The curtain raiser for the 2023 Dorset Road Race League saw the county’s finest head over to Broadstone for the quintessential Quarter Marathon. Bringing with it much excitement and anticipation for what the next 12 months of racing will bring, it was shaping up to be a superb showdown on New Year’s Day, with the clubs eager to start the season strongly.
After storming their way through the Men’s Second Division, Twemlow Track Club were rewarded with a place in the top flight, enabling them to pit their wits against Bournemouth AC and 2022 league champions Egdon Heath Harriers.
Approaching the new season with a degree of trepidation, Bournemouth AC certainly had concerns about whether they would have enough firepower to mount a serious challenge this time round. Many of their better runners had either got injured, moved away from the area, or were simply no longer interested in racing or integrating with squad any more. That was making it very difficult for team captain Rich Nelson to assemble a competitive team for upcoming fixtures.
Even the introduction of the Hampshire Road Race League, with all the fast, flat, competitive events it brings, had failed to really ignite the passion in many of the members to pull on the yellow and blue vest and get out there and race.
This season two clubs will be relegated from the First Division as well to allow for the proposed new format of the Dorset Road Race League to come into play. That means that for 2024 it will be three divisions, with five teams in each. That was going to make it all the more important for Bournemouth AC to get a good team out and bring the fight as best they can.
The trophies and prizes from the previous Dorset Road Race League campaign are typically given out after the Junction Broadstone Quarter. A few of the club’s category winners from the 2022 season were in the line up again, ready to defend their crowns. Sam Jackson won the Male 45-49 category and he was ready and raring to go again, along with his brother Luke who came 6th in the 40-44 category.
After winning the Women’s 55-59 category last season, Debbie Lennon had moved up to the 60-64 category, joining Heather Khoshnevis who was the winner of that category for 2022. Unfortunately that means that this year they won’t both be able to win a category prize.
Although she only completed six of the seven required races for a full scorecard last season, Lea Lohk still came 3rd in the 60-64 category and she was back in action at the Broadstone Quarter Marathon as well. Louise Price was also present after finishing 4th in the 50-54 division last term.
The Bournemouth AC ladies got off to a flyer at the Broadstone Quarter the previous New Year, winning the fixture and going straight to the top of the table. Unfortunately they peaked too early though and failed to win another fixture until the penultimate race of the season at Gold Hill.
In this year’s race they were boosted by the inclusion of Harriet Slade though who had now decided she is going to concentrate more on road racing going forwards. She will be a great asset for the club as they will look to mount a better challenge this year and hopefully avoid the dreaded drop into the division below.
There were a couple of new faces to welcome into the fold as well, with OIiver Hill in action, along with Debbie’s husband Bill Lennon. Oliver is in the 15 to 17 division and has the potential to be very quick. Although he joined the club last November, it was Bill’s first official Dorset League race as a member so he was looking forward to getting out there and giving his best.
Turning out for quite a few races over recent months, Wayne Walford Jelks had rediscovered his running mojo, although he hadn’t perhaps quite got his speed back just yet. It will come though if he keeps working hard though and at the moment, he’s just happy to keep building and stay on that progression path.
Having run the race almost every year for the past 30 or so seasons, Ian Graham was of course back again. He has been slowing down a touch over recent times as age begins to take it’s toll but he’s still often in contention for age category prizes and possesses a competitive instinct.
A couple of interesting developments happened over the pre-season break. One was that Lonely Goat man Lewis Clarke, who has been winning races left, right and centre recently had signed for Poole Runners. That would be a massive boost to them and will certainly help their plight to stay in the top flight when it gets reduced to five.
The other one was the Poole AC finally managed to capture the signature of Thomas Corbin who has been ripping up Poole Parkrun for most of 2022 as well as impressing in other road races throughout the year. That could be a real game changer for them and could help put Poole AC back on the map after they almost ended up getting relegated last season. They were in the bottom two but the Dorset Road Race League postponed their plans for the league restructure to the following year, which saved them from the drop.
The course for the Junction Broadstone Quarter Marathon is quite testing, with the route entailing going up the dreaded Gravel Hill climb twice. It’s not excessively steep but it’s such a long climb that it can really sap the energy out of you, particularly on the second time of asking.
In last year’s race Sam Jackson was embroiled in a sprint finish with Rich Brawn, getting over the line in 39:42. This time round he produced almost exactly the same time, finishing in 39:45. The put him in 24th place and for the Dorset Road Race League scorecard, he was 20th. He came 2nd in the 45-49 category and it was a good run from Sam, particularly as it was quite a windy conditions.
