Ducklington Dash 5k – July 15th
Adrian Smith reports: A Long List of Excuses…
Before we start, a few perfectly valid excuses. It was 27°C. They also decided to start the race at 7:30pm, at exactly the same day England were playing in the World Cup. The trail was dusty and bumpy. It was tight in places, uphill on the way out and uphill on the way back, with the obligatory headwind in both directions. So the mission wasn’t just to run 5k; it was to finish before 8, grab a recovery cider, watch the first half, then drive home for the second. No pressure.
Did we mention it was 27°C?
The course is an out-and-back, so you get the joy of seeing exactly what’s coming… and then everyone’s pained grimaces as you high-five on the way back. It’s dusty, bumpy, everyone’s tired from the heat, none of the five Harriers slept particularly well… and we’re all at an age where something aches before the gun even goes off.
Well… apart from Rob. Fresh back from holiday, ten days of no running, fully rested. Suspiciously fresh, in fact.
Ralf, one of the event’s ever-runners, lined up for his fifth Ducklington Dash.
One mile in: “Maybe.” Two miles in: “I’m definitely using every excuse listed above.”
Kirsty arrived with Ralf as official pacer, hunting a PB. The first mile looked promising. The remaining two involved me offering plenty of encouragement… at a volume that suggested there was some slacking going on. Mind you, I can’t complain, as there was just as much from my department.
…But not for Seb, who absolutely smashed it to finish first Harrier home in what we think was 5th overall. Rob’s holiday legs were next, followed by Ralf, who appeared to have misplaced his pacee somewhere along the route. Knowing how accurate Ralf’s pacing usually is, we’re blaming the wheels coming off rather than the pacer!
Kirsty, sporting the unlucky number 13, rallied to the finish but still smiling. She was followed by yours truly wearing number Legs 11 and yes, my legs had definitely fallen off. Tim brought the Harriers home in style with a cracking sprint finish, pipping an Eynsham runner on the line and missing another place by the smallest of margins.
With the hard work done, it was straight to the bar. Quick recovery, plenty of gasping, and shaking of heads, and a well-earned recovery cider while watching the first half.
No idea on the times, I’m not sure they know either, as another race had chip timing problems and, in this case, last year’s names were loaded instead. I’m sure they’ll sort it all out in due course.
Ducklington Dash done. ~England through to the final.~ A very good evening all round except for the footy.
Position | Name | Time | Narrative |
5 | Sebastian Bodilly (SMen) | 18:18 | Fifth overall |
17 | Rob Linnell (VM50) | 20:51 | Second VM50 |
22 | Ralf Arneil (VM50) | 21:59 | |
38 | Kirsty Thompson (FSen) | 23:43 | |
41 | Adrian Smith (VM50) | 23:51 |
Winning time: 16:27 Number of finishers: 91
Race to the Stones – July 12th
A weekend ultra trail event from Lewknor in Oxfordshire to Avebury in Wiltshire along the ancient Ridgeway with 50k and 100k options. This year’s race was notable for being held during a heat wave, especially on the Saturday.
Saturday 100k Non Stop
Position | Name | Time | Narrative |
26 | Sophie Carter (FV40) | 11:32:56 | First FV40, fourth female |
299 | Harry Rowlings (MSen) | 15:48:32 |
Number of Finishers: 729 Winning Time: 8:18:42
Saturday 50k
Position | Name | Time | Narrative |
186 | Hannah Parry-Jones | 6:52:52 | |
225 | Jasmine Presho (FSen) | 7:07:29 |
Number of Finishers: 715 Winning Time: 4:00:19
Sunday 50k
Position | Name | Time | Narrative |
49 | Lizzie Kelly (FV50) | 5:32:18 | Fourth FV50 |
Number of Finishers: 468 Winning Time: 4:07:38
Didcot 5 Mile – July 5th
Aspiring novelist, Ed King sets the scene: “Didcot is not a town you’d visit deliberately unless you’re interested in steam engines, urban decay or business parks… ” and yet 10 of us ventured there this morning for the Didcot 4-miles-with-a-load-of-loops-added-on-to-make-it-5-miles race.
“The course appeared to be designed to maximise mental torture. A series of concentric circles expanded and contracted, with a route dodging pylons, dog walkers and pensioners out for their morning stroll.”
