Marathon Places

Congratulations to Jane McTaggart and Greg Sherriff on winning the club's two free entries into next year's London Marathon, which were drawn at the Xmas party. We'll look forward to seeing their medals at the post-marathon meal at Chow's, Westerham, on 22 April!

Xmas Run

Sunday 18 December 2011

Photos from Sunday's Christmas run. Click on photos for larger images.

Oxted Runners Xmas run 2011 Oxted Runners Xmas run 2011 Oxted Runners Xmas run 2011

 

Mince Pie 10m (Peacehaven)

Sunday 11th December

This is a multi-terrain event which is contested over a tough, hilly ten mile course and good for a pre Xmas work-out! 2011 saw a record entry for the race. Two Oxted Runners travelled down to the south coast for this race, Christine and Karen Farnham. Karen finished in a time of 87:52 and 165th out of 327 finishers with Christine hot on her heels in the same finishing time and 166th place. A new course record was set by James Baker who won in a time of 56:34 - how anyone can run this course in such a time is amazing - he must have wings on his shoes!!

Surrey Ladies' Cross-Country League, Richmond Park

Saturday 3 December 2011

Oxted Runners/Holland Sports Ladies' XC team photo

(Above) Sarah Hardman, Catherine Clifton, Christine Farnham, Val Place, Jane McTaggart and Karen Farnham. Leanne Kavanagh and Jenny Mills were unfortunately not around when the photo was taken.

In the second Surrey Ladies' Cross-Country League Division Two fixture at Richmond Park, 18th birthday girl Leanne Kavanagh led home the combined Oxted Runners/Holland Sports team in 21st place (68th including Div 1). Next in was Christine Farnham in 73rd (216) in 28m 21, closely followed by sister Karen in 77th (225) in 28m 38. 81st (234) was Val Place battling a cold in 28m 56, with 5th scorer Sarah Hardman 109th (288) in 30m 45, closely followed by Catherine Clifton in 110th (289) in 30m 48. Jane McTaggart was 116th (302) in 31m 32 with Jenny Mills 133rd (325) in 32m 36. The team finished 14th and now lie 12th overall in Division Two. For detailed results click here. Photos from Saturday are now on Picasa; click here to view.

Winter Handicap [revised]

Tuesday 29 November 2011

With only 16 runners participating in the second of this winter's handicap series, 2 of whom were non-members and who did not therefore qualify for points, there were 21 points which were unallocated. In spite of the small turnout there were some impressive performances, notably from Paul Markland, who was first to finish, beating his target time by almost 5 minutes and new member Bernt Hillman, who was over 3 minutes faster than expected. Fastest time of the night was set by Richard Williams in 30:53, with the fastest woman being Madelaine Lee-Smith in 34:48. Heading the points table after two events are Joan Wingfield on 35 points and Robert Elliott on 34 points. Handicaps will now be adjusted ready for the next run in the series on 24th January 2012.

Epsom 10

Sunday, 20 November 2011

Two Oxted Runners, Christine and Karen Farnham, took part in this 10 mile road race, organised by Epsom and Ewell Harriers, on the roads surrounding Epsom Downs. The course takes the route of a circular lap, heading from the start downhill towards Langley Vale, before climbing to the village of Headley, and going through to the village of Walton on the Hill before heading through Tadworth, along the Switchback towards Epsom Downs. The race included the 10 mile championship for both Vets AC and SCVAC. As a consequence there was quite a high calibre field. Christine was first home in a time of 81:48 and 180th out of 274 finishers with Karen close behind in 81:54 and 182nd.

Crowborough 10K

Sunday, 6 November 2011

Crowborough 10K - Christine and Karen Farnham

Christine and Karen Farnham took part in the 25th anniversary Crowborough 10km race on Sunday. This event was held a year later than scheduled as the 2010 event was cancelled due to snow and ice. Unusually for this race the weather was kind this year (This year it was being held 3-4 weeks earlier than normal so that may be a factor. Ed.) and 322 runners took part in what is a very well organised run which included having to negotiate a ford (or a footbridge for the less brave), followed by a tough climb, having then to do the same for a second lap. Christine was first of the two to finish in 145th place (8th in age category) and a chip time of 51:13:30. Karen finished just behind in 153rd place (10th in age category) with a chip time of 51:35:45. Christine and Karen are pictured nearing the end of the first lap and proudly displaying their commemorative tee shirts showing the original 2010 printing.

