2011 ROAD RUNNERS NEWS

Don’t forget to keep updated on the clubs fundraising activities by visiting the fundraising page

Road Runners 5 Year Age records

A complete list of the 5 year age records can be found on the records page, or by clicking here - records

Hampshire Cross Country League

Goodwood

Goodwood was the venue for the second race in the Hampshire Cross Country League. This match was the last event for athletes to prove their talent to the Hampshire Team Managers, who were using this race and the previous match at Farleys Mount as their guide to selection for the Southern Inter Counties XC Championships. Having walked the course the athletes were fully aware of the long hilly terrain and the stile that needed to be jumped, a true cross country race.

The day began with the Under 13 girls race. Holly Mills, who is perhaps better known for her sprinting and jumping, was not put off by the long distance race and finished in 44th.  Unfortunately absent that day was Polly Rochford who would need to keep her fingers crossed that her first race result at Farley Mount would be enough to secure County selection.  The Under 13 boys nervously took on the course, first home was the youngest member of the team Jared Rolfe in 47th place an improvement of 5 places on his previous race. Jared was closely followed home by Dan Burdoch in 51st and David Craggs in 55th, both boys also showing improvements, David by a massive 15 places. 

Next up to the start line was Andover’s Under 15 girls team.  Lucy Rochford and Emma Jones positioned themselves well at the start and found themselves at the front until the field came back to them.  This made the race a difficult one for both as they prefer to work their way through the field as the race progresses.  Lucy stuck to the task and working hard and steady eventually coming home a deserved 6th place, closely followed home by her older sister Phoebe who had a blinding race to come 8th.  Phoebe with Hampshire selection on her mind set out with a race plan to book her place on the Team and nothing was going to stop her, a well judged raced put her in the mix.  Emma finished the race in 26th as the final team scorer.  The Andover Under 15 girls team was placed in 4th overall, their best position to date making them possible medal contenders in the forthcoming Hampshire Championships in the New Year when a fourth team member will be needed to score. This position will be much sought after by the fast improving Ella Neil who crossed the line in 36th.  Another team member enjoying the challenge this course presented was Nakita Brades who came home in 51st.

Sole senior lady Caroline Bennett found the race a tough one but was pleased to improve on her last outing by 8 places in 94th.  The last race of the day is the Senior Men, this race incorporates the Under 20 men and veterans with several hundred starters, the race is a large one.  Chris Neil and Math Dewey set the pace for the Andover Team, both are Under 20s and revel in the opportunity to race with large numbers of athletes. Chris came home in a deserved 33rd place but Math suffered from sore calves and found the latter half of the race difficult. However Matt was determined not to let the team down and ensured a finish in 100th place.  With Math slowing other members of the Andover team had him in their sight as a target to beat, making a welcome return from Glandular Fever Tom Bennett using the race as a training run moved steadily past numerous athletes including Matt to cross the line in 64th and also following the same tactic Chris Dewey passed his son to finish in 76th.  The team currently in second place in division 2 needed the final two athletes out on the course to finish high, Mark Neil and Tim Bennett, who are normally closely placed, fought for this final team scorer position and Mark came out on top in 154th with Tim in 168th.

After an anxious weeks wait the Hampshire Team selection was announced the Rochford family were delighted to hear that Polly, Lucy and Phoebe had all been selected to represent Hampshire at the Southern Inter-counties match.

Presentation Evening

The Andover AC 2011 presentation evening kicked off with tremendous applause and acknowledgement to the outgoing Club Chairman Nick Woodford by the new man at the helm Mark Bradford. In his 5 year tenure Nicks hard work and devotion has helped to transform the club and he was justly rewarded with the first award of the evening the Run Around Trophy for his outstanding services to the club.

The award every athlete wanted to win, the athletes athlete, voted for by the athletes were both road runners this year: Matt Lane and Emma Dunham.

