Races & Entry

News & Reviews....

TEST WAY RELAY

30/08/08

Congratulations to the men and ladies who made up our mixed team on a hot, sunny August day.

Report to follow.

For pictures click here.

Midhurst 10k - Sun 10th August.

(2 first timers and a first in her category for Emma Burton!)

Report by Roger Thomasson

8 Crusaders made the trip to West Sussex and all agreed it was a good test with a hilly two lap course and an 8:45 start.

In her first race for the club, Emma Burton was the 17th lady finisher overall in an impressive 46:24, which was good enough to be placed FIRST in her age group. Helen Chalk just edged out Karen Jenkins with times of 51:20 and 51:22 in 52nd and 53rd positions. Liz MacEnri and Cathy Pittick finished together in 1:03:37 to see the ladies team home. The ladies overall result meant that they finished 5th out of 12 teams and Karen's time was also a PB.

In another first finish for the club, Paul Coates was the first male Crusader home in a time of 43:06, finishing 69th overall. The 2nd man home was Roger Thomasson with a seasons best of 48.30 and Club Captain Mick MacEnri saw the men home in a time of 53:36.

Fareham Crusaders First EVER

Time Trial Race.

Tuesday July 15th

On a close evening 35 runners took to the fields on North Fareham to tackle to nettles, brambles, roads, stiles & hills in the Fareham Crusaders first ever race event, (complete with a fully working stopwatch and a proper trophy).

Everyone had previously logged a time for the 2 and a half mile route, and on this evening all runners were running against their own time in a handicapped staggered event, providing an even chance of winning for all competitors of all abilities.

First home was Kevin Wheeler in an alltime best time for the course of 15:21, followed closely by Crusader 2nd claimant Mike Harper in 15:31.

After the handicaps had been worked out however, the final placings started to take shape. Mike was joined by Lucy Hackett and Helen Chalk in joint 6th place, with girls taking around a minute off their previous bests.

Phil Chamberlain took 30 seconds off of his best to secure 5th place out right, and Glenn Miles and Martin Humphrey both recorded great times to tie for 4th spot.

For the top 3 places we saw 3 great performances. Claire Jeffery (pictured above) finished 3rd, running 43 seconds better in a time of 18:54. 2nd Place went to Keith Woolven, improving by over a minute to finish in 17:31.

But first place went to Lewis Collins, in a superb effort, pacing himself with the big guns and finishing with a big sprint to the line, shaving close to 2 minutes off his previous time, finishing in 16:27.

The top 3 finishers all received medals and vouchers for Alexandra Sports, and Lewis get to keep the trophy until the next event. An autumn handicap race will be organised for later in the year.

Thank you to all the marshalls for helping, for the time keepers for time keeping and to all of the runners for entering.

Picutres of the event can be found here.

Results can be found here

Purbrook Ladies 5 - Sun June 29th.

The, as ever, superbly organised Purbrook Ladies 5 mile race took place this past Sunday with excellent perfomances from our girls on the day. The course is hilly and part of road, proving enough of a challenge for the experienced runner as well as being welcoming enough for the new starters.

(image curtosey of Portsmouth Joggers)

In results, the team had 2 finishers who finished inside the top twenty, Tracey Lancaster 19th and Debbie Taylor in 20th.

Liz Farquharson finished an impressive 3rd in her category, while Charlotte LeCastrec, Cathy Ellis and Liz MacEnri battled it out for places in the 48 minute mark.

Kris Gregory completed here first race for the Crusaders rounding off a superb day for her and the ladies overall.

Bognor 10k-Sun May 18th

(Report by Roger Thomasson)

On a Pompeytastic Sunday morning in Bognor, the fab four of Mick and Liz MacEnri, Martin Ward and Roger Thomasson arrived at an overcast and breezey seafront, althoguh temperatures steadily rose towards the start.

A large field of 1302 ran the coastal course.

Bandana man Mick was the first Crusader home in 53.25 followd 2 minutes later by Mr.T Roger, minus the goldwear. Martin, who had been at Wembley the previous day finished soon after in a time of 55.51.