Crowborough 10K - Christine and Karen Farnham
Hankley Halloween Hustle

Sunday 30th October

Two Oxted Runners, Christine and Karen Farnham, took part in this challenging 10m/10km event held on the scenic Hankley Common near Farnham. The course had been designed to include all aspects of the common which meant mud, sand, rocks and hills - plenty of them all!! Christine completed the 10km race in a time of 57:18 and 13th out of 34 finishers and Karen completed the 10 mile race in 90:30 and 60th out of 105 finishers. This was a low key and very friendly event with the marshalls getting into the spirit (pardon the pun) of halloween and dressing up for the event.

Winter Handicap

Tuesday 25 October 2011

Only 18 members took part in the first of this winter's handicap series on Tuesday evening and as a result 3 points went unclaimed for 19th and 20th positions. First to finish on the night was Joan Wingfield who claimed the maximum 20 points on offer, followed by Lynn Hills (19 points) and Andy Irons (18 points). Final finisher, Wendy Wilson, despite starting late, 2 minutes behind scratch man Richard Williams, still managed to pick up 3 points for her efforts.

Valentines 10K, Chessington — 12 February 2012

Entries for the 2012 Valentines 10K race are now open. Go to www.valentines10k.co.uk for more details on how to enter online or via post. Fast flat/undulating certified 10K road course once used for our 10K champs. Good car parking and race HQ. Organised by Surrey club in our XC league, 26.2 RRC. 9am start.

Cross-country races at Lightwater

Saturday, 8 October 2011

Results and photos from the men's and women's cross-country races at Lightwater Country Park can now be found on the Holland website.

Striders Switchback 5, Lloyd Park

Sunday 25 September 2011

Maggie Statham finishing the Switchback 5 at Lloyd Park

(Above) Maggie Statham finishing the Switchback 5. Click for larger image.

Maggie Statham took part in an unusually hot and sunny Striders of Croydon Switchback 5 on Sunday, 25 September, and ran off with the W55 prize - well done Maggie!

This 5 mile cross-country race starts and finishes in Lloyd Park, which was looking at its best in the sunshine with the grass having recently been mown. It heads out into the wooded Addington hills where the switchbacks - a series of sharp hills - have to be negotiated. The Switchback 5 is a very "clubby" race with all of Surrey and Kent's top clubs being represented in force, but sadly while this once was a popular race for members of our club too, that's no longer the case, and Maggie was the sole Oxted Runners representative.

Oxted Runners orientate themselves at Tilgate Country Park

Saturday 17 September 2011

Oxted Runners Orienteers - Team Photo

A really enjoyable morning was spent by a number of Oxted Runners at Tilgate Country Park, Crawley, as the club made its first adventurous excursion into the world of orienteering. We piggy-backed onto a 5 mile trail event, one of a number of orienteering events of different distances at Tilgate Park organised by Southdown Orienteers. Representing our club were Gary Spring, who organised our participation, Roger McGregor, Jonathan Buxton, Karen Farnham, David Millen, Maggie Statham, Martin Berry and Wendy Wilson, who walked the course with a friend. The challenge was to run around the country park with our maps looking for the 14 control points into which we could press our electronic dibbers to register our progress around the course. We all thought that this was great fun and something we would do again. Click here for the photos from the event. The results can be found here.

Many thanks to Southdown Orienteers for allowing us to take part in their event and for providing the excellent photos, and to Gary Spring for organising our participation on behalf of the club.

Oxted Runners Orienteers - Checking the Map
Ashtead 10K

Sunday 18 September 2011

Andy Irons reports: Ashtead near Leatherhead held their annual 10k on Sunday 18th September. This event has been voted 4th best 10k in Britain and one of the top 50 races in the country by Runners World (2009 & 10) and The Daily Telegraph so I thought I'd go and give it a try.