Over the year, eleven athletes broke 26 club track & field records between them, often several times during the season, a phenomenal result. The girls: Holley Mills U11 150m, 600m, Long Jump, Quadkids & U13 60m, 60m Hurdles, Alice Boughton U17 Heptathlon, Annie Brooks U17 Triple Jump, Lauren Marlow 17 60m Hurdles, Emma Brown Senior 60m and Hayley Coney Senior Pole Vault. The boys: Matt Chant U15 60m, 100m, 200m, 400m, Luke Holman U17 60m Hurdles, 400m Hurdles, Pentathlon & U20 400m Hurdles, Jake Gardham U17 Pole Vault, Gary Jones U20 Discus, Hammer and Shot Putt & Senior Discus and Hammer and Sam Deery U20 110m Hurdles.

The award for an outstanding winter season went to two highly talented athletes for their exceptional indoor seasons. Lauren Marlow, smashing the clubs U17 60m Hurdles record and making the semi final of the National championships, narrowly missing the final. And Matt Chant (U15) who made the final of the South of England Championships and was in the running for a medal until he had to retire due to an injury. Matt also took bronze at the England Athletics National Championships (60m), finishing the season ranked 7th in the UK over the 60m for his age.

Control Techniques outstanding field eventer award went to Gary Jones who smashed 5 club records this year over 3 disciplines and across not only his own U20 age group but the senior mens too.

The main summer season award went to Adam Ricketts. Adam competed in all of the Southern Athletics League matches, securing a large number of wins and points, competing over 100m, 200m and 400m. This season (only his 2nd ever season) has been very consistent significantly improving his 60m, 100m, 200m and 400m times. Adam also ran well at the Hampshire County Champs were he secured a place in the final and narrowly missed out on a medal in one of the most competitive 200m races for years.

Also winning awards during the evening were: Jessica Allison, Luke Holman, Alice Boughton, Toby Hampton, Mia Larkin, Natalie Wilson, Taylor Larkin, Louisa Jones, Ella Tanner, Callum Duff, Ella Taylor, Nick Appleby, Emma Jones, Ben Reed, Mark Curtis, Sheila Oldacre, Mark Curtis, Rob Cliffe, Tina Trotter, Kelvin Mason , Annie Brookes, James Folkes, Hayley Coney, Holly Mills, Jula Evans, Dan Burdock, Cameron Daley, Jamie Barry, Nnenna Evans, Lauren Adams, Laura Jones, George Bull-McLean, Ella Neil, Chris Dewey, Mark Curtis, Mike Dunham, Alex Dunham and Jacky Jones.

In addition, Margaret Smith was given a special award in recognition of her World Championship win in the Biathlon. And finally, the Chairman’s award deservedly went to senior coach James Coney for his sterling fund raising, helping the club to achieve its goal of a new indoor training facility.

Exmouth 10k Road Race

The Exmouth 10k road race was chosen this year to incorporate the South West Veterans Athletic Club Championships (SWVAC) and also the British Masters Veterans Athletic Championships (BMVAC).

Andover Athletic Club had two runners competing, the Club’s highly talented veterans of John Goulding and Dougie Briscoe. With warm temperatures which brought the tourists out to throng the sea front, it was a challenge for the runners starting just off the promenade. The route of 2 laps took it over a mile along the sea front before ascending a long incline above the resort. With the final leg taking the athletes through the town, meeting with a throng of supporters to the finishing line just past the pavilion.

Despite being another year older, John improved upon his time of last year crossing the line in 50 mins 37 secs to win both the gold medals of the SWVAC and BMVAC in the over 75 age group. John was crowned the South West Veterans Athletic Club and the British Masters Veterans Athletic Champion at the awards ceremony after the race, proving once again that you really are never too old to stay fit.

Dougie competed in the mens over 55 age group. Dougie’s time of 37:38 was his fastest in two years and won him a silver medal in the SWVAC. He was also 6th in the BMVAC. A fine achievement by two of Andover AC’s more senior athletes.

Hampshire Cross Country League

Farley Mount

The cross country season kicked off, as always, at Farley Mount, with the first race of the Hampshire Cross Country League. This highly competitive southern league encompasses athletic clubs from all over Hampshire, Berkshire, Dorset, West Sussex and Wiltshire.

The Under 13 girls 3km race, which was the first event of the day, saw Polly Rochford going off with the main pack. Polly worked really hard over this renowned challenging and hilly course in a well deserved time of 13:10 to take 15th place. Her team mate Lauren Adams was delighted to finish the race in 65th.

