a respectable 29:41 for 33rd.

Tom Casson

Tom ran really well

Tom Casson continued his impressive progression with 37th place in 29:49.

Tom finishing 37th in 29:49

One of the most dramatic finishes of the day belonged to Rich Brawn. Glancing at his watch as he entered the track, he realised he had around thirty seconds remaining to break the thirty-minute barrier. A desperate sprint followed and his watch stopped on exactly 30:00.

Rich Brawn

Rich Brawn

The wait for the official results felt considerably longer than the final lap.

Rich just managed to scrape a sub 30

When they finally appeared, the verdict could hardly have been closer.

Official time: 29:59.5.Sub-thirty achieved. That put him in 39th place.

Julian Critchlow, now competing for Poole Runners, was first M60 in 30:15.

Nicolay Rusnachenko

Nicolay finished 52nd in 31:16

Nicolay Rusnachenko (31:17), Patrick Kingston (31:41), Stephen Ellerby (32:08), Nathan Mearns (32:18) and Chris O’Brien (32:31) all added valuable finishes for Bournemouth AC, with Chris producing a particularly pleasing run that was over a minute quicker than his previous May 5 performance four years earlier.

Patrick Kingston

Stephen Ellerby

Nathan Mearns

Chris O’Brien

Chris O’Brien put in a controlled performance

David Crowther

Further back, David Crowther improved by almost ninety seconds compared to last year (35:19), while Helen Beddoe completed her first ever five-mile race in 35:28. She finished just ahead of Lara Hudson, who has recently started training with Bournemouth AC and crossed in 35:34.

Helen Beddoe

David Crowther ran it a minute-and-a-half faster than last year

It was Helen’s first ever five mile race

David finished 135th in 35:19

Tim Hughes

Tim Hughes wasn’t quite as quick as he had been in his previous two attempts (38:40) but used the race as a fitness benchmark, while Emma Lewis (40:19), Janine Pattison (40:51) and Julia Austin (41:48) all completed the course strongly.

Julia Austin

Emma Lewis

Janine Pattison

Tim Hughes

Julia batting it out at the end of the race

Janine sprints it out at the end

At the sharp end of the women’s race, Lizzy Allison of Poole Runners took top honours in 29:26, finishing 28th overall. Team-mate Vicki Ingham was second female in 31:12.

Tim finished in 38:40

Emma Caplan

Emma Caplan led Bournemouth AC’s challenge superbly, taking third female overall and first in the F45 category with 32:02.

Emma Caplan was third female in 32:02

Kitty Cook ran her fastest ever 5k within the five race

Emma Mogridge and Victoria Pye completed the top five women before Helen O’Neile narrowly edged out Kitty Cook.

Patrick came 58th in 31:41

Stephen Ellerby

Despite missing out on sixth female by just three seconds, Kitty still had every reason to celebrate. Hidden within her 33:11 finishing time was her first ever sub-20-minute 5k split, achieved in the midst of a five-mile race – a remarkable breakthrough.

Nathan Mearns finished 72nd in 32:18

Chris O’Brien finished 79th in 32:31

Kate Bowers completed Bournemouth’s scoring trio with 33:58, ensuring the club comfortably topped the Ladies Second Division standings on the day.

Kate Bowers was third scorer for the Bournemouth AC ladies

Stephen finished 69th in 32:08

Poole Runners claimed victory in the Ladies First Division ahead of Poole AC, while league leaders Egdon Heath Harriers had to settle for third.

Emma Lewis finished 211th in 40:19

Elsewhere, Littledown Harriers topped the Men’s Second Division, while Purbeck Runners narrowly edged Verwood Runners in a tightly contested Men’s Third Division battle.

Janine Pattison finished 7th in her age category

Julia Austin was 229th in 41:48

The result leaves Bournemouth AC and Dorchester RIOT tied at the top of the Ladies Second Division standings after five races.

Most importantly, however, after two frustrating fixtures without scoring teams, Bournemouth AC were firmly back in business.

Emma Caplan collects her prizes for third female and first in the 45 to 54 category

The men produced an excellent second-place finish in Division One behind the seemingly unstoppable Poole AC, while the women delivered another Division Two victory.

The result put the Bournemouth AC men level on points with Egdon Heath Harriers and Wimborne AC, with Twemlow Track Club currently second behind Poole AC. It looks like it could be very tight in the battle to avoid the drop.

It was a great day a round for the Bournemouth AC squad

After desperately needing a response, Bournemouth AC found one.

And with Jon Pepin leading from the front in spectacular fashion, it was quite some statement.

