White Horse Half Marathon – March 29th
Caroline Johnstone reports: It’s only the second Grand Prix race of the season and we’ve really upped the game with some spectacular results.
The men first. We had 8 runners with quality runs across the board. Adrian finished in 1hr 43, was less than 10 seconds off a pb and was a whopping 8 mins faster than last years’ race. Importantly, he had a much more consistent race pace (and therefore enjoyment!) which was the aim for the day. Similarly Rob E had a great year-on-year improvement, knocking over 4 minutes off his time and sneaking in just under 1hr 40, a testament to his increased training.
We may not see James L often (he’s usually too busy with extreme ultras) but he pulled it out of the bag today with a stunning 1hr19 race, which Strava tells me is his 2nd fastest time, and resulted in him finishing 21st overall. I think he might have gone even faster if he could see properly (sunglasses were a tad optimistic!). Unbelievably that was not the fastest time for the club, which goes to Harry who snuck in 10 seconds ahead (20th overall) smashing his previous half-marathon time by 17 minutes!!!! Harry also enjoys an ultra so perhaps there’s a lesson for us all there (no pressure Ralf).
Strong runs were also had by Ian Lee (1hr 33) and Ed (1hr 30), despite Ed being somewhat distracted with posing for the camera. Christian also had a fantastic run (1hr 27), which was a great way to welcome him back into racing after six months of injury (injury which all started at this same race last year).
Last but not least we have the two London marathoners who have been training really hard and it’s all paying off. James G delivered yet another pb (1hr 23) and Alan stormed round on-track for his marathon time to finish in 1hr 38.
The fastest four finishers from the club are compared to the fastest four of other clubs to give a team finish position. For us, that was Harry, James L, James G and Christian and together they came 3rd overall, earning some very fancy looking medals in presentation boxes. Only James G was there to collect them but he was as excited as four people and unbelievably it’s his first running medal for placing so particularly special. Well done all!
For the ladies, we fielded a team of 5 and had great races all round. Anna in her first run for WH for a while came back with a bang – a pb (1hr 55) and an impressive 11th in the L55 category. Caroline S finished just shy of the 2 hour mark (2hr 1) and had a brilliant sprint finish, as ever with lots of smiles.
There was some nerves going into the race from Claire and Jess who had both lined up their excuses but none were needed. Claire finished in 1hr 49, ten minutes faster than she thought and just shy of the top third of all female runners. Jess also stormed round and improved on last years’ time by 6 minutes to finish in 1hr 41, 31st female overall (out of 184). I finished just ahead in 1hr 39 (25th overall). Well done ladies!
In addition to these successes there are a couple of points of shame: 1. Me, for not remembering to bring my number and still not being able to find it at home even now, doh!. 2. We had 3 runners not in WH vests. I don’t want to name names (Anna, Caroline and Harry) but it’s just unacceptable that you look more stylish than the rest of us. You all had valid excuses so are forgiven but if you want to get extra cheers on the way round we need you in yellow next time please.
Which brings me nicely onto the supporters. As ever, they are vital for motivating us to get round these races and to provide photographic evidence of our rather pained expressions. Thank you so much Juan, Will, Nicola, Lizzie and Katherine.
Position | Name | Time | Narrative |
20 | Harry Rowlings (SM) | 1:19:43 | |
21 | James Leavesley (V40) | 1:19:55 | |
41 | James Groves (V40) | 1:23:44 | |
65 | Christian Orr (V40) | 1:27:37 | |
95 | Edward King (V40) | 1:30:50 | |
119 | Ian Lee (V40) | 1:34:05 | |
163 | Alan Harrison (V50) | 1:38:42 | |
174 | Caroline Johnstone (L35) | 1:39:34 | |
185 | Robert Earle (V40) | 1:40:17 | |
195 | Jessica Tallman (L35) | 1:41:19 | |
217 | Adrian Smith (V50) | 1:43:40 | |
286 | Claire Court (L45) | 1:49:33 | |
368 | Anna Henderson (L55) | 1:57:16 | |
408 | Caroline Sloan (L45) | 2:01:44 |
Winning Time: 01:09:11 Number of Finishers: 515
Road Race Handicap Competition 2026
Results For Race 2 – White Horse Half Marathon
Name | Time | Decimal Time | Handicap % | Handicap Time | Points Race 2 | Total Points (Position) |
Juan A G Diaz | n/a | n/a | 90.6% | n/a | n/a | 23 |
Ed King | 90:50 | 90.833 | 81.6% | 74:07 | 21 | 46 (1) |
Claire Court | 109:33 | 109.550 | 71.4% | 78:13 | 14 | 38 (2) |
David Rees | n/a | n/a | 65.0% | n/a | n/a | 22 |
Neil Preddy | n/a | n/a | 60.5% | n/a | n/a | 21 |
Harry Rowlings | 79:43 | 79.717 | 90.6% | 72:13 | 25 | 25 (3) |
James Leavesley | 79:55 | 79.917 | 90.5% | 72:19 | 24 | 24 |
James Groves | 83:44 | 83.733 | 89.8% | 75:12 | 19 | 19 |
Christian Orr | 87:37 | 87.617 | 90.0% | 78:51 | 13 | 13 |
Ian Lee | 94:05 | 94.083 | 80.5% | 75:44 | 17 | 17 |
Alan Harrison | 98:42 | 98.700 | 75.1% | 74:07 | 21 | 21 |
Caroline Johnstone | 99:34 | 99.567 | 73.8% | 73:29 | 23 | 23 |
Rob Earle | 100:17 | 100.283 | 75.0% | 75:13 | 18 | 18 |
Jess Tallman | 101:19 | 101.317 | 72.8% | 73:45 | 22 | 22 |
Adrian Smith | 103:10 | 103.167 | 74.5% | 76.52 | 16 | 16 |
Anna Henderson | 117:14 | 117.233 | 65.6% | 76.54 | 15 | 15 |
Caroline Sloan | 121:44 | 121.733 | 65.3% | 79.29 | 12 | 12 |
Winter’s End 50 Mile Ultra – March 21st
Organised by Big Feat Events and starting on the South Downs Way National Trail, just outside the historic market town of Arundel in West Sussex. The Winter’s End Ultra 50 is a scenic, point-to-point 50 mile ultra on trails that follow the old routes and droveways along the chalk ridge of the South Downs. It passes picturesque villages and ancient woodlands as it winds its way to the finish in the medieval cathedral city of Winchester in Hampshire.
