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Hard as Snails - Saturday 14th August 2010

The second running of the Hard as Snails cross country 10k race at Guildford on Saturday 14th August proved just as difficult, if not more so, than the first, despite a partial reversal of the course to reduce the bottleneck at the start of last year's race.

The initial steady climb along the Pilgrims Way led to a stamina sapping climb up through loose sand to the church at the top of St Martha's Hill, followed by a speedy descent before climbing up to Newlands Corner on the Albury Downs. From there the route traversed the Downs before descending again, only to be faced with a further climb up to the top of St Martha's through more sand!!!

Just when the participants thought that the worst was over and that it was all downhill from there, they were faced with two more steep climbs through Chantry's Wood before dropping down to the finish.

Despite the toughness of the course Karen and Christine Farnham managed to finish in 53:50, in 148th and 149th position, and being credited jointly with 8th place in the female vet category, with Karen having knocked 2 minutes off her time of last year. Following behind, David Millen beat his previous time by 6 minutes to complete the course in 56:08 for 175th place overall and 49th male vet.

There were 314 finishers in total.

Elmore 7 - Saturday 17th July 2010

A very rare sighting was made on Saturday 17th July in the Chipstead Valley area. This turned out to be David Millen taking part in his second race of the year at the Elmore 7. This race, run in conjunction with the Chipstead Flower Show, is now a Surrey Road League race which meant there was a higher proportion of club runners than in previous years.

Competing in the race with David was one other Oxted Runner, Karen Farnham. Karen finished in a time of 56.37 and 182nd out of 360 finishers, closely followed by David in 57:04 and 189th. Thanks go to Christine Farnham for her support. Christine had also entered the race but unfortunately could not compete due to a foot injury.

Reigate Priory Summer 10K - 14 July 2010 —UPDATED
Oxted Runners at the Reigate Summer 10K, 14 July 2010

There was a magnificent turnout of 18 Oxted Runners for the Reigate Priory 10K, the club championships. The rain that was forecast didn't happen, so the runners had fine if windy weather, and firm conditions underfoot for the run in and out of Priory Park, whose grass looked distinctly brown and worn. Stuart Dickinson was first man home for the club and Maggie Statham, who was presented with a plaque for being first W55, was first woman home. Rod Wood's excellent time made him 2nd M60, with Roger McGregor 3rd M60. It was good to see Judith Ladd make the long journey from her home to run with the club. Wendy Wilson's time includes arriving over 4 minutes after the race started! Well done to all who took part!

The full results for the club are shown below. Click here for photos.

There were 429 finishers in the race.

UPDATE: We now have got age-graded results for the club championships, kindly prepared by David Millen. First age-graded runner was Maggie Statham, second was Rod Wood. As Maggie was first woman overall as well as first on an age-graded basis, Christine Farnham, who was second female on an age-graded basis, will receive the ladies' age-graded prize. Rod Wood gets the men's age-graded prize. Stuart Dickinson wins the men's championship on an overall basis. Well done to all.

Tour of Epsom - 7-11 June 2010

Karen Farnham reports: "These low-key races are held over five consecutive nights at different venues in the Epsom/Ewell area. To add a bit of variety Thursday night's race is a time trial and Friday's is a handicap (your handicap is based on the previous night's results). There is no requirement to run all five races. All races are held off-road on a mixture of surfaced paths and trails. The distance of each race varies from 3.5 to 4 miles. The emphasis is very much on having fun and the atmosphere is very friendly with a wide range of abilities.

"It's quite a challenge to complete all five nights and very good training! Christine and I missed Thursday's time trial this year but have raced all five nights in previous years and there's quite a sense of achievement at the end. Our results for this year were:

Race 1: Horton Country Park

Race 2: Nonsuch Park

Race 3: Hogsmill Open Space

Race 5: NESCOT Playing Fields

If anyone is interested in running any of these next year the website is www.runningwithdavid.com".