Club co-captain, Caroline Johnstone continues: The big news from the event was that we had TWO runners doing their very first team races for Woodstock Harriers. Courtesy of some rapid new club membership processing this week (thanks Phil) we had Ben and Melissa in the team. Melissa’s usual races are far longer (ultras) but she applied her good running form to gracefully speed past and finish 8th FV35. Ben was in his element at this distance and finished in a very speedy 30m34s, the second WH male home and 21st overall.
In terms of the other female runners, Claire finished, well early (after a bit of confusion with which line was the finish!) but still managed to be 14th FV45 in a speed 41m, well done! Lizzie K completed her third race in 8 days, and for the 3rd time achieved an age-category podium finish. Sadly there were no medals for 3rd place FV45 but she certainly deserved one. I tried to catch her but could only watch from behind as she finished.
The men also did really well. Marc did his classic sprint finish, flying past to come in 27th MV50. Tim, James B, James G and Ed K all completed their second WH race in 3 days, superstars! Even with tired legs they did brilliantly. Tim came in 23rd MV50, Ed was 9th MV40, James G was 7th MV40 and James B excelled coming in 1st MV50.
The team ratings should be out in a few days and by my maths (dubious) the ladies should move up from 3rd to 2nd and the men, well that is too complex for my brain cells, but all being well we’ll retain or move up from the current 2nd small team position.
Position | Name | Time (Chip) | Narrative |
4 | James Bolton (MV50) | 27:55 (27:49) | First MV50 |
21 | Ben White (MSen) | 30:43 (30:34) | |
26 | James Groves (MV40) | 31:12 (31:03) | |
32 | Ed King (MV40) | 31:53 (31:44) | |
64 | Lizzie Kelly (FV45) | 35:46 (35:36) | Third FV45 |
67 | Caroline Johnstone (FV35) | 35:56 (35:45) | Third FV35 |
115 | Melissa Gardel (FV35) | 40:11 (39:49) | |
120 | Tim Davies (MV50) | 41:12 (40:51) | |
123 | Claire Court (FV45) | 41:23 (41:02) | |
153 | Marc-Stuart Mclening (MV50) | 44:30 (44:08) |
Winning Time: 26:44 Number of Finishers: 232
Road Race Handicap Competition 2026
Results For Race 8 – Didcot 5 Mile
The best 9 from 18 results to count.
Name | Time | Decimal Time | Handicap % | Handicap Time | Points Race 8 | Total Points (Position) |
James Bolton | 27:49 | 27.816 | 100% | 27:49 | 22 | 32 |
Liz O’Farrell | n/a | n/a | 68.2% | n/a | n/a | 00 |
Juan A G Diaz | n/a | n/a | 90.6% | n/a | n/a | 47 |
Ed King | 31:44 | 31.733 | 81.6% | 25:54 | 25 | 111 (1) |
Claire Court | 41:02 | 41.033 | 71.4% | 29:18 | 18 | 65 |
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 | n/a | n/a | 90.6% | n/a | n/a | 39 |
James Leavesley | n/a | n/a | 90.5% | n/a | n/a | 24 |
James Groves | 31:03 | 31.050 | 89.8% | 27:53 | 21 | 50 |
Christian Orr | n/a | n/a | 84.7% | n/a | n/a | 13 |
Ian Lee | n/a | n/a | 80.5% | n/a | n/a | 72 |
Alan Harrison | n/a | n/a | 75.1% | n/a | n/a | 21 |
Caroline Johnstone | 35:45 | 35.750 | 73.8% | 27:55 | 20 | 107 (2) |
Rob Earle | n/a | n/a | 71.2% | n/a | n/a | 41 |
Jess Tallman | n/a | n/a | 72.8% | n/a | n/a | 65 |
Adrian Smith | n/a | n/a | 74.5% | n/a | n/a | 22 |
Anna Henderson | n/a | n/a | 65.6% | n/a | n/a | 15 |
Caroline Sloan | n/a | n/a | 65.3% | n/a | n/a | 14 |
