Do Cross Country races get any better than this? 
Perfect weather conditions... clear blue skies, plenty of sunshine, a nice chill in the air, no wind
Perfect course... in the New Forest, plenty of mud and water, some challenging hills, lovely views
Perfect atmosphere... great Hedgie camaraderie, lots of friends on the other teams, a good turn-out
Perfect hosts... excellent organisation, superb marshals, fantastic cakes (free!)

A Sunday morning excursion to the New Forest for the third round of the CC6 Cross Country League saw the Men's first team of 4 finish in 4th place overall and the Ladies first team of 3 finish in 6th place.

Well done to all the competitors and spectators that came along to support the Club. The Hedgie individual results are as follows.... 

What : CC6 Cross Country League - Race 3
When: Sunday 5th November 2017 @ 09.30am
Where: Dibden Inclosure, Beaulieu Road
Host Club: Hardley Runners

Course: There is a slightly different route this year. It is a single lap of approximately 4.7 miles with a mixture of grass, gravel and muddy tracks (and some hills) around Dibden Inclosure,

Parking: As parking is limited here we request that you car share wherever possible.
Parking on the tracks of the Inclosure (SO42 7YR) is particularity limited and therefore this will be reserved for those who car share to the event. NOTE: If parking here please relocate your car to the car park if you plan to stay on after the race.
Parking before the race is not permitted in the Dibden Inclosure car park as this is used by other members of the public.
Further parking is available a few minutes walk from start on Nash Road, West Road and North Road in Dibden Purlieu and in a public car park on Oak Road (SO45 4PH). See the attached map showing parking locations. There have been some issues around parking for events held here before and so I ask that you stick to these areas and park considerately (e.g. do not block driveways). There is a traffic light crossing to take you across the main road and into the starting area.

Facilities: There are no toilets or showering facilities available.

Notes: As with all the forest courses, please be aware that there will be other members of the public using the area, dog walkers and horse riders etc. so please show courtesy.
Please listen to the marshals out on the course as they will be alerting you to obstacles such as uneven ground, roots, etc.

Great running this morning from our mud covered Hedgie CC6 teams!
Thanks to you all and to Jim Dunlop for stepping in to record the results.
We fielded 5 Men's Teams and 2 Ladies Teams - results below.
Both the Men's and Ladies first teams were in 4th place overall.
The next CC6 is on Sunday the 5th of November in Dibden. It's not too late to get in on this series of cross country runs
so keep an eye out on the website or the Facebook group for event info.

After helping to host Race #1 at Fleming Park, Hedgies get their first chance to run in the 2017/18 CC6 league on Sunday the 1st of October. The race starts, as usual, at 9.30am and is hosted by Stubbington Green Runners and Netley Abbey Runners.

The race takes place within Whiteley Pastures and Botley Wood and is an undulating course approx. 4.3 miles long. The anti- clockwise figure of 8 route (small loop then larger loop) starts with a climb uphill and  is a mix of gravel track and technical single track rutted paths. We can almost certainly guarantee an element of mud at some point with tree roots and logs to negotiate along the way. A link to a map of the course is here... 2017 CC6 – SGR Whiteley – Route
The woods are still open to the public and their dogs so please be mindful of others wanting to enjoy the woodlands.
There is plenty of free parking (and coffee shops) at Whiteley Shopping Centre and the postcode for your sat nav is PO15 7PD. Marshalls on the day, positioned near the Whiteley Way roundabout, will direct you to the start line which is a 5 -10 minute walk from the shopping centre.
Please be advised the only public toilets available are within the shopping centre – the main ones are by ‘Next’.
We have listened to your feedback and you will be pleased to know that the course starts AND finishes on the main track – no last minute narrow tight turns this year!
When you have revelled in the glory of the finish, enjoy a cake with us at the end supplied by the budding bakers of SGR & Netley Abbey.
Look forward to seeing you all. Enjoy the season!
Sadie (Stubbington Green Runners)

Hedge End Running Club participates in the CC6 Winter Cross Country League

The CC6 Cross Country League is a friendly, low-key league, organised by the running clubs of South Hampshire for their members and provides an excellent introduction to competitive racing.

Held in the winter, these local races are free and take place once a month on Sunday mornings, between September and March. Distances are between 4 and 5 miles and have similar locations to those in the RR10 Summer XC league. There's no need to enter in advance, just turn up on the day, along with your club shirt, and run.

All races start at 9:30am. Note that the host clubs do not compete in the races they marshal.