The organisation was certainly good; easy parking, entry on the day (as well in advance obviously) and then a short walk over the railway to the starting area on the common.

The course is all off-road and held on Ashtead Common which is managed by the National Trust. I would call it undulating, totalling 64 metres of incline (vs Titsey Trail 124 metres) along woodland paths. With many large running clubs in the area the standard of runner was pretty high, the winning time was 36:29 which for an off-road run is fast going. Andy Irons representing Oxted Runners managed 25th place in a time of 42:58. To top it off all competitors received a tee-shirt for their efforts with plenty of free drinks and snacks at the finish line.

If this 10k can manage 4th best in the country then our own Titsey Trail is at least equal to it in my view.

Dry Hill 10, Lingfield

Sunday 4 September 2011

Dry Hill 10

Well done to Karen Farnham and Kate Gillespie for their great runs in the Dry Hill 10, the long-established hilly, multi-terrain race that starts and finishes at the NYCPE (National Centre for Young People with Epilepsy) in St. Pier's Lane, Lingfield. The 10-mile course uses some of the route we follow in the Dry Hill pub run and goes through some lovely countryside. Karen won first prize in the W45 age-group with a time of 1:26:02, finishing 6th lady overall, while Kate, only just back from hols in Turkey, finished first in her age-group (senior woman) and was 4th female overall, in a time of 1:24:54. Mention should also be made of Maggie Statham's son Andy, a former club member currently away at university, who came second in the race in an excellent 61 mins 42 secs.

Charing 10K, Kent

Saturday 3 September 2011

Andy Irons reports: This is a friendly 10k in the pretty Kent village of Charing (between Maidstone and Ashford) that's organised by the local school. The course is a combination of quiet lane and off-road Pilgrims Way. Outbound is flat before you turn left up to the top of the North Downs then off-road along the top of downs and descending back into Charing.

Kids 1 mile event first off; Ben Irons 3rd and Issy Irons 14th. Then the 10k race started. Andy Irons was 12th overall from 186 and first in the V45 category with a time of 41.57.

Highly recommended.

Hard as Snails 10K (XC, Shalford, nr Guildford)

Saturday 27 August 2011

 
Gatton 10K

Wednesday 27 July 2011

 
Elmore 7 Miles

Saturday 16 July 2011

  Oxted Runners' 2011 Champions

(Above) This year's Club Champions, Stuart Dickinson and Kate Gillespie, and plate winners David Millen and Christine Farnham. Click photo for larger image.

Reigate Priory Summer 10K

Wednesday 13 July 2011

This year sixteen Oxted Runners - two less than last year - took part in the Reigate Summer Evening 10K, our annual club championships. There were good performances from everyone, and the majority achieved 60% plus age-grading - impressive. The men's champion is last year's winner, Stuart Dickinson, while the ladies' champion is Kate Gillespie. Well done to Stuart and Kate. Stuart was also the first man on an age-graded basis, so the man who recorded the second best age-graded time, David Millen, is the winner of the men's age-graded plate, while Christine Farnham wins the ladies' age-graded plate for the second year running. Well done David and Christine. The full results for the club are shown below.

Oxted Runners at the Reigate Summer 10K

(Above) Team photo, Reigate Summer 10K, 13 July 2011. Click photo for larger image.

Nonsuch Park Relay, Ewell

Wednesday 6th July 2011

Oxted Runners fielded a team in the 4 x 3km (1.87 mile approx) Nonsuch Park relay run at Ewellon Wednesday 6th July. The team, in running order, comprised Christine Farnham, David Millen, Karen Farnham and Mathew Readwin.

This annual event is great fun with some taking it more seriously than others. There were 59 teams competing with some all male, some all women, and some, like ours, mixed. Some Clubs entered a number of teams with the greatest number from Epsom Oddballs with 9 teams. The only downside of the event is the 7pm start which makes it difficult for many to get there on time.