Gavin Morgan | n/a | n/a | 87.0% | n/a | n/a | 26 |
Katherine Jones | n/a | n/a | 84.1% | n/a | n/a | 11 |
Rob Linnell | n/a | n/a | 82.7% | n/a | n/a | 25 |
Jenna Harris | n/a | n/a | 79.0% | n/a | n/a | 64 |
Jasmine Presho | n/a | n/a | 78.0% | n/a | n/a | 47 |
Daniel Smith | n/a | n/a | 78.0% | n/a | n/a | 27 |
Ralf Arneil | n/a | n/a | 78.0% | n/a | n/a | 16 |
Lizzie Kelly | 35:36 | 35.600 | 78.0% | 27:46 | 23 | 83 (3) |
Grace Harrison | n/a | n/a | 86.5% | n/a | n/a | 00 |
Florian Combe | n/a | n/a | 79.0% | n/a | n/a | 13 |
Kirsty Lee | n/a | n/a | 76.2% | n/a | n/a | 27 |
Ross Nutter | n/a | n/a | 77.5% | n/a | n/a | 01 |
Warwick Morris | n/a | n/a | 77.5% | n/a | n/a | 21 |
Andy Pike | n/a | n/a | 78.5% | n/a | n/a | 05 |
Sarah Kerswell | n/a | n/a | 64.3% | n/a | n/a | 73 |
Louis Warden | n/a | n/a | 70.0% | n/a | n/a | 42 |
Kirsty Thompson | n/a | n/a | 70.0% | n/a | n/a | 66 |
Liz Welsh | n/a | n/a | 65.1% | n/a | n/a | 54 |
Jill Lumsden | n/a | n/a | 70.9% | n/a | n/a | 04 |
Rachael Organ | n/a | n/a | 70.7% | n/a | n/a | 12 |
Will Hudson | n/a | n/a | 71.5% | n/a | n/a | 15 |
Iain Claxton | n/a | n/a | 67.0% | n/a | n/a | 00 |
Nicola Leavesley | n/a | n/a | 62.5% | n/a | n/a | 58 |
Tim Davies | 40:51 | 40.850 | 66.5% | 27:10 | 24 | 48 |
Kevin Pritchett | n/a | n/a | 63.5% | n/a | n/a | 22 |
Vicky Walker | n/a | n/a | 65.1% | n/a | n/a | 18 |
Marc McLening | 44:08 | 44.133 | 65.0% | 28:41 | 19 | 29 |
Val Berryman-B | n/a | n/a | 64.9% | n/a | n/a | 01 |
Justin Elias | n/a | n/a | 61.5% | n/a | n/a | 00 |
Emma Elias | n/a | n/a | 61.5% | n/a | n/a | 00 |
Sarah Davies | n/a | n/a | 58.5% | n/a | n/a | 03 |
Angus Claxton | n/a | n/a | 100% | n/a | n/a | 20 |
Jack Eaglestone | n/a | n/a | 61% | n/a | n/a | 03 |
Jon Mason | n/a | n/a | 85% | n/a | n/a | 09 |
Ben White | 30:43 | xxxxxxx | See note | xxxxxxxxxx | xxxxxxx | xxxxxxxx |
Melissa Gardel | 39:49 | xxxxxxx | See note | xxxxxxxxxx | xxxxxxx | xxxxxxxx |
Note: This was Ben’s and Melissa’s first race in the Handicap Competition so no Handicap Percentages can be allocated until they compete in their Race 2. Their times in that race will be noted, a percentage calculated on both results and two sets of points awarded.
Mota-vation 3 (Combe I) – July 2nd
Caroline Johnstone reports: Alright men, I’m impressed. We’ve gone from zero at Thame to 19 tonight, 8 more than the ladies team. Well done!
There were strong performances all round, buoyed on by the en-route cheers from Caroline S, Rachael, Tom, Carey, Matt and Gavin (thank you!), and the sea of yellow and black at the end. It’s always nice to see how our team gathers together to support each other over the line.
And in terms of speed, we had some great performances. For the men: James B is back on form and finished 1st VM50; Iain C came 6th VM70; Neil and Kevin finished strongly in the VM60 and SM categories respectively and we dominated the VM40 category with Juan 10th, James G 11th, Ed K 14th, Ian L 19th, Jon 20th and Florian 23rd. In the VM50 Warwick, Andy and Ralf all finished within 10 seconds of each other. They were not long followed by Adrian (fastest time in the last 9 years), Will, Tim and Ross. Daniel Smith, our youngest runner ran a brilliant 27.30, and David Rees stole the show with the most amazing sprint finish. Great running all round!