The details of the race programme for 2017/18 are as follows:

Date - Host Clubs - Location
17th September 2017 - Eastleigh RC, Hedge End RC & Itchen Spitfires - Fleming Park
1st October 2017 - Stubbington & Netley - Whiteley Woods
5th November 2017 - Hardley - Dibden Inclosure
10th December 2017 - Lordshill & Wessex - Janesmoor Pond (Stoney Cross)
7th January 2018 - Winchester, Southampton AC & Running Sisters - Badger Farm
21st January 2018 - Romsey, Halterworth & Southampton Tri - Kings Garn Gutter Inclosure (Stoney Cross)
18th February 2018 - Totton - Denny Wood
11th March 2018 - New Forest Runners, Lymington Tri & Lymington Athletes - Wilverley Plain

Club Reps: Marie Droniou-Bordry and Elizabeth Bamber
​

Many thanks to Marie and Michele for coordinating the advance race information and results for the 2016/17 CC6 Winter Cross Country series.

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Marie's final report...

It was HERC's first CC6 season and it has proved a success!
 
22 men and 15 ladies took part in at least one race and we were able to have a team in each of the 7 races. We did sit out the first one at Fleming Park and marshalled instead, with a really good turn out of helpers from the club!

The courses were varied but mud, hills and excellent team support and spirit were definitely the common features! The last race of the season on Sunday 12th March even challenged us with a stream and some killer down and up hills, and with some falls in a mud bath! Luckily no one was injured and we all laughed about it! The amazing cake buffet (topped up with Kirsty’s amazing shortbread millionaires) and hot drinks definitely kept a smile on our faces after the finish!

Hedge End Ladies team finished 4th in the league and the Men's team finished 10th.
 
4 ladies and 5 men qualified to feature in the final results (they have to run at least 4 races). Well done Claire Powell and Kevin Martin for being 1st Hedgies! A very special mention to Bethan Davis who ran the 7 races, that is impressive!

Overall results (at least 4 races) 

Claire Powell - 7th
Elizabeth Bamber - 10th
Michele Jacobs - 11th
Bethan Davis - 30th

Kevin Martin - 13th
Keith Spiers - 56th
Chris Brooks - 60th
Tim Steele - 72nd
Paul Miller - 91st

No matter how many races you run or what place you get, everyone’s effort counts towards the final results. The CC6 Cross Country races are free, really well organised and definitely worth trying if you haven’t yet!
 
We look forward to seeing more of you next season!
Marie & Michele.

​                                                ***********************************************                                              

Overall the results were as follows:
This season we had 253 woman and 358 men take part in at least one race, congratulations to everyone of you, you are all HARD CORE!
Some are hard core, and very fast, and below you can see who they are:
LADIES
1st – Sarah Winstone, Lordshill Road Runners
2nd – Hannah Fround, New Forest Runners
3rd – Connie Green, Lordshill Road Runners
MEN
1st – Ashley Forbes, Southampton Athletics Club
2nd – Tom Culley, Southampton Athletics Club
3rd – Pete Boustred, Southampton Tri
LADIES TEAMS
1st – Lordshill Road Runners
2nd – New Forest Runners
3rd – Eastleigh Running Club
MENS TEAMS
1st – Lordshill Road Runners
2nd – Southampton Athletics Club
3rd – Eastleigh Running Club

Well done to everyone!

Next up is the RR10 Summer Cross Country Series!

The final CC6 race of the 2016/17 season was held at Wilverley Plain on Sunday the 12th of March. Thanks very much to  New Forest Runners, Lymington Tri and Lymington Athletes for organising a wonderful finale to the series. 

Well done to all Hedgies that came along to run and support.

The Ladies Results are as follows: 
Kirsty Cartwright - 8
Marie Droniou-Bordry - 9
Elizabeth Bamber - 10
Michele Jacobs - 13
Bethan Davis - 29

The Men's results are as follows:
Peter o'Donnell - 13
Kevin Martin - 14
Christopher Chester - 51
Chris Brooks - 54
Keith Sheppard - 66
Tim Steele - 72
Jerome Bordry - 76
Paul Miller - 104

Race 7 in the CC6 series went ahead at Dennywood on Sunday the 19th of February. Thanks to Totton Running Club for organising and well done to the Hedgies that ran and supported. 

The Ladies Results are as follows: 
Marie Droniou-Bordry - 10
Claire Powell - 15
Kirsty Cartwright - 20
Elizabeth Bamber - 23
Linda Cooper - 40
Bethan Davis - 52

The Men's results are as follows:
Kevin Martin - 23
Peter o'Donnell - 28
Chris Brooks - 27
Keith Sheppard - 75
Keith Spiers - 82
Tim Steele - 83
Mark Fretwell - 100
Paul Miller - 118

​Race 8, the last in the current season will be at Wilverley on Sunday the 12th of March.