Next in for Bournemouth AC, it was Sam’s brother Luke and he completed the course in 42:08, putting him in 45th place. That was almost exactly a minute quicker than he managed in last year’s race and saw him come in as 38th scorer for the league.
Most importantly of all, he wasn’t in any pain either which was a contrast to most of his races throughout 2022 where he struggled with a back injury. He placed 10th place in the 40-44 category for the league.
Harriet was unsure of what to expect going into it, as she’d heard it was quite a tough course with some testing hills. She was just looking to run it as best she could and complete it as she’s still very much on the comeback trail. She’s looking at every race as a progression step.
Getting round in a time of 44:13, Harriet finished as 7th fastest female which was a terrific result. She was pleased when she looked at her performance afterwards and was feeling pretty strong during the race so that was a good sign.
The next man in for Bournemouth AC was Oliver Hill. He was struggling with a bad cold on the day though and got a stitch quite near the start. After that he just decided to jog round, finishing in 125th place with a time of 47:19. That put him in 84th place for the league.
Although she found it quite difficult to get the pacing right, since it was either uphill or downhill, Debbie Lennon had a pretty good run. Finishing in 48:41, she came 146th and was 22nd lady over the line.
It was a 31 second improvement on her time from the previous year and Debbie certainly enjoyed it more than she did then. All the hill training she’s done over the course of the year have probably helped with that.
Topping the 60-69 category for the race itself, Heather Khoshnevis completed the scoring team for the Bournemouth AC ladies. She finished in 180th place overall and was 36th female in a time of 51:22. She was 4 minutes 22 seconds quicker than the next woman to reach the line in the 60-69 category.
Although he didn’t really feel race ready as such, Wayne Walford Jelks tried to go at a pace that would enable him to keep going rather than burn himself out. He managed to do that and felt pretty good during the run, completing the course in 52:31. That put him in 197th place overall and for the league positions, he was 113th and fourth scorer for the men’s team.
Completing the scoring team for the men on his league debut, Bill Lennon clocked a time of 53:56 which put him in 216th place overall. That put him 120th in terms of league position and he felt it went surprisingly well for him. He found it to be a tough course, especially when going round the houses of Barn Road but he coped better than he thought he would with Gravel Hill.
Then again, he was only really going at jogging pace, but he says he doesn’t have a second gear! If he keeps up the interval training at the club though, that could all change.
Going through 10k in 51:41, he wasn’t actually far off his best time for the distance which was a 50:59 at the Boscombe 10k in November. He finished 13th out of 33 in the 60-69 category for the race and was 4th in the 65-69 category for the league.
Completing the course in 57:49, Lea Lokh was the next Bournemouth AC member to arrive at the finish line. She was 262nd overall and 3rd in the 60-69 category for the race itself and 63rd placed female.
She found the race pretty tough going but she still enjoyed it and that’s what it’s all about at the end of the day.
Also finding it difficult, perhaps due to a bit too much partying over the festive break, Louise Price just managed to get in under the hour, registering a time of 59:57. That put her in 294th place overall and she was 14th in the 50-59 category for the race and 6th in the 55-59 age group for the league.
Out the 155 women that were in the race, she came 79th, and she was really glad to get a race in on the first day of the year and to get through it okay. She found all the brilliant support along the route helped her keep going.
In all the years he’s been doing the race, it was the first time ever that Ian Graham had been lapped. He kept going though and ultimately completed the course in 1:02:50, which put him in 326th place. That put him 4th out of 9 in the Male 70+ category and got him in the lead in the 75-79 category for the league.
In terms of the top placings, it was Lewis Clarke who stole the show, charging to victory in a time of 35:26. Thomas Corbin was hot on his heels though there was only two seconds in it in the end, with Thomas taking 2nd in 35:28. That underlined what a big impact those signings could make for their respective clubs.
Dom Willmore gave Poole AC their second man in the top three when he arrived 25 seconds later to seal 3rd place in 35:53. It was beginning to look like the resurgence of Poole AC could finally have come into fruition.
Reigning champions Egdon Heath Harriers weren’t going down without a fight though and Christopher Peck arrived to take 4th place just a couple of seconds after Dom, registering a time of 35:55. Then Charlie Williams gave Egdon their second man on the scoreboard, taking 5th position in 36:48.
Steven Yates gave Twemlow Track Club their first finisher, crossing the line in 36:53, before Brian Underwood came in as Poole AC’s 3rd scorer. He took 7th place in 37:19.
