Gosport Half Marathon
IS it the Stubbington 10k in disguise?.....The Gosport Half Marathon is set to go ahead in November after months of agonising concern over the race’s future.
Now Gosport Road Runners have been given the go-ahead for the November 16th race which forms part of the Hampshire Road Race League – and the new route takes in large chunks of the old Stubbington 10k route.
Race director, Dave Little, told the Portsmouth News: “We’re delighted that we haven’t had to cancel this year.
“We were thinking we might have to take that decision, but we’ve worked well with the police and council, and we’ve managed to do it.
“We’ve had a lot of work to do, but we’ve managed to get everything sorted out and we are happy with the new route, which should be fast.
“We’ll hopefully see people getting personal bests.
“I’m very optimistic that the people who are coming back from previous years will find the new route every bit as good as before.”
The Gosport Half Marathon, which has been running for 23 years, used to be a two-lap course starting and finishing at Bay House School, heading out along Stokes Bay, past Haslar Hospital and the marina and back into Alverstoke.
However, as with the Stubbington 10km, police and the council have raised major concerns over the route following the Traffic Management Act 2004, alongside Health & Safety guidelines.
There are now stricter rules over race routes and police involvement with stewarding. Dave Little has been working closely with Stubbington 10k race director, Gary Littlecott, sharing advice and information.
Ironically, the new Gosport Half route, which is one lap, mirrors much of the old Stubbington 10k route – it does avoid sections of Rowner and crossing the Newgate Lane roundabout, which was where the Stubbington race hit problems with police.
The Gosport Half Marathon starts from Bay House School and heads towards the Daedalus airfield where runners will loop round the site three times.
The race heads down Broom Way to the Newgate Lane roundabout, along Gosport Road towards Stubbington, cuts through Eric Road and then along Stubbington Road to Lee-on-the-Solent before heading back towards the school, finishing in Browndown Road.
To see a map of the route click onto: http://www.gosportroadrunners.org.uk/halfroute2008.pdf
To enter the race, log onto www.gosportroadrunners.org.uk to download an entry form.