Sometimes running in a group can really help boost performance in an individual. For one thing, the group members can help motivate one another. It can also be more enjoyable as well when you add the social element of running with others to the equation.

Adam Corbin had been looking for people to run with for quite some time. He’s been one of the faster members amongst the Bournemouth AC road runners for a while now but his weekly mileage had tended to be quite low and he felt that might be one of the factors preventing him from really pushing on. To tell the truth, he was having difficulty finding the motivation to get out and run on days when there was no club training or parkrun.

He’d been asking around at training to see if anyone else wanted to join him for a run on other week days or weekends. It wasn’t long before he found a couple of other like-minded individuals in Mike Akers and Jason Christian. Like Adam, they were also Christchurch based so it made sense for them to link up and get together for a run.

Before long it became a regular theme and they would meet up for group runs, come rain or shine and even do the occasional session together as well. They found that they all benefitted from that and could always drag each other round on days where they weren’t really in the mood for it and couldn’t find the enthusiasm.

The three of them had even been given a name. They’d become known as Corbin’s Cruisers and had been seen as a sort of spin-off group. Mike even jokingly designed a vest for them at one point in a very fetching shade of pink.

Since the turn of the year, Adam’s performances have began to improve visibly. He started with a surprise 10k PB of 33:34 at Stubbington and has since gone on to finish first in four out of six of his parkruns, coming second and third in the other two. There is a feeling now that he’s finally beginning to fulfil the potential that his speed in training seemed to suggest he should have.

How much of that was down to the running in a group element, it was difficult to say, but it certainly hadn’t hurt. Mike Akers had been looking like he was getting back to his best form as well and had been digging deep on the Tuesday track sessions.

He’d finished 2024 quite strongly, with a 1:02:15 at the New Forest 10, a 29:26 at the Victory 5 and then a sub 18 minute parkrun just before New Year. He had a brilliant run at the Stubbington 10k as well, finally cracking a PB that he’d had for eight years to finish in 36:08.

Jason Christian appeared to be on the improvement curve as well, recording a parkrun PB of 18:45 just before New Year. His performance at the Stubbington 10k wasn’t perhaps reflective of where his fitness was at and he was disappointed to come away with a 38:45 in that one. There was the sense that he could have a big performance just around the corner though.

The real target race for Mike and Jason though was the Wokingham Half Marathon. That was what they were working toward and most of their training for the past few months had been with that in mind.

When the day of the race came round, they had a lot riding on it. They’d really invested a lot into their training so wanted to see some returns for all their hard work, That of course brought with it an added pressure.

Unfortunately, when the day of the race came, the conditions were less than ideal. It was quite a strong wind and that resulted in them running into a headwind for about half the race.

Mike’s half marathon PB of 1:19:09 was also set eight years ago and that was in the Wokingham Half Marathon so that for him was the target to beat. He started off fast even though most of the first mile is uphill, going through in 6:13. The second mile is all downhill and Mike blasted through that in 5:51.

For the next four miles he kept a good consistent pace of around 6:10 which saw him through 10k in 38:12. It was on the seventh mile that he started to suffer a bit though and his pace dropped to 6:25. After that he managed to get back on it with a 6:15 though but he wasn’t feeling good any more.

Registering a 6:21 for his ninth mile, he was then down to 6:31 for his tenth mile. That saw him go through 10 miles in 1:02:21, which was an average pace of 6:14. He knew by that point that his PB chances had gone.

Although it’s purported to be a fast course, the Wokingham Half Marathon gets quite tough towards the end. There are a couple of inclines on the 11th mile and a few more undulations on the 12th mile as well. If you haven’t got enough energy left in reserve, they can really knock your pace and that’s what happened to Mike.

He’d faded in that last 5k and ended up going over the line in 1:23:42. That put him in 271st position out of a field of 2,858 . The course comes up slightly long so his average pace for the run was 6:21 per mile.

By most people’s standards, that would be a very good time but he had been hoping for better. It just wasn’t his day in the end though and he had to accept that. It was still the quickest half marathon he’d done since Farnborough in 2020 though.

Jason’s half marathon PB was 1:23:16 which he’d set at Southampton two years ago. He started off with a 6:22 for his first mile before following it up with a 6:06 on the downhill second mile. He was then back to 6:22 pace for the next couple of miles, despite there being a long, slight incline to contend with.

The fifth mile has quite a bit of downhill and Jason went through that split in 6:15 before getting back to 6:22 for his sixth mile. He was still churning out good consistent splits for the next four miles, registering a 6:25, followed by a 6:16, a 6:27 and a 6:24. That took him to 10 miles in 1:03:20 which was an average pace of 6:20.

It had been a really strong run from Jason up till that stage. The next mile was the one with a couple of tough climbs in it though and that put Jason down to 6:50. He recovered okay from that though and ended with a strong last couple of miles at 6:26 and 6:16.

It turned out he’d paced his run really well despite the headwind that seemed to be present the whole way round. Reaching the finish in exactly 1 hour 24 minutes, it had been a very solid run from Jason. In fact, if the course hadn’t come up long, he would have been within 20 seconds of his PB.

With an average pace of 6:22, he’d come in in 284th position and was 22nd out of 341 in the M50 category. With the conditions as they were, Jason really couldn’t complain about that. It was an impressive display.

Joshua Grace from Aldershot, Farnham & District picked up the win in 1:05:31 which gave him a four second margin of victory over Alex Lawrence of Victoria Park & Tower Hamlets.

James Reeder of Team Bath was third in 1:05:51, with Finley Proffitt of Trafford AC taking fourth in 1:05:53. Dan Mulryan of Thames Valley Harriers was fifth in 1:06:06 and James Connor of Havering AC was first vet and sixth overall in 1:06:07.

Christopher Newnham of Ryde Harriers, who some will know from the Hampshire Road League races finished 14th in 1:09:35. Annabel Gummow of Herts Phoenix was first female in 1:12:57 which put her 33rd overall. Lauren Hall of Aldershot, Farnham & District was her closest competition and she finished 45th in 1:14:30.

Charlotte Taylor of Bristol & West was third female in 1:14:59 which put her 48th overall and Rosie Hamilton-James finished 51st in 1:15:05, making her fourth female.

Corbin’s Cruisers will be back in action at the Eastleigh 10k and they will be hoping that it could indeed be their day to each seal a PB. They’re enjoying their running at the moment though and sharing the experience together and that is really what matters most. Of course, every runner wants to improve and wants to forge their next personal best but above all, it should be a fun activity to enjoy with friends, teammates and fellow competitors.