The Oxted team finished in 39th place overall with the individual split times of 13:54 for Christine, 13:57 for David, 13:51 for Karen and 11:33 for Mathew, with the team total time being 53:15. The winning team time was 36:38 and the last 73:28.

Leatherhead Rotary Midsummer 10km

Sunday 19th June 2011

This friendly, low key 10km race took place on Headley Heath near Epsom Downs. The heath is an area of outstanding natural beauty managed by the National Trust. The route was out and back with a loop at the turn which made it very accessible for spectators (but maybe a bit demoralising for the runners as you went past the finish!!). It was an undulating course with pleasant open woodland paths and spectacular views.

Five Oxted Runners took part. Karen Farnham was first home in 52:32 and 80th place out of 181 finishers. She was closely followed by Christine Farnham (52:38, 82nd), Graham Pullen, who had an excellent race (53:10, 86th), Keith Towers (58:14, 136th), and last but not least Barbara Towers (66:35, 164th).

Tour of Epsom & Ewell

6-10 June 2011

From Monday 6th June through to Friday 10th June Karen and Christine Farnham took part in David Denton's Marathon Windows Tour of Epsom & Ewell at various locations in the borough. This annual event features races on each day of between 3 and 4 miles, with the final day's event being a handicap run based on the previous four days' results. There was a great atmosphere throughout the week and on the final day, when the presentations were made, with a great sense of camaderie amongst the runners who had taken part. Karen and Christine were joined for the Wednesday event by Matthew Readwin, who was racing for the first time for many months having suffered a series of injuries. Vodafone were also using the final day's race to make a film of their charity work.

Results for the 5 days were as follows:

Final results for the week are calculated on the total time taken over the 5 races. 100 runners started on the first day and 86 runners completed all 5 of the events. Overall Christine finished in 35th place (2nd in her age category) with Karen 37th (3rd in age category).

Look out for next year's event on David Denton's website www.runningwithdavid.com. It's great fun and good training.

Oxted Runners at start of pub run from The Old House at Home

(Above) Club members at the start of the pub run from The Old House at Home. Keith Towers with drink in hand. Click photo for full-size image.

Old House at Home Pub Run

Tuesday 31 May 2011

A great turn out on Tuesday evening for the second pub run of the summer from the Old House at Home, Dormansland. We had 26 runners taking part, one more than last year. Once again we were lucky with the weather, as after a showery day the evening was fine and quite warm - ideal conditions for running in. Once again our thanks go to Del and Carole Skipper for leaving out refreshments at Beeches Farm Cottage, much appreciated after a hard slog up the grassy fields from Lower Stonehurst Farm. It was also very pleasant at the pub, which has recently come under new management, with 11 members sitting down after the run to enjoy some good pub grub.

Refreshment stop at Beeches Farm Cottage

(Above) Refreshment stop at Beeches Farm Cottage. Click photo for full-size image.

Dave Clarke 5km, Nonsuch Park

Thursday 5th May 2011

Christine and Karen Farnham competed in the above race Karen finishing in 23:35 and 45th out of 73 finishers and Christine with the same time and 46th place.

Longleg 10km, Albury Heath

Sunday 15th May 2011

A cross-country race through pine forests and bluebell woods (too late for any bluebells, did hear a cuckoo though!) on trails and single tracks on Albury Heath in the Surrey Hills. It was a tough, hilly two lap course through woods made even more difficult by the sandy tracks. Karen Farnham finished in a time of 56:21 and 54th out of 134 finishers followed very closely by Christine in 56:22 and 55th place.

Lingfield Marathon

Sunday, 1 May 2011

A good turn-out of Oxted Runners at a sunny and rather warm Lingfield Marathon during the May bank holiday weekend. In the 10 mile race (actually 10.4 miles) Karen and Christine Farnham finished together in 1:27:28 and 1:27:29 respectively, while further back Lynn and Alan Hills also finished together in 1:37:36 and 1:37:37. In the 10K race (a tad overdistance at 6.4 miles), Maggie Statham was first over the finish line in 50:14, closely followed by Kate Gillespie in 50:34. A little further back was David Millen in 54:06. It was also good to see two former members, Tony Saill (55:19), who was coming back after a long injury lay-off, and Mike Chappell (1:12:53 in the 10 mile race).

