Despite first place finishes for Stu Nicholas and Katie Gunn in the Dorset Road Race League at the North Dorset Village Marathon, Bournemouth AC remained rooted the bottom of both the men’s and ladies first divisions. With three races gone and one cancelled, they desperately needed a result at the May 5. It was absolutely crucial to their campaigns.

Being staged in Canford Heath, with the race HQ at Ashdown Athletics Track, it wasn’t far to travel for most of the Bournemouth AC members. Hence they were able to get a good team assembled despite a fixture clash with the Netley 10k – an important Hampshire Road League race.

The men’s team would be boosted by the appearance of Josh Cole who had competed for them at the Lytchett 10 and the Broadstone Quarter Marathon. His five mile PB was a lightening quick 26:04 which he set at the Littledown 5 all the way back in 2014.

Three weeks after his sub 2:55 time at the London Marathon off very limited training, Rob Spencer was back for something a bit shorter and sharper. He won both the Littledown 5 and the Hoburne 5 back in 2019 but of course wasn’t anywhere near his top form at the current moment in time.

After successfully completing both the Lytchett 10 and Eastleigh 10k races, Jack Barwick was overcoming his fear of crossing the finish line and getting used the race environment and the pressures that come with it.

The Bournemouth AC men also had Luke De-Benedictis and Jake Mowat making their league debuts in yellow and blue. Luke finished second on his club debut in the Bournemouth Bay Run 5k clocking a time of 17:05. He was usually around the 16:45 sort of mark in parkruns as well.

Jake Mowat was a bit of an unknown quantity in racing terms but it was pretty obvious he was capable of a quick time judging by how he’d been running in training.

After clocking a 40:32 at the Round the Lakes 10k, Ben Arnold was hoping for another good performance. One of the younger members out was Harry Butcher and he’d proved to be pretty useful at parkrun producing times of around 18:30.

For the first time since winning the Dorset Road Race League Second Division convincingly, the Bournemouth AC ladies had a competitive team out, with Katie Gunn back after her two marathons on consecutive weekends. She did the May 5 last year in a time of 31:06 which made her fifth female on the day.

Coming off the back of a brilliant win in the Maverick Exmoor Goat 15k, Kate Bowers was also in the line up. She did the Overton 5 last year in 35:40 so that could have served as a benchmark for her to try and beat.

There was also a long awaited comeback from Holly Collier. She’d not raced at all since 2021 so it was great to have her back in the squad.

The ladies were also excited to welcome Louisa Rowland into the side for her club debut. She’d been looking really fast in training so it would be interesting to see how she could compare to the some of the top Dorset athletes.

The May 5 race is organised by Poole AC and unsurprisingly, they came equipped with a strong side. Jamie Grose had been in scintillating form, winning the Bournemouth Bay Run 10k, the Round the Lakes 10k and the first race of the Upton Summer Series.

Tommy Corbin was back on the start line after going out hard in the North Dorset Village Marathon but ending up with a fourth place finish. Dom Willmore, Adam Colbert and Luke Terry were there as well giving Poole AC a strong scoring contingent.

Egdon Heath Harriers had a strong team out as well, with Chris Peck in action after his 2:34 PB at the London Marathon. Charlie Williams was in as well after a 2:36 at London and Matt Underhill was also present after clocking a 2:40 at the Boston Marathon.

Twemlow Track Club man Chris Wood ran a 2:33 at London before going on to finish third in the North Dorset Village Marathon a week later. That helped Twemlow achieve a convincing win at the North Dorset Village Marathon which was the previous league fixture.

Jez Bragg finished 7th at North Dorset and he was also competing in the May 5 along with Chris Wood and they also had Dave Hicks, Sam Jackson and David Jones amongst others.

Lewis Clarke ran a 2:30 at London and he was back on the start line at the May 5 for Poole Runners along with Rob Arkell who ran a 2:40 at the Barcelona Marathon in March.

In the ladies team contest, Poole Runners had a pretty good team out, despite not having Vicki Ingham for this one. Helen O’Neile, Gemma Bragg and Jenny Walker-Leach were in action for them. Teresa Green and Hannah Martyn were racing for Egdon Heath Harriers who are usually their main rivals.

The fastest gunslinger out of the Bournemouth AC contingent was Josh Cole and he showed signs that he’s in fine form, rocketing round in a time of 26:52. That put him in 6th place in the overall standings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Starting off at a very ambitious pace, Rob Spencer clocked a 5:22 for his first mile split and then followed it up with a 5:27. He wasn’t quite able to maintain that pace over the second half of the race but still got through the third mile in 5:41 before completing the last couple of miles in around 5:45. That put his finishing time at 27:57 which saw him take 11th place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next Bournemouth AC man over the line was Luke de-Benedictis and he got round in 28:35 which put him in 17th place. His average pace was 5:39 so it was a strong run from Luke after a very explosive start which saw him clock a 5:18 for his first mile split.