The under 13 boys team, most of whom are bottom of the age group and therefore taking part in their first cross country season took on this challenging course with some in trepidation.  Ben Reed was the first Andover runner to cross the line in 23rd with a time of 12:17. Such is his nature he wants to do better at the next match.  Lewis Reed had a very good run to come home in 51st place with Jared Rolfe hot on his heels in 52nd.  Close behind Dan Burdock raced through the finish in 55th and finally David Craggs who just simply loves to run in 70th. Also putting his marker in the sand was under 15 boy Nick Adams who finished 64th in his race.

Under 15 girls – are also a team with depth of strength.  The 4km race set off and four runners broke away with Andover’s Lucy Rochford in the following group of three runners, who, after the first lap set about chasing down the leading pack.  Lucy had a storming finish to come home 4th in an impressive 17:26. Despite a very painful stitch that hampered part of her race Phoebe Rochford was the next to complete the tough course in 16th just a minute behind her sister Lucy.  Making up the A team, Emma Jones finished in 35th.  This team performance placed the Andover team 5th overall on the day. As the race progressed Ella Neil kept up her pace and then made a final push for home for 44th, Nakita Brades who was feeling the effects of a cold was pleased with her 60th position and knows she can look forward to a better race at the next league match.

In the Senior Womens race Andover had two veteran ladies competing, Caroline Bennett come home in a very creditable 102nd, despite a tough few weeks, and newly crowned Biathlete World Champion, Margaret Smith took it easy after her International exploits to cross the line in 115th.

The last race of the day was the 9.4km Senior Mens race, which also incorporated the Under 20 mens and Veteran mens races. The race is run over 4 gruelling laps of the course.

Chris Neil was the first Andover man home, still an under Chris very sensibly started steady slicing through the field to come home in 29th place overall in a time of 36:05 (8th U20). An exhausted Adem Omar also paced the race well, picking off competitors all the way round to finish in 34th. Also competing on the day were: Richard Parr (51st), Chris Berntsen U20 (53rd), starting to come back to fitness, Dougie Brisco Vet (62nd), Pete Mitchell (111th), Mark Neil Vet (136th), Tim Bennett Vet (153rd), Jade Rolfe (171st) their first cross country race and Les Adams (193rd) recovering from illness so was pleased just to complete the race.

Big Thank You to Stannah Lifts Community Team

Specialist global lift manufacturer Stannah showed its continuing commitment to local initiatives by sending its community team in to help Andover Athletic Club with decorating their new club house extension. Armed with paint brushes and paint, kindly supplied by Jewson's, the Stannah team of 11 staff led by Michelle Penn set about their task with great enthusiasm. Michelle along with the other Stannah community team members of Dave Balsdon, Toi Winterbottom, Carly Robinson, Mark Penn, Paul White, Darren Hutchence, Bob Clarke, Paul Talmage, Keith Birchall and Margareta Holikova taking it in turns to complete the work over a two day period.

Senior Coach, James Coney, who has been instrumental in fund raising for the extension commented, “This has been a real boost for the coaches and athletes who are now ready for winter training and especially the younger ones who really need to be inside when it’s cold and wet.”

Club Chairman, Nick Woodford continued, "This project really has pulled the community together. The help we have received from local business such as Stannah and Jewson’s along with individuals all offering their services or financial support have helped Andover’s athletics club take a big step forward in improving the facilities for Andover’s athletes. We still have a long way to go, but we will get there, especially with brilliant support such as this from long standing Andover businesses.

If you would like to help Andover AC to progress this initiative or would like more details on its progress, please visit the fundraising page.

Hampshire Road Race League Race 2

Portsmouth

The second race in the Hampshire Road Race League (HRRL) was again a 5 mile race, Portsmouth’s Victory 5.