Folkestone 10

Good Friday, 22nd April 2011

In what must have been the hottest conditions for the last few years 480 runners completed Good Friday's Folkestone 10 mile Road Race. The race conditions are always unpredictable due to the variation in the Easter Holiday, but this year's unseasonably hot conditions made the race particularly challenging.

Oxted's contingent did particularly well in the conditions with Christine and Karen Farnham finishing in 254th and 255th place respectively (7th and 8th out of 40 in their age category) in times of 83:19 and 83:21. To everyone's amazement David Millen also put in an appearance, running 10 miles for probably the first time in a decade and finishing in 316th place (21st out of 45 in age category) in a time of 87:59, this despite taking a tumble just before the 7 mile mark and measuring his length on the concrete promenade. Bruised and battered he picked himself up, dusted himself off, and continued on his way to stagger over the line at the finish.

There was a great atmosphere for this popular run with enthusiastic support all along the out and back route along the sea front from Hythe to Folkestone. Many the call "well done Oxted" was heard along the way as the green and white colours were recognised.

Angmering Bluebell 10K

Sunday 17th April 2011

Two Oxted Runners, Christine and Karen Farnham, ventured down to Angmering to race in the above trail race. Christine finished in a time of 51:42 and 96th out of 354 finishers with Karen just behind in 51:46 and 97th. The bluebells put in an appearance as well (although not quite at their best).

Folkestone 10

(Above) Christine and Karen Farnham in their distinctive Oxted Runners green and white quarters at the Folkestone 10

Christ's Hospital 10K

Sunday 3rd April 2011

Karen Farnham reports:This mixed terrain race, which is mostly off-road, started and finished in the avenue next to the quadrangle of Christ's Hospital school. The route headed out through the school grounds onto the Downs Link, through Southwater Country Park before picking up the Downs Link again and heading back to Christ's Hospital. The morning brought perfect spring running conditions and saw two Oxted Runners racing, Christine and Karen Farnham. Christine finished in a time of 49:00 and 96th out of 260 finishers with Karen not far behind in 49:11 and 99th place.

Race news

A number of Oxted Runners have been spotted in local race results. In the Cranleigh 15/21 on 20 March Hannah Hutton ran in the 21 mile event, finishing in 386th place out of 543 and a time of 3:18:01, and Sarah Misson-Yates ran in the 15 mile run finishing 156th out of 223 and a time of 2:34:26. Well done to both. In the Knole Park 10K at Sevenoaks, one of our favourite races of recent years, David Young finished with a chip time of 41:11 and 24th out of 505 finishers while John Darwin finished in 59:59 and 355th.

If you have any reports on races you've done do please send them in via our email address and we'll put them on this web page.

Winter Handicap - The Final Result!

A total of 53 runners took part in this year's Winter Handicap series. Two runners, Gary Spring and Natalie Whitmore, took part in all five of the series, with 20 completing the required three runs to qualify for the Championship. There were some impressive performances throughout the series, most notably from Richard Williams, with times between 29:33 and 30:00 minutes for the 5 mile circuit, the fastest of which was a Club record, and from Natalie Whitmore, who steadily improved her time throughout the series by over 5 minutes.

The Handicap Champions for the year, calculated from the average of the best three age-graded times, were Gary Spring for the men and Val Bowes for the ladies. Second and third places for the men went to Richard Williams and Rod Wood, and for the Ladies, Stella Scordellis and Maria Adaway. Congratulations to all of them and to everyone who took part throughout the cold, dark, winter evenings.

Full results can be viewed on the Downloads and Contacts page of the website.

Tunbridge Wells Half Marathon

Sunday 27th February 2011

The Tunbridge Wells half marathon was held on 27th February. This race is gently downhill for the first 6 miles or so to be followed by a long stamina sapping climb for 2 miles up Fordcombe Hill with the last 5 miles mainly flat. Running for Oxted were Hannah Hutton, building up for the London Marathon, and Sarah Misson-Yates. Neither managed to match the time set by international runner Liz Yelling (1:13:56), but Hannah finished in 1187th position and a chip time of 1:55:22 with Sarah in 1523rd position and a time of 2:05:23. Well done to both. There were 1,974 finishers in all.