Leatherhead Rotary Midsummer 10km - Sunday, 20 June 2010

This small, friendly race was held on Headley Heath (near Epsom Downs), which is designated an AONB (area of outstanding natural beauty) and managed by the National Trust. The course was undulating on tracks/trails all on the Heath itself. Some of the paths made for hard going as they were quite sandy in some places and stoney in others. The results for the 3 Oxted Runners who took part were:


Seaford Half Marathon - 6 June 2010

Mike Noorbaccus reports on the Seaford Half Marathon: "A very hilly run. Did struggle but managed to complete. Time: 2:19:32".

Edinburgh Marathon - 23 May 2010
Mike Noorbaccus with the wonderful Kelly Holmes, 2006

Mike Noorbaccus ran in the Edinburgh Marathon and reports as follows: "What a glorious day. Thousands of runners took part in a thrilling marathon with blazing sunshine. Many suffered and struggled in temperatures of up to 23C. Battered and bruised I completed the course. Time: 5:09:13".

Hillcrest 10K - 16 May 2010

Richard Williams, Jonathan Buxton, Maggie Statham and Martin Berry took part in the Hillcrest 10K on Sunday, 16th May. It's a pleasant, low-key race organised by a local netball club over a single lap, largely off-road grassland course. After doing 2 laps of the playing field the runners head out to Riddlesdown Common and back. Flat to start with, there's a steady drop onto the common and a sharp hill on the way back that forced many to walk. Best performances of the day came from Richard Williams, first Oxted Runner home despite having done a 2 hour mountain bike ride earlier that morning, and Jonathan Buxton, who sped off from the start and recorded a very good time. Unfortunately for the runners, the disappearance of a marshal at a critical point meant part of the course was cut off, reducing the distance to 5.9 miles.

A special mention should be made of Richard and Maddy's daughter, Hannah, who did the junior race and beat all the boys as well as all the girls to get first prize.

Plus points of the Hillcrest 10K include nice running environment over grassland and tracks, a well-appointed clubhouse, which offered teas, sandwiches and cakes, the friendly organisation, and a mass warm-up routine led by an instructor to rap music immediately before the start, which some of our runners took advantage of! We'd continue to recommend the Hillcrest as a good local race to do.

Orpington Half Marathon - 8 May 2010

Mike Noorbaccus ran in the Edinburgh Marathon and reports as follows: "It is a charity event to help orphans and street children in Kenya. The weather conditions were ideal. Time: 2:10:00."

Lingfield Marathon - 2 May 2010
Oxted Runners at the start of the Lingfield Marathon

An excellent turnout of 11 club members for the Lingfield Marathon on Sunday, the latest event in our 2010 race series, despite incredibly poor weather - incessant driving rain and really cold - not what you'd expect in early May. First to complete the 10K run (actually overdistance at 6.46 miles) was Maggie Statham, 2nd woman overall in 47:12, followed by Roger McGregor in a fine run getting well under 50 mins (49:26), Matt Collins (50:23), Martin Berry (50:29), David Millen (51:55) and Brian Miller (52:10). Steve Bishop of Holland Sports AC finished second in 36:42. In the 10 mile race (actually 10 miles +) David Young finished an excellent third overall in a time of 1:08:45, followed by a trio of Karen Farnham (1:25:01), Christine Farnham (1:25:02) and Jonathan Buxton (1:25:02), and finally Mike Noorbaccus (1:38:52). The photos above, from the East Grinstead Courier, show Brian, David, Matt and Martin at the start and Karen and Christine mid-race.

This was the 4th event in this year's race series, which has so far taken in the Perch 2000 (Jan), Valentine's 10K (Feb) and Knole Park 10K (March). The next race in the race series will be the club championship race, the Reigate Priory Summer 10K on 14 July. See the race calendar for news about this and about other good local races.

Bluebell Trail 10K - 25 April 2010

Two Oxted Runners, Christine and Karen Farnham, travelled down to Angmering to take part in the Bluebell Trail 10K. Most of the run took place in the Angmering Park Estate on woodland tracks/trails. Sadly, there were no bluebells out just lots of green leaves! The route was quite undulating with a steady climb at the beginning and a big hill just before the end! Christine finished in a time of 51:35 and 107th out of 406 finishers with Karen literally just behind in 51:36 and 108th position.