For the ladies, there was plenty to celebrate. We had some firsts – Jess T’s first WH top 3, coming 3rd VL40; and Lizzie K’s first 1st, in the VL50 category. Sarah K continued her streak of MotaVation 2nd place VL60s, and Jenna, the fastest of us all, was sadly pipped again to the top 3 for her age category coming in 4th overall and 4th senior lady. On the plus, she did win a spot prize bottle of wine! We had strong runs from Kirsty T and Lizzie W in the SL; from Sarah, Vicky and I in VL40 and Valerie and Claire in the VL50 (age category 15th and 9th respectively). Again, great performances!
Position | Name | Time (Chip) | Narrative |
17 | James Bolton (VM50) | 21:37 (21:37) | First VM50 |
52 | Juan Angel Gonzalez Diaz (VM40) | 23:57 (23:57) | |
56 | James Groves (VM40) | 24:06 (24:04) | |
64 | Jenna Harris (SL) | 24:31 (24:29) | Fourth female |
67 | Ed King (VM40) | 24:41 (24:41) | |
81 | Ian Lee (VM40) | 25:14 (25:13) | |
87 | Jon Mason (VM40) | 25:42 (25:39) | |
106 | Lizzie Kelly (VL50) | 26:35 (26:32) | First VL50 |
117 | Florian Combe (VM40) | 27:15 (27:12) | |
122 | Jessica Tallman (VL40) | 27:46 (27:41) | Third VL40 |
130 | Caroline Johnstone (VL40) | 27:53 (27:48) | |
131 | Warwick Morris (VM50) | 27:56 (27:51) | |
133 | Andrew Pike (VM50) | 28:01 (27:55) | |
136 | Ralf Arneil (VM50) | 28:10 (28:00) | |
150 | Kirsty Thompson (SL) | 28:40 (28:31) | |
165 | Sarah Kerswell (VL60) | 29:11 (29:01) | Second VL60 |
176 | Adrian Smith (VM50) | 29:36 (29:25) | |
189 | Will Hudson (VM50) | 29:59 (29:49) | |
212 | Claire Court (VL50) | 31:06 (30:53) | |
220 | Elizabeth Welsh (SL) | 31:48 (31:38) | |
229 | Tim Davies (VM50) | 32:05 (31:54) | |
246 | Vicky Walker (VL40) | 33:09 (33:00) | |
253 | Kevin Pritchett (SM) | 33:47 (33:35) | |
266 | Iain Claxton (VM70) | 34:44 (34:20) | |
268 | Valerie Berryman-Bousquet (VL50) | 34:49 (34:26) | |
294 | Neil Preddy (VM60) | 37:44 (37:17) | |
299 | Sarah Jane Davies (VL40) | 38:04 (37:36) |
Winning Time: 19:42 Number of Finishers: 332
Road Race Handicap Competition 2026
Results For Race 7 – Mota-vation 3 Combe 1
Name | Time | Decimal Time | Handicap % | Handicap Time | Points Race 7 | Total Points (Position) |
James Bolton | 21:37 | 21.617 | 100% | 21:37 | 10 | 10 |
Liz O’Farrell | n/a | n/a | 68.2% | n/a | n/a | 00 |
Juan A G Diaz | 23:57 | 23.950 | 90.6% | 21:42 | 08 | 47 |
Ed King | 24:41 | 24.683 | 81.6% | 20:08 | 22 | 86 (2) |
Claire Court | 30:53 | 30.883 | 71.4% | 22:03 | 02 | 47 |
David Rees | n/a | n/a | 65.0% | n/a | n/a | 22 |
Neil Preddy | 37:17 | 37.283 | 60.5% | 22:33 | 00 | 21 |