Our sole ladies representative, Liz MacEnri, fresh off her Promenade 5k PB, made up the final place in a time of 1hr 02.

Well done to all runners on this 'Blue' Sunday.

Alton 10, Sunday May 11th, HRRL 9 of 10

THIS RACE REPORT IS SPONSORED BY NEIL GRAY'S RACE NUMBER!

Temperatures in the high 80's, 10 miles of hills & 2 water stations. Thank heaven for Claire's perfumed suncream!

In the penultimate road race league of the season, conditions could not have been more remote than from the previous month league race in Totton. Rather than being greeted by a blanket of snow, runners woke up to clear skies, no wind and mini heatwave that was always going to make for tough running conditions.

Credit then to the 10 strong finishers who managed to complete the course for the Crusaders. First runner home was Jason Stock, finishing in a time of 1.09.27, closley followed by Jonathan Ellis in 1.12.57. James Musselwhite and Matthew Fleet made up the mens team places finishing just shy of the 1 hour 20 mark each.

Paul Farquharson, Keith Woolven in a new pb of 1.24.28 and Neil Gray completed the men's finishing.

For the Ladies, Debbie Taylor was the first to cross the finish line in a bullish 1 hour 21 mins, with Claire Jeffrey just behind on 1 hour 25. Both ran well enough to earn indivisual points in the HRRL, with Claire currently 32nd and Debbie 2 places shy in 34th. Liz Farquharson completed the ladies team scoring in a time of 1 hour 44.

With one race to go, both mens and ladies teams look set for a succesful debut campaign in the HRRL. The final race of the season takes place on June 8th at the Winchester 10k.

Promenade 5k, May 7th, 1 of 3

A warm, balmy evening greeted yet another successful turnout from the Crusaders in the first of 3 summer 5k's held at the Mountbatten Centre, Portsmouth.

In all 13 Crusaders, old and new, completed the course. First home was Paul Farquharson, crossing the line in 19mins 37 secs. Paul's mum Liz scored a new pb with a time of 25.58, good enough for 3rd in her category and Matthew Fleet completed his first race for the club in a pb of 21.36.

Tracey Lancaster finished 9th in her category in a time of 22.52, and Mick MacEnri and Martin Ward (pictured above) battled it out to finish in 25.11 and 25.20 respectively.

Further pb's included, Ladies captain Liz MacEnri, finishing in 28.48, and Cathy Ellis beating her last promenade time by EIGHT MINUTES in 29 flat.

Meredith Liles, Jill Hignet and Emma Collins all ran in their first of what will be hopefully many races for the Fareham Crusaders. Well doen to everyone. The next 5k will be held on Wednesday 2nd July. View the Gallery HERE.

Totton 10k

Despite heavy snow showers in the hours leading up to the race, the Totton 10k turned out to be a sunny, if a little chilly, well organised 10k race, and the 8th of the HRRL season.

12 Crusaders in total completed the race, scoring fantasticaly for both mens and ladies HRRL teams.

Story of the day however was the success of Ladies captain, Liz MacEnri, crossing the line in a time of 59:46, beating the hour mark for her first time ever, a fantastic effort.

Cathy Pittick also smashed her PB with a time of 57:40, and both of these times, helped the ladies B team, temporarily, up to 4th in the overall B rankings for the season.

Of the ladies A team, Claire Jefferey beat 46 minutes for a new PB, and new girls Mel Stock and Jenny Strudwick, in her first race before the London Marathon, all finished with in 10 seconds of each other, for a strong showing both in the A team League and in the individual points rankings.

Of the men, Jason Stock ran the boys home in 41:05, Gavin Barron completed in 42:06 and Rob Catlin completed his first ever Crusaders race, making up the A team spot.

The result was good enough for the men to hold onto 2nd place with just 2 races left to go in the calendaer, a strong showing is needed to finish of the season and guarantee promotion. Meanwhile the Ladies have guaranteed promotion and need now to see out the rest of the season without a hitch in order to secure the clubs first ever title.

