Prioritising the Wimborne 10 over the Gosport Half Marathon had resulted in a 7th place for the Bournemouth AC men in the previous Hampshire Road Race League fixture. That meant they could really do with getting back to winning ways at the Victory 5.

They had every reason to be confident in achieving that after a stunning display at the Boscombe 10k the previous weekend led to a BAC one, two, three. Abdinasir Mohamoud Elmi set an amazing new course record of 30:31 on a route that isn’t even supposed to be all that fast. Joe Arundel was second in a quicker time than anyone else had registered in the last nine years at least. Rob McTaggart was the next man over the line and all three superstars were back in action at the Victory 5.

The field for the Victory 5 was incredibly strong though, making it likely that the Bournemouth AC wouldn’t be able to dominate in the way that they had in the Boscombe 10k. Jonathan Cornish was in the line up and he’d managed to beat Joe for the runner up spot at the Wimborne 10. He hadn’t been able to get near Abdi though and the Somalian snatched Jonathan’s course record from the previous year, getting round in 49:25.

Ryde Harriers man Matt Sharp was also competing, as was former Bournemouth AC man Harry Smith who now runs for Southampton. He won the Victory 5 last year and was top of the Men’s Individual table for the season. Jaymee Domoney of City of Salisbury was in the mix as well. He’d finished 3rd at the Round the Lakes 10k behind Abdi and Joe and had claimed 2nd place in the Run Bournemouth Half Marathon in under 1 hour 8 minutes.

In most races, all those men would be favourites to win but only one of them could do so at the Victory 5. It was going to be hotly contested. The day before the Victory 5 it was the Hampshire League Cross Country fixture at Kings Park and Abdi had won it convincingly, completing the 10k course in 30:09. That put him close to two minutes ahead of his nearest rival.

Usually before he does a race, Abdi checks what the course record is and often uses that as a benchmark. That gives him something to chase for, even if he ends up way out front on his own, which he often does. The fastest ever Victory 5 time looked unattainable though, even by Abdi’s standards. It was a 22:43 which was set by former British international distance runner Rob Denmark.

The course was different though when that record was set. It used to start and finish on a running track, making it much faster than the current offering. Nevertheless, Abdi was prepared to run it as fast as he possibly could and then see what time that would get him. To rival Rob Denmark’s time, he’d need to running 4:32 pace for each mile split. It seemed a tall order but Abdi had done a session in the week leading up to it where he’d managed 10 x 1 kilometre reps at that pace, so it wasn’t impossible.

Also in the side for Bournemouth AC, James Hulbert had been running exceptionally well of late, doing the Round the Lakes 10k in 36:32 and registering a 16:45 at Poole parkrun. Mike Akers was coming back into some good form as well and had been working hard in training to get to his desired speed.

Setting a brilliant new PB of 2:53:16 at the Sydney Marathon, Barry Dolman then ran the Berlin Marathon a couple of weeks later and has since gone on to register a new parkrun PB of 17:35.

Finding his calling in the 400m, Adrian James ran a PB of 57 minutes over the summer which is incredibly quick for a over 45. He still enjoys his parkruns though and still trains with the road runners group. His most recent race outing was the Run Bournemouth Supersonic 10k which he finished in 37:11.

Jason Christian has demonstrated a willingness to race which has massively helped the club over the last few months of the season. He did the Stur Half, the Round the Lakes 10k and the New Forest 10 and was present again for the Victory 5.

Even team captain Rich Nelson stepped in for a piece of the action. He quite likes racing in Portsmouth so he can over the Gunwharf Quays after and have a look in the Nike shop.

As soon as the race began, Abdi shot off at a frightening speed. In fact, he was going at three minute mile pace to begin with. He usually likes to establish a lead from the outset and then build from there. Getting through the first mile in 4 minutes 20, there was no one else in the field able to keep up with that.

Harry Smith and Jaymee Domoney weren’t too far behind though, going through the first mile in under 4:40 pace. Abdi settled into a rhythm that saw him for through the second and third mile in 4:48 and 4:47. Harry and Jaymee weren’t far off that, going at just over 5:50 pace.

Something was about to happen though that would alter the course of the race. Quite literally alter the course of the race in fact! The lead bike went the wrong way, bringing Abdi and quite a few of the other front runners with him. When they realised, they all had to turn around and run back to re-join the course and continue on the path they were supposed to be going.

