Conditions for the Run Bournemouth extravaganza the previous weekend had been perfect, with a gentle easterly breeze assisting the runners as they worked their way from Hengistbury Head to Bournemouth Pier. The athletes taking part in the Great South Run the following weekend were hoping it would stay like that for another week but it was always going to be a big ask.

As it turned out, the forecast wasn’t looking too great with some strong winds coming in from the south and perhaps some showers emanating as well. It was just the news they didn’t want to hear. The Great South Run takes place in Southsea and the last two miles of the route are in an easterly direction along the prom. It’s therefore quite important not to have a strong westerly wind on the day as that can make for a very tough ending.

A southerly wind wasn’t as bad as a westerly but it was far from perfect and if the rain did come down, it wasn’t going to be pleasant. Alas, the show must go on though, and it did. Unlike last year when the race was cancelled due to a massive storm.

Many of the athletes taking part had actually entered the race well over a year ago and had had their entries carried over. Rich Brawn had done the Great South Run every year since 2013 and it was a race he had traditionally done very well in. In fact, most years he’d managed a PB of some sort.

His running times had been in decline for the past year and a half though so he wasn’t expecting a PB this time. A 36:38 time at the Round the Lakes 10k in which he’d just about managed to hit sub six for each mile had given him hope that he might have an outside chance of a sub 60 at the Great South Run.

Serial sub 60 man Adam Corbin was also in action and he’d recorded a sub 60 time in each of his last five 10 mile races dating back to 2023. They were all on tougher courses than the Great South Run though. His PB was 57:59 which he managed at the Salisbury 10 in April this year.

Also registering his best 10 mile time so far in that very same race, Leon Louis had a 1:04:47 to try and beat this time round. He was hoping to get close to the hour mark really though and this would be a good test to see how much he’d progressed over the summer.

With the 2024 race being an England Masters Half Marathon qualifying race, Simon Hearn had signed up for it then with a view to competing for the England Masters team. Since the race hadn’t happened, he’d now found himself racing in the 2025 one instead but without the incentive of the England Masters qualification.

He’d been struggling for form this year though and had been unable to hit the heights he had in previous years at the Chester Half Marathon and the Swansea Half Marathon. Hence, he wasn’t feeling too confident about what he’d be able to produce at the Great South Run.

He’d only done one other 10 mile race since the Wimborne 10 back in 2016 when he recorded his existing PB of 1:06:53. That meant, even in his current state of fitness, he still had a very good chance of getting a PB as he had certainly progressed a lot since those days.

Mags Fietko was doing it as well and she’d put in an excellent performance at the Boscombe Seafront 5k to record a time of 20:06 and had also ran well for the Bournemouth AC ladies team at the Southern Road Relays. The Great South Run was a step up in distance though so it would be interesting to see how she got on.

Jack Barwick, Katie Gunn and Luke Bentley had all competed in the Run Bournemouth Half Marathon the previous weekend, with Jack recording a PB of 1:22:43. He’d had a blinding run at Round the Lakes 10k a couple of weeks before that, getting round in 35:43 and if he could perform like that at the Great South Run, he’d have every chance of a sub 60.

Katie Gunn had finished 9th female in the Run Bournemouth Half Marathon, recording a time of 1:27:38. That wasn’t her best half marathon time but she’d had a pretty good season on the whole and was in position to top the Dorset Road Race League women’s individual table if she did the last two races. Her best 10 mile time was 1:04:38 which she did at the Lytchett 10 last year.

Luke Bentley ran 1:49:23 at the Run Bournemouth Half Marathon the previous weekend so that might have given him some indication of what sort of pace he might be capable of at the Great South Run. His average pace for the Run Bournemouth Half Marathon came out as 8:17 per mile.

Successfully completing the Run to the Sea a couple of weeks earlier, Helen Beddoe was ready for something a lot shorter and hopefully a little faster at the Great South Run. She’d had a brilliant year this far and had been progressing nicely in her 5k and 10k times over the course of the year.

As is always the case at the Great South Run, the elite women started off before all the other competitors. Katie Gunn started off with the elite women, enabling her to get quite far before the masses had even set off. It also put her into a sort of mini race with only those runners privileged enough to be starting early.

Opening with a 6:12 for her first mile, Katie then went through the second mile in 6:21 and then the third in 6:16. That saw her through the 5k point in 20 minutes. She then went through her next three miles in 6:29, 6:25 and 6:32 before reaching 10k in 40:26.

Continuing with a 6:34 for her seventh mile, she then registered a 6:30 for her eighth before upping it to 6:23 for the ninth. Ending the race strongly with a 6:11 for the last mile split, Katie went over the line in 1:04:37. That was an average pace of 6:22 per mile.