The 9th race of the season takes plce in Alton on 11th May.

EASTLEIGH 10k

On a morning which threatened to be windier and wetter than it was a total of 20 Crusaders completed the Eastleigh 10k course in the 7th race of the Hampshire Road Race Season.

The course is run around central Eastleigh, mainly on road and is well organised as it has to be to cater for over 1500 runners in total. Other than a hill at 4k, which is swiftly followed by a steep descent afterward, the course is flat and fast and attracts a great many good quality athletes into it's competition.

Of the Crusaders, Debbie Taylor was the first lady home, crossing the line in a time of 45:37, a new PB. Following Debbie closely behind were Tracey Lancaster and Claire Jeffery, in times of 46:49 and 46:50 respectively. Helen Chalk, Tracey Morrison and Claire Nobbs all ran in close to the 50 minute mark to score points for our ladies B Team, which currently sit 9th in the overall standings in the HRRL B league. Liz Farquharson scored a new PB with a time of 56:12 and Hellen Foster ran in her first race for the club. Well done to all our ladies.

Of the men, Paul Farquharson led the boys home in a time of 42:38, followed by James Musselwhite and Clive Scrivens who battled out the sprint finish if the year to finish 44:18 and 44:21 respectively. Keith Wollven completed his first run for the club in a time of 47:30, Craig Foster hit a new sub 50 minute PB in 49:34 as did Roger Thomasson with a superb time of 49:50. Martin Ward made up the mens team, finishing home in 55:33.

In the current HRRL STANDINGS the ladies sit pretty atop Division 3 firmly in first place. The men remain in second place in Division 3 mens, but need to do a little work in the remaining 3 fixtures of the year to guarantee a promotion to the second division.

Well done to all our runners, and we'll see as many of you as we can for the next race of the series in Totton on April 6th.

Congratulations to all Crusader finishers, and everyone who scored a NEW PB!

Exbury 10k - 9th March

New Club captains, Liz and Mick MacEnri (pictured above) entered the Exbury 10k this past Sunday in Southampton. Both used the run as a training run to recover from injury, and so the plan was to take it easy and finish the course in preperation for Eastleigh next week.

The entry was limited to 250 as this was the first time that the event had been held. The course was a gentle loop within the gardens, on quiet country roads with a short stretch if muddy footpath, followed by about 500m along the shingle path at the tope of Lepe beach. As whole the event was well organised with a friendly atmosphere.

Both our captains made it without further injury, Mick first with a time of 53:07 and Liz with a new PB of 60:24. Well done Liz, (1-0 to the girls!)

As a race for beginners this comes highly recommended for maybe more participation next year.

Winchester 10k - 24th Feb 2008

The Winchester Route is a Roller Coaster course with climbs and descents Isaac Newton may well have said, "What goes up must come down" but he can't have done the Winchester 10k, as we're convinced the hills outweighed the descents for the 815 that finished.

Paul Farquharson was 1st home in 45:40. 5 mins later Craig Foster and Roger Thomasson battled out a sprint finish with Craig the victor in 50:47, followed by Roger 2 seconds later.

Gordon Frost, Martin Ward and Ian Beattie completed the mens team.

Karen Jenkins was our 1st lady home in 53:46 which was good enough to finish 22nd in her category. Helen Chalk finished just behind with a time of 54:32 and the third lady was Liz Farquharson in a finishing time of 57:54 completeing the course 8th in her category.

The Next race is Eastleigh on the 16th March, which should be a breeze after this hilly challenge.

Ryde 10 - 3rd Feb 2008

Wind, wind and more wind. The sea conditions were so bad that the hovercraft service was cancelled between Southsea and Ryde pier. Fortunately all 8 Crusaders made it across the choppy seas to the start of a very enjoyable and challenging 10 mile course around the north east coastline of the Isle of Wight.

