Having a rivalry can really help bring the best out of you. Whether its a fellow member of your club who you know is a similar standard to you or someone else you regularly encounter on the Dorset running scene. The sentiment is the same. In some cases it might be someone who is in the same age category as you who you know you need to beat in order to win a prize.

Ever since she moved up to the 60 to 64 category Debbie Lennon has been involved in a rivalry with Littledown Harriers vet Heather Khoshnevis. In a way a friendly rivalry, since in real life they are friends and often train together in the Hev’s Harriers group sessions. But make no mistake about it, once they step over that start line, Debbie and Heather want to beat each other.

It had been a difficult start to the season for Debbie as she had been out of action for a lot of the 2023 campaign and had lost a lot of fitness as a result. It was a long road back for her and for a while Debbie struggled to find form. She never gave up hope though and deep down she knew, if she keeps working at it, she’ll get it back in the end.

She desperately wanted to back up there challenging Heather again for the top F60 placing in races and that may have just spurred her on to work harder in training and recover that speed that she’d lost.

At the Purbeck 10k back in June it was going quite well for Debbie until her foot suddenly seized up with a mile left to go. Heather came out on top again that day, as she had in all four of their previous meetings this season. At the Round the Lakes 10k though in September, it was a lot closer between them. 14 seconds in fact on chip time. Debbie knew that meant that she was coming back into form and that was a massive plus.

Last season Debbie had had a good run at the Weymouth 10 and did manage to get the better of Heather and top the F60 category. She finished 30 seconds ahead of Heather that day in a time of 1:15:26. Could she repeat that result again this year though and finally get the better of Heather?

As always with the Weymouth races, Egdon Heath Harriers look to capitalise on their locality and bring a strong side to the table. This was no exception and they had current leader and defending men’s individual champion Christopher Peck in their ranks. He was joined by Jonathan Churchill who was also right up there in the individual standings. Matt Underhill, Giles Heaman and Daniel Hull all formed part of a formidable five for the reds.

In second place in the individual standings, Dave Hicks of Poole AC was having a brilliant season, especially for a man in the 50 to 54 category. Former Bournemouth AC man Jez Bragg had done well in his races so far this year and was looking to move up the leader-board with a good result at the Weymouth 10.

Without any men in the offering, it would be non scoring race for the Bournemouth AC men which meant that Wimborne AC could capitalise. They had Louis Verdi, Mark Savage, Damian Huntingford and Scott Blakeway in their side.

Hannah Martyn of Egdon Heath Harriers was in the line up, along with her teammate Teresa Green. Dawn Andrews of Poole AC was also running, as was Purbeck Trail Series champion Isabel Davis.

The course for the Weymouth 10 is flat along the Esplanade until you get to Bowleaze. Then it’s a double loop containing a challenging climb before heading back along the Esplanade to finish up back at the Pavilion.

The first couple of miles were smooth sailing for Debbie and she went through them at 7:15 and 7:32 pace. Then she had the hill to contend with on the third mile which put her back to 7:52. She then got back on pace with a 7:30 before heading slightly downhill for most of the fifth mile. Posting a 7:09 for that one, she then had the climb to contend with for a second time as she started her second loop.

Negotiating that mile in 7:49, there were another couple of small inclines to contend with in the next mile. She managed that with no problems, registering a 7:32 for her seventh mile. After that it would be a fast last three miles if she had anything left in the tank.

Replicating what she did on the fifth mile, she went through the slightly downhill split in 7:09 leading her back onto the Esplanade. Finishing really strongly, she clocked a 7:20 for her ninth mile before elevating it to a 7:14 for the final mile. That got her to the finish line in a time of 1:14:34 which put her in 84th place.

That was enough to put her in the top ten women in the race and it also meant that she’d topped the F60 standings which was the result she was looking for. She was also a minute quicker than she had been the previous year, so that proved it was a barn storming performance from Debbie.

Almost five minutes went by before Heather arrived to take 110th place and she was 2nd F60 so that was another stat that showed how impressive Debbie’s run was. It also transpired that the time she’d recorded put her 7th on the list in the runbritain rankings for V60 women so far this year. That was a tremendous accolade, even though, ironically, Heather was one place above Debbie on that list with her Salisbury 10 time from March.