Henfield 9M

Sunday 27th February 2011

Christine and Karen ventured out again the following week to race in the Henfield 9M (gluttons for punishement!!). The weather was perfect for racing however the terrain proved much more difficult. The race started along the gravel of a disused railway line (Downs Link), crossed a very wet field to then follow a very soggy and rough path along a riverbank for several miles. This grassy, uneven section proved particularly challenging but worse was to come! The last half-mile really tested runners' resolve as we slipped and stumbled across some extremely muddy fields and into the finish. True XC & great fun (honestly)!!

Karen finished just in front of Christine in a time of 78:31 and 44th out of 94 finishers. Chrstine's time was 78:34 and 45th place.

The Vale Gallop (Epsom Downs)

Sunday 20th February 2011

Two Oxted Runners, Christine and Karen Farnham, lined up in the "stalls" at the start of the Vale Gallop, held over 10km on the flat (but with hills! especially at the end!). The going was soft (ie wet & muddy!). With 2 furlongs to go Christine just edged in front to beat Karen by a short head. Finishing times were Christine 55:09 and 58th out of 141 finishers, Karen 55:11 and 59th (don't know who the bookies favourite was!!).

This was a friendly low key event on mixed terrain (tracks, bridleway and farmland) with some of the route across fields not normally open to the public.

Surrey Women's Cross-Country, Putney Vale

Saturday, 12th February 2011

On a tough hilly 5.4 mile course at Putney Vale, Wimbledon on Saturday, Oxted Runners/Holland Sports had 11 runners competing (put the men to shame). The A Team finished 8th on the day and 10th overall, whilst the B team finished 3rd of the B teams and 4th overall.

As usual Maggie Statham led the A team home finishing 136th in 44m 36 (37th in Division 2). Maria Adaway next in had her best run for some time in 182nd (63rd) in 47m 32. As usual the twins Karen and Christine Farnham finished together unintentionally in 183rd (64th) and 184th (65) in 47m 35. Val Place was 190th (68) in 48m 02 a brave performance having had an injection in her shoulder the day before. Leading home the B team was Glynis Doyle 199th (74) in 49m 06, followed by Sarah Hardman 221st (86) in 50m 43, Jane Hollowell 231st (91) in 51m 19, Val Bowes 240th (95) in 52m 12 and Catherine Clifton 248th (100) in 53m 33. Finally Barbara Towers comprising the C team came 277th (123) in 59m 03.

Well done to everyone who ran for our team during the season. Detailed results can be downloaded below.

Updated photos HERE.

 
Winter handicap results

With rain falling for most of the day the turnout for the fourth in this year's winter handicap series was understandably low with just 19 runners. However the rain stopped in time for some impressive times to be recorded. Best time overall was again achieved by Richard Williams who beat his previous course record by 22 seconds, finishing in 29:33, with 10 others posting significantly improved times. Full results can be found on the Downloads and Contacts page of the website.

With only one event left in the series the age-graded lead is held by Gary Spring for the men, with Richard Williams 46 seconds behind and Val Bowes for the women, closely followed by Maddie Lee-Smith only 10 seconds adrift.

The last run in the series is scheduled to be held on 15th March when we will be approaching the lighter evenings.

Bookham 10K

Sunday 6th February 2011

The first and last 300m of this challenging (read hilly!!) 10k race in the Surrey Hills were on the road with the rest being all cross country including 285m of ascent and descent as the race climbs to the top of Ranmore Common (outside Dorking) through some lovely countryside.

Karen Farnham finished in a time of 59:34 and 107th out of 252 finishers with Christine just a second behind in 59:35 and 108th.

This turned out to be a long (as well as a hard!) 10km as several runners registered 6.6/7 miles on their Garmins.

Although this is a tough race (some of the climbs seem to go on forever!) it was friendly, low key and we would recommend this for one to do next year.

