The 2026 Harestock Handicap got off to an exciting start last night. Firstly it was unusual in being held on the second Thursday of the month (it is always on the first Thursday) and secondly it was held in spite of the weather forecast and the looming threat of storm Goretti. We do however go in all weathers and even the re-emergence of Loch Fromond just before the final bend did not deter the 21 athletes who turned out bedecked in their Hi-Viz and full of enthusiasm for the new season.
Racing under wet weather rules (ie from the shelter of the busstop) the handicapper declared a course change to route around the lochan but anarchy was in the air and he might as well have been whistling in the wind. We’ll splash through the flood if we want to was the mood of the group. These were all gnarly and experienced athletes (for the first time in ages we had no event newbies) who were confident they could cope with the likely water depth. Sometimes folks just go along with the crowd rather than risk standing out and being thought a traitor.
The January event is always a bit of a lottery for the handicapper as many runners turn up with some residual festive lurgy or some story about mince pies or the lingering effects of that sprint stage of the chunder. No surprise then that times in general were down and the handicapping a bit off. Our finishing times were unusually spread over nearly 2 minutes and only 7 runners managed to meet or beat their handicap.
Our first winner of 2026 was Sarah Witt who made it look easy sailing round (taking the long dry route round the loch) in 10’30 (8’12 net) to win ahead of Felix Freeman-Bown (2nd) and Tamas Bown (3rd) who both took the wet route to finish in 10’45 (8’28 net).
Fastest on the night was Tom Hansen (6’24) with Pete Sansome (6’26) and Jack Sansome (6’52) the only others to get in below the 7 minute mark. On a difficult night no-one was threatening their PB so the Honours Board was safe, so safe in fact that none of the ladies managed sub-8. It was that kind of night.
The overall series for 2026 ?
Too early to comment but safe to say that Sarah Witt leads the way. There are however over 8 billion people in the world who could still beat her to the trophy! Just turn up and take part and you could be one of them. More importantly at this stage there are now only 21 people in the whole world who still have a chance of completing the fabled Harestock Handicap 12 out of 12 challenge in 2026.
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. The next event will be on Thursday 5th February. It’s a bit of fun and all are welcome to come along and give it a go.
There is more info here: Harestock Handicap