Position | Name | Time | Narrative |
19 | Jon Mason (MV40) | 9:28:14 | Fourth MV40 |
Winning time: 7:45:20 Number of finishers: 111
Seaton Grizzly – March 8th
Caroline Johnstone reports: This was not a race, just like this was not a holiday, it was an endurance challenge. And not simply enduring the mischief-making comments of Louis or the snoring of but enduring:
- 2 x bogs (knee high in places);
- 1 x hill so steep and muddy we had to pull ourselves up on a rope;
- 1 x pebble beach;
- 1 x sandy beach;
- 3,400 ft of ascent;
- Multiple streams/water to wade through; and
- 1 x full pub garden to be cheered through
11 of us set out and did the training. 2 succumbed to injury but came along to support. 3 ran the cub distance (9 miles) and 6 of us tackled the main event (20 miles).
There was quite literally blood, sweat and tears (and blisters; and a shed load of mud) and let’s be honest, a mix of takes on the whole experience.
For Liz O’F this was quite simply the best day ever, akin to Christmas and cannot be beaten. She was buzzing all morning before the start, beaming throughout the 20 miles and overjoyed at the end. As she rightly should be as she finished 10th (out of 62) for her age category.
Whilst Liz is the poster girl for the Grizzly, Lizzie should be for the cub. Her enthusiasm for the course, her joyful thanking of all the marshals and her loud cheering of fellow runners was infectious. Hats off to Lizzie for also improving on her Grizzly time from last year by a whooping 14 minutes.
Jonny and Kirsty took a different tack to the event. They treated it like a road race and ran their hearts out. Jonny didn’t surrender to walking until 13 miles into the Grizzly (for context I had my first walk at around 2 miles, and yes, it was actually for a hill) and pushed hard until the end, finishing in the top third of male runners. His description of the event at mile 12 was “amazing”. His words at the end can’t be published.
Kirsty similarly gave it her all in the Cub event and knocked the socks of the competition finishing VL40 2nd, and only 5 seconds behind the age category winner. Unbelievable! Regardless, her words on the experience can also, not be published.
Rob Webster, veteran of running, brought along his girlfriend for the experience. She did her first ever running race at Parkrun on Saturday, followed by the Cub on the Sunday. Talk about a baptism of fire! There was a moment of panic when she lost Rob at the start but thanks to half the crowd chanting his name, they were reunited and Rob and Angelica ran the race together, finishing in a very good time.
The rest of us took more of a survival first attitude to the event. With Louis as our helpful guide (‘tie up your shoes now the bogs around the corner’, ‘that was the easy bit, it only gets harder now’, etc.), Jess and I stayed hot on his heels, in my case, out of genuine fear of being stranded on the course. This had the added benefit of conversation (from Jess) and sarcastic comments (from Louis). Adrian ran with us for a bit but perhaps because of the aforementioned chose to run his own race instead. Something about better conversation that way….
The time and hills went on…. and on… and on…. and by the four hour mark (give or take half an hour) we’d all made it back to the finish to a heroes welcome from Iain, Vicky and the Cub-runners. This was the longest race Jess had ever run and it was a delight to see her daughter Annabel run the final stretch with her, and her fiancé Simon waiting at the end.
After the practicalities (hose down by the fireman), there was an immediate celebration of beer/hot chocolate (thanks Iain and Simon) and a later celebration of pizza out while wearing our medals. Everyone agreed that those bits were great.
This was altogether a totally different running experience but a fantastic and memorable one. I personally loved the mud, the bogs and generally the ridiculousness of the whole course and the crowds were just exceptional. Thanks to Louis for organising it, Iain and Vicky for supporting and everyone else for making the weekend a really fun one!