Debbie Taylor finished in a time of 1 hour 21min, and took 62 individual points in the HRRL league. Rosie Wheeler was the second lady home, and also claimed her first individual points of the season. The Ladies team scored another first place in the Ladies 3rd division, while the men secured 2nd place in the Mens 3rd Division.

The next race isa 10k on 16th March, in Eastleigh.

Stubbington 10k - 13th Jan 2008

On a blustery Sunday, in early January a record number of Fareham Crusaders ventured out onto the streets of Stubbington and Lee on Solent to compete in the annual Stubby 10k.

An excellent chance to blow away the New Year cobwebs, some 1109 runners winished the race and the Crusaders again acquited themselves well, scoring for the team in the HRRL standings. Jon Ellard was the first Crusader home, in a time of 39min 50secs which bested 6:30 minute miling. Portsmouth Uni studen Paul Farquharson finished with an excellent 43:20, with Paul Fielon (44:25) and Chris Butler (45:50) making up the final mens team places. James Musselwhite, Roger Thomasson, Craig Foster (in his first Crusader outing) and Martin Ward finished with places for the men's B Team. Don Cook, Ian Beattie & Lee Richardson all finished with respectable times.

Of the Ladies, for the 3rd race running our ladies team consisted of the same 3 runners. However this time, Claire Jefferey just pipped Tracey Lancaster to first place with times of 47:02 & 47:03 respectively. Debbie Taylor made up the ladies team placings with a time of 48:45. Tracey Elizabeth (53:06), Helen Chalk (54:50) and Clare Nobbs(55:21) made up the ladies B team. In other notable times, Liz MacEnri finished a massive 6 minutes better than her time the previous year and now just 2 and a bit minutes shy of beating the hour mark and Sarah Burnham provided the sprint finish of the day with a time of 1hr 05:15.

Overall, the Stubbington 10k marks the halfway point in the HRRL season. The men remain 2nd in division 3 and have closed the gap on 1st placed Andover AC by 2 points. However the 3rd and 4th placed clubs Havant and Team Souythampton have closed the gap, which should make for an interesting 2nd half of the season. The ladies remain 1st and 21 points clear in Division 3, with a 2nd place finish in Stubbington behind City of Portsmouth AC. The Ladies B Team also sit 10th out of 27 teams in the B league. Well done to everyone, we'll see you all again in Ryde on 3rd February for the next race.

Round the Lakes 10k - Boxing Day 2007

Why not try running on Boxing Day? In all fairness, it sounded like a good idea at the time. However, stuffed full of turkey and trimmings and still suffering from a little over indulgence the night before, and standing amidst 400 other runners all looking eager and fit, come the morning of the race, Crusader James Musselwhite didn't think it was such a wise move.

The morning itself couldn't have been better for running, still, bright and slightly chilly. The 4 lap course took in the lake around Poole park and although at times the route was narrow, and the multiple laps did prove awkward with faster runners lapping the back markers early on, overall the race was enjoyable and a great excuse to get some training in over Christmas.

Pudding Catcher 12k Trail Race - 16th December

(Report Curtosey of Roger Thomasson)

Mid December and zero degrees. A bitter and chilly wind. The question. . . . ."Why are we here?"

The answer. . . "To chase the Xmas pudding, of course!"

The route consisted of 3 laps of energy sapping clumpy grass, undulating X-country through the woods with tree roots, branches, logs and mud to negotiate, plus a biting wind. Inspired by Xmas music blasting round the course, The Crusaders team of Liz Macenri, Cathy Pittick and Roger Thomasson ran with other santas and reindeers as fast as we could, to get away from the Cliff Richard tunes and in pursuit of the elusive pudding.

As a token of congratulation for completeing the course, we were presented, not with a medal, rather a fat mug of tea and a bowl of Xmas pudding and custard. As my daughter might say "Lush!". After a cold and testing course I think all finishers agreed that they enjoyed their pre Xmas Factor feeling and a jolly good run out.

