The penultimate fixture of the Dorset Road Race League season arrived with Bournemouth AC rooted to the bottom of both the men’s and women’s first divisions. It wasn’t a position they wanted to be in but with the Hampshire Road Race League to focus on as well, they had a lot on their plate.

That sometimes meant that they were unable to get teams out for the Dorset League races and hence they’d struggled to pick up points. After finishing second at the Weymouth 10, relegation rivals Poole Runners had gone back above Bournemouth AC in the men’s first division and they now had a real fight for survival on their hands.

On the weekend that the Wimborne 10 was taking place, they had the Gosport Half Marathon on as well in the Hampshire League, as well as the Hampshire Cross Country League fixture in Aldershot on the day before.

They managed to get a strong team out for the cross country race but didn’t have the numbers to form a team the Gosport Half Marathon as well. They had enough men signed up for the Wimborne 10 but they lost a couple due to injury and as a result, ended up with only four. They were Jack Barwick, Leon Louis, Chris O’Brien and Jud Kirk.

Also competing at the Wimborne 10 that day, Katie Gunn was the only lady there for Bournemouth AC. She was having a good season in the Dorset League, with two first places, two second places and one third out of her five races thus far. Unfortunately she couldn’t make it for the Boscombe 10k though which was the last race of the season, meaning she wouldn’t have done seven. Otherwise she would have been ladies individual champion.

Both Katie and Jack Barwick had competed in the Great South Run and the Run Bournemouth Half Marathon the previous month. Katie had finished 23rd out of the women who were on the elite start at the Great South Run, recording a PB of 1:04:37. She was 9th female at the Run Bournemouth Half Marathon a time of 1:27:38.

After clocking a PB of 1:22:43 at the Run Bournemouth Half Marathon, Jack went on to have a brilliant race at the Great South Run, finishing in 1:00:07. Had the course not been long or the conditions been better, he would have surely been on for a sub 60.

Jack’s time of 35:43 at the Round the Lakes 10k at the end of September had showed that he’s progressing well and hitting a real purple patch of form. He was keen to have another attempt at a sub 60 at the Wimborne 10.

Also featuring at the Great South Run, Leon Louis had come away with a PB of 1:04:05 at the Great South Run. It wasn’t quite as quick as he was expecting but he’d had a stitch on the way round which had caused him to make a stoppage. He’d had the same problem the weekend before in the Hampshire Cross Country League fixture at Kings Park.

After suffering from long covid for the past four years, Chris O’Brien had had breathing problems that had prevented him being able to get into his top gear. That issue seemed to have finally dissipated, which Chris was really pleased about. The downside was that now he had no excuses for not producing good times in races, but he needed to start building up his fitness.

At the Boscombe Seafront 5k in September, he’d recorded his fastest 5k since 2019, crossing the line in 19:49. That was a big step forward for Chris and it was nice for him to be able to feel like he was making some progress.

If he was to make appearances at both the Wimborne 10 and the Boscombe 10k, that would give Juk Kirk seven races for the season so he could be in contention for an overall placing in the individual standings. The he could see how high up he could finish in the 65 to 69 category.

Jud, Katie and Leon all did the Wimborne 10 last year, with Katie finishing in 1 hour 5 minutes, Leon getting round in just under 1:06 and Jud getting round in 1:18. Chris last ran it in 2023, recording a time of 1:05:43 that day.

At the other end of the men’s first division table, a win for Egdon Heath Harriers at the Weymouth 10 had lifted them back to the top of the table above Poole AC. A win at the Wimborne 10 for Egdon Heath Harriers would take the title race down to the wire, meaning it would be decided on the final day of the season at the Boscombe 10k.

A win for Poole AC at the Wimborne 10 would seal the league title for them, regardless of the result at the Boscombe 10k, so the stakes couldn’t really be higher for the two clubs.