Full 20 Miles
Position | Name | Time (Chip) | Narrative |
340 | Jonathan Wilford (MV35) | 3:41:08 (3:40:38) | |
535 | Jessica Tallman (FV40) | 3:57:52 (3:57:19) | |
536 | Caroline Johnstone (FV40) | 3:57:52 (3:57:24) | |
537 | Louis Warden (MV45) | 3:57:53 (3:57:20) | |
614 | Liz O’Farrell (FV50) | 4:07:18 (4:06:44) | |
815 | Adrian Smith (MV50) | 4:26:42 (4:26:09) |
Winning Time: 2:18:59 Number of Finishers: 1370
Cub 9 Miles
Position | Name | Time (Chip) | Narrative |
48 | Kirsty Lee (FV40) | 1:31:48 (1:30:40) | Second FV40 |
105 | Elizabeth Welsh (SF) | 1:41:41 (1:41:09) | |
341 | Rob Webster (MV60) | 2:05:06 (2:04:32) |
Winning Time: 1:00:46 Number of Finishers: 652
Goring 10k – March 8th
Ed King reports: A layer of dull, grim and misty iridescence hung over the South Oxfordshire village of Goring as the 10k gun sounded. The initial drag up a hill took runners past a pig farm, beyond which the open and barren steppe of South Oxfordshire expanded before them – a Belarussian vista mixed with the odd enraged Range Rover driver stuck behind heroic marshals.
The course went up, then down, up a bit, down, up, down, past some big houses with Teslas, edged the Thames, then pivoted back to Goring – past the munching pigs. As runners descended back into the village the heaventree of stars hung with humid nightblue fruit. At least it felt that way. There are some running experts – Steve Cram I believe one of them – who believes the Goring 10k is the hardest 10k in the world. Certainly harder than any slow race that might be snaking its way along the South Coast.
The bleak landscape, choking grey skies and pothole ridden roads make it – truly – a race only a few can contemplate. Dave Cantwell’s 50 year M40 record is intact but there were some notable runs. Juan rolled out of bed after two days of flu to romp home sub 40. Claire roared down the hill to notch a bang-on 50m time. David R ran his first race since school. Neil – on his own account – was delayed after giving moral guidance to a youth on the course. Such were the tales of heroism they may yet talk about the 2026 Goring 10k for a few weeks hence.
Position | Name | Time (Chip) | Narrative |
27 | Juan Angel Gonzalez Diaz (MV40) | 39:29 (39:28) | |
33 | Ed King (MV40) | 40:27 (40:25) | |
247 | Claire Court (FV50) | 50:17 (50:00) | |
418 | David Rees (MV60) | 56:10 (55:13) | |
531 | Neil Preddy (MV60) | 1:01:18 (1:00:26) |
Winning Time: 33:04 Number of Finishers: 711
Road Race Handicap Competition 2026
Results for Race 1 – Goring 10K
Name | Time | Decimal Time | Handicap % | Handicap Time | Points Race 1 | Total Points |
Juan A G Diaz | 39:28 | 39.467 | 90.6% | 35:45 | 23 | 23 |
Ed King | 40:25 | 40.417 | 81.6% | 32:59 | 25 | 25 |
Claire Court | 50:00 | 50.000 | 71.4% | 35:42 | 24 | 24 |
David Rees | 55:13 | 55.217 | 65.0% | 35:53 | 22 | 22 |
Neil Preddy | 60:26 | 60.433 | 60.5% | 36:34 | 21 | 21 |
Oxon XC Race 5 at Finmere – March 1st
Caroline Johnstone reports: What an end to the season!
For most of us (me included) it started off with a driving tour of the local area as we failed to read the navigation instructions properly. When I eventually got to the tent 45 minutes before the men’s race there was only 2 spectators (Dave and Sue), 1 injured (James B) and just 1 male racer (top marks for Florian). Another 15 minutes ticked by and we were still several short of a full team and working out what kit we could cobble together to get one of our trusty supporters Mike or Carey racing! It’s a good thing we didn’t have anything to fit Tom P as he was desperate to race but injury prohibits it. Thankfully after some frantic navigational messaging, head-count checking and the unexpected but extremely welcome addition of Warwick, we did manage a full men’s team plus one (phew!) and the same for the women.
As it’s a new course it was hard to know what to expect and for me, it was refreshingly different to the others – flat, muddy (well, they’re all that) and very circuitous. We basically skirted round 4 fields twice, which made it great for spectators and meant that we could see some of the rest of the team and/or our supporters for a lot of the race. That really made it for me.
In terms of the running, the men set off strongly. Ross had the audacity to start on the actual start line and thus WH were winning at one point. He held on bravely but after approximately 2 seconds the win was lost. Undeterred he persevered and ran well to finish 5th man for the club. I think we could all learn to be a bit more Ross!