Kenley Airfield 10K Charity Fun Run

Sunday 30 January 2011

Nigel Bongers reports:"I came 82nd out of 214 in 50m 42secs. Not bad considering on last lap I fell onto the concrete and ended up very blooded and with sore ribs. When I fell I was just behind Maria Adaway who finished in 50m 15secs."

Perch 2000

Sunday 16 January 2011

Thanks to Karen Farnham for the following report.
This race, traditionally held on Epsom Downs and run over 6.25m, was held in Nonsuch Park due to the refusal by the Epsom Downs Conservators to allow the race to go ahead on the Downs. The race was still a cross country one held entirely in the park and therefore traffic free - just the odd dog to dodge! However, it wasn't the same challenging course and while Epsom Oddballs did a magnificent job coping with the change of venue, from a personal viewpoint, it didn't have quite the same atmosphere as running/racing on the Downs has. I think this was reflected in the number of runners - 298 finishers. The Perch is usually full with no entries on the day. Let's hope it is back on Epsom Downs next year.

There were two Oxted Runners taking part. David Young and Karen Farnham. David finished in a excellent time of 40:33 and 11th out of 298 finishers and Karen Farnham (having run the ladies XC at Ham Common on the Saturday) with a time of 53:29 and 137th.

Winter handicap results

Tuesday 18 January 2011

In all 31 runners took part in the third of this winter's handicap series on 18th January, although only 29 finished. Star result was again from Richard Williams with a time of 30:00, only 5 secs outside his record breaking time achieved in the November run. There were also good results from Tony Pearson, Jane Hollowell, Roger McGregor and Stuart Dickinson, all of whom achieved a significant improvement on previous results. A special mention also to newcomers David Hills (son of Alan and Lynn), Mark Snelling, and David McPherson, all of whom recorded excellent times. Full results can be found on the Downloads and Contacts page of the website.

With only two handicap runs left in this winters series the age graded race for the Men's Championship is led by Gary Spring, whilst the Ladies Championship is currently tied between Maddy Lee-Smith and Val Bowes.

Handicaps will now be further refined in preparation for the next run in the series on Tuesday 15th February.

Thanks go to Richard Williams for getting the handicap organiser out of a pickle when the recall button on the Club's stopwatch failed to function.

Women's Cross-Country Ham Common

Saturday 15 January 2011

A great turnout of nine runners for the third women's cross-country fixture of the season at a new venue, Ham, between Kingston and Richmond. This was a flat trail course with some muddy sections that took the runners alongside the Thames with a long run out, two loops, then a long run back. A longer than usual distance too, at five miles. A good course with a handy race HQ at the Hawker Centre. Maybe we'll see this venue used again next year. First home was Maggie Statham (37:34), followed by Val Place (39:04), Karen Farnham (40:28), Sarah Hardman (43:00), Hannah Hutton (43:33), Jane Hollowell (44:08), Cathy Hayes (44:20), Catherine Clifton (44:36) and Sarah Misson (47:54). With nine runners we had two complete teams of 4. The 'A' team finished in 14th position and the 'B' team in 29th. After 3 matches out of 4 the 'A' team lies in 14th position in the league. For full results click HERE (Excel spreadsheet). Photos are on Picasa. Click HERE to see them.

Tadworth 10

Sunday, 2 January 2011

On Sunday 2nd January the annual Tadworth 10 mile event took place on a challenging, hilly, course starting and finishing on Epsom Downs. Conditions were generally good for running, with light winds, although cold. First finisher for Oxted was Greg Sherriff in a below par 74:19 (112th place). Christine and Karen Farnham were next to finish in times of 87:01 and 87:02 respectively (316th and 317th), followed by Graham Pullen in 97:27 (430th). Also running was ex-member Judith Ladd, now competing for Waverley Harriers. Judith finished in a time of 88:55 (338th). Update: Iain Morton, whom we initially overlooked because he wasn't registered as an Oxted Runner, finished just behind Christine and Karen in 87:03 for 318th place. There were 540 finishers overall. Well done to all.