Luke Martin was in action for Bournemouth AC in the undulating Alton 10 race

A no-show at the Salisbury 10 had all but extinguished Bournemouth AC‘s fading hopes of survival in the Men’s A1 Division of the Hampshire Road Race League.

Having secured back-to-back promotions before being crowned league champions last season, it has been a frustrating campaign for the club, with a lack of numbers and appetite proving costly throughout the year. Realistically, Bournemouth AC would probably have needed victories in all four remaining fixtures to retain any chance of avoiding relegation, starting with the Alton 10.

Unfortunately, only two BAC members made the trip to Hampshire’s notoriously undulating 10-mile test, meaning another race without a scoring team and another missed opportunity in the league battle.

The Alton 10 is one of the more challenging fixtures on the HRRL calendar, featuring a scenic but relentlessly hilly route through the Hampshire countryside. A sell-out field of 478 runners gathered under favourable conditions for the ninth race of the season.

Leading the Bournemouth AC challenge was Luke Martin, returning to racing after an unfortunate London Marathon where stomach problems prevented him from delivering the performance his fitness deserved.

Luke had been one of the key architects of BAC’s league title success last season and once again demonstrated the quality he possesses over the shorter distances.

Luke was back in form for the yellow and blues

He opened conservatively enough with a 5:43 first mile before climbing through a largely uphill second mile in 5:56. The next section of the course offered more favourable terrain and Luke immediately responded, clocking 5:37 and 5:26 for miles three and four respectively.

The fifth mile was perhaps the toughest on the course, consisting almost entirely of climbing, but Luke remained composed and powered through it in 6:01.

With the hardest work done, he produced an impressively consistent second half. Miles six through nine were covered in 5:41, 5:36, 5:38 and 5:38 before he closed strongly with a 5:33 final mile.

Luke finished third in 57:03

The result was an outstanding finishing time of 57:03, securing third place overall from the 478 finishers and a well-deserved place on the podium.

Joshua Price won the race convincingly

Only two athletes were able to better than Luke on the day. Joshua Price of Vectis Academy claimed a convincing victory in 54:18, while Henry Edwards of Winchester Running Club took second place in exactly 56 minutes. Price’s victory was his third of the season and continued a remarkably consistent campaign which has seen him finish inside the top three in all but one HRRL race this year.

Joshua got round in an outstanding time of 54:18

Ross Holme of Ryde Harriers finished fourth in 58:35, while Jack Townsend of Windle Valley Runners recorded 58:45. Christopher Dettmar of Liss Runners completed the top six in 58:56 and was also first veteran despite competing in the M55 category.

Henry Edwards of Winchester Running Club claimed second place

The club’s second representative, Patrick Kingston, was tackling the event for the third consecutive year.

Patrick Kingston wasn’t afraid of a hilly encounter

Kingston’s running CV contains some formidable mountain ultras, making the hills around Alton look relatively tame by comparison. Among his recent achievements are 58 miles at the TOR130 Tot Dret in Italy, the demanding 70-kilometre La Moins’Hard in Chamonix featuring 5,600 metres of ascent, and the Ultra Trail Vipava Valley in Slovenia, where he covered 110 kilometres with 4,800 metres of climbing.

Ross Holme of Ryde Harriers finished fourth

Even so, the Alton course always commands respect.

Having recorded 1:07:56 on the same course last year, Patrick produced a significant improvement this time around, stopping the clock at 1:05:12.

Patrick got round in 1:05:12

His average pace of 6:31 per mile, achieved over a route containing more than 600 feet of elevation gain, earned him 36th place overall and seventh from 49 runners in the M45-49 category.

The women’s race was won impressively by Becky Dew of Totton Running Club, whose time of 1:04:28 placed her 31st overall. Becky Hutton of Winchester Running Club was second female in 1:05:17, crossing the line immediately behind Patrick, while Alexa King of Hart Road Runners completed the podium in 1:05:26. Emma Jolley of City of Portsmouth was fourth female and first veteran in 1:05:57.

Patrick improved on his time from last year by almost three minutes

In the team competition, Winchester Running Club continued their march towards the Men’s A1 title. With their first three scorers finishing 15th, 16th and 17th overall, they claimed another divisional victory and moved ever closer to securing the championship. Alton Runners finished second, while Liss Runners produced an excellent performance to take third despite sitting near the bottom of the standings. Defending runners-up Denmead Striders endured a difficult day and could only manage fifth.

Winchester were equally dominant in the Women’s A1 Division, recording a seventh victory of the season to strengthen their grip on the title race.