Elsewhere, it was the ladies second division where all the action was. Dorchester RIOT could still snatch promotion away from Wimborne AC if they were to get better results in the last two fixtures, so that one was going to be interesting.

Meanwhile, at the bottom of the table, relegation was hanging in the balance, with Dorset Doddlers and Westbourne neck and neck going into the penultimate fixture. For those two clubs, their results at the Wimborne 10 could be crucial.

Recognising the importance of the fixture in terms of the title race, Poole AC brought the cavalry out, looking to get the league title sewn up a week early. They didn’t want the pressure of having to get a result at the Boscombe 10k in the final race of the season.

Jonathan Cornish was featuring again for the third year in a row. He broke the course record to scoop the cash prize two year’s ago. Then last year that course record was beaten, with Jonathan having to settle for second. He was hoping to return with a win this time round.

His first claim club is Hercules Wimbledon though so he couldn’t score for Poole AC in the league. Jamie Grose, Dom Willmore and Thomas Corbin could though.

Jamie Grose won the Round the Lakes 10k and the May 5, as well as the Bournemouth Bay Run 10k and all his races in the Upton Summer Series. Dom Willmore was third at Round the Lakes and was top league scorer at the Purbeck 10k. Thomas Corbin was sixth at Round the Lakes and topped the standings in the Dorset League men’s individual table for the season so far.

They also had Callum Wadlow who was 7th at Round the Lakes, Benjamin Gibbins who was fifth at the Lytchett 10 and fourth league scorer at the Purbeck 10k and Brian Underwood who was sixth league scorer at the Purbeck 10k. He came into it off the back of a 9th place finish in the Run Bournemouth Half Marathon where he recorded a time of 1:12:39.

It really was a formidable looking line up. Egdon Heath Harriers had some quality in their arsenal as well, including Chris Peck who was on course for his second consecutive Dorset League men’s individual victory. He won the Weymouth 10 and was first scorer at the Stur Half and second scorer in four of the other league races.

They also had Jonathan Cooper who was fifth at the Weymouth 10, along with Steve Kellaway, who was seventh in the Dorset League individual table and Corey Stone, who was ninth.

To begin with it was Jack Barwick leading the charge from a Bournemouth AC perspective but he was struggling with a knee injury which meant he ended up dropping back to run with Katie.

The first mile of the Wimborne 10 is mostly downhill and it’s that same hill that the runners have to come back up in the last mile. There is one other testing climb on the route which goes on for most of the fourth mile.

Opening with a 6:03, Leon Louis made a fairly fast start before getting through the second mile in 6:05. He then moderated his pace to a 6:17 for his third mile.

It was then onto the hill for the fourth mile, which Leon completed in 6:34. The next mile is mostly downhill and Leon got through that in 6:12 before going on to register a 6:17 for his sixth mile.

There was a small incline at the end of the seventh mile which put Leon down to 6:27 but he then got back on pace with a 6:15 for his eighth mile. Registering a 6:24 for his ninth mile, Leon then had to face the climb back up on the last mile.

It was quite a tough ending but Leon managed it well, clocking a 6:22 for his final split. That resulted in a finishing time of 1:03:09, which put Leon in 55th place. In the 40 to 44 age category he’d finished 17th out of 47.

That meant he’d already replaced the PB that he’d just recorded at the Great South Run with a new one that was an improvement of almost a minute. It was a superb effort from Leon and one he had to be pleased with, especially as the Wimborne 10 is a tougher course than the Great South Run which is predominantly flat.

Starting with a 6:09 for that first, fast downhill mile, Katie Gunn then settled into a rhythm at about 6:25 pace for the next couple of miles. She then reached the fourth mile that was mostly uphill. Getting through that in 6:38, Katie then got bac on pace after for the next couple miles before reaching the eighth mile which had the small climb.

Posting a 6:35 for that mile, she then got back to 6:26 before clocking a 6:30 for her ninth mile. She then had to battle that final hill and head down the treelined finishing straight. She did that in 6:46, getting to the finish line in 1:04:56.

