Sunday 16th January 2022 saw 27 of our intrepid athletes set their alarm clocks bright and early in readiness for a trip to the big island and the first HRRL race of the new year, Stubbington 10k.
The 5th race of the HRRL calendar, this race is one of the biggest and most popular races of its kind on the south coast, boasting a start line of an impressive 2000 runners. Known for its picturesque landscape and quick course the race starts from Stubbington village looping around country lanes, and coastal roads with beautiful views of open fields along the way.
With relatively few inclines on the course the route is fairly flat and fast, a perfect opportunity for those runners looking for that coveted PB and their opportunity to shine.
And shine bright they did!
The race started at 10am and our 15 men and11 ladies were lined up and raring to go. Weather conditions were perfect for running, with glimpses of sunshine, crisp air and a light breeze and support crew Zoe Elliott wrapped up warm and braved the chilly January morning with camera in hand ready to cheer on our fantastic runners.
First Road Runner home and 1st for the men was Guy Mattinson who continued his awesome running form by finishing in a fantastic time of 40:06 and smashing a whopping 3 minutes 15 off his previous best for Stuuby, stating that he “Bloody loved that!” I’m not surprised at all…………great work Guy!
Next in was Immanuel Skeet 40:40, followed a couple of minutes later by Paul Martin, completing our first three men home and all having run brilliantly. Brand new 10k and course PB for Paul finishing in a very speedy 42:38……….well done Paul!
Matt Fletcher was hot on Paul’s heels and crossed the finish line just a few seconds later in 42:42 followed by Steve Apsey who came out and ran a great race finishing in 43:05 despite recently battling an ongoing calf niggle.
The guys came in thick and fast with Garry Sharp 43:11, Giorgio Marinelli 44:16 and Ian Dyer 45:41, all finishing within just over two minutes of each other. Giorgio and Ian were thrilled with new PB’s, with Ian smashing it and getting his first PB in 6 years! Well done both of you!
Next over the line and all within seconds of each other were first time Stubby runner Gordon Day in 47:12, club chairman Steve Bennett in 48:01, very closely followed by men’s captain Gareth Driscoll who ran a brilliant time of 48:06 for his debut performance on the Stubby course and then Kev Rann just 3 seconds later in a fantastic 48:09.
Completing the men’s line up for the day were James Shoulder 52:12, Keith Ruth and Kev Winchcombe who both finished in 53:58.
Congratulations to all in our men’s team, there were some brilliant achievements out on the course this year and all very strong performances.
Which brings us on to our fabulous ladies!
There were some fantastic results from our stellar crew of ladies on the day with first lady home being Judy Mccabe crossing the line in an awesome 48:00 minutes. Continuing her amazing form and going from strength to strength was second IOW lady Carolyn Littleton who not only got a course and 10k PB but also finished 9th out of 82 in her age category. She crossed the line with a fantastic chip time of 49:41. Being her first time sub 50 minutes she was “super pleased”. And so you should be Carolyn, well done! Completing our top finishing trio of ladies was Polly Segar who also finished in a fantastic sub 50 minute time of 49:56.
Our ladies continued to shine as they crossed the finish line with Lisa Upstell coming in at 53:58 and Caroline Curliss in 54:00 minutes, smashing her previous Stubby record by a massive 4 minutes as she continues to go from strength to strength with her running! Caroline said she “really enjoyed it and was great to be back with the IWRR”. Well done Caroline and congratulations.
Next home was Sarah Sharp finishing under the hour with a very well run 58:37 being chased down by Gill Bushell crossing the line just a couple of minutes later in 1:00:50. Bridget Keyte was hot on her heels with 1:01:29 with our awesome ladies line up being completed by friends and running buddies Tracey Houdoire and Tanya Clifford who ran together completing the course in 1:10:40 and 1:10:41, and Lyn Snow looking strong and bringing proceedings to a close in 1:14:57.
Absolutely fabulous running ladies! I have it on good authority that your captain is proper proud of you. 🙂
Well done on another great race Isle of Wight Road Runners, you are all amazing and I think its safe to say that a good day……..and cake of course!…….was had by all.
Guy Mattinson 40:06 PB
Immanuel Skeet 40:40
Paul Martin 42:38 PB
Matt Fletcher 42:42
Steve Apsey 43:05
Garry Sharp 43:11
Giorgio Marinelli 44:16 PB
Ian Dyer 45:41 PB
Gordon Day 47:12
Judy Mccabe 48:00
Steve Bennett 48:01
Gareth Driscoll 48:06
Kev Rann 48:09
Carolyn Littleton 49:41 PB
Polly Segar 49:56
James Shoulder 52:12
Lisa Upstell 53:58
Keith Ruth 53:58
Kev Winchcombe 53:58
Caroline Curliss 54:00 PB
Sarah Sharp 58:37
Gill Bushell 1:00:50
Bridget Keyte 1:01:29
Tracey Houdoire 1:10:40
Tanya Clifford 1:10:41
Lyn Snow 1:14:57