Tom Bennett was the first Andover AC runner to cross the line in 27:17, in 19th place, with Chris Neil in 30th (28:03), Chris Dewey in 41st (28:52) and completing the A team, Mark Curtis in 50th (29:14). The A team took 4th place in Division 1 on the day a tremendous result as they have only just been promoted this year and are placed 4th after 2 races. The B team also had an excellent run, in what would have often been the A team at some races last year. Dougie Brisco crossed the line in 54th (29:19) and was also 1st V55. Chris Berntsen and Matt Lane had a nice battle for 70th, with Chris piping Matt on the line in 30:13 / 30:16 respectively and bringing the B team home, Rob Cliffe in 80th place (30:28). The B team took 1st place on the day in the B Division 1 and this places them 1st overall in the league at this point. For a 2nd race in succession Andover had a C team competing, showing real strength and depth now which is really encouraging for the road team and the Andover Athletics Club. Pete Mitchell had the glory of leading in the C team in 83rd place in a time of 30:31, with Martin Welsh in a new Personal Best time of 32:30 in 132nd place, with Steve Brett 163rd (33:31) and Mark Neil 166th 33:38 having a good tussle during the race as well to complete the C team, also taking 1st team position on the day and in the league standings (B Division 2). Also running and competing very well on the day was; Solomon Lane 179th (34:00) Mat Orchard 195th (34:34), Jade Rolfe 210th (35:15), Kelvin Mason 218th (35:36) and the ever inspirational John Goulding (39:38) 1st Vet 70+ (303rd).

The ladies had only a few runners out due to holidays and illness. The ladies A team registered 4th on the day and are currently 2nd overall in the Ladies A Division 2. Emma Dunham was 1st for Andover AC in 51st lady home (36:12), with Caroline Bennett in 98th (40:21). Vicky Neil ran in her first HRRL race in doing brilliantly to come 177th in a time of 47:51 with Jackie Jones coming home to rapturous applause in 1:02:20 (248th).

Pewsey Half marathon

Six Andover AC runners competed in the Pewsey Half marathon, 5 male veterans and 1 lady. Although it was a small team attending they came home with 3 individual awards and 1 team prize out of a total of 291 runners on the day.

Mark Curtis had a strong run to finish in 14th overall in a great time of 1:22:18, taking 2nd place V40. Dougie Brisco was not far behind in 18th place, taking 2nd V50 in a time of 1:23:29. And packing in close behind was Chris Dewey in 22 place in a time of 1:24:07. These three performances were good enough to take gold for the team. Matt Lane produced a fine run but just missed out on a PB in 1:26:07 in 29th place with Kelvin Mason in 118th place in a solid time of 1:44:19.

Kate Towerton was the only Andover AC lady to compete. Despite being an individual rather than part of a team she set about her race with aplomb picking up 3rd senior female (33rd place overall) in a brilliant time of 1:27:34.

Hampshire Road Race League (HRRL)

Overton

At the first race of the new season Hampshire Road Race League (HRRL), held at Overton, confirmation was given that the Andover AC road racers had achieved the following from the 2010/2011 season. Men: A team - Div 2 Runners Up, B team - B Division Winners, 1st V45 - Mark Curtis, 1st V55 - Dougie Brisco. Ladies: A team - Div 3 Winners

The 2011/2012 HRRL kicked off again with the Overton 5 mile race, however, tradition ended there with the race being run in the opposite direction. The general consensus after the event was ‘making it a much harder course’ due to the long incline and the sharp decent over the two lap course.

Twenty runners from Andover AC showed for the first league race meaning a strong showing in all 5 teams (3 mens teams and 2 ladies teams).

The men have had 3 teams entered this season and filled all 3 teams. The A team was brought home by a fantastic run from Tom Bennett in 27:52 and a stunning 8th place overall. This time ranks Tom 9th in the UK for his age. Mark Curtis and Chris Dewey were close together in 29:45 and 29:52 in 33rd and 36th places, with Dougie Brisco making up the A team in 30:27 (49th Place), just ahead of Chris Berntsen, who had been placed well in on the first lap but faded a little on the second (50th, 30:40)kicking off the B team results. Matt lane was next to cross for the B team in 31:09 (64th) with Pete Mitchell and Rob Cliffe completing the B team in 32:00 (82nd) and 32:37 (95th) respectively. The C team was lead home by a good solid run from Martin Welsh in 33:29 (109th) with Tim Bennett in 120th place (33:56) followed in by a new face for the club, Steve Brett, in 196th place in a time of 36:45 and last years ever present Kelvin Mason in 205th place not far behind in 37:02. Les Adams (38:29 - 248th) and the ever young John Goulding (40:53 - 299th) completing the mens teams.

