An unusual start to our 13th year of this exciting handicap series…..due to exceptional weather and the emergence of Lake Fromond last week, the January event was postponed from the first Thursday of the month to the second Thursday of the month….apologies to all those who set out their race calendars early, but it was worth the wait!
We had perfect conditions for the 2024 series opener: dry pavements, calm winds, positive temperatures and a positive vibe. Eighteen runners were there nice and early, building their handicap effort into a session with a variety of chat, threshold efforts and other warm-up activities. One runner who shall be nameless arrived hotfoot and right on the gun….there are many ways of building your session, but using the handicap as an effort interval in the middle of a long run does involve a bit of brinkmanship!
So 19 starters, including one very welcome event newbie, Vanessa Monteleone, and three returning old faces (Ed Gurney, Matt Grote, Jack Rowland), plus the usual moans and groans from the regulars, all add up to a bit of a handicapping challenge for the New Year. In the end it all worked out, packing was tight with perhaps a dozen enjoying the thrill of the blanket finish and a couple of dead heats including two bang on par….happy days. Our winner was James Bailey (7’03net), just catching and passing Steve Goodwin (8’14) in the final yards (we are old school). Jack Rowland (7’22) was third.
The fastest on the night was Matt Grote, back from his Alpine training camp and posting (6’57net), and our fastest lady was Vanessa Monteleone (7’52) on debut. We’re looking forward to some fireworks from those two as they get tuned into the pacing on the handicap loop.
As to the overall standings? Not rocket science after one race…..
James Bailey is our leader and there are now only 19 people in the whole world who still have a chance of making the fabled 12 out of 12.
New to this and wondering what it is all about? A monthly handicap race (on the first Thursday of the month) around an urban 1.14-mile loop in the Harestock area of Winchester. In handicap racing, the starts are staggered according to handicap, and the faster runners thus chase the slower runners to the finish…..the fastest in the club and the slowest in the club can literally be racing mano a mano at the finish line. It’s a bit of fun that fits perfectly as a race effort rep to round off a threshold session or as a pickup interval in a block of tempo work. All are welcome, and all running speeds can be catered for. More info here: Harestock Handicap