Jez Bragg claimed 8th place in 37:51 and put Twemlow Track Club’s second scorer on the board before Chris Wood arrived to give them their third scorer, getting round in 37:58.
Daniel Thomas of Bridport Runners took 10th place in 38:01, although he wasn’t running for a league club so that didn’t count in terms of DRRL positions.
Liam Openshaw arrived to give Poole AC their fourth out of the five required scorers, crossing the line in 38:17. He came 11th in the overall standings and was in the 18-20 category for the league.
Jack Galloway was Twemlow Track Club’s fourth scorer, recording a time of 38:26 which put him in 12th place. It was Bengy Williams who swooped in to seal the Men’s First Division win in race one for Poole AC though.
Also in the 18-20 category, Benjy clocked a time of 38:27 and it was enough to give Poole AC a surprise victory that no one would have seen coming.
Steve Cook was Twemlow Track Club’s 5th scorer, getting to the line in 14th place in a time of 38:28. That was enough to seal 2nd place for them in the Men’s First Division and it also gave Steve 1st prize in the 50-59 category for the race.
Steven Rigby, also of Twemlow Track Club followed in soon after to take 15th place in a time of 38:52, although he wasn’t part of the scoring five in the end. It showed that Twemlow do have the strength in depth to mount a serious title challenge this season though and they will be determined to do that.
Adam Davies finished 19th in 39:11 for Egdon Heath Harriers and Martyn Bell was 21st in 39:27. Matt Faramus came in in 32nd place to complete their scoring team which was enough to put them in 3rd place for the fixture. It wasn’t quite the way they would have envisaged the first day of their title defence going.
Poole Runners had Joe Godden in 23rd place in 39:40, Hayden Clarke in 26th in 40:13, Mark Peddle in 30th place in 40:26 and Steve Claxton in 34th in 40:58. With Lewis Clarke winning, that was enough to put them fourth in the league for the race.
Littledown Harriers were 5th and Lytchett Manor Striders 6th, leaving the Bournemouth AC men languishing at the foot of the table. It certainly wasn’t the way they would have wanted to open their account for the season.
Finishing as first female, Molly Rasch was back, showing she is still the quickest woman in the county. Her time of 39:30 put her in 22nd place overall.
Lauren Baker-Little of Poole Runners was the next lady to arrive, taking 57th place in a time of 42:58. Then it was Kate Wilkinson, also of Poole Runners coming in as 3rd placed female in 43:21. She was 60th overall.
Juliet Champion of Poole AC was 4th female in a time of 43:37, which put her in 62nd place overall. Louise Fox of Dorchester RIOT came in as 5th female in 43:37. That put her in 70th place overall.
Gemma Terry gave Poole AC their 2nd scorer when she crossed the line in 44:07 to take the 6th female spot. She was 73rd overall.
It was actually the defending champions Egdon Heath Harriers who put three scorers on the board first though. They had Julie Wargent in as 9th lady in 44:53, Alex Door 10th in 45:15 and Hannah Martyn 12th in 45:32.
When Jo Westhead came in as 14th placed female, that was enough to seal victory in race one for Poole Runners though. Jo completed the course in 46:22 which put her in 121st place overall.
That meant Egdon Heath Harriers had to settle for 2nd place on this occasion, with Poole AC in 3rd. Dorchester RIOT took 4th and the Bournemouth AC trio of Harriet, Debbie and Heather finished 5th.
In his last race before he begins his cancer treatment, Bruce Campbell crossed the line accompanied by his friend and teammate Paul Bullimore. They got round in 43:40 and 43:41 respectively.
Bruce is a popular figure amongst the Dorset running community and it will almost seem strange having races without him there going forwards. Bruce was arguably the backbone behind the rise of Egdon Heah Harriers over recent years and he will certainly be missed whilst he’s off the circuit. Not just by them though but by members of all the clubs.
Hopefully his treatment will go well though and he’ll return to full health afterwards. Fingers crossed he’ll be back on the running scene too somewhere down the line. Bruce was asked to give out the awards for the 2022 season afterwards which was a very nice touch from the organisers.
It was certainly a less than ideal start for Bournemouth AC, particularly the men, but it’s a long season and there’s still plenty of time to turn it around and they will endeavour to do that. One thing is clear though and that is that a club with such a great tradition of winning league titles and competing at the very highest level cannot afford to fall out of the top division. That would be a real tragedy and they will need to get their act together in the coming races to help steer the ship back on course.