The ladies team included some new faces: 1st home was Kate Towerton in 31:44 and 74th overall, followed in by Fay Wyatt in 37:49 in 230th place and Sally Biles making up the A team in 313rd place in 41:47. The B team was led home by Caroline Bennett in 334th place, yes the 3rd Bennett mentioned of the day, in 42:36, with Shelia Oldacre (387th - 49:03) and Janice Cook (404th - 52:01) completing the ladies B team.

Standings from the first race of the season were, Mens: A team - 5th A Division 1, B team - 2nd B Division 1, C team - 3rd B Division 2 and Ladies: A team - 2nd A Division 2, B team - 3rd B Division 2 so off to s flying start.

Hampshire League - Netley

As the last Hampshire Road League Race approached, held at Netley, Andover AC were in with a shout of winning 3 promotions and an outside chance of 3 championships. The Andover AC team achieved 5 of the 6 - claiming 3 promotions, 2 as champions (Ladies A team in Division 3 and Mens B team in B Division 2) with the Men’s A team gaining promotion to Division 1 as runners up.

These tremendous accolades have been achieved by a core of athletes attending many races, solidly backed up by those making it between jobs / injuries and other commitments. In total 33 runners took part from Andover AC, 20 men and 13 ladies. These promotions are testament all their hard work and commitment.

Qualifying in the top 60 athletes are 8 AAC runners: 3 ladies, Emma Dunham 23rd, Sandra Blowers 51st and Tina Trotter 59th, and 5 men, Mark Curtis in 18th, Dougie Brisco in 26th, Peter Mitchell in 36th, Rob Cliffe in 43rd and Matt Lane in 59th. Also, a special mention to the ever present Kelvin Mason who raced in all 12 races and Mark Curtis and Dougie Brisco who race in 11 of the 12.

In order to achieve the above results, Andover AC needed to field strong mens teams and a ladies team, which they did. The mens A team looked strong on paper and proved so coming in 3rd in the division on the day, with Mark Curtis leading the way in 37:07 and 30th place. Not too far behind was Matt Lane, who has had a strong finish to the season despite coming off a night shift to come in second for the club in 38:22, just ahead of Dougie Brisco in 38:32 in 46th and 51st positions respectively. Rob Cliffe made up the A team just missing out on a Sub 40 in 40:01. The B team was lead home by Chris Berntsen returning from injury in 40:40 and 91st, with Mark Neil (43:17), a debut from Lewis Hartman in 43:20 and Kelvin Mason in 45:58 in 174th. Backing up the B team was Matt Orchard and Nick Moss in 250th and 305th places. A brilliant team effort.

The ladies had a complete team of Emma Dunham 21st in the ladies race in 44:02, Sally Biles 112th in 52:20 and Sandra Blowers (who also made 11 of the 12 races), coming 1st again on the day in Division 3.

With success come promotion, Andover AC will now need to maintain and consolidate its place in the higher leagues to ensure they do not experience a YO-YO effect i.e. demotion next year. With this in mind athletes are reminded of the first race of the 2001/12 season, the Overton 5 on Sat 03 Sep and the Victory 5 on Sun 18th Sep.

Finally, a massive pat on the back to all 33 runners and a special thank you to their regular support team and encourager, Mike Dunham.

Alton 10K

This was a must turn out day for the 2 men’s teams and ladies team, and we just did it and in style. We don’t know how it happened but now looks sorted on the HRRL leagues.... where we are..... Drum Roll in prime position in 3 out of the 4 divisions... The Mens A team is now only 2 point off top spot with a 5 point cushion, so bearing any disaster on Sunday at the Southampton (Netley) 10K the A team will be promoted into the Top tier A division with the big teams......

The Men’s B team is leading the hunt for Champions in B division 2 and the Ladies are also looking like champions in Division 3.

These will all hopefully be confirmed in the coming week after the results are known about Netley.

