Race number 3 in the 2017/18 Hampshire Cross Country League season moves on to Popham Airfield near Basingstoke on Saturday the 2nd of December 2017.

As always, the U20/Senior/Vets Women's race starts at 13.35 and the U20/Senior/Vets Men's race starts at 14.30.

Directions on how to get there and the event information are as follows:
Sat Nav destination - Postcode: SO21 3BD (Note: This postcode covers a large area so follow the directions given below as you approach the airfield.)
OS Grid Reference: SU529439

Directions from Winchester (M3 J9)
Take the A34 northbound. Turn right on the A303 eastbound towards Basingstoke (Bullington Cross). Discount one very small road on the left (to Norton), continue to the second main exit marked with countdown boards, signed Micheldever Station and Overton. Drop down the slip road, and at the end go straight on as as if rejoining the A303 towards Basingstoke (this requires a little wiggle right and left) but the slip road is now signposted Popham Airfield. You will see the brick and iron gates of the airfield on the left, just 100 metres before rejoining the A303.
When entering the airfield vehicles should bear left to the course, following the signs. Parking will be arranged on a large area of hardstanding at the top end of the Airfield and there will be marshals to organise this.

Portaloos have been hired in and will be situated near the Start / Finish Area.

Course maps can be downloaded. The running surface is mainly good grassland although there are some rougher areas. Although not steep, there are some long uphill sections on each lap.

Refreshments will be available from an outlet brought in by the owners of the Airfield.

Please note a very good relationship has been formed with the owners of the Airfield and to make sure that this is maintained please do not to stray onto the Air Strip. PLEASE DO NOT GO ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WOODEN FENCE AWAY FROM THE RUNNING AREA.

Also do not stray farther into the Woods as these belong to another Land Owner and are out of bounds.

PLEASE NOTE: A condition of us having use of the Airfield is that all dogs must be on a lead at all times.

The area previously used as the Tented Area is now enclosed by a high fence and is a Drone Training area. The new Tented area will be in the middle of the course but away from the Model Plane Flying area which must not be crossed.

Please make sure you drive carefully on leaving via the one way system out of the Airfield and rejoining the A303. Also when leaving the Car Park, please give way to traffic leaving the Aerodrome Buildings coming from the left.

Hoping you have a good day!
Ian Byett
Basingstoke & Mid Hants AC

"A fun morning at Queen Elizabeth Country Park"... said Jenna, who was in the Club's Ladies A Team... unfortunately all on her own. Well done to Jenna and the rest of the guys that tackled the hills and the mud of QECP.

The next SCCL race is on Sunday the 10th of December at the Bourne Wood... hopefully we can get a few more ladies along for this one.  

The Hedgie Results for QECP are as follows....
Women:
178 - Jenna Shergold
Men:
  64 - Mark Smallwood
115 - Keith Spiers
132 - Charlie Cooper
143 - Stephen Kivlochan
149 - Nathon Palmer
168 - Kevin Blann
​185 - Chris Brooks
241 - Ian Bowers
247 - Ian Pierce
307 - Rob Jones
327 - Martyn Judd

The Men's team were 16th, the Women's team (aka Jenna) were 24th, and overall the Club was placed 19th. 

The Hedgie results are as follows...

Women: 
  60 (16) - Claire Powell
116 (54) - Melanie Ford
145 (73) - Lauren Udall
154 - Elizabeth Butler-Meadows

Men: 
​  69 (10) - Peter o'Donnell
128 - Will Baggs
214 (86) - Steve Whitehead
248 (113) - Tim Ford
278 - Jesse Butler-Meadows
​

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 : Southern Cross Country League - Race 2
When: Sunday 12th November 2017 @ 11.00am
Where: Queen Elizabeth Country Park

Queen Elizabeth Country Park: Portsmouth Joggers invite you to SCCL Race 2 at QECP on Sunday 12th November. The course is in the lovely country park with plenty of hills and forest trails. The race will be a single lap with a long flat(ish) start before a nice steep hill to take you into the forest section.
As this is Remembrance Sunday there will be a minutes silence at 11am followed by the start just after 11:01am. The course distance is 5 miles.
 
Race Meet: The meeting area / finish, is in lower field which you get to by walking past the park visitor centre. There is no shelter in lower field unless your club brings it, so please wear suitable clothing. The start line is a short 2 minute walk up hill from the finish area.
This year we have again contracted a catering company to supply hot drinks, soup and a roll for you to enjoy post race for £2.50
The club will be also be selling cake for 50p in a tent on the bottom field by the finish.
Please stay if you can at the end, provisional race results will be announced at the end – subject to weather conditions.
 
Facilities: There are limited toilets in the visitor centre – with 500 runners expected the queues could be lengthy – you may want to bring your own tissue paper. There are no showers / changing facilities. If you go into the visitor centre / café please ensure you do not drop mud.
 
