Harting 10 mile Trail Sunday 4th August 2019

What started off as an "expression of interest" from one Baffinner for this 10 mile trail

run on the Hampshire / West Sussex border soon mushroomed as these things tend to do, and

within a few weeks 11 of the FitClub family were signed up for this tricky trail race.

We could well have had more, but the combination of the elevation profile and the cut-off

times (1 hour for 5 miles, 2 hours to finish) did put a few off.

Fast forward to race day and we were blessed with lovely weather - around 21C with light

cloud. Race HQ was the South Harting playing fields just off the B2146. With the race numbers

collected, there was time for a quick pre-race photo before we were walked down to the start

for a pre-race briefing by the Race Director. Nothing too out of the ordinary, although he

did warn of the outside possibility of cows on the route! (Spoiler: There weren’t any).

The hooter sounded and we were off at 10.30am - The first mile or so was uphill and relatively

steep - although since this was the route back to the finish, it would mean a nice downhill

end. After the first hill, the next four miles or so were gentle undulation, winding through the

countryside.

Mile 5 was where the hills really kicked in. An almost 1.5 mile climb from 220ft up to 580ft.

After surviving this lung-bursting climb we were greeted by a marshall indicating us to turn left off the road, cheerfully telling us that we had reached the highest point of the course. He lied. Another short sharp climb awaited us, taking us up to the actual highest point of the course which was around 650ft.

Finally a downhill section for a mile, before a right hand turn onto the South Downs Way and another short climb. Following this was another descent towards the final water station and a quick stock up on jelly babies before switching onto Forty Acre Lane for the final hill at 8 miles.

Just under two miles to go - thankfully all downhill back to the sports ground, with a little

sprint finish on the grass. The course was around 9.8 miles, so just short of 10.

Blasting round Havant Parkrun the day before hadn't affected James Baker's legs at all, as he stormed to victory in an impressive 57mins 41secs - Almost 3 minutes quicker than the 2nd placed Julian Manning of Denmead Striders, with David Reid from hosts Liss Runners not far behind.

First lady home was Jo Payze in 1hr 14mins 24secs, just over two minutes ahead of second placed Sarah Smith from Haslemere Borders Athletics Club who organise the very popular Gibbet Hill 10K. A close third was Nicola Thomas from Portsmouth Joggers just 5 seconds behind.

Daniel Walton worked his way from the rear to be the first Baffinner home in a respectable 1hr 22mins 46secs,

running in with Rich Stevens right behind. Steve Cross ran a very impressive 1hr 23mins 55 secs to finish not too far behind.

Harting 10 2019 Men's Results Top 3 and BFC

Position Runner Number Name Time Age Cat. Club

1 213 James Baker 00.57.41 MV40 Chichester Runner

2 180 Julian Manning 01.00.32 MV40 Denmead Striders

3 201 David Reid 01.01.38 MV40 Liss Runners

59 187 Daniel Walton 01.22.46 M18-39 Baffins Fit Club

60 178 Richard Stevens 01.22.47 MV40 Baffins Fitclub

66 158 Steve Cross 01.23.55 MV50 Baffins Fit Club

79 175 Chris Mathews 01.28.57 MV50 Baffins Fitclub

84 159 Ian Briscoe 01.29.56 MV40 Baffins Fit Club

87 157 Paul Wade 01.30.05 MV50 Bfc

101 184 Colin Southwell 01.33.51 MV60 Baffins Fit Club

103 144 Paul Norris 01.34.29 MV40 Baffins Fitclub

115 188 Matthew Hedley 01.43.56 MV40 Baffins Trail Division

Harting 10 2019 Ladies Results Top 3 and BFC

Position Runner Number Name Time Age Cat. Club

1 20 Jo Payze 01.14.24 LV40

2 168 Sarah Smith 01.16.30 L18-39 Haslemere Borders Athletics Club

3 68 Nicola Thomas 01.16.35 L18-39 Portsmouth Joggers

27 156 Julie Allan 01.36.34 LV40 Baffins Fit Club

44 149 Louise Whitehead 01.48.18 L18-39 Baffins Fit Club

by Ian Briscoe

Results by Brett Rumfitt