Harry Rowlings | n/a | n/a | 90.6% | n/a | n/a | 39 |
James Leavesley | n/a | n/a | 90.5% | n/a | n/a | 24 |
James Groves | 24:04 | 24.067 | 89.8% | 21:37 | 10 | 29 |
Christian Orr | n/a | n/a | 84.7% | n/a | n/a | 13 |
Ian Lee | 25:13 | 25.217 | 80.5% | 20:18 | 20 | 72 (3) |
Alan Harrison | n/a | n/a | 75.1% | n/a | n/a | 21 |
Caroline Johnstone | 27:48 | 27.800 | 73.8% | 20:31 | 19 | 87 (1) |
Rob Earle | n/a | n/a | 71.2% | n/a | n/a | 41 |
Jess Tallman | 27:41 | 27.683 | 72.8% | 20:09 | 21 | 65 |
Adrian Smith | 29:25 | 29.417 | 74.5% | 21:55 | 05 | 22 |
Anna Henderson | n/a | n/a | 65.6% | n/a | n/a | 15 |
Caroline Sloan | n/a | n/a | 65.3% | n/a | n/a | 14 |
Gavin Morgan | n/a | n/a | 87.0% | n/a | n/a | 26 |
Katherine Jones | n/a | n/a | 84.1% | n/a | n/a | 11 |
Rob Linnell | n/a | n/a | 82.7% | n/a | n/a | 25 |
Jenna Harris | 24:29 | 24.483 | 79.0% | 19:20 | 25 | 64 |
Jasmine Presho | n/a | n/a | 78.0% | n/a | n/a | 47 |
Daniel Smith | n/a | n/a | 78.0% | n/a | n/a | 27 |
Ralf Arneil | 28:00 | 28.000 | 78.0% | 21:50 | 06 | 16 |
Lizzie Kelly | 26:32 | 26.533 | 78.0% | 20:42 | 17 | 60 |
Grace Harrison | n/a | n/a | 86.5% | n/a | n/a | 00 |
Florian Combe | 27:12 | 27.200 | 79.0% | 21:29 | 13 | 13 |
Kirsty Lee | n/a | n/a | 76.2% | n/a | n/a | 27 |
Ross Nutter | n/a | n/a | 77.5% | n/a | n/a | 01 |
Warwick Morris | 27:51 | 27.850 | 77.5% | 21:35 | 11 | 21 |
Andy Pike | 27:55 | 27.917 | 78.5% | 21:55 | 05 | 05 |
Sarah Kerswell | 29:01 | 29.016 | 64.3% | 20:00 | 23 | 73 |
Louis Warden | n/a | n/a | 70.0% | n/a | n/a | 42 |
Kirsty Thompson | 28:31 | 28.517 | 70.0% | 19:58 | 24 | 66 |
Liz Welsh | 31:38 | 31.633 | 65.1% | 20:36 | 18 | 54 |
Jill Lumsden | n/a | n/a | 70.9% | n/a | n/a | 04 |
Rachael Organ | n/a | n/a | 70.7% | n/a | n/a | 12 |
Will Hudson | 29:49 | 29.817 | 71.5% | 21:19 | 15 | 15 |
Iain Claxton | 34:20 | 34.333 | 67.0% | 23:01 | 00 | 00 |
Nicola Leavesley | n/a | n/a | 62.5% | n/a | n/a | 58 |
Tim Davies | 31:54 | 31.900 | 66.5% | 21:13 | 16 | 24 |
Kevin Pritchett | 33:55 | 33.583 | 63.5% | 21:19 | 15 | 22 |
Vicky Walker | 33:00 | 33.000 | 65.1% | 21:29 | 13 | 18 |
Marc McLening | n/a | n/a | 65.0% | n/a | n/a | 10 |
Val Berryman-B | 34:26 | 34.433 | 64.9% | 22:21 | 01 | 01 |
Justin Elias | n/a | n/a | 61.5% | n/a | n/a | 00 |
Emma Elias | n/a | n/a | 61.5% | n/a | n/a | 00 |
Sarah Davies | 37:36 | 37.600 | 58.5% | 22:00 | 03 | 03 |
Angus Claxton | n/a | n/a | 100% | n/a | n/a | 20 |
Jack Eaglestone | n/a | n/a | 61% | n/a | n/a | 03 |
Jon Mason | 25:39 | 25.650 | 85% | 21:48 | 07 | 09 |