Out of the women who started in the elite wave, she came 23rd and out of all the women in the race, she was 32nd fastest in terms of time. That was quite an achievement in such a huge race and highlighted the standard of runner that she is.

The course came up long at around 10.15 miles but that didn’t stop Katie recording a PB. Amazingly, she’d beaten her time from the Lytchett 10 last year by one second, so it couldn’t have been any closer. That made the outcome an even more satisfactory one for Katie.

Erin Willmers of Winchester & District was one of the elite women and she finished 17th in 1:02:50. That meant she’d posted the 20th fastest time of any woman in the field.

Verity Ockenden of Swansea Harriers was the fastest female overall in 56:37, with Kate Estlea-Morris of Aldershot Farnham & District taking second in 56:46. Beth Kidger of Brighton Phoenix was third in 56:48, with Laren Hall of Aldershot Farnham & District taking fourth in 56:53.

When the masses set off, it was Adam Corbin who attacked the race most aggressively from a Bournemouth AC perspective. Going through the first mile in 5:26, he then followed it up with a 5:30 and then a 5:32. That took him to the 5k point in 17:47.

Completing the fourth mile in 5:44, he then registered a 5:42 for his fifth mile and then a 5:54 for his sixth. Reaching the 10k point in 35:58, he then continued with a 5:49 for his seventh mile before clocking a 5:45 for his eighth.

Coming round onto the seafront for his ninth mile, Adam registered a 5:52 before closing the race out with a 5:46. That put his finishing time at 58:06 which put him in 84th place overall. That was out of around 18,300 participants.

With an average pace of 5:42, Adam was 15th in the 35 to 39 age category. It wasn’t as quick as his Salisbury 10 time from earlier in the year but still a decent effort from Adam considering the conditions weren’t ideal.

Rich Brawn and Jack Barwick were both intending to go for a sub 60. Rich was in with the fast-paced club runners though whilst Jack was starting in the orange wave just behind. The fast-paced club runners set off first and it took a little while before the orange wave runners got over the start line. Hence, Jack had to run really fast to catch Rich up.

Rich wasn’t feeling strong though and running at just under six minute mile pace somehow seemed hard for him. Jack caught him up pretty quick and could see that Rich wasn’t going very fast so pressed on.

Running at 5:45 pace for the first three miles, Jack went through 5k in 18:28. He then dropped to 5:50 for the fourth mile before following it up with a 5:56 and a 5:57. That took him to 10k in 37:02.

After that, Jack worked hard to stay around six minute mile pace for the next three miles. It was only really the last mile where he dropped off a touch, clocking a 6:07.

He had actually reached the 10 mile distance in 59:06 but because the course was slightly long, he ended up missing out on a sub 60 by seven seconds.

It was still a cracking run from Jack though and a PB that he had to be happy with, despite missing out on his ultimate target by a tiny sliver. With an average of 5:55, Jack had run faster than he should have had to get a sub 60. He’d finished 162nd overall.

Managing to just about stay at six minute mile pace for the first three miles, Rich went through 5k in 19:11. That felt a lot harder than it should have though so he knew he was in trouble. After that his pace dropped to around 6:10 for the next few miles and he knew his sub 60 chances had gone out the window already. It was now a case of damage limitation.

Going through 10k in 38:32, his pace began to drop even further on the seventh mile, to 6:17, then 6:22, then 6:17 again for his ninth mile. It felt very different to how it usually had in previous years. In all his previous races, he’d been close to or on top of his target pace and feeling like he was doing well. This time was quite the opposite.

Managing to rally slightly with a 6:11 for his last mile, he then made a dash for the finish line. Registering a time of 1:02:17, he’d come in almost five minutes slower than his last Great South Run effort in 2023.

It was one of those runs where it really hit home how far he’d fallen and how much his form had dipped over the last year and half. Coming in 235th overall, Rich had finished 38th in the 40 to 44 age category and his average pace for the run was 6:09.

Former Bournemouth AC man Trev Elkins didn’t quite get the result he wanted either. Hoping for around 58 minutes, he ended up finishing in 1:00:40. That put him in 179th place overall and 8th in the 45 to 49 category. It was frustrating for Trev as he knew he was better than that but the conditions on the day just hadn’t allowed him to realise his full potential.

Henry Parish who lives in the New Forest area had a superb run, managing a very consistent pace throughout. He completed the course in 1:02:45 which put him in 252nd place overall and 51st in the 35 to 39 category. That was a PB for him.

Starting with a 5:53 for his first mile, Leon Louis went on to post a 6:05 and then a 6:04 putting his first 5k at 19:15. He was also hoping for a time around the 60 minute mark so that was a good start.