It was Harry’s first race for us and he ran really well, finishing as the WH men and storming along to finish 49th overall. Rob Wester was our faster age-category runner, performing well as usual in the V60 category, this time finishing 12th. Ian Lee was our second male finisher, finishing 87th overall and with a chunky improvement on last months’ race, which was something also seen with Florian and Jonathan. All three have notably shifted their percentile ranking relative to last time, with Jonathan even going for 53rd to 46th! It must be all that Grizzly training.
In his first XC of the season Warwick did brilliantly, sneaking in just ahead of his Tuesday Group 2 buddy, Adrian, who had fuelled himself with beer the night before (perhaps we should all be a bit less Adrian) but held it together admirably.
Iain was the fastest of the Claxton family, beating the No. 1 XC Champion of the Army, Angus. That may have been because Angus didn’t race (we missed you Angus!) but those sorts of details didn’t stop James B getting ranked – apparently non-running James B finished a tad slower than usual in 210th out of 211. We might need to contact the organisers about that…
Sadly though, in spite of all the effort the men put in we weren’t able to hold onto 2nd place in the Division and finished 3rd overall. This means the men remain in Division 2 for next year. 3rd is still a big achievement though and was recognised as such by the awarding of 7 medals to the team, well done!
In addition to the team award, James B deservedly won the VM50 series award (thankfully his ‘result’ today was excluded as they take the top 4 scores of the series). Well done James!
Now, the ladies.
There was only 5 of us but buoyed by the best supporters of all the clubs (and Sue’s delicious Rocky Road in my case), we thrived. Grace, who is struggling with injury ran phenomenally well to finish 10th overall. Jas was just 1 minute behind and finished 19th overall. In her first XC race for us (round 2, with 128 runners), she was 30th, and now she is 19th out of a very similar field (126). It’s wonderful to see the improvement, well done Jas!
Valerie ran well despite a long bike ride the day before (in fact the same goes for Florian in that regard) and finished really strongly, catching up the lady ahead and almost getting past before the line. Liz was aghast at the lack of hills (or rather, down-hills) but regardless ran well to finish with an impressive 15th for her age category (V50). I unashamedly rather enjoyed the lack of hills and finished 44th.
And was it enough? Yes of course it was. We finished 1st in the 2nd Division so now move up to Division 1 and have 4 shiny medals for the triumph – well done ladies! Final League Standings
Thanks to today’s bakers (Sue & Jonathan), photographers and cheerers (Dave, Sue, Mike, Carey, Monica and Tom) and runners but most importantly thanks to EVERYONE who has taken part in any of the series races and just given it a go. That’s all we really want.
Men
Position | Name | Time | Narrative |
49 | Harry Rowlings (SM) | 32:54 | |
87 | Ian Lee (MV40) | 35:36 | |
98 | Jonathan Wilford (SM) | 36:28 | |
119 | Florian Combe (MV40) | 38:16 | |
136 | Ross Nutter (MV40) | 39:20 | |
151 | Rob Webster (MV60) | 40:28 | |
156 | Warwick Morris (MV50) | 41:12 | |
168 | Adrian Smith (MV50) | 42:30 | |
192 | Iain Claxton (MV60) | 45:19 |
Winning time: 27:10 Number of finishers: 210
Women
Position | Name | Time | Narrative |
10 | Grace Harrison (SF) | 36:09 | |
19 | Jasmine Presho (SF) | 37:10 | |
44 | Caroline Johnstone (FV40) | 40:33 | |
86 | Liz O’Farrell (FV50) | 44:43 | |
108 | Valerie Berryman-Bousquet (FV50) | 48:48 |
Winning time: 32:17 Number of finishers: 126
Cross Country Handicap Competition 2025/26
Including Results of Finmere Cross Country (Race 5 of 5)
Name | Actual Time | Handicap % | Adjusted Time | Points Race 5 | Total Points Best 4 (Position) |
James Bolton | 58:40 | 100 | 58:40 | 0 | 69 |
Tom Preskett | n/a | 92.2 | n/a | n/a | 66 |
James Groves | n/a | 89.8 | n/a | n/a | 80 |
Ed King | n/a | 91.9 | n/a | n/a | 20 |
Dave Cantwell | n/a | 83.4 | n/a | n/a | 46 |
Jonathan Wilford | 36:28 | 82.1 | 29:56 | 22 | 72 |
Ian Lee | 35:36 | 80.5 | 28:39 | 25 | 92 (1) |
Rob Webster | 40:28 | 79.7 | 32:15 | 15 | 49 |
Florian Combe | 38:16 | 79.0 | 30:14 | 21 | 85 (2) |
Ross Nutter | 39:20 | 77.5 | 30:29 | 20 | 36 |
Adrian Smith | 42:30 | 75.2 | 31:58 | 16 | 37 |
Iain Claxton | 45:19 | 71.3 | 32:19 | 14 | 44 |
Louis Warden | n/a | 76.1 | n/a | n/a | 19 |
Neil Preddy | n/a | 65.8 | n/a | n/a | 14 |
Kevin Game | n/a | 75.0 | n/a | n/a | 04 |
Angus Claxton | n/a | 100 | n/a | n/a | 25 |
Grace Harrison | 36:09 | 85.1 | 30:46 | 19 | 84 (3) |
Kirsty Lee | n/a | 81.0 | n/a | n/a | 28 |
Jessica Tallman | n/a | 79.5 | n/a | n/a | 31 |
Caroline Johnstone | 40;33 | 73.8 | 29:55 | 23 | 69 |
Lizzie Welsh | n/a | 72.0 | n/a | n/a | 47 |
Sarah Kerswell | n/a | 70.5 | n/a | n/a | 21 |
Liz O’Farrell | 44:43 | 69.6 | 31:07 | 18 | 76 |
Vicky Walker | n/a | 68.2 | n/a | n/a | 40 |
Caroline Sloan | n/a | 65.3 | n/a | n/a | 27 |
Val Berryman -B | 48:48 | 64.9 | 31:40 | 17 | 33 |
Lizzie Kelly | n/a | 75.6 | n/a | n/a | 49 |
Jasmine Presho | 37:10 | 78.0 | 28:59 | 24 | 78 |
Glen DiPalma | n/a | 79.0 | n/a | n/a | 31 |
Sarah Dawson | n/a | n/a | n/a | Non Qual | Non Qual |
Harry Rawlings | 32:54 | n/a | n/a | Non Qual | Non Qual |
Warwick Morris | 41:12 | n/a | n/a | Non Qual | Non Qual |
Note: The best 4 results from the 5 races to count. No entries to competition after race 3.