Back to Alton 10k, 12 Andoverites took to the hills in glorious sun but also a hefty breeze. Mark Curtis thought he was going to cross the line in first place for the club, but was outsprinted on the line by Chris Dewey, they crossed the line in 32nd and 33rd places in 1:03:59 and 1:04:03 respectively, closely followed by Dougie Brisco (38th 1:05:11) and Matt Lane (60th 1:06:59) making up the A team and 1st on the day in Division 2. The B team were also 1st in the B league Division 2, with Rob Cliffe in 92nd (1:09:06), Martin Welsh 100th (1:10:02) Mark Neil making a stunning debut in his first HRRL race in 172nd (1:17:30) and Kelvin Mason in 191st in 1:19:49.

In the ladies race, Emma Dunham continued her good run of form to run strongly and be placed 27th in a time of 1:15:46, with Jo Samways in 91st in 1:31:37, Sandra Blowers in 99th in 1:32:43 and Sally Biles in 110th in 1:35:28....

So it’s down to the last race and possibly, just an outside chance that Andover AC could be Champions on three fronts.......

As Delia Smith would say.... COME OOOOONNNNNN........

John Goulding

This weekend veteran road runner John Goulding completed his 500th race as a member of Andover Athletic Club, a massive milestone.

At the sprightly age of 75 John has been running for the club for 25 year’s having taken to running in his 50th year after switching his allegiance from football, latterly as a referee.

John’s 500th race took place at Hurstbourne Tarrant in their 5 mile multi terrain race. An incredibly tough race as it involves running to the top of Hurstbourne hill over fields! The weather was glorious and the ground therefore hard, making the ruts in the paths difficult to negotiate. John was second Andover man to cross the line rapturous applause from his Andover AC supporters.

John has had many achievements over the years. Here are just a few:

Now almost 76 years old he has held the over 70 Hampshire 10k title for 6 years and is the current holder of the 10 mile and has won the 1/2 marathon Championships records. In addition, last year he broke the over 75 year’s old records for South.

Competing in the British Masters Athletic Federation Championships last year he gained 1 silver and 2 bronze. This year he won a bronze in the 2011 British Cross Country Championships held in Birmingham for the over 75 year age group.

John has run 17 marathons over his time, including the two toughest; Snowdonia and the Seven Sisters a ten mile race to the top of Snowdon and back. His earlier success was often in the multi terrain races such as; the Dorset 3 Peaks and Corfe Castle, a coastal half marathon called the Beast!

The December Issue of the South West Veterans Athletic Club Magazine had a feature on John and gave the British ratings for the year. John was ranked; 5th in the 5 mile, 4th for 10k, and 2nd for 10 miles (1st was Scottish, so John could rate himself top Englishman) and he was also just one place behind the Olympian Chris Chataway in the 1/2 marathon ratings. West Veteran Athletic Club for 4 distances; 5 miles (40 mins 8 secs), 10k (48 mins 24 secs), 10 mile (80 mins 41 secs) and 1/2 marathon (1hr 51 mins 48 secs).

Over the years John says he has had great support from the Andover Athletic Club and the road running section and still hopes to continue being part of this group for many years to come.

The Wessex League track and field competition

The Wessex League track and field competition has commenced for the season.

Andover AC had a new team of youngsters with most of them competing for the first time. Despite this they achieved very good results resulting in the Andover team winning the match ahead of Woking by a massive 24 points, a great team effort.

Highlighted performances include: Louisa Jones who had amazing 600m race taking 2nd place with a time 2.12.4 and Ella Tanner who has improved so much since last year finishing in a time of 2.17.7 with Kerys Owen close behind her in a time of 2.17.8.

Natalie Wilson was the best of the Andover runners in the 75m race, clocking a time of 12.8.

The vortex throw gave Andover a win with Jessica Pinchbeck throwing with a distance of 19.12m. Jessica also went on to have a good long jump of 2.96m, with Abbie Mills close behind with her jump of 2.88m.

Other members of the team were; Emma Ward, Rebecca Hedger and Declan Williams (the only boy).

A good day was had by all and a very good team spirit and hopefully Andover will have a few more boys for the next match.

Hampshire Road Race League

Salisbury

12 of Andover’s' finest made their to what looked like being a very wet day, but by the time we assembled at the start the clouds were breaking, the temperature warming along with a little wind. We were able to field 2 full men’s teams and 1 ladies team, (HRRL Results to be out shortly).

