Meon Valley Plod – 28 Feb 2010
Report No1
11 Stubbies saw out the last day of winter in style with an epic run round the Hampshire countryside in the Meon Valley Plod.
Weather forecasts looked horrific before hand, and although it was not as bad as feared, this was still by popular consent the hardest since the event started.
The event billed as a 19.5 mile race, is actually nearer 21 miles in total, and only a very small percentage of the race is flat. Most find it at least as tough as a full marathon and is an excellent test for anyone with spring marathon plans.
I have to hand it to Pompey Joggers who as always put on a brilliantly well organised and marshalled event.
Nick Baker of Denmead as usual lead from start to finish followed by the Army’s David Spencer and Alton’s Leonard Passingham.
I was very happy with my 12th place in 2:52, my best finish in this race closely followed by Ray Gunner, 15th, Graham James, 23rd and Tony Smith, 25th.
Daniel Gueran was 81st, John Gueran 108th, Paul Hailwood 143rd, Aaron Kingston 166th, Annie Tomlinson 256th, Verity Wright 291st and Jule Woodman 292nd overall.
Well done to all !
Full results available here - http://www.pjc.org.uk/nResults/2010/2010_results.html
Photos available here - http://www.denmeadphotos.co.uk/2010_races/mvp/index.html
Report by David Jeffery.
Report No2
There was a good turnout of 11 club members for this year’s Plod. The weather conditions were not quite as bad as forecast, but underfoot was distinctly wet – a marked contrast to last year which was probably the driest the course has ever been. In fact, parts of the course this year were more paddling than running (could we claim it as a duathlon?).
The first Stubby home was Dave Jeffery in an excellent 12th place, closely followed by Ray Gunner who knocked an amazing 15 minutes off his previous Plod time. A few minutes later Graham James and Tony Smith crossed the line in close formation, giving us 4 finishers in the first 25.
The next pair deserve a special mention – Dan and John Gueran completed this race in excellent times, less than 24 hours after running in the National Cross Country at Leeds. Our male contingent was completed by Paul Hailwood and Aaron Kingston, with the ladies represented by Annie Tomlinson, Verity Wright and Julie Woodman – judging from the results, the latter two went round holding hands – come on girls, we want to see a competitive sprint finish next year.
To put the times in perspective, even the winner, Denmead’s Nick Baker, was 13 minutes slower than last year. Anyone who got round on Sunday has reason to feel pleased with themselves. As ever though, the real stars were the army of marshals, many of whom must have been out longer than most of the runners – not forgetting the helpers back at base, rarely has a cup of tea been more appreciated! Thanks also to Alan Dunk (www.denmeadphotos.co.uk) for his efforts in photographing the bedraggled masses as we staggered up Butser Hill.
12 David Jeffery 2.52.13
15 Ray Gunner 2.53.38
23 Graham James 2.59.03
25 Tony Smith 3.01.02
81 Dan Gueran 3.29.39
108 John Gueran 3.41.14
144 Paul Hailwood 3.50.41
167 Aaron Kingston 3.56.24
257 Annie Tomlinson 4.30.00
293 Verity Wright 4.52.07
294 Julie Woodman 4.52.07
Report by Graham James. Photos courtesy of Alan Dunk.