It wasn’t long before Jake Mowat reached the line in 20th place recording a time of 28:42 and that was a PB for him. It was good to see that Jake was able to covert his strong training pace to an excellent race performance.

 

That left Bournemouth AC needing just one more man in to complete the scoring contingent of five. The next BAC member over the line was Katie Gunn though and she was 2nd placed female in a time of 31:04.

The only woman who could top that was former BAC star Helen O’Neile who got round in 30:48. That put her in 40th place overall, with Katie coming in in 42nd place. Her average pace for the run was 6:13 per mile.

Ben Arnold completed the scoring team for Bournemouth AC, going over the line in 31:10 which put him in 43rd place, just after Katie. That was enough to put the Bournemouth AC men in 2nd place out of the First Division teams. It was only Poole AC who were able to better that score.

As he has been in most of his recent races, Jamie Grose was far too quick for anyone else. He clocked a 4:59 for his opening split, then followed it up with a 5:05. The third mile is usually the slowest as it has a couple of slight inclines.

Jamie got through that in 5:12 before finishing strongly with a 5:01 and a 5:04. That put his finishing time at around 25:20 but the chip matt didn’t record his time so they had to take it off his watch, which he didn’t stop straight away.

Chris Peck arrived a minute later to take 2nd place in a time of 26:21 with an average pace of 5:15 per mile. Lewis Clarke crossed the line in 3rd place recording a time of 26:27.

Charlie Williams took 4th place in 26:35 which was a course PB for him. Dom Willmore arrived 10 seconds later to take 5th place in 26:45 and his average pace for the run was 5:19.

Tommy Corbin made a lightening quick start and was in the lead at first but wasn’t quite able to maintain it after an opening split of 4:54. He held on for 7th place though in a time of 27:02, putting his average pace at 5:22.

Rob Arkell took 8th place in 27:36, with Chris Wood coming in in 9th with a time of 27:40. Rich White of Dorset Doddlers was 12th in 28:02 with Luke Terry taking 13th in 28:11. He was Poole AC’s fourth runner in.

Mark Savage of Wimborne AC took 14th place 28:16 with Matt Underhill finishing 15th in 28:23. Adam Colbert sealed the win for Poole AC when he crossed the line in 28:26 to take 16th place.

Christopher Wright of Dorset Doddlers was 18th in 28:37 and Jez Bragg followed in shortly after to clock a time of 28:41. Louis Verdi of Wimborne AC was 21st in 28:45, with Poole AC man Rob Doubleday taking 22nd in 28:53.

Christian Rodiger of Littledown Harriers was 24th in 29:16 and former BAC man Sam Jackson took 25th in 29:19. He was Twemlow Track Club’s third man in meaning they only needed two more. David Jones arrived in 28th place in 29:24 and new signing Dave Hicks was 29th and first Male 50 in 29:29.

That was only enough for fourth place for Twemlow Track Club though as Egdon Heath Harriers got third. Julian Critchlow of Purbeck Runners was first over 60 in 29:49 which put him in 31st place.

Louisa Rowland ran superbly to come in as third female in 31:13 so she crossed the line just after Ben Arnold in 44th place. Jack Barwick snuck into the top 50 with his time of 32:07.

Rachael Haddow of Poole AC was 4th female in a time of 32:18 and she was 56th overall, just a few seconds ahead of Gemma Bragg who was 58th in 32:21.

Harry Butcher was the first Under 20 Male to arrive at the finish when he reached the line in 32:27. His average pace for the 6:29 per mile. Kate Bowers was Bournemouth AC’s third woman over the line when she arrived in 68th place in 33:02. That made her 6th female and 2nd in the Female 35 category.

The Bournemouth AC women now only needed one more finisher to complete their scoring team of four. Teresa Green of Egdon Heath Harriers was 7th female in 33:07 which put her 71st overall. She was first in the Female 45 category. Hannah Martyn then arrived as 8th lady 76th overall in 33:17.

Hamish Murray of Purbeck Runners was first over 70 in when he arrived in 96th place with a time of 34:25. Holly Collier sealed the win in the First Division for the Bournemouth AC ladies when she crossed the line in 35:10. She would have been well pleased to make a meaningful contribution on her first race back.

That meant Poole Runners had to be content with 2nd place on this occasion, with Poole AC taking 3rd and Egdon Heath Harriers 4th.