Bourton 10k – February 22nd
Katherine Jones was our only entrant in this fast, always over-subscribed early season race, but was rewarded with a sub-40 minute result.
Position | Name | Time (Chip) | Narrative |
130 | Katherine Jones (SF) | 39:28 (39:22) |
Winning time: 31:21 Number of finishers: 629
Cirencester 10k – February 22nd
A new race, promoted by a Yorkshire company, which organises several races in Cotswold area. The closed road course, started and finished in Cirencester town centre with a loop through the Bathurst Estate.
Position | Name | Time (Chip) | Narrative |
159 | Sarah Kerswell (FV60) | 48:09 (48:02) | First FV60 |
703 | Linda Stevens (FV65) | 1:07:53 (1:07:21) |
Winning time: 33:41 Number of finishers: 872
Dursley Dozen – February 15th
Now in its 36th edition, the 12 mile race (not 12 hills!) includes over 2000 feet of climbing, woodland, open country, mud and gravel paths. At one point, ropes are provided on a precipice. Ralf reports “12 miles, 2000ft, lots of very muddy mud, great race, well supported.” Plenty of photos of Ralf (enter bib number 10 in “Find Your Photos” and look for the yellow vest) in the link below.
Position | Name | Time (Chip) | Narrative |
89 | Ralf Arneil (MV50) | 1:52:13 (1:52:04) | Fourth MV50 |
Winning time: 1:24:12 Number of finishers: 502
Oxon XC Race 4 at Cotswold Farm Park – February 1st
Tom Preskett reports:
Another good day in the mud and hills. An impressive 19 harriers travelled over to the picturesque Cotswold Farm Park. A tough course with very little flat and some near vertical downhill bits. What’s notably this year is the new runners. Over half of the 19 are new to XC, most having joined less than a year ago. We wouldn’t have a full men’s team without the new blood. Great for the future of the club. With good weather the men set off first. Representing us at the sharp end as usual was James B: 38th overall and 2nd VM50. A good run. The other VM50 Glen returned from injury and holiday to run strongly in his 2nd WH race. Our sole VM60 this time was Rob W who had a great race, finishing 6th in the age category and 7th in our team. Aging like a fine wine. The youngster of the group, Jonathan, was 6th WH home and continues to improve. Keep it up. The rest of us are the 40 something middle-age-spread-deniers. James G and I pushed each other along to finish in 64th and 67th , an improvement for us. Louis finished well as always, enjoying good prep for Grizzly. Ed ran strongly and did the Thame slaying that was required overtaking 2 in the last half a mile and then not allowing one of them to outsprint him. Ian continues to improve and help the team to a strong position. Well done. Florian returned from a lot of travelling to run with commitment around the moguls. And Ross shows his ultra endurance to run a consistent race. As a team, we consolidated our position as 2nd in div. 2, beating Thame by over 100 points.
Whilst the men were still huffing and puffing the ladies set off. In VF50, two of our new harriers Valerie and Caroline ran hard and tough, epitomising what it’s all about. Well done both of you. Just ahead the more experienced Sarah also ran hard and tough. All of them beat many ladies much younger. Lizzie K keeps getting better and was a magnificent 3rd VF50, 26th overall. Quality stuff. Flying the flag in VF40, Vicky showed a good turn of pace at the end to sprint into the top 100. Speaking of good sprint finishes Lizzy W chomped through the field up the last hill and round the last field to be our 4th WH lady home. At the very sharp end Jasmine had a great 2nd lap and final straight to finish 23rd. A fantastic performance in her 3rd race for the club. Finally, also in her 3rd race, Grace was quality. 8th. This stat speaks for itself. Big thumbs up. And the ladies team stretched their lead in Div. 2.