London Marathon - 25 April 2010 (updated 3 May with Ronnie Wilkinson's result)

Well done to everyone who ran the London Marathon on Sunday. Despite injury scares in the weeks running up to the marathon, everyone who had an entry started, and everyone who started finished! In total 12 club members took part. First back was Mick Hayes in 3:17:32, followed by late-entrant Greg Sherriff (3:30:20), Barrie Fox (3:35:16 - 98th in his age-category), Nici Jupp (3:37:55), Les Huitson - according to eye-witnesses vying with and ultimately outpacing Gordon Ramsay (3:48:30), Ronnie Wilkinson (3:55:48), Pete Burford - who lost a big toe nail by half-way but still managed to finish by running on his heel! (4:00:15), Gavin Dove (4:01:53), John McGeown (4:14:59), Stella Scordellis (4:40:55), Mike Noorbaccus (4:58:06), and Andy Thornley (5:02:42), who did well to finish considering an injury to his knee. Impressive performances throughout! Well done too to our Holland Sports friend Gerry Simpson, who completed the run in 3:55:44, a PB. Unfortunately Kate Gillespie had to retire at 17 miles due to a recurring knee injury which she was carrying prior to the race. Better luck next time Kate!

Hartfield 10K, East Sussex - 18 April 2010

Many thanks to Maddy Lee-Smith for sending in the following report.

Thought I ought to drop you a note about the race that Richard and I ran on Sunday 18th, The Hartfield 10k. This was the second running of this race and was going to be by all accounts a hilly race. The day was perfect, it was a friendly low-key event with a 2k fun run to start the racing. The course was all off road with the first 3.5 miles uphill to a mast and a number of stiles on route. Richard came in 4th in a time of 40.39 and I came in 21st (1st lady) in a time of 47.02 (123 runners in all). Not great times, but given the terrain, hills and other mitigating factors (this was Richard's first race in 18 months after suffering for most of that with a knee injury) perhaps forgivable!

This would be a good run for anyone next year although with an increase in numbers the stiles would become a slight pain and had this been 3 weeks ago off-road shoes would have been a must.

The Hartfield 10K sounds like a nice low-key off-road run that club members might want to think about next year - Martin.

Paddock Wood Half Marathon - 11 April 2010 and Hastings and Windsor...

Mike Noorbaccus reports that he has done three half marathons recently in the build up to the London Marathon. He ran in the Hastings Half on 21 March in ideal weather conditions with once again thousands of runners supported by thousands of spectators. He recorded a time of 2:07:20. On 28 March he competed in the Lucozade Sport Half Marathon at Eton Dorney, Windsor, in good if windy weather in a time of 2:03:45. Finally on 11 April he ran in the Paddock Wood Half Marathon, another great event he says, in 2:03:00. Well done Mike.

Folkestone 10 - 2nd April 2010
Karen and Christine Farnham running the Folkestone 10

With the threatened rain holding off and the strong breeze off the sea the annual Folkestone 10 mile race on Good Friday was run in unexpectedly good conditions. However only two Oxted Runners, Karen and Christine Farnham (pictured at the 8 mile mark), made the start line for this out and back, largely flat course, all along the sea front promenade from Hythe to Folkestone and back. After running side by side for most of the race Karen managed to edge ahead of sister Christine to finish in 235th place and a time of 81:02, with Christine in 237th place and a time of 81:05. There were 488 finishers.

Christ's Hospital 10K - 28th March 2010

The previous Sunday Karen and Christine ran in the Mel's Milers 10km race at Christ's Hospital school, near Horsham. Both completed the run in the same time, 49:07, in 71st and 73rd place out of 217 finishers.