He dropped off a bit in the next 5k though, clocking a 6:11, a 6:12 and a 6:28. Unfortunately he got a stitch towards the end of the sixth mile and had to stop when he got to seven miles. The same thing had happened to him during the cross country race the previous weekend so there was clearly some issue there.

Once he got back going again, he was able to get back on track. With the stoppage though, he’d lost some time, going through the seventh mile in 7:13. He’d gone through 10k in 40 minutes and went on to clock a 6:21, followed by a 6:22 and a 6:17 for his last mile.

Crossing the line in 1:04:05, Leon had finished in 325th place and 55th in the 40 to 44 category. His average pace was 6:19 but it would have been faster if it hadn’t been for the stoppage. His moving time was actually 1:03:22. It was still a PB for Leon though, even with the stoppage, bettering his time of 1:04:47 from the Salisbury 10 earlier in the year.

Opening with a couple of 6:25 splits, Simon Hearn then went on to clock a 6:29 for his third mile and got through the first 5k in 20:37. Staying at around 6:30 pace for the next few miles, he went through 10k in 41 minutes.

His pace dropped a touch after that to around 6:40 but he managed to keep that going for the last four miles which took him to the finish in 1:06:21. That put him in 464th place overall and he was 11th in the 55 to 59 category. That meant he’d achieved a higher placing in his age category than any of the Bournemouth AC runners.

Coming away with an average pace of 6:33, it was a good performance from Simon and he was happy with that, considering his current state of fitness.

Going through 5k in 22:14, Mags Fietko then went on to reach 10k in 44:30. She then got to 15k in 1:06:10 before finishing in 1:10:29. That put Mags in 953rd place and she’d come in as 87th female. In the women’s V35 category, she came 16th. That was an excellent result for Mags.

Reaching the 5k point in 24:37, Helen Beddoe went on to get to 10k in 48:55. She continued on, reaching 15k in 1 hour 13 minutes before arriving at the finish line in 1:18:04.

That put her in 2,298th place overall and she was 307th female. In the women’s 40 to 44 category, Helen came 47th and she’d beaten her time from the Lytchett 10 earlier in the year by 22 seconds. That made it a pleasing performance for Helen.

Getting through the first 5k in 25:15, Luke Bentley went on to reach 10k in 50:13. He then made it to 15k in 1:14:35 before getting to the finish line in 1:19:32. That put him in 2,701st place overall.

Going through most of his miles in between 7:45 and 8 minute mile pace, Luke had been consistent with his splits and his last mile was actually his fastest, at 7:38. That showed that is was a strong effort from Luke and his average pace for the run was 7:51.

Marc Scott of Richmond and Zetland Harriers won the race in 47:21, which put him 18 seconds ahead of Icelandic athlete Baldvin Magnusson who was second. Jake Smith of Pontypridd Roadents was third in 47:53, with Charlie Brisley of Newham & Essex Beagles taking fourth in 48:47.

Seyfu Jamaal of London Heathside took fifth place in 48:54. Ronnie Richmond of Bideford was 10th and first vet in 49:42. The man who won the Run Bournemouth Half Marathon the previous weekend, Oluwatosin Adedji was 11th in 50:30.

Sam Costley of Southampton AC came 13th in 50:46, with Jaymee Domoney of City of Salisbury taking 16th in 51:33. His average pace for the run was 5:05 and it was a tremendous performance from him. The only downside was that he’d come in just behind social media megalomaniac Nick Bester, who was 15th in 51:25.

Aiden Lennan of Southampton AC went over the line just after Jaymee Domoney in 51:40 and Christopher Newnham of Ryde Harriers was 18th in 51:41. James Copeland of Southern Counties Vets took 20th place in 52:38. Tobi Loughlin of Team Bath was the first Under 20 over the line. He came 21st in 52:38.

After suffering from a really bad cold over the two weeks leading up to the race, Jamie Grose wasn’t even sure whether he’d feel well enough to run. He did though and hence decided to go for it. He wouldn’t have been pleased to see the wind and the rain come in though and was feeling out of sorts.

He was still able to hit a decent pace though, getting round in 54:07 which put him in 33rd position overall. His average pace for the run was 5:21 which was strong but he would certainly have been a lot quicker had it not been for the illness and inclement weather.

Gary Marshall of Ryde Harriers was first in 45-49 category in 54:26 and that put him in 39th place overall. Rob Arkell of Poole Runners recorded a new 10 mile PB of 54:31 which put him 41st overall and 4th in the 40 to 44 category.

The weather is one aspect of a big race that is always out of your control as an athlete. The training, hard work and preparations is something that can be shaped and put into practice by the individual but when it comes to the conditions, it’s in the hands of the Gods. If it turns out to be a rough day, it’s always character building as it can help build that resilience and mindset to overcome adversity, which can come in handy on future occasions.