Out on the course was capt. Caroline, stepping in to marshal at the 11th hour. Also supporting was Dave, Sue and Mike. Thanks to all of you. That’s all I saw, let us know if you were also there. Thanks also to James B, Dave and Sue for setting up the tent and anyone who provided cake. The tent base camp is part of the fun of the XC. One more to go – Henley, 1st March. All welcome.
Men
Position | Name | Time | Narrative |
38 | James Bolton (MV50) | 32:45 | Second MV50 |
63 | James Groves (MV40) | 34:38 | |
67 | Thomas Preskett (MV40) | 34:50 | |
94 | Ed King (MV40) | 37:05 | |
120 | Ian Lee (MV40) | 38:33 | |
139 | Jonathan Wilford (SM) | 39:34 | |
157 | Rob Webster (MV60) | 41:10 | |
159 | Florian Combe (MV40) | 41:18 | |
190 | Glen DiPalma (MV50) | 43:26 | |
201 | Louis Warden (MV40) | 44:25 | |
212 | Ross Nutter (MV40) | 45:28 |
Winning time: 28:41 Number of finishers: 264
Women
Position | Name | Time | Narrative |
8 | Grace Harrison (SW) | 37:23 | |
23 | Jasmine Presho (SW) | 40:00 | |
26 | Lizzie Kelly (FV50) | 40:09 | |
82 | Elizabeth Welsh (SW) | 47:13 | |
99 | Vicky Walker (FV40) | 49:21 | |
116 | Sarah Dawson (FV50) | 51:25 | |
127 | Caroline Sloan (FV50) | 51:53 | |
132 | Valerie Berryman-Bousquet (FV50) | 53:09 |
Winning time: 34:08 Number of finishers: 149
Cross Country Handicap Competition 2025/26
Including Results of Cotswold Farm Park Cross Country (Race 4 of 5)
Name | Actual Time | Handicap % | Adjusted Time | Points (Race 4) | Total Points (Position) |
James Bolton | 32:45 | 100 | 32:45 | 17 | 69 |
Tom Preskett | 34:50 | 92.2 | 32:07 | 20 | 66 |
James Groves | 33:38 | 89.8 | 31:06 | 23 | 80 (2) |
Ed King | 37:05 | 91.9 | 34:05 | 11 | 20 |
Dave Cantwell | n/a | 83.4 | n/a | n/a | 46 |
Jonathan Wilford | 39:34 | 82.1 | 32:29 | 19 | 50 |
Ian Lee | 38:33 | 80.5 | 31:02 | 24 | 83 (1) |
Rob Webster | 41:10 | 79.7 | 32:49 | 16 | 34 |
Florian Combe | 41:18 | 79.0 | 32:38 | 18 | 73 (3) |
Ross Nutter | 42:35 | 77.5 | 36:01 | 09 | 16 |
Adrian Smith | n/a | 75.2 | n/a | n/a | 21 |
Iain Claxton | n/a | 71.3 | n/a | n/a | 30 |
Louis Warden | 44:25 | 76.1 | 33:48 | 14 | 19 |
Neil Preddy | n/a | 65.8 | n/a | n/a | 14 |
Kevin Game | n/a | 75.0 | n/a | n/a | 04 |
Angus Claxton | n/a | 100 | n/a | n/a | 25 |
Grace Harrison | 37:23 | 85.1 | 31:49 | 21 | 65 |
Kirsty Lee | n/a | 81.0 | n/a | n/a | 28 |
Jessica Tallman | n/a | 79.5 | n/a | n/a | 31 |
Caroline Johnstone | n/a | 73.8 | n/a | n/a | 46 |
Lizzie Welsh | 47:13 | 72.0 | 33:59 | 12 | 47 |
Sarah Kerswell | n/a | 70.5 | n/a | n/a | 21 |
Liz O’Farrell | n/a | 69.6 | n/a | n/a | 58 |
Vicky Walker | 49:21 | 68.2 | 33:39 | 15 | 40 |
Caroline Sloan | 51:53 | 65.3 | 33:53 | 13 | 27 |
Val Berryman-B | 53:09 | 64.9 | 34:30 | 10 | 16 |
Lizzie Kelly | 40:09 | 75.6 | 30:21 | 25 | 49 |
Jasmine Presho | 38:33 | 78.0 | 31:12 | 22 | 54 |
Glen DiPalma | 43:26 | n/a | n/a | Non Qual | Non Qual |
Sarah Dawson | 51:25 | n/a | n/a | Non Qual | Non Qual |
Note: The best 4 results from the 5 races to count. No entries to competition after race 3.
Arc of Attrition – ARC50 – January 24th
ARC50 is a challenging point-to-point race from The Minack Theatre in Porthcurno to Porthtowan taking in 50 miles of stunning and dramatic South West Coast Path. By journeying around Land’s End participants completed an ‘Arc’ around the extreme south west tip of England. It is part of a world series of 60 events organised by UTMB.