David Crowther got round in 36:46 which put him in 127th place and Tim Hughes ran really well to clock a new PB of 38:04 which put him in 148th place. That was 10 seconds faster than the time he recorded in the May 5 last year so represented further progression for Tim. His average pace for the run was 7:39.

Jud Kirk and Max Yao are pretty evenly matched so it was going to be interesting to see who came out on top between them. It turned out to be Jud as he went over the line in 38:31, putting him in 156th place. He was 20th in the Male 60 category. Max then followed in a couple of places after in 38:46 which made her 31st placed female.

The final Bournemouth AC man to reach the finish was Ian Graham who registered a time of 49:12 which put him in 264th place and he was 10th in the over 70 category. Ian was pleased that he managed to stay upright throughout the run and very much enjoyed the new course.

Ian recently completed all four races at the Guernsey Easter Running Festival, on consecutive days, which was quite some effort. It was great to see him back racing again after a long time out last year due to a heart issue.

Wimborne AC were the lowest scoring team in the Men’s Second Division as they had been in every other fixture so far this season. Westbourne were 2nd this time, with Littledown Harriers taking third and Purbeck Runners fourth. Littledown Harriers remain in 2nd place for the season so far with Westbourne in 3rd but with only one promotion place up for grabs, Wimborne AC were firmly in the driving seat.

Wimborne AC also topped the standings in the Ladies Second Division at the May 5, with Purbeck Runners taking 2ns and Dorchester RIOT 3rd. After winning at the North Dorset Village Marathon as well, Wimborne were top of the table for the season so far, with Purbeck Runners the only other club to have got a team out for all four races so far.

Lytchett Manor Striders finished first in the Men’s Third Division as they have done in every fixture so far and by a very comfortable margin. Welmouth St Pauls Harriers were 2nd and Royal Manor of Portland 3rd at the May 5, which is where they are in the table for the season so far as well.

Lytchett Manor Striders also finished first in the Ladies Third Division as well, with Bournemouth Joggers taking 2nd and Verwood Runners 3rd. Verwood Runners are top of the table for the season so far though with Bournemouth Joggers 2nd and Royal Manor of Portland 3rd.

Egdon Heath Harriers and Poole AC were essentially level pegging at the top of the Men’s First Division, with Twemlow Track Club 3rd and Bournemouth AC and Poole Runners level in 4th and 5th.

Poole Runners strengthened their position at the top of the Ladies First Division with that 2nd place since Egdon Heath Harriers could only managed fourth. They were second with Littledown Harriers 3rd and Poole AC 4th.

Tommy Corbin topped the standings so far in the Men’s Individual table out of all the runners who had done all four races. Chris Wood was 2nd, with Adam Colbert 3rd and Jez Bragg 4th.

Chris Peck was still arguably favourite to retain his crown from last season as he’d had three second place finishes so far. Charlie Williams had done pretty well in his three races so far as well and Jamie Grose was next on the list out of those who had done three races so far, along with Lewis Clarke. Josh Cole was next on the list, even though he didn’t finish that high up at the Broadstone Quarter as he wasn’t feeling well.

Jenny Walker-Leach was top of the standings out of the ladies who had done all four races so far by a considerable margin. Teresa Green was the lowest scorer so far out of the women who had done three races, with Hannah Martyn next one the list.

The real major contenders though were last year’s champion Vicki Ingham and Katie Gunn, both of whom had one first and one second place so far this season.

The next race up is the Purbeck 10k and that has all the makings of an exciting and enthralling encounter. Jaymee Domoney will be representing Poole AC in that one and, once the king of the Purbeck hills, Jacek Cieluszecki will return to racing action in a location he was very familiar with.

Benjamin Gibbons, Dom Willmore and Adam Colbert will also in action for Poole AC and Egdon Heath Harriers have the cavalry out as usual, with Chris Peck, Charlie Williams and Matt Underhill all featuring.

Chris Wood and Jack Galloway will be there representing Twemlow Track Club. Lewis Clarke and Rob Arkell will be there as well for Poole Runners and with so much talent on show, it should be a highly competitive event.

From a Bournemouth AC perspective, last year’s race winner Rob McTaggart will be back to defend his crown and Josh Cole will also be featuring for the yellow and blues. Jack Barwick and Ian Graham will be racing as well and Harley Brooks will be making his BAC debut.

After finishing first female at North Dorset Village Marathon and second in the May 5, Katie Gunn will be a major contender for the women’s race win. Sophie Read will be running her first race since the London Marathon and Max Yao will also be competing for the south coasters.

Another big weekend of racing will see the Bournemouth AC squad head over to the Alresford 10k as well for the penultimate race of the Hampshire Road League. A win in that won would confirm the yellow and blues as champions so there could be a big day for the club in store there.