That meant Abdi had ran an extra fifth of a mile, throwing his hopes of a fast time that would realise his true potential out of the window. Harry and Jaymee had gone the wrong way as well, as had Joe Arundel, Jonathan Cornish and Matt Sharp. They then had to try to claw there way back through the field. Harry and Jaymee had gone from joint 2nd to about 10th.

Abdi started running at about 4 minute mile pace to try and eat up the ground he’d lost and get back to where he was. He went through his fourth mile in 4:39 despite having to turn around. Harry managed to carry on running at 4:50 pace but the mishap seemed to effect Jaymee more and struggled to work his way back up the field.

Putting in a 4:53 for his last split, Abdi managed to work his way back into the lead and went through five miles in 23:29. Owing to the detour, he hadn’t finished yet though and that the extra fifth of the mile to go.

Getting over the finish line in 24:21, it had been another sensational run from Abdi and his pace had averaged out at 4:41 per mile. He’d also had to overcome the blow of being taken the wrong way which showed great character and determination.

Jonathan Cornish ended up in 2nd place, recording a time of 24:36, and Matt Sharp outkicked Harry to take 3rd place in 24:39. Harry had done remarkably well to work his way back through the field but had to settle for 4th place in the end in 24:40. His average pace was 4:49.

Arriving five seconds later, Joe Arundel was Bournemouth AC’s second scorer in a time of 24:45 and that was another superb performance from him. Jack Woods of Worthing & District Harriers took 6th place in 24:51, leaving Jaymee Domoney out of the prizes in the end. He took 7th in 24:58 but was pleased with his actual five mile time of 24:24.

Two junior men crossed the line next, with Thomas Evans of Winchester & District taking 8th in 25:02 and Tobi Loughlin of Team Bath taking 9th in 25:12. City of Portsmouth pair Malek Roostael and Ally Jones were 10th and 11th in 25:38 and 26:03.

After going through the first mile in 5:03, Rob McTaggart then went through the second mile in 5:15 and the third in 5:11. Clocking a 5:16 and then a 5:15, he made it round in 26:06 which put him in 12th position.

It wasn’t a vintage display from Tag but it was quicker than the time he recorded in 2021. It wasn’t quite as quick as the 25:37 he managed in 2023 though but considering he hadn’t done any efforts at faster than 10k pace for quite some time, it was a decent result for Tag. His average pace for the run was 5:12 per mile.

Joe Wade of Ryde Harriers was 13th in 26:10 and Poole AC’s British international star Melissa Courtney-Bryant was 1st female and 14th in 26:31. That was the second fastest five mile time posted by a woman in the UK in the whole of the 2024 year.

James Hulbert started off really fast, registering a 5:05 for his first mile. He then went through his second mile in 5:30. He did well after that to hang in there at 5:40 pace for the next two miles before rounding it off with a 5:37. His finishing time of 27:57 put him in 22nd place and that was a terrific result for James.

His average pace for the run came out at 5:30 and since he was fourth scorer for Bournemouth AC, they’d easily won the fixture in the A1 division. A3 side City of Portsmouth had already had four finishers but they weren’t as high finishers as BAC could boast so their score wasn’t quite as good. Enough to win the fixture in the third division though of course.

Ryde Harriers were the only other club to have had two runners in by the time James went over the line. They finished 2nd in the A1 division, with Fareham Running Club taking 3rd. Table toppers Lordshill could only manage fourth. They had James Clarke who was 1st vet in 27:30. Alex Hamilton of Basingstoke was first VM50 in 28:06 and he came 26th.

Former Bournemouth AC man Trev Elkins was also a scorer for Lordshill and he ran well to clock a brilliant PB of 28:36. That put him 38th overall and 4th in the VM45 category.

The 2nd place woman was quite a long way behind Melissa Courtney-Bryant and that was Bryony Proctor of Kent AC and she finished 49th in a time of 29:06. Emily Wicks of Aldershot Farnham & District was 3rd female in 29:14 which put her 52nd overall.

Starting with a 5:42 for his first mile, Mike Akers then went through his second in 6:01, suggesting that he’d possibly started slightly too fast. He then registered a 5:57 for his third mile before picking it up again for the last couple of miles. Posting a 5:53 for both his last two splits, Mike made it to the line in 29:26 which put him in 56th place.

That was Mike’s second quickest five mile time ever. The only time he’d beaten it was at the Victory 5 back in 2017 when he ran 29:14. That showed he was pretty close to being at his best so that was a massive plus for Mike. His average pace was 5:53.

