After the tsunami of WhatsApp messages on Saturday bringing news of win after win for Winchester Running Club at the country cross-country champs, it’s fair to say that those of us heading to a chilly Stubbington 10K were full of a combination of FOMO and inspiration! The excitement built further as many of us picked up our new team vests for their maiden outing, thanks to the coach Nick racing up to Manchester to collect them in person. So, on to the race! Almost 2000 took to the roads for what can sometimes seem to be a season-decider in week one of the year, with so many hoping for big things on the traditionally speedy course. Conditions were pretty much perfect – a cool but bright day and not too much wind. This was the second year of the newly revamped course, and it seemed just as quick as ever.
So, how did we do? In a word, amazingly! A total of 42 WRC runners toed the start line, led in by George Bellfield in a new PB of 33:45 and Erin Wilmers in 38:05. On the individual podiums we had category wins from Erin Wilmers (FV35), Sarah Gurney (FV50) and Paul Boyd-Leslie (V50) and bronze medals for Sarah Sheddon (FV45) and Cathy Kinnear (FV55).
We scooped three of the four prizes on offer in the team events. The women were first in both the overall female team category and the female vets category, with the team of Erin Wilmers, Sarah Gurney, Sarah Sheddon and Caroline Carr winning. We also won the male vets team category, with David Gaskell, Paul Boyd-Leslie, Nick Wood and Andrew Costello bringing home the trophy.
So what a weekend! It’s easy to get carried away with superlatives, but it’s fair to say that this would have been a fabulous set of results for a well-established club in one of the premier road races in the south. As it is, for this to be the very first weekend we all pulled on the new vest and to achieve this already is nothing short of remarkable, Thanks to all those who have made this happen so quickly. Ultimately, prizes or not, it was a really special feeling for everyone to line up for that first official photo and go out and race.