The annual trip up to Alresford has become one that the Bournemouth AC squad rather look forward to and often, since its the penultimate race of the Hampshire Road Race League season, the pressure is off to a certain extent. If the campaign has gone well, which it had for the past couple of years, they would already have practically wrapped up the division win by then.

Although they were now in the top flight and the competition was tougher, the season had gone remarkably well and they’d already won five races and finished second in one. Despite only managing fourth place at the Netley 10k, it was beginning to look like the yellow and blues were nailed on for the league title. They didn’t even really have to win either of their last two fixtures. But that of course was not – and has never been – the mentality at Bournemouth AC.

They travelled up to the Alresford 10k knowing that a win would mathematically seal the title. That was a great carrot to aim for. They had a strong team out as well, with Ben Collins, Bryn Smith, Luke Martin and Jack Davis all featuring along with youngster Will Moss who is primarily an 800m and 1500m runner.

Will’s dad Ben was also competing and there was even a third consecutive Alresford 10k appearance from road runners captain fantastic Rich Nelson. Rich must be a glutton for punishment because the weather had been blisteringly hot the previous two times which had made an already testing course seem even tougher.

Katie Gunn and Max Yao were both doing the double that weekend, after running the Purbeck 10k on the Friday evening. Katie finished second female at the Purbeck 10k and had fond memories of Alresford, taking home to trophy for first female in last year’s race.

After suffering in the aftermath of his London Marathon exploits last year Ben Collins was determined not to let that happen again this year. He’d had a bad run at Alresford last year and wanted to set the record straight this time round.

His time at London this year wasn’t quite as quick as the previous year but the conditions were much tougher and he made the mistake of downing a whole bottle of water at the first aid station which made him feel sick for the next 16 miles.

He was in the form of his life though and that was clear to see in training. He just needed to convert that to a race performance and perhaps at Alresford, it would be his time to do that.

Bryn Smith had been kept away from the race scene for most of the year due to studying and had also moved up to Surrey as well which had meant he hadn’t been around as much. He did come back for the Netley 10k though and was second scorer for the team in 36:09. Having him at Alresford as well was a huge bonus and it wasn’t that far to travel for him either.

Making his club debut at the Netley 10k, Luke Martin had already proved a huge asset, finishing top scorer in that one and taking 9th place in a superfast time of 35:05. He’d been running very impressively in training as well and again, it was a big help having him in the side.

After missing out on a sub three at London by 55 seconds, Jack Davis responded by going out and doing it on a training run instead. That tells you all you need to know about his will to succeed and also his belief in himself as well.

The course for the Alresford 10k is an undulating one, heading through the town centre, past the watercress fields that Alresford is famous for and then out into the countryside. It’s a sort of out and back route where you turn at 5k and start heading back in the other direction. The hills on the route make the undulations of the Purbeck 10k seem pretty mild.

Going out hard with a 5:25 for his first mile split, Luke Martin then went on to tackle the first big climb on the second mile. He got through that in 5:41 before registering a 5:46 for his third mile. Considering the undulations he was facing, that was tremendous pace from Luke.

On the way back, he went through each mile at around 5:50 pace which got him to the line in 35:19. That was enough to put him in 8th position overall. His elevation gain for the run had got to 460ft and his average pace came out at 5:43 which was a very strong effort.

Managing to register some remarkably consistent splits throughout the run, Ben Collins was around 5:45 pace for the first 5k and around 5:50 for his second 5k. His time was 35:43 and he’d finished 11th overall. That was over two minutes quicker than his time from last year and his average pace came out at a superb 5:47.

He’d absolutely beasted the hills as well and charted close to the top in a few of the Strava segments. This was perhaps a breakthrough run from Ben and one that perhaps underpinned the sort of performances he is capable of.

Clocking a time of 36:25, Bryn Smith had finished in 18th place which was a decent effort from him. Even with limited training, Bryn is always capable of putting in a quick time in races and this was no exception.

The heat and hills didn’t seem to both Jack Davis too much and he set off quickly with a 5:46 for his first mile split. There aren’t really an major inclines in that first mile though and there are in all the other miles. After that Jack was going at around 6:08 pace for the rest of his miles, other than the fourth where he clocked a 6:16.