Luke earned a well deserved podium place

Elsewhere, Vectis Academy won the Men’s A2 Division ahead of Hedge End Running Club and Portsmouth Joggers, while Totton Running Club extended their winning streak to five races in the Women’s A2 competition.

Isle of Wight Road Runners strengthened their position at the top of Men’s A3 with another victory, while Hamwic Harriers continued their dominance of Women’s A3.

The top three at the Alton 10 collect their prizes

Winchester also completed a clean sweep in the men’s reserve divisions, taking honours in both Men’s B1 and Men’s B2 to remain top of both tables.

Attention now turns to the next HRRL fixture, the Netley 10k. However, that race clashes with the ever-popular May 5 event at Canford Heath and sold out rapidly. As things stand, Tom Ralph is the only Bournemouth AC athlete entered for the trip to Netley.

The Bournemouth AC men were out in force in the first race of Upton Summer Series

Two races into the six-race Upton Summer Series and Bournemouth AC athletes have already made their mark, collecting individual victories, team honours and age-group successes as they look to build on some impressive performances from previous years.

The opening race saw a strong Bournemouth AC turnout with Riley Austin, Matt Brown, Tom Casson and Callum Pearson representing the men, while Emma Caplan, Kitty Cook, Helen Beddoe, Michelle Dorrington and Emma Biggs flew the yellow and blue flag in the women’s competition.

The start of the first Senior race of the Upton Summer Series

Tom Casson and Riley Austin in Race 1

Matt Brown starting Race 1

Matt Brown

Matt Brown and Riley Austin in Race 1

Riley Austin arrived at Upton in excellent form. Having won the Junior Summer Series two years ago before stepping up to finish fifth overall in last year’s senior competition, he had recently demonstrated his credentials with a third-place finish at the Bournemouth Bay 10k in a time of 35:44.

Matt Brown and Riley Austin

He produced a performance to match that promise.

In what became a display of Bournemouth AC dominance, Riley surged clear to take victory in a superb 19:36. Ben Shawyer was the only athlete able to challenge the Bournemouth AC contingent, taking second place in 19:47, while three of the top four finishers wore yellow and blue.

Matt Brown continued the fine form that has seen him run 34:29 at the Eastleigh 10k and record a marathon personal best of 2:40:11 in December. Going through the first mile in 5:30, Matt followed up with consecutive 5:43 miles before closing out the race at 5:53 pace to stop the clock at 19:53.

Riley Austin and Matt Brown in Race 3

Matt Brown in Race 1

Matt Brown

Tom Casson in Race 1

Tom Casson was another Bournemouth AC athlete enjoying a strong run of form. Having recently clocked 5:08 in the Community Mile at the Bannister Miles meeting in Oxford, he opened with a rapid 5:28 first mile before covering the next two miles in 5:56 and 6:06. Maintaining a 6:11 pace for the final section, Tom crossed the line in an impressive 20:36.

Tom Casson

Tom Casson

Tom Casson

Callum Pearson in Race 1

Callum Pearson completed Bournemouth AC’s outstanding men’s performance. Splits of 6:02, 6:12 and 6:19, followed by a 6:39 pace finish, saw him record 21:34 and claim 11th place overall as the club enjoyed one of its strongest collective showings in recent editions of the series.

Callum Pearson

Callum Pearson

Emma Caplan in Race 1

The success did not end there.

Emma Caplan

Emma Caplan

Emma Caplan led the women’s race from a Bournemouth AC perspective, producing an excellent run to finish as first female and 22nd overall in 22:31.

Emma Caplan was first female

Kitty Cook in Race 1

Kitty Cook continued where she left off last year. Cook finished fifth female overall in the 2025 series after completing all six races and had recently placed seventh female at the Bannister Miles Community Mile in Oxford. Her consistency was again on show as she recorded mile splits of 6:19, 6:29 and 6:43 before closing strongly to finish second female and 30th overall in 22:49.

Kitty Cook

Michelle Dorrington in Race 1

Carys Gallagher of Westbourne was third female in 23:49.

Michelle Dorrington

Michelle Dorrington, ninth female overall in last year’s series and a member of Bournemouth AC’s winning women’s team, ensured there were three Bournemouth AC women inside the top eight. Splits of 7:02, 7:04 and 7:09 helped her to a time of 24:50 and 54th place overall.

Michelle Dorrington

Helen Beddoe in Race 1

Helen Beddoe was the fourth Bournemouth AC woman home. Having completed all six races last year and improved her time at every event, she arrived at Upton following a successful spring marathon campaign which saw her break four hours at the ABP Southampton Marathon. She completed the course in 27:04, finishing 90th overall, 21st female and second in the F40-44 category.