That put her 74th overall but she was third female out of 174, so that was a pleasing result. It meant she was four seconds faster than she was last year, but it was amazingly close between the two times. Her average pace for the run was 6:28 per mile.

The only women who could better that were Isabel Zanconato of Purbeck Runners, who was first female in 1:04:22. That put her in 69th place overall. Emma Mogridge of Dorset Doddlers was second lady in 1:04:35, which put her in 71st place.

Since he’d been running with Katie after feeling the pain in his knee, Jack Barwick crossed the line just after her in 75th place, being attributed a time of 1:04:58. It was a shame for Jack as he was keen to go for that sub 60 but it was probably the right decision not to risk making his injury worse.

 

Starting with a 6:10 for his first mile, Chris O’Brien then followed it up with a 6:23 for his second mile and then 6:22 for his third. It was on the hills that Chris really seemed to struggle, posting a 7:04 for his fourth mile.

He then got back on pace with a 6:19 for his fifth mile, followed by a 6:25 for his sixth. He then faced the small incline in the seventh mile which he got through in 6:49 before clocking a 6:30 for his eighth mile.

Tiring a bit towards the end of the race, he registered a 6:54 for his ninth mile before tackling the hill on his final split. That slowed him down again quite considerably, putting him back to a 7:04 for that mile. That was enough to get him across the finish line in 1:06:09, which put him in 86th place overall.

He’d finished 9th in the 50 to 54 category and come away with an average pace of 6:36. It was a decent effort from Chris and wasn’t really that far off his 2023 time. It was just his performance on the hills that disappointed him a bit. That was clearly something he needed to work on.

It may take him some time to build his aerobic fitness back though after the issues he’d had with his chest and lungs from the legacy of covid. He’d been on a hell of a journey though and there many times when he felt like giving up running. Now he’s reached the end of the dark tunnel though and will be glad he stuck at it.

Completing the course in a time of 1:22:11, Jud Kirk finished 256th out of the 451 finishers and was 6th out of 13 in the 65 to 69 category. That was an average pace of 8:13 for him.

It was Jonathan Cornish and Jamie Grose who broke away from the pack. Then Jonathan Cornish started to extend away from Jamie Grose. It was clear that even with Jamie there, Jonathan was in a league of his own. He was going to try and match his times from the previous two years, if not beat them. His best was 50:34.

This time he made it round in 50:44, which was just a few seconds slower than he ran last year. It was another tremendous show of strength from Jonathan.

Finishing two minutes behind him in the end, going over the line in a time of 52:56. It was still a brilliant time from Jamie and over a minute quicker than his Great South Run effort but it wasn’t quite up there with his 51:58 time from last year.

Thomas Corbin and Dom Willmore had dropped off the back of the chasing pack after the second mile and had to work hard to get back to them. They managed it though and Thomas then stuck with Christian Green of Wells City Harriers who was in third until the hill at the end.

After that, Thomas kicked on to take third place in a PB of 53:45. Christian Green was fourth in 53:56. Dom Willmore took fifth in 54:11, with Christopher Peck taking sixth in 54:40. He was first vet 40 as well.

Another Wells City Harriers man, Peter Grist, took 7th place in 54:54 before the Poole AC train arrived to secure the race win and Dorset Road Race League men’s first division title.

Benjamin Gibbions was 8th in 55:29, with Callum Wadlow 9th in 55:55 and Brian Underwood 10th in 55:58. It was another supremely strong performance from the Poole AC guys and it was indisputable really that they had been the best team over the course of the season.

Rich White of Dorset Doddlers continued his superb individual season , taking 11th place in 56:28. Jonathan Cooper was the second Egdon Heath Harriers man home in a time of 57:16. They’d put up a valiant fight and done really well to take the title race down the penultimate fixture. In the end, they hadn’t quite had enough firepower though.

