Gold Rush at Castlepoint – 16 October
WAC record an impressive
seven wins.
This is the third annual
running of the Castepoint Fun Run. A few of us ‘discovered’ the event
last year and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The race is organized
by a team including Martin & Liz Yelling with the support of the
Castlepoint Shopping Centre, the venue is the large grassy area at the
rear of the Littledown Leisure Centre.
For this year’s event
WACers got organized and fielded considerably more athletes. We got
there early and planted our new Wimborne AC banner and used this as our
focal point. There were a few other club runners there, with
representatives from Bournemouth AC, Lytchett Manor Striders, Poole AC,
Poole Runners all spotted, but our red shirts were probably there in the
greater numbers. In the junior races many of the runners represented
their schools, amongst them were Baden Powell & St Peters and Stourfield
schools who are amongst the most committed to cross-country running in
the area.
The junior races at the
start of the programme were all entirely on grass, the first three races
were of a mile, the 14 and 15 year-olds’ race was 1.5 miles and the
seniors who ventured off the grass for a relatively short distance did
5k. The day’s races would be rounded off by what was, very much, a fun
run for the under-8s who did one lap of the circuit. The way the circuit
is laid out makes it excellent for spectating and cheering your team
mates on.
The first race of the day
was for 8 and 9-year olds. WAC had no runners in this, but we did see
WACer Eric Gilbert cheering his son Edward home. He was representing
Baden Powell School and finished a very strong 4th in a very
respectable time of 6:49 – we’re hoping to see him soon at our Saturday
sessions!
Tom Bourne makes
a great start, with Alex Daplyn getting away well too.
Simon Bourne
The first of the red vests
filed onto the start line for the next race (10 and 11 year-olds) – Tom
Bourne, Grace Copeland and Alex Daplyn. These guys got us off to an
excellent start. Tom won the boys’ race by a clear 10 seconds, but Grace
had a real battle on her hands, duelling with Bess Bickel of Baden
Powell School. Grace came out on top by a slender two second margin. It
was great to see Alex Daplyn recording an excellent 6:48 min/mile, she
was the fourth girl home. There were team prizes for teams of three, but
these were for all-boy or all-girls teams, our mixed team (of one boy
and two girls) outscored all the boys’ teams – but alas there was no
team trophy for their fine performance.
The race is won,
but Piers wants a time. He recorded a PB of 5:11
for his
mile.
Simon Bourne
Next up – the 12 and
13-year olds. We had two runners here – Piers Copeland and Tom Boulton.
Piers’ time of 5:11 saw him well clear of the field. Tom was given a
hard time by a fine run from Bridget Dence of Bournemouth AC. Tom and
Bridget were awarded the same time, but Tom managed to keep his nose in
front, just. We were out of the reckoning for the team prize as
we needed three to score. Piers and Tom got the perfect result, a 1-2 …
follow that.
In the race for 14 and 15
year-olds, we had more than enough for a girls’ team. Our racers –
Sharon Hutchings, Chloe Morris, Charlotte Bourne and Scooter – ran
superbly. They came in 1st, 2nd, 3rd
and 5th girls - emphatic winners of the team prize.
Sharon was headed by only two of the boys, one of those only beat her by 2
seconds. They recorded some fine times for the 1.5 mile distance.
The senior runners clearly
had a hard act to follow … how would they fare? Callum Kennedy, in his
usual style, was quick away from the start and had Joshua King of
Bournemouth AC in close company for much of the way. In the latter
stages of the race Callum eventually edged away and won by just over 30
seconds, he recorded a handy 17:11 for his 5k, a PB. Next WACer over the
line was John Hutchings who came in fourth. In the ladies race Lynn
Hutchings made it a WAC double in the seniors’ race, beating her nearest
rival by 24 seconds. Ian Kennedy and Simon Bourne came in shortly
afterwards. All the Wimborne runners had finished in the top 12.
The under-8s race then took
place. A couple of our racers were out there again, this time in a
supporting role for Chloe’s younger sister and brother. Amongst those
who completed the single lap was a group of three two-year-olds, which
included Martin and Liz Yelling’s daughter Ruby, a star of the future
perhaps!
It was definitely a day for
sticking around for the presentations! The final tally for WACers was
six individual winners, one individual runner-up, one individual 3rd
prize plus a team win for our 14/15 year-old girls. We had a winner in
every category we had an entrant – not a bad days’ work. Two-time
British Olympian marathon runner Liz Yelling presented the awards, it’s
great to see a top class athlete taking time out to encourage and
inspire the young runners in our area.
Charlotte, Chloe (with
team trophy) and Sharon with Liz Yelling having
just collected their team prize.
Simon Bourne
The event was superbly run
and was a splendid day for all those who got involved and it deserves to
see even more runners next year. I hope to see you there.
WACers times and results were:
10 & 11 year-olds (45 finishers)
– 1 mile
1 – Tom Bourne – 5:33
3 – Grace Copeland – 5:44 (Winner of girls’ race)
11 – Alex Daplyn – 6:48 (4th girl)
12 & 13 year-olds (26 finishers)
– 1 mile
1 – Piers Copeland – 5:11
2 – Tom Boulton – 5:42
14 & 15 year-olds (15 finishers)
– 1.5 miles
3 – Sharon Hutchings – 8:52 (Winner of
girls’ race)
5 – Chloe Morris – 9:10 (Runner-up of girls’ race)
6 – Charlotte Bourne – 9:37 (3rd in girls’ race)
9 – Rebecca Skeats – 10:42 (5th in girls’ race)
Senior Race (91 finishers) – 5km
1 – Callum Kennedy – 17:11
4 – John Hutchings – 19:52
9 – Lynn Hutchings – 20:52 (Winner of ladies’ race)
10 – Ian Kennedy – 21:15
12 – Simon Bourne – 21:36