Mark Curtis was first home in an impressive Chip time of 59:57, (however the gun time was 1:00:03) all the same this was a stunning performance from Mark who now regularly leading the team home (32nd place), not far behind was Dougie Brisco in a Chip time of 1:02:07 in 57th Place, Rob Cliffe had another solid run in 1:06:24 to finish in 103rd place overall, completing the A team was matt lane with a chip time of 1:09:00, in 148th place. The B team made up of Tim Bennett 1:01:46 (Pos 202), Kelvin Mason 1:16:12 (Pos 274), Ian Oldacre 1:22:29 (Pos 363) and John Goulding 1:24:41 (Pos 400). Well done to both teams.

Emma Dunham had a good strong race to bring the ladies home in 1:14:18 in 240th place overall, Sandra Blowers also had a solid run in 1:28:20 (Pos 441) along with Tina Trotter 1:32:01 (Pos 474th) and Shelia Oldacre in 1:36:00 (Pos 509).

The conditions stayed good for all, now with only 3 races left in the league maximum participation is needed to push for promotion in all divisions (mens A and B and Ladies A and B)

Salisbury 10 results are up on http://www.frsystems.co.uk/ now. Well done everyone!

GunPos No GunTime Surname Forename Gender Cat Team/Club Chip Pos Chip Time

32 78 1:00:03 Curtis Mark M 40 Andover Athletics Club 29 0:59:5

56 65 1:02:13 Brisco Douglas M 50 Andover Athletics Club 55 1:02:07

103 452 1:06:32 Cliffe Robert M 40 Andover Athletics Club 103 1:06:24

148 213 1:09:09 Lane Matt M 40 Andover Athletics Club 149 1:09:00

202 498 1:12:00 Bennett Tim M 40 Andover Athletics Club 202 1:11:46

240 379 1:14:32 Dunham Emma F 35 Andover Athletics Club 241 1:14:18

274 288 1:16:38 Mason Kelvin M 50 Andover Athletics Club 272 1:16:12

363 536 1:22:55 Oldacre Ian M 60 Andover Athletics Club 362 1:22:29

400 613 1:25:02 Goulding John M 75 Andover Athletics Club 400 1:24:41

441 334 1:28:43 Blowers Sandra F 55 Andover Athletics Club 441 1:28:20

474 238 1:32:23 Trotter Tina F 45 Andover Athletics Club 475 1:32:01

509 537 1:36:21 Oldacre Sheila F 55 Andover Athletics Club 510 1:36:00

Andover Athletes in Malta.

Sunday 27th February saw eight members of the Andover Athletic Club competing in the Malta Half Marathon and Full Marathon as well as a Friday evening Hash run hosted by the Stockholm Absolute Hash House Harriers……”a drinking club with a running problem”!

The races started from the former medieval capital of the island, Mdina, a fortress city which stands high overlooking the island. With the Full Marathon starting at 8 am, 500+ entrants made their way out of the city before turning off to complete three loops of undulating roads.

The 1500+ runners in the Half Marathon started at 10am and met up with the Full Marathon runners with 14 kilometres to go on their straight journey to the finish in the picturesque harbour town of Sliema, nestling under the gaze of the capital Valetta.

Sheila Oldacre was Andover’s only Marathon entrant and she completed the difficult course in a very pleasing time of 4 hours 36 mins.

The other Andover runners all took part in the Half Marathon with personal bests secured by Mark Curtis with his time of 1 hour 20mins placing him 4th in age his group; Faye Wyatt 1 hour 40 mins, 5th in her age group and Amanda Lambert 1 hour 59mins, 18th in age her group. Other results were Pete Mitchell 1 hour 25 mins, 13th in age group; Martin Welsh 1 hour 31min, 25th in age group; Jon Greenhalgh 1 hour 40mins, 36th in age group and Ian Oldacre 1 hour 50 mins,17th in age group.

Stubbington Green 10K

This was an excellent turnout for a popular post Christmas / New Year run and the start of training in earnest for the spring. We had the most entrants from Andover ever for this race - a total of 16, 11 men and 5 ladies.

The teams are currently in the following places in the league, Ladies A team are 1st in Div 3 and came 1st on te day in that division, the B team was missing 1 member to make a complete team, but still scored to come 7th in B division 2 where they currently lye 4th.

