The 6th handicap of 2025 was a wet one as the sunny days of May became a receding memory. 14 intrepid runners dodged the puddles of the urban 1 miles plus Harestock circuit with 2 first timers, Sam and Euan joining 12 other stalwarts.
The Sansome family, now a fixture, fought out the podium places, with Daddy Pete winning, and Jack being beaten into second by Sophie, who was able to keep the Sansomes apart.
Despite the wet conditions the handicap positions produced 5 runners within 10 second sweet spot. With your erstaz handicapper providing newcomer Euan with a time that was within 2 seconds of being spot on. There were also some claims that the impending Welsh Castles and South Down relays meant some runners were keeping their “powder dry” so maybe it wasnt just the conditions that slowed some down?
We saw the welcome return of John Mills to Harestock (well at least the HH, as he has been spotted at the Roebuck in previous months), and this edition of the HH included another final visitation from Bracken who promises this will be his last before leaving us for the gentle charms of Norway. Lykke Til!
Hopefully the July edition will bring us better weather conditions. See you there, usual place same time.
Yours The Erstaz Handicapper
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. That means that the next race in the 2025 series will be on 5th June. More info here: Harestock Handicap