Bournemouth AC made a dream start to the Hampshire Road Race League season at the Totton 10k, topping every team table they contested. The challenge was to keep that momentum going at the second fixture, the Overton 5, where the yellow and blues were looking to maintain their winning start.

There was, however, a little more to contend with than simply turning up and running five miles.

Situated close to the Surrey border, Overton is a rather longer trip than some of the other league fixtures, making it a little trickier to persuade runners to make themselves available. The course itself is also deceptively challenging, with several sharp inclines that make maintaining a consistent tempo considerably more difficult than the relatively modest distance might suggest.

Initially, it looked as though Bournemouth AC might have their work cut out getting a team together. Josh Cole and Bryn Smith were the first two to put their names down, leaving the club needing a few more willing volunteers to make sure they could challenge for the team honours.

Fortunately, Stu Nicholas was once again prepared to put the team first, while James Hulbert and Louis Suggett also stepped up to the plate to give the yellow and blues a five-man squad.

Only four scorers are required for a Hampshire Road Race League A-team, but having a fifth runner is always useful. You never know when somebody might have a problem, and the last thing Bournemouth AC needed was a repeat of the sort of costly team-selection mishaps that can derail a season.

Although the team had come together somewhat at the last minute, there was no shortage of quality in the line-up. In fact, it was a pretty formidable outfit, and there was every reason to believe that another victory in the Men’s A2 division was within reach.

Cole Arrives in Form

Josh Cole was undoubtedly one of the men to watch, having started the season in outstanding form.

At the opening fixture, he had produced an excellent performance to finish second in the Totton 10k, beaten only by Christopher Newnham of Ryde Harriers. That was another impressive result in what had already been a very productive spell of racing.

Before Totton, Josh had won the Isle of Wight Half Marathon, finishing a minute ahead of Joshua Price, last season’s Hampshire Road Race League individual champion. He had also won the Blackmore Vale Half Marathon, getting the better of Poole AC pair Tommy Corbin and Lewis Clarke in the process.

Those performances suggested that Josh was operating at the very top of his game, and there was every reason to expect him to be challenging for another high finish at Overton.

Stu Nicholas was also coming into the race in good form. His fourth-place finish at Totton had been particularly impressive, putting him ahead of Southampton man Ant Gritton and a host of other talented Hampshire-based runners.

Bryn Smith had some decent recent form to draw upon as well, having clocked 1:21:51 at the Newark Half Marathon. That was enough to secure 34th place in a field of 1,045 runners, providing a useful indication of the shape he was in ahead of the five-mile test.

James Hulbert had perhaps not been firing on all cylinders this season, but he had still been producing some respectable performances. He had run 29:13 at the May 5 and 37:11 at the Purbeck 10k, while his 2:54:44 at the London Marathon earlier in the year demonstrated that there was plenty of endurance in the tank.

Louis Suggett, meanwhile, had not raced so far this year, but his training performances suggested that he was running strongly. He might not have had a recent result to point towards, but that certainly did not mean he was going to be short of pace.

The Bournemouth AC men would need all of that strength in depth if they were to get the better of the opposition.

Price Pushes On

Among those standing in Josh Cole’s way was the familiar figure of Joshua Price, who was back on his hunting ground and looking to remind everybody why he had finished last season as the league’s leading individual runner.

If Price had not already realised that Cole was going to be there, he might not have been particularly delighted to discover that the Bournemouth AC man was once again among his principal rivals.

Henry Edwards of Winchester Running Club was another runner capable of making an impression, and with several other talented athletes on the start line, there was no shortage of competition.

As expected, the early stages saw a group of four establish themselves at the front, with both Cole and Price among them.

The pace was clearly strong, but at around the two-mile mark, Price began looking around, seemingly unconvinced that the group was moving quickly enough for his liking. He decided to take matters into his own hands and pushed on.

Cole had already been working hard to stay with the leading group and was unable to find another gear when Price increased the tempo. As the group began to stretch out, the Bournemouth AC runner found himself in fourth place, with the race becoming a battle to the finish.

Price ultimately took the victory in 25:45, with Matthew Port of Winchester Running Club finishing second in 25:51. Richard Lovejoy of Aldershot Farnham & District secured third place in 26:27, leaving Cole to settle for fourth in 26:32.

It was a very good result by any reasonable measure, but Josh had set his sights higher and came away feeling that he had not quite produced his best performance of the year.

That was perhaps a sign of just how well things had been going for him. After his recent successes, fourth place was not the result he had travelled to Overton hoping for.

The course had certainly given him something to think about, though. Its sharp inclines make it a race where being fully rested can make a significant difference, and Josh will undoubtedly have a little more respect for the Overton 5 the next time he lines up.

Turning up on tired legs is not a mistake he will be keen to repeat.

Nicholas Produces Another Strong Performance

Stu Nicholas was next to make his mark, producing another excellent run to finish seventh overall in 27:25.

The Overton course requires a little more thought than simply trying to run every mile at the same pace, and Stu’s splits demonstrated just how much the terrain could influence proceedings.

His opening mile came in at 5:15, helped considerably by the downhill running during the first part of the course. That was followed by a long climb beginning at around 0.8 miles and continuing until approximately 1.6 miles.

A faster downhill section then provided some relief, allowing Stu to complete his second mile in 5:24.

There was another incline during the third mile, and the effect of the climbing became increasingly apparent as he recorded 5:38.

The fourth mile brought further challenges, with the final major climb extending from around 3.2 miles to 3.5 miles. Once that was out of the way, however, the course became much quicker, with the remainder largely downhill or flat.