Victory 5 - 2nd December

14 Crusaders again took to the field for a second weekend running to take part in the annual Victory 5 mile road race.

Jon Ellard finished first for the mens team in a time of 32:35, with James Musselwhite, Roger Thomasson and Martin Ward making up the rest of the A team for the HRRL.

Tracey Lancaster again impressed for the ladies. clocking a time of 36:33, Tracey scored her third consecutive individual points, making her 14th highest female road runner in the season so far. Clare Jeffrey and Debbie Taylor made the other two places in the A team, and also scored idividual points to add to their Gosport Half Marathon success.

Special mention to Don Cook who completed his first race for the Crusaders, and helpes the Mens B team score their first points of the season.

Following the the race, in the HRRL, the mens team sit 2nd in Division 3, while the Ladies team remain 1st. Well done to all, and the next race is the Stubbington 10k.

Gosport Half Marathon - Sunday 25th November

Previous to 2007 the Fareham Crusaders had never fielded more than 6 entrants into this race. The 13.1 miles that a half marathon presents is a stern challenge to any runner, and just the mere utternece of the word "marathon", in whatever form, can seem a daunting prospect.

On a sunny November morning, with blue skies and a slight chill in the air, 14 brave Maroon and Yellow vested runners took to the streets of Gosport, many for the first time in at this distance. Conditions really could not have been better and all 14 Crusaders finished the race and scored well for the club in both the mens and ladies HRRL league.

First Crusader past the post was John Ellard, who broke the hour and a half barrier with a time of 1hr 29mins. Mark Grubert was a short distance behind, finishing in 1 hour 30mins, a time good enough to finish 39th in his category. James Musselwhite shaved a minute off his time 1 months previous in the Solent half marathon with a time of 1 hr 43, and Mick Macenri completed the mens team scoring in his first half marathon and new PB of 1 hr 53. Gordon Frost and Neil Gray, both also in their first halfs completed the course and scored new PB's aswell.

For the ladies it was nothing but success stories again. Tracey Lancaster bested her Solent Half Marathon time by nearly 2 minutes to finish in 1hr 40:26, a time good enough to place her 20th in her category and the 43rd female finisher overall. Anyone who was there will know that Claire Jeffrey pulled out the gutsiest performance of the day, finishing her first half marathon in a time of 1 hr 46:04, placing her 28th in her category, and Debbie Taylor finished strongly to complete the ladies scoring in a time of 1 hr 47mins, qualifying for 23rd in her category.

Tracey Morrison finished 20th in her category with a time of 1hr 52 mins, Rosie Wheeler finished her first half marathon beating the 2 hr mark in 1hr 55mins, and Sue Shergold, Cathy Ellis and Rachel Coleman saw home the finish line to round of a great day for the club.

The Gosport Half Marathon is the 3rd Race in the HRRL league. Provisional results are available here. The mens 'A' team scored enough points to finish 3rd in Division 3, which is just enough to hold on to 2nd place overall. The ladies however, scored their 3rd consecutive 1st place, meaning that they still sit firmly on top of Division 3.

In a side note, the first 3 finishers for the ladies, Tracey, Claire and Debbie all finished high enough to score themselves individual points, and Tracey Lancaster currently sits 23rd Overall in the individual ladies rankings for the season. Well Done Tracey, and well doen to everyone who took part, especially to those who ran the distance for the first time.

HRRL results available here.

Children In Need - Spinnaker Tower Run

Friday 16th November.

At 8am on a bright and crisp November morning, Fareham Crusaders Chris Butler & James Musselwhite faced the 170m high Spinnaker Tower in Gunwharf Portsmouth, and prepared to take on its 560 steps in a sponsored charity run.

Despite Chris being bogged down with a 40lb bag of stones, and Jim with a frighteningly large belly, both runners made it to the top safely in a time just short of 4 minutes flat.

THE GREAT SOUTH RUN

Sunday 28th October.

Grey, wet and windy. For the second year running runners were subjected to less than ideal conditions at the annual Great South Run.