Coming away with a finishing time of 37:31, Jack had finished in 29th place overall and that was a fantastic result for him. It was also great result for the club as it meant they’d had all four men in already. That was enough to give them the win in the A1 division, with Denmead Striders taking 2nd and Lordshill placing third.

Ryde Harriers could only manage 4th place which put the final nail into their title challenge coffin. They needed to win both the last two races to stand any chance of finished above Bournemouth AC.

Fred Slemeck of Hercules Wimbledon won the race for the second consecutive year, beating his time from last year by five seconds to go over the line in 32:14. That was enough to see off Christopher Newnham of Ryde Harriers who was 2nd in 32:31.

Like Fred, Andrew Greenleaf of Winchester & District had been in the top three in both the two previous years and he continued that trend, taking 3rd in 34:05. Brandon Cuell of Fareham took 4th place in 34:16 and Stanley Parkinson of Winchester Running Club was 5th in 34:49.

Brandon Cuell will be crowned Men’s Individual champion for this season, consistently finishing high up in each of the eight races he’s done.

Ross Holme of Ryde Harriers was 6th in 34:50 and unattached runner Stephen Hough came 7th in 35:12. Gary Marshall of Ryde Harriers was 13th in 35:59 but sadly for them they didn’t have a fourth runner in the top 100 which scuppered their chances of winning.

Winchester Running Club did actually come away with a lower score than Bournemouth AC but they are in the A2 division so it didn’t matter. Next season it will though as they will be promoted, along with Liss who will go up with them.

Starting with a 6:02 for her first mile, Katie Gunn was then around 6:30 pace or just under for each of her remaining splits. That saw her finish 3rd female and 48th overall in 39:28. That was actually 10 seconds quicker than the time she won it with last year so it had to go down as a good performance from Katie, especially after doing the Purbeck race on Friday too.

Her average pace for the run was 6:24. Erin Willmers of Winchester Running Club has been top scorer in all but of the eight races she’s taken part in this season and the Alresford 10k was no exception to that. She finished 22nd overall in 36:52.

Emma Jolley of City of Portsmouth was 2nd in the overall standings in the Women’s Individual table and she was 2nd at the Alresford 10k as well in a time of 38:25 which put her 38th overall.

Concentrating on his exams a lot lately, Will Moss hadn’t had too much time to train and he had a tough time out there in what was his first ever 10k race. Despite having to stop and stretch out his calf at 7k, he still came away with time of 40:17 which put him in 60th place.

The next Bournemouth AC member to make it to the finish was Max Yao and she clocked a time of 52:42 which made her 49th female and 248th overall. That was a decent effort considering she’d done the Purbeck 10k on the Friday as well, so a very solid weekend’s work from Max.

Arriving not long after Max, Rich Nelson reached the finish in 52:58 which put him in 255th place and 25th in the 50 to 54 category. It wasn’t quite as quick as he’d managed to two previous years but it was his first race since Stubbington right at the beginning of the year.

Completing the course in a time of 58:27, Ben Moss claimed 28th place in the 50 to 54 category and 325th overall with his time of 58:27. Given the undulations he had to face and the hot weather on the day, that wasn’t a bad result to come away with for Ben.

In the Women’s League it was a win for Liss who are currently top of the A1 division ahead of Lordshill and Denmead Striders but its very tight and could perhaps be impacted by results on the final day at Lordshill.

In the A2 division it was an 11th win of the season for Winchester Running Club. If they can get the win at Lordshill, that will be a clean sweep for them which will be an impressive achievement.

So that was it. The league title win had been confirmed for Bournemouth AC and it was another great achievement to celebrate. They’d won it by a huge margin in the end as well, proving that out of the Hampshire clubs, they are up there with the very best.

They didn’t want to celebrate yet though as there was one more bit of business to take care of and that was at Lordshill where they had one final 10k race to close out the season. Even though the title was won, they wanted to go out with a bang and end the season on a high so that’s exactly what they’ll try and do.

They have a really strong team out for Lordshill with Luke Martin, Josh Cole, Stu Nicholas and James Hulbert all in the line up, along with Adam Corbin and the rest of Corbin’s Cruisers. The ladies also have a team for this one, with Katie Gunn, Sophie Read, Helen Beddoe and Max Yao all featuring. It has the makings of a memorable day to round off another wonderful season for the yellow and blues.