Poole AC had more strength in numbers than they even needed, with Jack Murphy taking 13th in 57:26, Luke Terry taking 16th in 57:57 and Tim Rooke taking 17th in 58:03..

Nick Reynolds of Twemlow Track Club was 14th in 57:33 and Alessandro Zanconato of Purbeck Runners came 15th in 57:47.

Steve Kellaway was Egdon Heath Harriers third finisher, going over the line in 58:16, with Twemlow Track Club pair Jack Galloway and Lee Dempster completing the top 20, with both getting the same chip time of 58:23.

31 men finished under the hour, with former Bournemouth AC duo Luke and Sam Jackson taking 33rd and 40th positions in 1:00:03 and 1:01:09 respectively.

As always, Julian Critchlow of Purbeck Runners was first over 60, getting round a time of 1:01:13 which put him in 42nd place overall.

With Adam Davies taking 28th in 59:27 and Patrick Dunn coming 44th in 1:01:16, Egdon Heath Harriers did manage to seal second place for the fixture. Sadly for them, that was where they will end up in the men’s first division for the season, since they could no longer mathematically get a lower score than Poole AC for their best seven.

Susie Hill of Lonely Goat was fourth female in 1:05:40 which put her 80th overall. Louise Mills of Woking AC was fifth lady and 89th overall in 1:06:48. Dawn Andrews of Poole AC was 6th female 1:07:11, which put her 100th overall, and Teresa Green of Egdon Heath Harriers was 7th lady in 1:07:52.

Abbie Hine of Wimborne AC was 8th female in 1:07:56, with Vicky Rutter of Littledown Harriers arriving to take 9th female spot in 1:08:15.

Already confirmed as Ladies’ first division champions, Poole Runners recorded their sixth win of the season at the Wimborne 10, with Littledown Harriers taking second.

The Bournemouth AC ladies could still survive relegation if they were to win at the Boscombe 10k, but they’d need Poole AC not to finish second.

It was very tight in the men’s second division at the Wimborne 10 between Wimborne AC and Littledown Harriers but Wimborne AC just pipped them in the end to register their 11th win of the season. It was about as comprehensive of division win as it could possibly be for them.

Wimborne AC also topped the standings in the ladies second division at the Wimborne 10, with their promotion chasing rivals Dorchester RIOT not even fielding a team! Dorchester RIOT could still level the score for the season with a win at the Boscombe 10k though and would then be promoted, as they would have had one more first place.

Purbeck Runners were second in the ladies second division at the Wimborne 10, with Dorset Doddlers taking third. That moved Dorset Doddlers a point ahead of Westbourne in the table and that could prove crucial in the relegation dog fight between the two.

Verwood Runners got the win in the men’s third division at the Wimborne 10, with Lytchett Manor Striders taking second. Lytchett Manor Striders have already been confirmed as champions though and will be promoted to the second tier.

In the ladies third division, it was a win for Lytchett Manor Striders, with Verwood Runners taking second place. That meant that Lytchett Manor Striders could equal Verwood Runners score for their best eight if they won at the Boscombe 10k. They would then have had six wins each but Verwood Runners would win on their number of second place finishes. It had been a great competition between the two clubs throughout the season though.

The final race of the season was really all about whether Bournemouth AC could save themselves from relegation. They had a good chance in the men’s first division, as all they had to do was to beat Poole Runners. If they did that, regardless of position, they would survive and condemn the Poole Runners men to the second tier.

For the ladies, it was a much tougher proposition to save themselves as they needed to win and hope that Poole AC didn’t finish second.

The promotion place was still up for grabs in the ladies second division, with Dorchester RIOT needing to win to exchange positions at the top of the table with Wimborne AC.

For Dorset Doddlers and Westbourne, they still had a chance to save themselves from relegation in the ladies second division by getting a better result than each other. It was set for an exciting and nail biting finish to the Dorset Road Race League campaign of 2025.