A recent Friday evening saw a brand new addition to the local race calendar as Littledown Harriers hosted the inaugural SOBO 5.

Starting and finishing outside the SOBO Beach Bar, the race followed a deceptively simple five-mile out-and-back route along Bournemouth promenade to the Dotto train turnaround point at Hengistbury Head before returning to the finish. On paper it was about as flat and fast as they come, but as is often the case on the south coast, the weather had other ideas.

With many Bournemouth AC members keeping something in reserve for the Lordshill 10k later in the weekend, the Yellow Blues still fielded an impressive squad on home territory.

Among them was Rob McTaggart, who had already been in action just two nights earlier at the JPMorgan Challenge, blasting round the 3.5-mile course in a rapid 18:30. Tag has enjoyed an outstanding year already, finishing runner-up to Charlie Collins at the Bournemouth Bay Half Marathon in 1:12:35 before improving further with a superb 1:09 at Fleet Half Marathon. He also dipped under the magical two-and-a-half-hour barrier at the London Marathon, so it was no surprise to see him arrive as one of the pre-race favourites.

Louisa Rowland was another athlete in sparkling form. Two marathon performances under three hours this year had firmly established her credentials, beginning with a 2:59 in Barcelona before she produced an even more impressive 2:55:46 at London.

Jack Barwick and Katie Gunn were fresh from representing Bournemouth AC at the Alresford 10k, the penultimate fixture in the Hampshire Road Race League. Jack had a five-mile best of 29:55 from Overton last September, while Katie’s PB of 31:05 came at the May 5 last year.

One of the club’s brightest young talents, Ellie Taylor, was also in the field. After setting the fastest female time at the Run Bournemouth Supernova 5k last autumn, she had already shown she was more than capable of mixing it with much more experienced athletes.

Tom Sclanders, Helen Beddoe, David Crowther, Clint Taylor, Jud Kirk, Janine Pattison and the evergreen Ian Graham all added strength and experience to the Bournemouth AC contingent, while Lara Hudson was making her debut in yellow and blue and was hoping to complete the course somewhere between 35 and 40 minutes.

In an ideal world the runners would have been hoping for calm conditions or perhaps even the rare easterly breeze. Instead they were greeted by a fairly brisk westerly, which could only mean one thing – a helpful push on the way out and a much tougher battle on the return journey.

The evening also produced a surprise appearance from Bournemouth AC legend Craig Palmer.

Craig was one of the area’s dominant road runners during his peak years, winning numerous local league races in 2019 and producing a phenomenal 2:24 marathon in Berlin. Although he had stepped away from competitive running and never quite rediscovered that level, it was fantastic to see him back on a start line. Could the SOBO 5 be the beginning of another comeback?

Tag Takes Control

Rob McTaggart knew the return journey into the wind would make life uncomfortable, so rather than leave himself vulnerable to a tactical battle later on, he opted to make the race his own from the gun.

Exploding away at sub-five-minute-mile pace, only Craig Palmer was brave enough to go with him initially, although even he couldn’t live with the relentless early tempo.

The opening mile took runners from SOBO Beach Bar towards Hengistbury Head before climbing the short ramp and continuing alongside the headland onto Broadway.

Tag covered it in an impressive 5:08 and already had daylight between himself and the chasing pack.

Craig passed the marker in 5:31, around 20 seconds adrift, while Jack Barwick settled nicely with a 5:38 opening mile.

Tag continued to extend his advantage during the second mile along the harbour path, clocking 5:16.

Craig recorded 5:43, with Jack remaining remarkably consistent on 5:40.

The third mile included the halfway turnaround and although the headwind was now looming, Tag was still flying, registering another excellent split of 5:22.

Craig reached halfway in 5:46 and Jack followed with a 5:44.

Then came the difficult bit.

Turning back towards Bournemouth, the runners immediately felt the full force of the westerly wind. Even Tag’s relentless pace finally began to ease as he posted a 5:38 fourth mile, underlining just how tough conditions had become.

Craig and Jack both dug deep to record matching 6:05 splits as the race entered its decisive stages.

