A particularly gruelling test was in store for the Bournemouth AC trio of Patrick Kingston, Kate Bowers and Geoff Newton as the Studland Stampede provided another stern examination in the Purbeck Trail Series.

There are some races where the distance barely tells half the story. The Studland Stampede is certainly one of them. With a punishing opening climb, stretches of heathland and sandy trails, and a particularly brutal final third over the soft sand of Studland Beach, it is an event that demands considerably more than just a decent pair of running legs.

Patrick Kingston was making his second appearance in the series after finishing 16th in The Beast back in September. He arrived at Studland having already enjoyed a quite extraordinary year of endurance challenges, with some seriously impressive achievements to his name.

Among them was the completion of the TOR130 Tot Dret in Italy’s Aosta Valley, a monstrous 136.1km event incorporating a staggering 12,000 metres of ascent.

That was only the tip of the iceberg though as before that Patrick had completed the Crazy Mountain 100 in Montana, USA, covering 102 miles with 21,000ft of elevation, after taking on the Verbier Marathon in the Swiss Alps, which featured another 3,000 metres of climbing.

With that sort of running history behind him, a relatively short trail race around Studland might have seemed like a comparatively straightforward assignment. That, however, would have been rather premature.

Kate Bowers had previously featured in the opening race of the series, the Coombe Keynes 10k, where she produced an excellent performance to finish fifth female in 47:34.

She had continued to show some impressive form since then, recording a new half marathon personal best of 1:34:35 at the New Forest Marathon. There was clearly plenty of confidence behind her running as she arrived at Studland looking to put together another strong performance.

Then there was Geoff Newton, who had been enjoying yet another remarkable year of competition.

Geoff had recently finished second in the M80 category at the English Masters Cross Country Championships, an event which also doubled as a selection race for the forthcoming British and Irish Cross Country Championships in Dublin.

That was just one highlight of an exceptionally successful season. He had also returned from the European Masters Indoor Championships in Poland with three silver medals and two bronze medals before adding another silver at the European Masters Non-Stadia Championships in Italy.

The latter was particularly close, with Geoff narrowly missing out on gold in the half marathon after a sprint finish.

Ordinarily, Geoff would be one of the most reliable participants across the entire Purbeck Trail Series, but unfortunately he has been experiencing increasingly sore feet when running. That has made it difficult for him to compete as frequently as he would normally like.

Nevertheless, he was back in action at Studland and had another age-category battle to contend with.

A course that gets progressively tougher

The Studland Stampede is certainly not an event for anyone expecting a gentle coastal jog.

The race begins with a substantial climb which continues for approximately 1.7 miles. Once runners have negotiated that initial obstacle, there is a lengthy downhill stretch taking them towards the 3.6-mile point.

It might sound as though the worst is over by then, but that is where things become particularly interesting.

Much of the route takes runners across heathland and sandy terrain, with the soft beaches providing a particularly demanding surface. The final third is especially punishing, as the sand makes maintaining any sort of consistent pace increasingly difficult.

It is the sort of course where runners can feel relatively comfortable one minute before suddenly finding themselves working twice as hard to maintain the same speed.

Patrick, however, appeared to be handling things rather well.

Patrick powers his way to eighth place

Patrick Kingston started with a 7:06 opening mile before following it up with a 7:35 as he worked his way through the early stages of the course.

Once he had negotiated the initial challenges, he began to find his rhythm and produced a particularly impressive sequence of splits.

His next three miles came in at 6:28, 6:41 and 6:36 respectively, demonstrating some excellent pace as he worked his way through the field.

The sand dunes then began to take their toll, with his sixth mile dropping back to 7:38. He subsequently registered another 7:38 before getting back on the pace with a 6:46 for his seventh mile.

With just the final half mile remaining, Patrick still had enough left to produce a strong finish, covering that last section at an impressive 6:33 pace.

He eventually crossed the line in 51:52 to secure eighth place overall.