Silverstone Half Marathon, Northampton - 14th March 2010

Mike Noorbaccus reports that four Oxted Runners took part in the adidas Silverstone Half Marathon on Sunday 14th March. As usual it was a very grand event with thousands of runners supported by hundreds of thousands of spectators. Weather conditions were ideal with periods of glorious sunshine interspersed with some cloud, a temperature of 7 to 8 degrees and an 24 mph westerly wind. Gavin Dove made a fantastic finish with 1:43:38. Well done Gavin. Next came Mike, who recorded 2:04:27, while new members Alan and Lynn Hills completed their first superb half marathon. A wonderful achievement. Lynn finished in 2:21:39 with Alan a mere second behind in 2:21:40. They also raised substantial amount of money for charity. Well done Alan and Lynn.

Mike also did the Bushy Park Trail 10K near Hampton Court a week earlier, on 7th March, which he says was rather cold but good fun, in a time of 53:39.

Knole Park 10K - Sunday 14 March 2010
Members of Oxted Runners after the Knole Park 10K Oxted Runners' women's team with their Knole Park 10K prizes

A magnificent nine runners took part in the latest event in this year's race series, the Sevenoaks Rotary 10K in Knole Park, supported by Roger McGregor and Martin Berry who had entered but were sidelined by injury. The club picked up a prize for 1st women's team, a women's 4th place prize for Maddy and a vets prize for Maggie (Maddy, Nici and Maggie are pictured here with their prizes).

The best performance of the day came from David Young, who finished in 5th position overall in a time of 39:38, just out of the prizes. Next came Andy Irons, 36th in 43:01, followed by Maddy Lee-Smith, 4th woman (65th, 45:37), Maggie Statham (69th, 46:13), Nici Jupp (87th, 47:01), Christine Farnham (157th, 51:08), Karen Farnham (164th, 51:18), Sarah Hardman (259th, 55:25) and John Darwin, pleased to get well under the hour (289th, 57:35). Well done everyone, especially the prize winners, which include Andy Irons' son, who took part in the junior funrun.

Click here for photos from the race.

Henfield 9 - Sunday 28 February 2010

Three Oxted Runners, Karen Farnham, Christine Farnham and Mike Noorbaccus, took part in this year's Henfield 9. Mike reports says it was a fantastic if challenging run. Runners braved torrential rain and extreme mud. The river Adur had broken its banks, flooding the course and forcing runners to wade through icy water in places up to two feet deep. Karen finished the 9 mile run in 81:24 for 38th position, Christine in 81:26 for 39th, and Mike in 89:34 for 58th. There were 73 finishers. The winner, Robbie James of Lewes AC, finished in 53:32, an incredible time given the conditions, according to Karen.

Tunbridge Wells Half Marathon - Sunday 28 February 2010

A great turnout of seven Oxted Runners took part in the ever-popular Tunbridge Wells Half Marathon, one of the club's recommended races. They took on the undulating course including the sapping climb of Fordcombe hill in the face of constant heavy rain and strong winds. First to finish was Pete Burford, in 1:41:45 (409th out of 1792 finishers), closely followed by Ronnie Wilkinson (1:42:52), Kate Gillespie (1:46:26), John McGeown (1:51:39), Sally Gall (1:57:13), Stella Scordellis (1:57:39) and Jane Hollowell (1:58:15). All great times considering the conditions.

Swanley Park 10K - Sunday 21 February 2010

Mike Noorbaccus and Greg Sherriff did this 10K which Mike describes as "rain, cold, muddy - what else does one need?". Greg posted an impressive 37:03 to come 4th out of the 61 finishers - well done Greg! - while Mike came home in 52:28.

Sussex Beacon Half Marathon - Sunday 21 February 2010

Two Oxted Runners made it down to the south coast to take part in the Sussex Beacon Brighton Half Marathon, one of our recommended races, with James Raven recording 1:34:41 for 492nd place and Jonathan Buxton finishing in 2:06:49. Well done to both of them.

