Proving a platform for athletes of all ages to compete in a regular format over six races, the Upton Summer Series has proved a real hit over the years. And the 2022 edition was no exception, with 287 taking part over the course of the series in the senior races and many more getting stuck in in the junior sector.

Amongst the Bournemouth AC fraternity it was more of an attraction for the juniors, with only one senior club member taking part, that being Ian Graham. It was great to see so many of the BAC youngsters getting involved though and a fair amount of them ended up contending for top positions in their age groups.

It wasn’t just the juniors who were seeking success over their peers though. Ian was one of four men in the 75-79 category who were contending for honours. And with the best four out of six races counting toward the score, it was all to play for as the series progressed.

The senior races were contested over a 5.5km route within Upton Country Park, starting and finishing in front the main house. They were held on Wednesday evenings, two or three weeks apart. The junior races were for 4 to 13 year olds and were held on a one mile route, half an hour before the senior races started.

Here is Ian Graham’s take on the Upton Summer Series and how events unfolded from his perspective…

“The Summer Series organised by Poole Runners has been a feature of the summer for many years now. When I first arrived in Bournemouth some 35 years ago the races took place on Friday evenings, and there were two locations, one starting at the Willett Arms in Wimborne and the other, as I recall, at Canford Arena off Magna Road. Over the years there were a number of changes as various difficulties emerged with the venues, until it settled down to a Wednesday evening event (to take it away from the Saturday parkrun) all five or six races taking place in the grounds of Upton House.

Even there the course had to change following the creation of Upton House Country Park, with its sanitised paths and Disneyland-like signposts making it no longer possible to use the original course. That route had a great downhill start, then running over the reed beds on duckboards and through the woods, with a challenging uphill section between the first and second laps.

It had been a few years since I participated, but, browsing the internet one day, I came across the details of the 2022 series, and decided to give it a go, particularly as the requirement to enter and pay for all the races online gives some incentive actually to turn up!

The first race was on 4 May, and I was a little disappointed that I was the only BAC senior/vet to have entered, either male or female, although there some BAC juniors who ran in the earlier races, some of whom I believe won category prizes for the series. The series was sponsored by Running Free, and, as a result, there was a very generous prize list, including two for V75+! Four males in that category had entered, apart from myself Ian Barnes, Geoffrey Scott and Lars Jansson, all Poole Runners.

The course is quite difficult, two laps starting with a long downhill on a gravel path which throws up lots of dust, then a longish uphill stretch, and a loop which finishes with one of those short, steep uphill sections which leave you gasping for air. Despite the fact that Ian Barnes had posted on Facebook not long before that he was dreadfully injured, and unlikely ever to run again, he turned up and proceeded to race in an astonishing 25 minutes or so, which none of the other V75s could get anywhere near. That was a feat he then repeated at all the remaining five races, so he was the unchallenged series V75 champion!

I was 2nd V75 in a time of 29.26, which proved to be my PB for the series, followed by Geoffrey Scott, an athlete who, in his day, was always way ahead of me in races, with Lars Jansson fourth. That pattern was repeated in the next two races, on 25 May and 22 June, my times being 31.35 and 32.12 respectively.

The fourth race was on 13 July, and was two days after I had returned from a week’s walking, with Geoffrey Scott, in the Lake District. Strenuous walking seems to do nothing for running, so I was surprised to run as quickly as 31.12, which was very hard work, and I thought at the time that Geoffrey’s decision not to run had been sensible! For some reason I had omitted to write the fifth race, on 27 July, on my calendar, which is the hi-tech method I use for appointments, so the first I realised it had taken place was when I saw various entries about it on Strava the next day!

The final race was on 10 August and with just myself and Ian Barnes competing that day (my time was 29.59) I was a shoe-in for the 2nd V75 prize. I went to the prize-giving, after the race at Broadstone Leisure Centre, which was very well attended, so it was great to have my moment of glory – rare these days – when I was presented with my bottle of wine.

I found the series enjoyable, helped by good weather every time. It is very well organised by Poole Runners, and Running Free are generous sponsors (I believe the first prizes are substantial vouchers).”

