Denmead 10k - 23rd October 2005
LAST weekend saw the 200th anniversary of The Battle of Trafalgar. As thousands across the country gathered to witness the commemorations, there was another memorable battle being played out in the sleepy Hampshire village of Denmead, with victory for Stubbington's men at the local 10k.
On yet another bright, crisp, autumnal Sunday morning, both club and unattached runners headed out on to the roads and country lanes around the small village, north of Portsmouth.
Over the first couple of kilometres, Andrew Hennesey of Wells City Harriers, eased his way to the front of the field and then gradually extended his lead to win the race comfortably in an impressive time of 31 minutes 59 seconds.
There was a close finish for second and third place between Stubbington's Mark Le Gassick and Portsmouth Jogger's Ronnie Adams, with Adams just holding on to second spot on the line in 33 minutes 31 seconds, with Le Gassick recording the same time.
Further down the road, there was another good battle going on, this time homegrown, between Chris Hall and Gordon Reid. Following a number of place exchanges throughout the race, Hall managed to hang on to take 10th place in a time of 35 minutes 54 seconds, with Reid five seconds behind, in 11th, in 35 minutes 59 seconds.
The ladies' race was won by Claire Forest of Southmapton Running Club, who finished in an excellent 30th position overall, in a time of 38 minutes 34 seconds. In second place was Karrie Blake of Denmead Striders who crossed the line in 41 minutes 7 seconds (52nd place) with Nikki Moxham, unattached, taking third (63rd place) in 41 minutes 55 seconds.
With three men in the first eleven, Stubbington Green Runners & AC finished with a point score of 24 winning the team prize by a slender two-point margin from Portsmouth AC who scored 26. Denmead Striders were the winners of the ladies' team prize.
| 3rd | Mark Le Gassick | 33.31 | |
| 10th | Chris Hall | 35.54 | |
| 11th | Gordon Reid | 35.59 | |
| John Leigh | 41.35 | ||
| Nick Kimber | 43.58 | ||
| Andy Lee | 45.09 | ||
| Lauren Coates | 45.17 | ||
| Paul Fraquharson | 47.01 | ||
| Gilbert Yeates | 47.55 | ||
| John Vose | 51.24 | ||
| 1st mens team |
There were 380 finishers.
By Mark Le Gassick