Stu recorded 5:43 for his fourth mile before getting back on the pace with a 5:16 final mile.

That brought him home in 27:25, giving him seventh place overall and an average pace of 5:27 per mile.

Shaun Egan of Totton RC finished fourth in 27:04, while Henry Edwards took fifth in 27:07, leaving Stu just behind two very strong performances.

Nevertheless, it was another excellent outing for the Bournemouth AC man, who continued to demonstrate that his fourth place at Totton was no fluke.

Suggett Springs a Surprise

Louis Suggett might have been forgiven for thinking that he would be the most likely member of the team to miss out on the scoring positions.

With Cole, Nicholas and Smith among his teammates, and Hulbert also bringing plenty of experience and ability, there was certainly no shortage of competition for those four scoring places.

Louis, however, had other ideas.

Despite not having raced so far this year, he produced an outstanding performance to complete the course in 28:41, finishing 15th overall in a field of 475 runners.

That represented an average pace of 5:45 per mile and, more importantly, made him Bournemouth AC’s third scorer on the day.

It was an excellent contribution from a runner who had stepped in to help the team, and it meant the yellow and blues were in a very strong position heading into the final stages of the scoring.

As the clock edged towards the 30-minute mark, there were still two Bournemouth AC men to come.

Bryn Smith was next to cross the line, recording 29:51 to finish 24th overall. That completed the four-man scoring team and gave Bournemouth AC exactly what they needed to secure another victory in the Men’s A2 division.

There was still time for James Hulbert to ensure that the club’s fifth runner also made it home inside 30 minutes. He crossed the line in 29:57, finishing 27th overall.

That meant all five Bournemouth AC men had completed the course in under half an hour, which was a pretty emphatic demonstration of the team’s strength.

Another Team Victory for the Yellow and Blues

With all four scorers safely home, Bournemouth AC had done enough to take another victory in the Men’s A2 division.

The team had come together at relatively short notice, but the quality of the performances ensured that there was never any real danger of the yellow and blues leaving Overton empty-handed.

It was not quite enough to secure the lowest team score across the entire men’s competition, however.

Winchester Running Club had three men inside the top ten, including Matthew Port in second place and Henry Edwards in fifth, and their impressive collective performance secured the victory in the Men’s A1 division.

That was the second consecutive fixture in which Winchester had taken the top division honours, having also won at Totton.

Overton Harriers had to settle for second place in the A1 division despite enjoying home advantage, while Hardley Runners finished second behind Bournemouth AC in A2.

For Bournemouth AC, the important thing was that the winning run had continued. After topping the standings in every table they contested at Totton, they had returned to the podium at the second fixture and maintained their grip on the Men’s A2 division.

The club’s other teams had plenty to celebrate as well.

Winchester Dominate the Women’s Competition

Emma Stevens of Aldershot Farnham & District was the first female finisher, crossing the line in 30:35 to finish 31st overall.

Emma Jolley of City of Portsmouth took second place in 31:24, finishing 43rd overall, while Helen Herman-Bonaer secured third in 31:36, placing 45th.

Winchester Running Club continued their excellent start to the season by taking another victory in the Women’s competition. Having already won on the opening matchday, they were once again looking like a formidable force in the top division.

Bournemouth AC’s women, meanwhile, remained second in the table following their victory at the Totton 10k. There is still plenty of racing to come, but Winchester have made it clear that they are going to be difficult to dislodge from the top of the standings.

In the Women’s A3 division, Victory AC were the only club to field a team, so they duly took the win. Fleet & Crookham were the only other club to come particularly close to assembling a scoring team.

The men’s lower divisions also produced some interesting results.

Overton Harriers topped the Men’s B1 standings, while Lordshill were the only club in the Men’s B3 division to get anywhere close to fielding a team of four. That was enough to secure them the victory and put them top of the table, with Bournemouth AC sitting second after their win in the opening fixture.

Cole Leads the Individual Standings

There was further good news for Bournemouth AC when the individual league tables were updated.

After two races, Josh Cole leads the Men’s individual standings, with Stu Nicholas occupying second place.

That is particularly encouraging given the quality of the opposition and the fact that Cole’s fourth place at Overton was a slightly disappointing result by his own high standards.

It means Bournemouth AC have two runners occupying the leading positions in the men’s competition, providing another indication of the club’s strength at the top end of the field.

Emma Jolley of City of Portsmouth leads the women’s individual standings after her second-place finish at Overton.

With the league still in its early stages, there is plenty of time for the tables to change, but the yellow and blues have certainly given themselves a strong platform from which to build.

New Forest 10 Next

The next Hampshire Road Race League fixture is the New Forest 10 on 25th October, and that is one Bournemouth AC will be particularly keen to get right.

Last season, the club made a costly mistake by getting only three men out for the race. With four scorers required to register a team result, that left them unable to complete the scoring and proved to be a significant setback.

It was the sort of error that can have consequences well beyond a single fixture, and the men’s team will be determined not to allow history to repeat itself.

The lesson from Overton is that getting a team to the start line is every bit as important as having the right runners in it. Cole and Nicholas have made an excellent start to their individual campaigns, while Suggett’s contribution demonstrated the value of having willing teammates ready to step up when required.

Two races into the season, Bournemouth AC have already shown that they have the quality to challenge for honours. The next task is to ensure that they have the numbers to keep doing it.

The yellow and blues have made a very promising start. Now they need to keep the momentum going.