16 runners braved the election night crowds (there are 3 polling stations on our route) to contest the July Handicap. We welcomed 2 event newbies in Lorraine Hedworth and Giles Cayford who, whilst they might be at different ends of the pace spectrum, finished within seconds of each other to make an old handicapper very happy. Half the field beat their handicap and we had 9 runners in the blanket finish, Happy Days.
Many congratulations to our winner, Stephen Lowy, finally taking the plaudits after 12 years of trying and over 80 race attempts. Whoop whoop! By way of contrast Lorraine Hedworth was 2nd on her race debut and another stalwart of the event, Steve Goodwin was third.
Fastest on the night was again Andy Costello (6’21) with Giles Cayford marking his debut with a fine (6’24) 2nd fastest on the night and a new entry in at #33 on the honours board. With Matt Grote and James Bailey also sub-7 there was some competitive running at the faster end. Our fastest lady was again Liz Marshall (7’53).
In the overall standings with the usual comment that anyone could still win our coveted trophy…..it’s nip and tuck but James Bailey leads from John Mills, Ric Pike, SteveO and Melissa Callister.
The slow attrition continues and we are now down to only 4 athletes in the whole world who are still in with a chance of achieving the fabled 12 out of 12….it’s not an easy thing to achieve, particularly in an Olympic year.
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 side by side 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