Valentine's 10K - Sunday 14 February 2010 (updated)

The second race in this year's Race Series saw seven Oxted Runners take part in 26.2's Valentine's 10K on a cold, damp morning in Chessington. First to cross the line was David Young, in an excellent 38:19 for 56th position. He was followed by Maggie Statham, who set her best 10K time for several years and won the women's over 55 age-group (she also achieved the best women's age-graded score - 82%) with 43:45 (145th overall). Next came Martin Berry (47:38, 232nd), Christine Farnham (48:04, 243rd), Karen Farnham (48:08, 248th), Roger McGregor, pleased to get under 50 mins with 49:29 (277th), and finally Mike Noorbaccus (52:38, 345th). There were 586 finishers. Everyone seemed to be pleased with their runs. This is a well-organised race over a fast measured course, with ample parking at Chessington World of Adventure, and the chip timing means that the results were produced ultra quickly. A race well worth doing.

Nonsuch Park Trail 10K - Sunday 7 February 2010

Mike Noorbaccus ran the Nonsuch Park 10K trail race at Cheam, Surrey, finishing in 52:10. He reports that it was cold, wet and muddy but good fun!

Surrey Ladies' Cross-Country League, Wimbledon Common - Saturday 6 February 2010
Oxted Runners' women's team at the Surrey Ladies' XC at Wimbledon Common

Once again a great turnout of 9 ladies for the combined Oxted Runners-Holland Sports AC women's team at the final cross-country of the season at Wimbledon Common, where we enjoyed good weather and beautiful surroundings. It was a longish (4.9 miles) course with a long climb up the Horse Ride, but everyone dug in well. Congratulations to the A team for finishing the season in 9th position in Division 2, with the B team in 23rd position. The A team was led home on the day by Maggie Statham (80th, 34:50) followed by Karen Farnham (162nd, 39:18), Christine Farnham (176th, 39:53), Maria Adaway (187th, 40:44) and Wendy Wilson (200th, 41:32). Leading home the B team was Glynis Doyle (220th, 42:36) followed by Sarah Hardman (236th, 43:33), Val Bowes (244th, 44:07) and Cathy Hayes (260th, 45:15). Well done to everyone for helping to make the season a success!
Division 2 individual results.
Div 2 final league table (lower positions not shown) .
Photos.

Perch 2000 - Sunday 31 January 2010

The 2010 Race Series kicked off as it traditionally does with the popular Perch 2000, a scenic 10km single-lap multi-terrain race across Epsom Downs towards Walton on the Hill and back. Conditions were good. It was cold but not windy, and the ground firm, even in the usually muddy sections. For the first time the race used chip timing, which made for a fast and efficient results service.

Six Oxted Runners entered the race. First back for the club was new member David Young, who finished in 26th overall in 40:15, a very good result given the toughness of the course. He was followed by Maggie Statham, whose time of 46:26 was almost 4 minutes better than last year and put her a close second in the W55-65 category. She was followed by Joan Wingfield, 5th in her age-group (177th, 47:53), Martin Berry (262nd, 51:29), Karen Farnham (276, 52:06) and Christine Farnham (277th, 52:07). Everyone seemed to be pleased with how they ran - all in all another enjoyable run over the Downs.

Next race in the series is the Valentine's Chessington 10K on Sunday 14 February.

Tadworth 10 - Sunday 3 January 2010

The traditional first big local race of the New Year - the Tadworth 10 - was held on a cold and frosty morning on Epsom Downs on Sunday. Four Oxted Runners tackled the snow and ice. Andy Irons was first home, finishing in 1 hr 12:48 in 127th position. A bit further back were Christine Farnham (1:26:19, 353rd), Jane Hollowell (1:33:47, 456th), and Graham Pullen (1:37:27, 503rd). Unfortunately, two regular race goers from the club were forced to withdraw before the race, Karen Farnham because of injury and Mike Noorbaccus due to illness. Also noticed in the race results was Andy Towersey, who runs for the Holland Sports men's cross-country team; he recorded a very good 1:02:30 for 19th position. There were 641 finishers.

Click here for 2009 race reports

Reports for the website and newsletter from club members on the races and other events they do are always welcome. Email addresses are on the contacts page.