Stubbington Green Runners

It's the first weekend of February, it's blowing a gale, so lets all get on a ferry and run 10 miles around the hilly end of the Isle of Wight. That was the choice of 14 Stubbies last weekend. After the special treatment of supporters on every corner in the last HRRL and a flatish course, we were offered plenty of hills, and just a few supporters. They may not have bought cakes, but they did make themselves heard none the less. Andy Simpson was keen to get out and see some running, and Chris Gallagher was just keen to get out after a "Disney Day" on Saturday!  The Jeffery girls were just hoping that Daddy didn't come last again like he did at the Cross Country Championships!!

As for the running it was always going to difficult to out perform last years result at Ryde, but the 14 Stubbies who did make the journey had an enjoyable day out none the less. For those of us traveling with Andy, we were also treated to a gastronomic performance on the way home.. just check out the only pictures of the day.

Susie lead home the ladies achieving 4th place overall, and an incredible 1 min 30 seconds quicker than last year!! On this hilly course she was only 30 seconds off her pb set at Lordhill last year. Lucy fresh from her "Disney experience" preparation day resumed her racing with a very credible 8mm. Just think what she be like if she ever trained!! Andrea seemed to enjoy her run too, and the challenge of the hill at mile 8. It all seemed a lot easier for her than Parliament Hill last weekend, well anything would seem easier than that though. Completing the Stubbie ladies contingent were Sarah who ran really well to smash the 10mm barrier, and Sharon who finished bang on 10mm. Well done to both of you for your achievements.

On the mens side of things the A team was lead home by Tony Smith, who was just a shade down on last year after putting in some high mileage marathon preparation weeks. Tony still managed to find the speed to go with the endurance to just out pace Dave Jeffery who was also just a few seconds down on last year. Mike White claimed the 1st V50 prize finishing in 20th place, and I managed to hang on to complete the A team.

The B team was lead home by Phil, who's looking stronger and stronger every week of marathon training. Nico making his Stubbington debut finished with a very credible 7.30mm pace. Whilst Alan White and Nigel (You can't park 'ere) Whitcher continued their marathon training adventure with a consistent 8mm pace. John completed the Stubbington mens team finishing just a few seconds behind Nigel.

The next race is in the HRRL Bramley 20, and entries closed this week. Stubbington have 11 men and 7 ladies entered, so it promises to be another well supported event. 

Following Bramley the HRRL moves across the boarder in to Wiltshire for the Salisbury 10, always a favourite with many Stubbies. With such a long trip it could well be worth breaking up the journey home at the Cuckoo Inn at Hamptworth, SP5 2DU [map] for some carbo loading;-) As if I needed an incentive to carbo load!

Eastleigh and Alton are also open for entries, but get in quick as Eastleigh especially fills up fast.

Name	race pos	hrrl pos Cat Pos	Time	mile pace	km pace
Susie MacGregor	60	4	01:07:25	06:44:00	04:11:00
Lucy May	210	41	01:20:14	08:01:00	04:59:00
Andrea Charlson	276	57	01:26:45	08:40:00	05:23:00
Sarah Martin	322	77	01:36:53	09:41:00	06:01:00
Sharon White	332	82	01:40:01	10:00:00	06:13:00
Tony Smith	16	15	01:01:53	06:11:00	03:51:00
David Jeffery	17	16	01:02:04	06:12:00	03:51:00
Mike White	20	18	01:02:46	06:17:00	03:54:00
Graham Bell	29	26	01:03:31	06:21:00	03:57:00
Philip Martin	93	74	01:10:26	07:03:00	04:23:00
Nico Beukman	157	114	01:15:13	07:31:00	04:40:00
Alan White	200	133	01:19:29	07:57:00	04:56:00
Nigel Whitcher	213	137	01:20:24	08:02:00	05:00:00
John Simister	225	142	01:20:54	08:05:00	05:02:00

Full HRRL results are updated here http://www.hrrl.org.uk/default.htm

Graham Bell