The men are in 2nd place in Division 2 and currently on course for promotion to Division 1 with the big clubs... this will be a big achievement if we can keep this up, the team coming home in 2nd on the day as well. The B team are in 3rd place after coming 4th on the day.

So all our teams are doing really well. On the day, Chris Dewey was the surprise package with a great chip time of 37:57, closely followed in by Mark Curtis (38:05) then a duel between Pete Mitchell and Dougie Brisco (both 38:23).

The B team was headed up by Rob Cliffe in 40:01 and a returning Matt Lane from Injury in 41:20, with Martin Welsh 42:42 and Kelvin mason 46:34 the other B team members, also supported by, Ian Oldacre 48:05, John Goulding 50:27 and Mat Orchard 54:17.

The ladies A team did great guns again led home by Emma Dunham in 45:22, then Fay Wyatt in 48:21 and Sandra Blowers in 53:30. With Tina Trotter (54:34) and Shelia Oldacre (57:47) coming in for the B team.

Next race will be Ryde 10m on 06th Feb 2011.

Full results can be seen by clicking here

Cross Country League – Prospect Park Reading

It was a trip to Prospect Park, Reading for the Andover AC contingent.  A very open and hilly venue making racing very tough as the windy was very strong.  

The first race of the day was the Under 13 girls which saw a large field of competitors on the start line, with 5 Andover athletes competing it was going to be a battle to see which 3 finished first to score for the team.  The first girl home was Emma Jones (24th) continuing her good form, closely followed by Ella Neil in 32nd place, who was delighted with her highest place this season following her return to fitness.  The team was made up by the fast finishing Nakita Brades (55th). The final two Andover contingent saw Lucy Strange, who was running in her first cross country for the club running most of the course with club mate Lauren Adams, with Lauren piping Lucy on the line for 61st place. 

Next up was Ben Reed in the Under 13 boys race. Ben worked hard throughout the race, finishing with a flourish to come home in 22nd, proving he is definitely a talent and one to watch in the future. 

By the time the Senior Ladies moved to the start line the course was getting very cut up and slippery, our gallant ladies did not let this put them off, they paced themselves to ensure they got the most out their race and all were happy with their placing: Natalie Thomas 34th, Caroline Bennett 61st and Margaret Smith 67th. 

The recent under 17 men Hampshire team champions; Alex Rudge, Tom Bennett and Chris Neil were nervous going into this, the penultimate race of the Hampshire League, as they knew everyone would be targeting them for the top team position. A sensible start saw Tom and Alex in the top 4 and Chris in the top 10.  By the end of the race, the leading group had reduced to 3 with the battle for the top 3 places developing. Alex worked hard over the last half mile to overtake Tom on the final stretch taking 2nd and 3rd spots respectively. Chris brought the team home to come in 9th position, importantly placing the team 2 points ahead of 2nd placed Aldershot.  This fine result puts the team in a very strong position at the top of the league, ahead of their main rivals of Aldershot and Reading with one match remaining. 

As always, the Senior Mens was the last race of the day with a good turnout from the club.  Adem Omar deliberately started off steadily and built up his pace over the race. As a result he overtook many athletes on route and this strategy helped him keep up his momentum, eventually finishing in 23rd, a season’s best performance.  Chris Adams also competed in the same race. Chris judged his race well, beating a regular rival by a massive margin; he was the 7th under 20 finisher (58th overall).  Chris Dewey came home in 49th, this result places Chris 10th overall in the veterans individual results. These results, combined with those of club stalwarts: Mark Neil (93rd), Tim Bennett (114th) and Les Adams (127th) who have supported this league with total enthusiasm and commitment meant that all their efforts were rewarded by Andover currently showing as 1st in Senior League division 3 and their veterans team holding firmly to 2nd place in the veterans division 2 league (24 teams in total). Club Chairman, Nick Woodford said ‘This is a fantastic achievement and makes us all very proud especially because the focus of attention tends to be with the younger athletes rather than with these more mature athletes and yet they still come out every week and perform’.

To read road runner news reports from 2010 - Click here

To read road runner news reports from 2009 - Click here