Helen Beddoe

Helen Beddoe

Emma Biggs in Race 1

Emma Biggs completed the Bournemouth AC scoring contingent. Her time of 32:17 placed her 149th overall and 48th female.

Emma Biggs

With 190 runners successfully completing the course, Bournemouth AC rounded off a memorable evening by claiming victory in both the men’s and women’s team competitions, which are determined by the first three finishers from each club.

Emma Biggs

Emma Biggs

Tougher Conditions in Race Two

The start of Race 2

The second race of the series proved a sterner test.

Andrew Smith of Poole Runners took victory in 19:47, with Ben Shawyer again finishing runner-up in 19:57. Oscar Ewan Matthews of Poole AC claimed third in 20:16, while Ed Davies of Twemlow Track Club was fourth in 20:34.

Callum Pearson starting the race

Callum Pearson was Bournemouth AC’s leading male athlete on this occasion. Although unable to reproduce the performance that had seen him finish 11th overall in race one, he still ran strongly to place 22nd in 22:44.

Callum Pearson

Callum Pearson in Race 2

The warmer conditions appeared to take their toll across the field.

Callum Pearson

Helen O’Neile of Poole Runners was first female and 20th overall in 22:26, with Imogen Thorne second female in 22:53.

Kitty Cook once again featured prominently, taking third female spot in 23:31. While some way outside the 22:49 she managed in the opening race, the significantly hotter conditions made comparisons difficult and her placing kept her firmly in contention at the top of the overall standings.

Kitty Cook in Race 2

Kitty Cook

Carys Gallagher finished fourth female in 23:54.

Helen Beddoe in Race 2

One of the performances of the evening came from Helen Beddoe. Locked in a close contest with Vicky Rutter of Littledown Harriers, Beddoe narrowly missed fifth female place by just one second as she crossed the line in 25:12. The time was quicker than four of her six performances from last year’s series and moved her to the top of the F40-44 standings after two races.

Helen Beddoe

Emma Biggs starting Race 2

Matilde Blagden made her Upton Summer Series debut in Bournemouth AC colours and completed the course in 30:38, placing 28th female.

Emma Biggs in Race 2

Emma Biggs returned for her second outing of the series and finished in 34:57, placing 148th overall.

A total of 168 runners completed the second race, with the Bournemouth AC trio of Kitty Cook, Helen Beddoe and Matilde Blagden securing second place in the women’s team competition.

Early Standings

Emma Biggs

Following two races, Ben Shawyer heads the overall standings thanks to consecutive runner-up finishes.

The BAC ladies team finished second in Race 2

Kitty Cook sits at the top of the women‘s standings, while Bournemouth AC also lead the women’s team competition heading into the third race of the series.

With four races still remaining, there is plenty of running left to be done, but Bournemouth AC have already established themselves as one of the clubs to watch this summer.

Junior Summer Series

The start of the first Junior Summer Series race

The club’s younger athletes have also made an excellent start to their campaigns.

Edward Davies was featuring in the first race of the Junior Summer Series

Race one saw Aiden Blagden produce his fastest Junior Summer Series performance to date, finishing fifth in 5:27. Having ended last year’s competition seventh overall, the Bournemouth AC youngster looks set for another strong season.

Aiden Blagden in the Junior Summer Series Race 1

Edward Davies also recorded a personal best for the series, clocking 5:40 to finish eighth. He was 15th overall in last year’s standings.

Aiden Blagden

Imogen Davies completed the course in 6:39 to place 52nd overall and ninth girl. She was also the fastest athlete in the Girls 9 category.

Aiden Blagden

Adam Ewen Matthews of Poole AC won the race in 4:57, ahead of Seth Hollyman of Poole Runners in 5:16 and Stelios Pavlou, also of Poole Runners, in 5:17. Imogen Beisley of Poole AC was first girl and 12th overall in 5:48.

Aiden Blagden

Race two brought another excellent performance from Aiden Blagden, who improved his placing to fourth while recording 5:28.

Edward Davies in Race 1 of the Junior Summer Series

Marlon Moxey was the other Bournemouth AC representative and finished 14th overall in 5:57, making him the fastest boy in the 8-year-old category.

Edward Davies

At the front, Adam Ewen Matthews made it two wins from two starts, lowering his winning time to 4:53. Seth Hollyman again took second in 5:06, while Zacary Armitage of New Forest Juniors was third in 5:25. Imogen Beisley was once more the first girl home, finishing ninth overall in 5:47.

Adam Ewen Matthews won the first two Junior Summer Series races

After two races, Aiden Blagden occupies fourth place in the overall Junior Summer Series standings.