Despite the headwind, Tag remained completely in control. A final mile of 5:41 brought him home in a superb winning time of 27:22, completing a dominant front-running performance.

Behind him, the battle for the remaining podium places took an unexpected twist.

Finn O’Mahoney appeared set to finish second but was struck by illness on the final promenade section, forcing him to stop after being sick. Sensing the opportunity, Craig Palmer moved back through into second place and crossed the line in 29:12.

Considering how little competitive running he has done in recent years, it was a remarkable performance and a reminder of the class that once made him one of the South’s finest distance runners. Although Tag finally ended Craig’s remarkable 11-year unbeaten head-to-head record, it still felt like a hugely encouraging return.

Finn bravely recovered to claim third in 29:27.

Jack Barwick looked set for fourth before being caught late on by Littledown Harriers’ James Rogers, who edged ahead in the closing stages to finish fourth in 29:41. Jack was only ten seconds behind in an excellent 29:51 to secure fifth overall.

Will Vincent took sixth in 30:21, while Aaron Robertson, who has recently been training with Bournemouth AC, produced one of the performances of the evening. His time of 30:56 earned seventh place overall and even included a new 5k personal best within the race itself.

Yellow and Blues Dominate the Women’s Race

Just two days after a hen weekend, Louisa Rowland might have been forgiven for feeling slightly below her best.

Instead she produced another outstanding run.

Louisa crossed the line in 31:27, averaging 6:13 per mile to claim first female and finish an impressive 11th overall.

Katie Gunn backed that up perfectly, finishing second female in 32:24 for 13th overall.

Aaron Robertson’s training partner Harry Rosa followed in 32:32 before Tom Sclanders led home the next Bournemouth AC contingent in 33:27.

Ellie Taylor completed a Bournemouth AC clean sweep of the women’s podium, finishing third female in 34:07 while also taking first Under-18 honours.

David Crowther and Helen Beddoe once again found themselves racing together, just as they had at the May 5 earlier in the year.

David stopped the clock in 35:33 for 35th place, with Helen only 14 seconds behind in 35:47, earning sixth female overall and first place in the women’s 40-49 category.

A Successful Debut

Several Bournemouth AC members came along purely to support, including Rich Brawn, Kitty Cook and Tom Casson, who stationed themselves near Hengistbury Head to cheer everyone on through the toughest section of the race.

Spotting Lara Hudson and Clint Taylor battling into the headwind, Rich jumped in for the final mile to provide a little shelter from the wind.

Lara had judged her effort brilliantly on her club debut and, despite having to dig deep over the closing stages, crossed the line in 35:57. Averaging 7:07 per mile, she finished as ninth female and comfortably inside her pre-race target.

Clint was just two seconds ahead in 35:55, placing 40th overall.

Janine Pattison continued her excellent run of masters performances, finishing in 40:30 to claim second place in the women’s V60 category.

Jud Kirk followed shortly afterwards in 40:36, while Bournemouth AC’s oldest competitor, Ian Graham, once again demonstrated incredible longevity by completing the course in 55:21, finishing fifth in the 70+ category at the age of 79.

It was also fantastic to see former Bournemouth AC runner Stu Glenister back racing after enduring an incredibly difficult period in his life. Seeing him healthy and enjoying racing again was undoubtedly one of the feel-good stories of the evening, and he marked his return with a solid 36:50 for 48th place.

A total of 257 runners completed the inaugural SOBO 5 from a race capacity of 300, and afterwards competitors were able to relax together at SOBO Beach Bar, making the most of the half-price cocktails and the superb post-race atmosphere.

When the prizes were handed out, Bournemouth AC had plenty to celebrate. Rob McTaggart and Louisa Rowland collected the individual victories, Ellie Taylor added the Under-18 honours, Helen Beddoe topped her age category and the Yellow Blues also secured both the men’s and women’s team prizes.

For a first attempt, Littledown Harriers delivered an excellent event. Fast, friendly and brilliantly supported, the SOBO 5 has all the ingredients to become a firm favourite on the local racing calendar for years to come.