Run In The Park 10km
STUBBINGTON'S men and women's team picked up two second places at the popular Run In The Park 10km race at Netley.
The event, organised by Southampton Running Club, attracted 378 runners for the race around the Royal Victoria Country Park. A year ago, the park was deluged with rain. This time, however, the weather was a lot kinder.
Stubbington placed three men inside the top 20, and among them was Graham Bell with a very welcome return to form almost a month after his disappointment at the London Marathon when the heat took its toll some 500 yards from the finish.
Graham showed what a strong runner he is with a storming 17th place in 38min 21sec and 2nd Vet 40 which was a tremendous comeback run. Zippy Grice was seventh in 34.47 and Mark Le Gassick, a winner of the race a year ago, led the Stubbington charge with fourth place in 32.50. The event was won by Team Southampton's Angus Maclean by almost a minute from Southampton Running Club's Andy Morgan-Lee with a time of 30min 53sec.
Another runner fresh from putting his feet up after the London Marathon, and having a chance to consider the implications of impending fatherhood, Marcus Lee, enjoyed a good run out by Southampton Water with 53rd place in a time of 43.24.
Zac Conaty pitched in with 86th place in 45.35, and there was a welcome return after more than a year to Stubbington colours for Del Granger. He managed to edge just ahead of Tim Crumpton with 91st (V40, 29th) in 46.02, compared to Tim's 46.11 for 93rd and 12th among the Vet50s.
Tim had prepared for the race on a sunbed in Nice in Southern France with wife Denise, having tweaked his hamstring by running 38.58 at the Purbeck 10 in Dorset a week earlier for 42nd place. Tim's excuse for his slightly slower time at Netley was because he apparently started six minutes after the race start - what was he doing to make himself late, applying after sun?!!
"The hamstring feels as if it is on the mend, thank god, especially with the South Downs Way Relay approaching."
Steve Wylie checked in with 97th in 46.29 (V40, 31st), Gilbert Yeates was the tenth fastest Vet60 in 50 minutes dead for 140th overall and John Simister clocked 52.13 and 159th (V40, 52nd).
Louise James led by the Stubbington women home in 12th place with an excellent time of 46.06. The race was won by Karen Rushton from Southampton Running Club in 37.17. Gill Rose was the second Stubbington scorer in 25th with 49.47, followed by Lauren Coates, who coming off the back of a good run at the Alton 10, was 29th in 50.48.
Verity Wright was 58th in 55.21, Kath Reed was 88th in 1hr 0min 13sec, Julie Ashman registered 105th in 1:02.29 (V40, 35th) and Sue Simister was 122nd in 1:04.28 (V40, 39th).
Southampton Running Club scooped both team titles, but Stubbington's men and women teams claimed second places, with the women's B team in ninth.