Adrian Smith writes: Thanks for the kind words all. Was hard, was well beyond what I ever done. Think Shotover mud, rolling hills, rain in your face and gusting wind that take you breathe away. You’re either climbing up a path that turned into a stream or trying not to fall and constantly watching your feet. For me un-runnable and glad they took the decision from me as it would probably got too serious into the night and no way was I able to get to 50 as deep down I knew it from 10miles. Course scenery is unbeatable with a backdrop of waves smashing into rocks and the sun did come out for about 5 minutes but in the end my head was down and knowing I was chasing the cut off. Glad to be part of the 26 season, interesting what the DNF% to see if this counts as one of the legend years or just normal for Arc. Hats off to the 100s who are coming in now, different level. I’m very emotional…which I think is all part and essential if your chasing these longer races. In the end why do them if they are easy. Limit found…for now.
Position | Name | Time | Narrative |
DNF | Adrian Smith (MV50) | 6:59:16 | 22.2 miles completed |
Winning time: 7:09:41 Number of finishers: 436 (601 starters)
Montane Winter Pennine Spine – January 11th
The Winter Spine Race is known for its brutal weather and this year’s edition was no exception. The race set off in the wake of Storm Goretti, which brought freezing temperatures, snow and gale-force winds across the country. Rising temperatures over the following days did little to improve conditions, with melting snow turning to slush and ice, creating unstable terrain and treacherous ice sheets. The conditions led to plenty of DNFs as the snow, ice and cold got the better of runners.
Position | Name | Time | Narrative |
DNF | James Leavesley (MV40) | 73:08:49 | 200 miles completed |
Winning time: 95:43:52 Number of finishers: 87 (152 starters)
Woodcote 10k – January 11th
Early season road race opener, the Woodcote 10k is a one lap course in the Chiltern Hills between Woodcote and Goring with a total elevation of nearly 500 feet. Organised by the Rotary Club of Pangbourne, it is described as an undulating, meandering course, along back roads, flanked by woods and farmland. Eleven runners were disqualified! Plenty of photos of Lizzie (enter bib number 163 in “Find Your Photos”) in the link below.
Position | Name | Time (Chip) | Narrative |
73 | Lizzie Kelly (FV50) | 46:30 (46:26) | Second FV50 |
Winning time: 32:03 Number of finishers: 365
Oxon XC Race 3 at Horspath – January 4th
Caroline Johnstone reports:
What a turn out! There were a whopping 25 racers (15 men; 10 women), photographers (thanks Juan and Carey), supporters (thanks Mike), tent putter-uppers (thanks James B and Tom), bakers (sorry not to have names) and importantly, the team race volunteer, Megs, who is the only reason any of the rest of us could be there at all – thank you.
Conditions wise, it was absolutely freezing (note to self – take spare socks for afterwards next time), but that made for good running conditions with not too much mud.
In terms of the women’s race, there were some fantastic results. Grace stormed home in 16th place overall (total female runners = 186) and our second female finisher Lizzie was 3rd V50. Only 10 seconds behind her was Jess (8th VL40), despite the fact she stopped twice on the course to do up her shoe laces! Kirsty L followed shortly coming in 9th VL40 with an injured, but thankfully still intact, toenail. Jas was our 5th female, coming in 56th place overall and knocking 2 minutes off her time from the same course in December. I trailed in behind her after struggling on the second lap. Liz O’F run well and also knocked 1.5 minutes off her time from December. Old time Woodstock Harrier, Valerie, who has only just recently returned to the club must have enjoyed round 1 of the XC as she come back for more which is wonderful. She ran strong and finished smiling so we look forward to seeing her at future races! Caroline S also ran very well, finishing 10% higher in her age category (proportionate to the number of runners) compared to the first XC race, a great improvement! Finally, Vicky, wins the prize for dedication – her birthday is tomorrow but she is celebrating it today – and she chose to celebrate it by doing a XC race! She tells me her family thinks she is mad. Well you are, but everyone who does XC is a little bit mad in my book. Great running all round!
For the men, there were also some great results. For the first time I got to see a Woodstock Harrier finish an XC race before the ladies race started. That was Angus (Iain’s son) who flew past us to finish 8th overall (total male runners = 316). He was also 5th SM and only 15 seconds short of coming 3rd SM. Angus, what a way to introduce yourself to the club!!! We look forward to seeing what you can do in future races. 2nd WH male to finish was James B, who got stuck in a bit of traffic going into the first hill but still came in as 2nd V50. Next in were Tom P and James G. There was only 3 seconds between them this time, with Tom P just coming out in front (last month it was James G)…. we shall see what the next XC brings! There was also rivalry between Iain C and Louis, but when Iain made his move to pass Louis on the 2nd hill, Louis speed up, leaving Iain behind and also sneaking past Ross before the finish too. Kevin stuck to his strategy of walking the hardest bits of the hills (which I wholly endorse – better to walk and finish then not to race or finish at all) and finished strong. There was similar determination from Neil who fell over but kept going. There was less drama from Ed K (unusual) who just got on and ran (probably while still chatting) and finished as 5th WH male, followed by Ian L, Jonathan W and Florian. Interestingly, Florian is using XC to support his triathlon training which is a great example of how participating in races can support wider training goals. Finally, Adrian just keeps getting better and better and finished a huge 8 minutes faster than he did in this XC last year (I think we know why he won the handicap prize for 2025!) and Rob W impressively finished in 9th V60, one of only three men to get a top-ten age category finish (Angus and James B being the others). Again, well done all!