Winning the race in a time of 54:48, Chris Peck got what was surprisingly his first win of the Dorset Road Race League season. That left him needing just one more race to seal the men’s individual title.

That was enough to put Chris 18th in the runbritain rankings for a V40 man over a 10 mile distance. He had previously been 20th on that list with his Lytchett 10 time from February.

Shaun Dixon of Highgate Harriers projected himself onto that list as well with a 2nd place finish of 55:30. That put him 18th on the runbritain leader-board.

Jon Churchill had a strong run to come in in 3rd place with a time of 56:56. He was 51 seconds ahead of Dave Hicks who took 4th in 57:47. He scooped the top M50 prize. Jez Bragg was next man over the line in 5th place recording a time of 58:25.

Ashley Scott of South Coast Sharks came 6th in 58:54 and he was the last man in under the hour. Rich White of Dorset Doddlers took 7th in 1:00:02 before three members of the Egdon Heath Harriers train arrived in 8th, 9th and 10th positions. Daniel Hull went over the line in 1:00:07, Matt Underhill got round in 1:00:16 and Giles Heaman completed the course in 1:00:27.

With all five scorers in the top ten, that was enough to give Egdon Heath Harriers an emphatic victory, with no other club having more than one runner over the line.

As they usually do, Wimborne AC took advantage of the no-show by the Bournemouth AC men and were the lowest scoring team in the Second Division. They had Mark Savage in 11th place in 1:00:36, Louis Verdi in 14th in 1:01:04, Scott Blakeway 17th 1:01:49 and Damian Huntingford 18th in 1:02:09.

Poole AC finished 2nd in the First Division for the Weymouth 10, with Poole Runners taking 3rd. Westbourne were the only team besides Wimborne in the Second Division to get four runners out.

Dorset Doddlers topped the standings in Men’s Third Division for the Weymouth 10 ahead of Weymouth St Pauls Harriers and Dorchester RIOT.

Isobel Davis finished as 1st female in 1:06:04 which put her 39th overall. Dawn Andrews was 2nd in 1:07:11 which put her 47th overall, then it was Isobel Rea of West 4 Harriers coming in 3rd female in a time of 1:08:03. She was 51st overall.

Hannah Martyn was 4th female in 1:08:53 which put her 55th overall and her teammate Teresa Green also claimed a top five female position when she crossed the line in 1:09:32, putting her 61st overall.

Karen Perrett of Weymouth St Paul’s Harriers was 6th female and 1st in the F50 bracket with her time of 1:09:46 and she came 64th overall.

It was a win for Egdon Heath Harriers in the Women’s First Division with Poole AC taking 2nd and Poole Runners in 3rd. In the Ladies’ Second Division, Wimborne AC got the lowest score with Dorset Doddlers the only other club to get three scorers out.

In the Women’s Third Division, Weymouth St Paul’s picked up the win with Gillingham Trotters in 2nd.

With two races of the season remaining there was a lot still to play for in the various divisions of the Dorset League. The Weymouth 10 was a fifth win of the season for Egdon Heath Harriers which left them in a very strong position but they hadn’t won the title yet. Poole AC could still eclipse them if they win both remaining fixtures.

In the Men’s Second Division, Bournemouth AC needed to win the last two races to secure promotion. If Wimborne win one of them it should be enough to see them take top spot instead. It looked set to be a nervy final two fixtures for those two clubs.

With six wins already in the bag, Dorset Doddlers have won promotion to the Men’s Second Division.

Poole Runners had already won the Women’s First Division, sealing the title at Round the Lakes. A couple of reasonable results should be enough to see the Bournemouth AC ladies home for a win in the Second Division with no other teams providing any major threat.

In the Ladies’ Third Division it was still very open, with four teams still in the hunt for that one promotion place. They were Bournemouth Joggers who are currently top, Westbourne who sit second, Gillingham Trotters who are 3rd and Weymouth St Pauls who are 4th.

It will be all hands to the pump for both the women and the men in those final two fixtures and they will be hoping they can get over the line and restore their places in the top divisions where they rightfully belong. If they can both take top spot, that will be a terrific season for the yellow and blues across the board.