Usually an expert in pacing his runs, Barry Dolman started off with a 6 minute mile for his opening split. He then upped it to 5:51 for his second mile before posting a 5:56 for his third split. Following that up with a 6:05 for his fourth mile, he then rounded it off with a 6:10. That got him to the line in a PB of 29:39 which put him in 67th place and 2nd in the VM55 category.

It was an excellent effort from Barry and his average pace for the run was 5:58. He finished just after former BAC man Sam Jackson but was actually four seconds faster on chip time. Erin Willmers of Winchester Running Club was 4th female and 1st vet woman in 29:39 so she had exactly the same chip time as Barry.

Clocking a time of 30:12, Adrian James came in in 76th place and was 10th in the VM45 category. That wasn’t as fast as he was last year or the year before but it was still a decent time in the grand scheme of things.

Starting off with a 6 minute mile, Jason Christian then registered a 6:19 for his second mile so that was similar to what a lot of the runners did. A 6:16 for his third mile and a 6:15 for his fourth saw him onto his final mile. Managing to pick the pace up to a 6:07 for that one, Jason made it to the line in 31:06 which put him 103rd overall and 5th in the VM50 category.

That was Jason’s second fastest five mile time ever, with the only time he’s gone quicker being a 30:23 at the Hoburne 5 in 2022. His average pace for the Victory 5 was 6:11.

Because Jason was the eighth Bournemouth AC man over the line, that meant they’d managed to get a scoring B team out as well, and a pretty good one at that. In fact, only one B team in the entire league could get a better scorer and that was City of Portsmouth who are in the same division as BAC.

Hardley Runners are top of the B2 division table after getting a team out in all five of the fixtures so far. Portsmouth Joggers are the only other B2 club to have done that. Bournemouth AC have only managed to get a B team out twice so far which puts them in 4th place. Winchester RC are currently top of both the Men’s B1 division and the Men’s C division.

Rich Nelson got wet in last year’s race when the heavens opened just before he’d finished. Again, conditions were very wet in this year’s addition put it didn’t put Rich off and he did alright to get round in 38:29. That was a minute quicker than he managed last year, so a positive sign for the road runners captain.

He was 350th overall and 25th in the VM50 category. There were 638 runners in total taking part in the race with 631 successfully completing the course.

Winchester Running Club recorded the best score out of all the Women’s teams in the league at the Victory 5. They’ve been the lowest scorers in the A2 division in every fixture so far this season.

Vectis Academy registered the next best score in the Women’s league. They are current 3rd in the A3 division, with Victory AC currently leading the way and Hardley Runners in 2nd.

Denmead Striders got the lowest score out of the Women’s A1 teams and they lead the way in the division. Liss were 2nd, with Lordshill taking 3rd.

Deanmead Striders also got the best score in the Women’s B1 division, with Lordshill finishing 2nd. Fareham Running Club were 3rd and they currently lead the way for the season so far.

Winchester Running Club were the lowest scorers in the Women’s B2 division and they are currently top with four wins out of five. Alton Runners were 2nd and they are 2nd in the table for the season so far.

Denmead Striders also got the best scorer out of the Women’s C division teams with Totton in 2nd but its Totton who top the table for the season so far.

Liss were the lowest scorers in the Men’s A2 division at the Victory 5 with Winchester RC in 2nd and Southampton in 3rd. Liss top the table for the season so far with Winchester RC in 2nd.

Hardley Runners lead the way in the Men’s A3 division so far by a long way, with Vectis Academy currently 2nd and New Forest Runners 3rd.

Winchester Running Club got the best score in the Men’s B1 division at the Victory 5, with Lordshill 2nd and Denmead Striders 3rd. That’s exactly how the table looks for the season so far as well.

Lordshill were the lowest scorers in the Men’s C division, with Denmead Striders 2nd and Alton Runners 3rd. Winchester RC top the table for the season so far though with Denmead Striders in 2nd and Alton Runners in 3rd.

The next race of the Hampshire Road League season is the Stubbington 10k and that is the most sought after of all the 12 fixtures. Bournemouth AC members were on the ball this time though and managed to get 24 places for the event.

Abdi, Tag, Josh Cole, Stu Nicholas, Oscar Newbery, Adam Corbin, James Hulbert and Jack Davis are all in the side and the prospects of a Bournemouth AC Men’s A team and B team win look promising. The more wins they can rack up the better but it will really come down to whether they can get a good team for four out for all their remaining fixtures. They can only really afford one more slip up now and with the Ryde 10 coming up after Stubby, that will be a real test of resolve.

It’s been a very good start to the season so far for the yellow and blues but they have a lot of work ahead of them if they are to be crowned champions of the Men’s A1 division.