I’ve already broken my new years resolution of no race report errors. I’m so sorry David W. Thank you also for supporting, particularly in the cold. It was appreciated!
Men
Position | Name | Time | Narrative |
8 | Angus Claxton (SM) | 27:30 | |
60 | James Bolton (MV50) | 30:39 | Second MV50 |
92 | Thomas Preskett (MV40) | 32:32 | |
93 | James Groves (MV40) | 32:35 | |
143 | Ed King (MV40) | 35:29 | |
161 | Ian Lee (MV40) | 36:31 | |
167 | Jonathan Wilford (SM) | 36:54 | |
169 | Florian Combe (MV40) | 37:03 | |
208 | Rob Webster (MV60) | 39:08 | |
238 | Adrian Smith (MV50) | 41:13 | |
256 | Louis Warden (MV40) | 42:28 | |
259 | Ross Nutter (MV40) | 42:35 | |
265 | Iain Claxton (MV60) | 43:08 | |
268 | Kevin Game (MV50) | 43:11 | |
305 | Neil Preddy (MV60) | 48:07 |
Winning time: 26:13 Number of finishers: 318
Women
Position | Name | Time | Narrative |
16 | Grace Harrison (SW) | 34:37 | |
45 | Lizzie Kelly (FV50) | 37:45 | Third FV50 |
50 | Jessica Tallman (FV40) | 37:55 | |
51 | Kirsty Lee (FV40) | 38:07 | |
56 | Jasmine Presho (SW) | 38:33 | |
60 | Caroline Johnstone (FV40) | 38:51 | |
100 | Liz O’Farrell (FV50) | 42:51 | |
124 | Vicky Walker (FV40) | 44:38 | |
149 | Caroline Sloan (FV50) | 47:21 | |
167 | Valerie Berryman-Bousquet (FV50) | 49:59 |
Winning time: 29:07 Number of finishers: 187
Cross Country Handicap Competition 2025/26
Including Results of Horspath Cross Country & County Championship (Race 3)
Name | Actual Time | Handicap % | Adjusted Time | Points (Race 3) | Total Points (Position) |
James Bolton | 30:39 | 100 | 30:39 | 12 | 52 |
Tom Preskett | 32:32 | 92.2 | 30:00 | 17 | 46 |
James Groves | 32:35 | 89.8 | 29:15 | 22 | 57 (3) |
Ed King | 35:29 | 91.9 | 32:36 | 02 | 09 |
Dave Cantwell | n/a | 83.4 | n/a | n/a | 46 |
Jonathan Wilford | 36:54 | 82.1 | 30:18 | 14 | 31 |
Ian Lee | 36:31 | 80.5 | 29:24 | 20 | 59 (1) |
Rob Webster | 43:14 | 79.7 | 31:11 | 07 | 18 |
Florian Combe | 37:03 | 79.0 | 29:16 | 21 | 55 |
Ross Nutter | 42:35 | 77.5 | 33:00 | 01 | 07 |
Adrian Smith | 41:13 | 75.2 | 30:59 | 08 | 21 |
Iain Claxton | 43:08 | 71.3 | 30:45 | 11 | 30 |
Louis Warden | 42:28 | 76.1 | 32:19 | 05 | 05 |
Neil Preddy | 48:07 | 65.8 | 31:39 | 06 | 14 |
Kevin Game | 43:11 | 75.0 | 32:23 | 04 | 04 |
Angus Claxton | 27:30 | 100 | 27:30 | 25 | 25 |
Grace Harrison | 34:37 | 85.1 | 29:27 | 19 | 44 |
Kirsty Lee | 38:07 | 81.0 | 30:52 | 10 | 28 |
Jessica Tallman | 37:56 | 79.5 | 30:09 | 15 | 31 |
Caroline Johnstone | 38:51 | 73.8 | 28:40 | 23 | 46 |
Lizzie Welsh | n/a | 72.0 | n/a | n/a | 35 |
Sarah Kerswell | n/a | 70.5 | n/a | n/a | 21 |
Liz O’Farrell | 42:51 | 69.6 | 29:49 | 18 | 58 (2) |
Vicky Walker | 44:38 | 68.2 | 30:26 | 13 | 25 |
Caroline Sloan | 47:21 | 65.3 | 30:55 | 09 | 14 |
Val Berryman-B | 49:59 | 64.9 | 32:26 | 03 | 06 |
Lizzie Kelly | 37:45 | 75.6 | 28:19 | 24 | 24 |
Jasmine Presho | 38:33 | 78.0 | 30:04 | 16 | 32 |
Note: The best 4 results from the 5 races to count. No entry to competition after race 3.