It was a closely fought contest between Brian Underwood of Poole AC and Lee Dempster of Twemlow Track Club for the overall Summer Series victory and in the end they were tied with three wins each and one second place each.

Brian set the fastest time of the series in the fifth race at 18:48, which was marginally quicker than the 18:52 that Lee recorded in the first race.

Robert Doubleday of Poole AC finished 2nd in three of the races and 5th in another and that was good enough to see him take 3rd place in the overall standings. Kevin Wilsher of Lordshill Road Runners was 4th with two 3rd places and two 4th places.

Matilda Bengtsson of Poole Runners was the highest placed female in the rankings and she came 17th in the overall standings, finishing 1st female in five of the six races and 2nd in the other race which was won by Imogen Tanner of Ind Intelligent Fitness.

Matilda is in the 14-17 category so judging by her performances, she looks to have a very bright future ahead of her. Her quickest time of the series was 21:08.

Jenny Lee-Marshall of Purbeck Runners was 2nd female in five of the six races so she was a very worthy 2nd place lady in the series as a whole. She came 26th overall.

Philippa Shawyer of Littledown Harriers was 3rd female at the end of the series with two 3rd places, two 4th places and a 5th place finish on her resume. She finished 42nd overall, with Kirstin Hay of Poole Runners coming in as 4th place female and 49th overall. She claimed two 4th place finishes, one 5th and one 9th.

There was also a team prize on offer which is calculated by the top three runners from each club in each race. Then it’s the best four results that count. With Brian Underwood and Robert Doubleday in their team, Poole AC won five out of the six races so they stormed the men’s competition. They also had John Towner in their side and he finished 6th overall with a 3rd, a 4th and 5th and 9th place finish.

The Poole Runners men managed to win the final fixture and they had four 2nd place finishes and one 3rd place which was enough to make them 2nd placed male team.

Spearheaded by the success of Matilda Bengtsson, Poole Runners were emphatic winners of the female team competition, winning all six fixtures. They also had Kelly Lawson and Sarah Swift who both also did all the races and finished 5th and 6th lady in the series.

Finishing 2nd in all six of the races, Poole AC were 2nd in the female team competition. They had Kirstin Hay who was 4th female in the series, Lesley Moore who was 9th and Jayne Offer who was 11th.

A new Bournemouth AC star emerged in the junior races as 11 year old Connor Grocott won three of the races and was 2nd in another one and 4th in another one. He also produced the best time of the series in 5:22, which is very quick considering it’s not a tarmac surface.

That was a record only Oliver Harrison of Poole AC could match. He also won three of the races and was 2nd in another. He is 12 though so was in the category above Connor, meaning Connor picked up the win in the 11 year old age group. Connor was really pleased to have beaten Oliver in the last two races to bring it back to level pegging for the series.

Out of the girls, it was Esmee Hurst-Atkins who was best placed from a Bournemouth AC perspective. She contending with Polly Evans of Poole AC for the top girl position and finishing 2nd girl in three of her races and 3rd in another. Her best time was 5:49. Polly’s best time was 5:35 she was first girl in four of the races which was enough to seal the series win.

Amy Betts of Bournemouth AC also did well and finished 2nd 11 year old girl. Her quickest time was 6:05. Amelia Drew of Poole AC was 1st in the 11 category.

Adam Abu-Ghaba was the quickest 13 year old boy in all of his races with his best time being when he clocked a 5:49. Jacob Green picked up the prize for 2nd best 13 year old boy, with his best time being 6:13.

Finishing first in the 9 year old boy category in all of his races, Finley Hurst-Atkins took top prize in his age group, recording a best time of 6:06.

It was great to see so many young Bournemouth AC members getting involved and doing well in their respective age groups as well. That certainly bodes well for the future of the club.

With a team prize up for grabs it would also be nice if more Bournemouth AC seniors would get involved, although being on a weekday evening may prove tricky for some. The club have certainly managed to contend for this in the past though so it would be great to see it happen again. Perhaps 2023 will be the year.