Due to the high risk of trip hazard on the course we have professional first aid for your additional safety. All runners run at their own risk however.
 
Competition Rules: All runners must wear a Club Vest. No ipods / MP3 permitted. Full race rules (including pace eligibility) at http://www.bobayer.com/trwl/rules/.
The race referee’s decision on a contested line finish is final. Please stay in finish order in the funnel. Take your finish token to your club captain who will complete your team results sheet to be returned with the token to the race scorer who will be in a PJC gazebo in lower field.
 
Directions: QECP is very easily located off the A3 just south of Petersfield – there are large signs on the A3. Post code PO8 0QE

Car park: Competitors must park in the race car park – there is plenty of space if you park considerately. It will be an enormous help if you can car share where possible. Please do not park in the visitor centre car park or drive down to lower field. The QECP require all cars to pay £1.50 and display a parking ticket. Please help us by bringing the correct change.
Failure to display a car park ticket will result in a parking penalty being applied by QECP.
The race car park is just off the northbound carriageway on the slip road (please do not park on the slip road which is exceptionally dangerous). If you are heading south follow the slip round under the road bridge and up to the car park.

Enquiries: Race Director: Pip Wright email pips159@hotmail.co.uk phone 07742 171051

ARC Race Permit applied for.

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.

Well done to everyone that made the journey to King's Park in Bournemouth on Saturday. 

The Hedgie results were as follows...

Women: 
  53 (17) - Claire Powell
115 (56) - Melanie Ford

Men:
129 - Will Baggs
170 (67) - Steve Whitehead
223 (103) - Tim Ford

The Men finished in 6th place in Division 3. The Women were unfortunately one short to complete a scoring team. 

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)

What : Southern Cross Country League - Race 1
When: Sunday 6th October 2017 @ 11.00am
Where: Pamber Forest, Basingstoke

Pamber Forest: Basingstoke and Mid-Hants Athletic Club invite you to Pamber Forest (the Start is grid reference SU 612 618), a 479-acre Site of Special Scientific Interest, a few miles north of Basingstoke, near Tadley off the A340. The race will be a single lap through forest and fields along undulating tracks and footpaths.
It will start at 11:00am; distance 5 miles.

Race Parking: Following an issue with street parking in 2016, we have organised additional off-street parking in 2017. Please arrive a bit earlier and aim for the car park on the John Stacey land (also used by a small Sunday market) that is shortly before the Pamber Heath Road turning. The walk to the Start is 1150 metres, so please allow 20 minutes (or less if jogging!). Parking is also available in the Memorial Hall car park (the walk to the start is 600 metres – 11 minutes) prioritised for runners with families/children or club-reps carrying tents, flags, etc. We have agreed with John Stacey that we will offer a charity contribution to Basingstoke Hospice, so a suggested donation of £1 per parked car will be greatly appreciated. We would also appreciate a similar donation at the Memorial Hall car park, thank you, it’s a very good cause.

Directions: (From South): From M3 J6 join the Basingstoke Ring Road north (signposted A339 Newbury), and exit following the A340 signs for Aldermaston, Tadley and Sherbourne St. John (and the District Hospital). Keep on A340 for 6-miles until you reach the Sainsburys traffic lights, and then another set of lights a further 50 metres along. Turn right at these, into Silchester Road towards Pamber Heath. After 900m the parking for the main car park is on the left. For those travelling to the Memorial Hall, this is 400m after the right turn at Pamber Heath Road.
​
Race HQ: The Race HQ is at Pamber Heath Memorial Hall, Post Code RG26 3TQ
.
Refreshments: After the race, at the Memorial Hall there will be hot food (freshly-cooked locally produced sausages from Sherfield-On-Loddon in bread rolls from Bramley Bakery) plus vegetarian options, and home-baked cakes by BMHAC club members, and tea/coffee, at a price of £2.00 per head.
Please stay on afterwards if you can (provisional race results will be announced at the Hall asap after the finish).To speed the results service, can all club team captains please return their completed race results envelopes as soon as possible to the race results coordinator (John Bigg) who will be based near the right-hand corner of the Memorial Hall after you walk in the entrance to the hall after the kitchen.

Facilities: Limited toilets, changing, and clothing dump are available at the Hall.

Competition Rules: All runners must wear a Club Vest. There may be sheep in the farmers field near Little London (the southern edge of the course), so no dogs, sorry.
Full race rules (including pace eligibility) at http://www.bobayer.com/trwl/rules/

Race Start: The start and finish will be in the open field adjacent to the forest entrance. The walking route will be marked from the Memorial Hall. There is plenty of space for club tents and/or flags.

IMPORTANT: As always, please display courtesy to others members of the public on the day, including whilst running. Please use the toilets in the Memorial Hall, or (if needs must) not in public view, particularly near the start.

Enquiries: tim.fowler@hotmail.co.uk, 07595 486930.