It was an almost identical performance to his effort at last year’s Studland Stampede, although he had actually managed to go one second quicker this time around.

That was an excellent result, particularly given the strength of the field, and it was enough to secure Patrick second place in the Male 40-49 category.

Kate produces another strong performance

Kate Bowers was also having a very good run and found herself occupying third place in the female standings as the race unfolded.

Unfortunately, she was eventually caught by Dulcie Gatehouse of Bridport Runners, who seemed to have a rather impressive ability to glide across the soft sand without losing much momentum.

Kate did her best to stay in contention, but Dulcie managed to get past and eventually reached the finish ten seconds ahead of her.

That didn’t detract from what was still a very good performance from the Bournemouth AC runner.

Kate crossed the line in 56:35 to finish 30th overall, and she even managed to get herself home ahead of Poole AC’s M50 star John Bassinder.

There was also a particularly interesting contest taking place further up the women’s field, with Jenny Lee Marshall of Purbeck Runners and Noirin Burke battling for the overall female victory.

Both runners are in the Female 40-49 category, the same age group as Kate, and there was very little to separate them throughout the race.

In the end, it was Jenny Lee Marshall who came out on top, taking first female place in 55:51. She finished 25th overall, just five seconds ahead of Noirin.

Geoff dominates the M80 contest

Geoff Newton had his own battle to settle, with the Male 80+ category victory up for grabs.

His main rival was Derek Kelly, but Geoff produced another commanding performance to make sure there was very little doubt about where the honours would be going.

He crossed the finish line in 1:13:41, more than 20 minutes ahead of Derek, to take a thoroughly convincing age-category victory.

Considering the difficulties Geoff has been experiencing with his feet, it was particularly pleasing to see him back competing and adding another result to an already remarkable year.

Matthew Clark takes the victory

At the front of the race, it was Matthew Clark of Purbeck Runners who claimed the overall victory.

He produced an excellent performance to finish in 47:56, giving him a 44-second advantage over James Wallace of Fleet & Crookham, who secured second place.

Matthew’s Purbeck Runners teammate Adam also enjoyed a particularly successful outing, finishing third in 49:17.

He just managed to get the better of Adam Woollard of Dorchester RIOT, who finished fourth in 49:18. There was just one second between them at the line.

Mark Packer of Littledown Harriers continued his impressive series campaign with fifth place in 49:26. Having accumulated the highest points total from his best four races, he was certainly flying high.

Iain Ferguson of Poole Runners was sixth, maintaining his position as one of the leading contenders in the overall series standings.

Series standings begin to take shape

With the Studland Stampede being the penultimate race of the Purbeck Trail Series, there was plenty at stake for those hoping to finish the campaign with some silverware.

The series scoring system takes competitors’ best four race results into account, meaning consistency across the various events is particularly important.

Adam Hodge of Purbeck Runners was second in the overall standings following his third-place finish at Studland

The women’s competition was looking particularly interesting.

Jenny Lee Marshall had moved to the top of the female standings, but there was very little separating her from Louise Fox of Dorchester RIOT.

Carys Gallagher of Westbourne was sitting in third place, leaving the battle for the overall female honours far from settled.

One race left to decide it all

There is now just one event remaining in the Purbeck Trail Series, with the Blue Castle Run providing the final opportunity for competitors to improve their scores and settle the outstanding battles.

For Patrick Kingston, Kate Bowers and Geoff Newton, the Studland Stampede provided another opportunity to represent Bournemouth AC in one of the area’s toughest trail races.

Patrick’s eighth place and second in his age category was an excellent return, particularly after the extraordinary endurance challenges he has undertaken this year. Kate produced another strong performance despite being denied a female podium position in the closing stages, while Geoff once again demonstrated that age is certainly no barrier to competitive running.

With the Blue Castle Run still to come, there is plenty left to play for in the series, and the final standings could yet have a few surprises in store.