One of the most iconic races of the Dorset calendar, The Stickler is as brutal as it is brilliant, with some fearsome climbs that will send tremors through the field. Known as Dorset’s answer to the three peaks, the course incorporates 1,650ft of gruelling ascent, with the slopes of Okeford Beacon, Hod Hill and Hambledon Hill all needing to be scaled.

The climbing starts from the outset, along the infamous ‘Stickle Path’ and up Okeford Beacon. It’s at the top of that hill that you get a breath-taking view overlooking the whole of north Dorset.

The ascent up Hod starts from just after six miles and the climb up Hambledon starts from just after the seventh mile and finishing at mile eight. The full course is 10 miles.

This year was the 30th anniversary of The Stickler and it’s seen its fair share of legends tackling it in the past. Back in 2008 Andy Blow somehow ran it in 1:01:52. Ian Habgood was seventh and Ian White eighth that year.

Stuart Holloway of City of Salisbury won it in 2013 and Ant Clark, then representing Poole Runners, came out on top in 2014. Alex van Tuyl of Clapham Chasers won it in 2016, with Brian Underwood of Poole AC finishing third and Luke De-Bendictis coming sixth. Luke De-Benedictis went on to finish seventh in 2017 and third in 2018.

2019 was the year that some of the lead runners got directed the wrong way by a bystander and it ended up causing mass confusion and throwing the results up in the air. Jacek Cieluszecki was doing it that year and finished second to Stuart Holloway out of the athletes who actually completed the whole course, although it was Lee Dempster who got to the line first. Luke De-Benedictus was third out of those who ran the whole course.

JC came back to win it properly in 2021, recording a time of 1:04:46. That was enough to put him two minutes ahead of Egdon Heath Harriers man Christopher Peck. Chris Peck went on to win it in 2023 though and finished second last year to unattached runner Charles Pitt Ford, who lives in the area. They would have a rematch in the 2025 edition.

A couple of Bournemouth AC members were taking part in this year’s race, with Harley Brooks and Stuart Bowers attempting to put their stamp on the proceedings.

Stu Bowers had been out for a while with plantar fasciitis but he did win the 15km race at the Maverick Goat Exmoor over the summer and was in the scoring team for the Alton 10 league race in May. He’d also done the Eastleigh 10k the past couple of years with a best time of 36:41.

Harley Brooks ran the Stur Half and the Purbeck 10k league races and most recently competed in the Great North Run, recording a time of 1:44:22.

With the first couple of miles being mostly uphill, Harley Brooks got through them in 9:45 and 9:26. He’d already done 567ft of climbing by that point. Starting the descent back down the hill in the third mile, Harley then registered a 7:02 before accelerating to a 6:26 on the downhill fourth mile.

There was another smaller climb to tackle in the fifth mile, which Harley got through in 8:03 before heading back down and onto a flat section in the sixth mile. Clocking a 7;18 for that one, he then headed up Hod on the seventh mile. That was a real grind, putting him down to 10:34 before he then went onto a conquer Hambledon on the eighth mile. That knocked him back to 11:47 for that mile.

It was mostly downhill on the ninth mile and Harley was able to get back to a 7:35 before finishing with a flattish 10th mile, which he also got through in 7:35. That put his finishing time at 1:25:45 which saw him come in in 94th place out of 512 participants.

Coming away with an average pace of 8:31, it had been a super tough race for Harley, but no doubt a rewarding one, nonetheless.

Managing to complete the course in an excellent time of 1:18:32, Stuart Bowers finished 22nd overall, or 23rd on chip time. He was also eighth in the 40 to 49 category. It was great to see Stu back out there running and coming away with a good result.

Like last year, it was a battle between Charles Ford and Chris Peck for the race win and this time it was Chris Peck who came out on top, recording a time of 1:06:26. Charles Ford got to the finish 33 seconds later to take the runner up spot.

Another unattached runner, Andrew Lamont was third in 1:10:51, with Simon Jones of Abbey Runners taking fourth in 1:11:26. Daniel Thomas of Bridport was fifth in 1:11:36, with Matthew Underhill of Egdon Heath Harriers coming in in sixth position.

Jenny Marshall of Purbeck Runners was first female in 1:19:49 which put her 30th overall. It was a close call though, as Louise Mills of Woking AC was also contending for it. She was second female and 32nd overall in 1:19:58.

Pewsey Vale pair Sarah Williams and Emma Leatherby were third and fourth females in 1:22:38 and 1:23:03 respectively. They came 61st and 65th overall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Stickler is definitely a race that won’t be easily forgotten about by those who have been brave enough to participate in it. It’s one of those events where you feel a real sense of achievement when crossing that finish line, regardless of time and position.