From and initial entry of 18,000 runners, just under 12,000 braved the wet conditions, in a run that takes in much of Old Portsmouth, Southsea Seafront and HMS Victory.

Of those 12,000, both the Fareham Crusaders & Ocean FM All Stars fielded in impressive numbers, with varying times up and down the course. Remarkably some finished with new PB's as others, many of whom were novices a little over 3 months ago, crossed the finishing line of a 10 mile race for the first time.

Here are just a few results from the day:

Mike Dally was the first Crusader home in a time of 65 mins 21 secs, a new PB and good enough to finish 150th.

President, Mark Grubert, also finished with a fantastic time of under 70mins, proving there is plenty of life in the old dog yet!

Claire Jeffrey beat her previous years time by a massive 7 minutes with a time of 1 hr 20mins 02 secs, with Rosie Wheeler just ahead of her. Debbie Taylor ran in 1 hour 21 mins and Helen Chalk just behind with another new PB of 1 hr 28 mins.

Mick & Liz Macenri also hit new PB's for a 10 miler with times of 1hr 23 & 1 hr 48 respectavely.

Bacon sandwich provider and all round good host for the day Claire Nobbs finished just outside of the 90 minute mark, Cathy Ellis in her first 10 mile race hit a new PB with 1 hr 52 and Neil Gray went through in 1hr 36mins.

Well done and congratulations to everyone who took part and acheived their personal goals.

Thanks to Claire for providing the pre and post race entertainment, and please check out the gallery for some race photos from the day. If you have any pictures we can use on the site please email them to me at James@farehamcrusaders.co.uk.

7th October 2007

Solent Half Marathon & Chichester 10k

2 races this past Sunday meant that the Crusaders had split loyalties across 2 counties.

Deep down in the New Forest, 5 Crusaders braved the 13.1 mile half marathon course. The 2nd race in the HRRL season provided a still day, with glimpses of sunshine, rare for a race staged in October. In these near perfect running conditions all individuals completed the course & scored well for the team.

Mike Dally was the first Crusader to finish first, with a time of 1:35:06. Running her first Half for 10 years, Tracey Lancaster finished with an impressive 1:42:10, running at well under 8min/mile pace, a perfomance good enough to secure her individual points in the HRRL league, our first individual score of the season.

Helen Chalk finished strongly and secured a NEW PERSONAL BEST with a time of 2:02:52. Well done Helen. Ian Beattie and James Musselwhite completed the team scoring, which leaves the mens team 2nd in Division Three, and the Ladies team placed an impressive 1st in the A Team Division 3. View the current standings by clicking here.

Over in West Sussex, 2 Crusaders took part in the Chichester 10k Road Race. In a field of over 1000 runners Roger Thomasson finished with a time of 50:09 and Amanda Conroy 51 minutes flat. Well done to both.

30th September 2007

CLARENDON WAY RELAY MARATHON

This past Sunday, nine Crusaders braved the annual Clarendon Marathon.

The race, run either as a full, half or relay marathon, takes it's route between Salisbury and Winchester and features 'undulating' terrain.

The Crusaders fielded 2 teams in the relay section of the race, with each member of the team running approximately a six and a half mile section of the full marathon course.

A total of 46 teams entered the race, with our 'A' team finishing 13th with a time of 3 hours 37 mins & 23 seconds. The 'B' team finished just shy of the 4 hour mark and was good enough for a very respectable 29th place.

In addition, Geoffery Bedford completed the full marathon in a solo effort, finishing with a time of 5:07:02.

Well done to everyone for a superb performance.

(Thank you also to Tracey for providing us with race pictures, which can be viewed here.)

23rd September 2007

THE BUTSER HILL CHALLENGE.

On a day that was described as "Perfect race conditions" by optimist Roger, but was reassessed by pessimist Jim as "Perfect conditions, apart from the giant hill." a total of 9 Crusaders ventured out onto the fields of Butser, to challenge the 888ft Challenge Race.

In a race run over four and a half miles, with three seperate climbs and descents, times are not important. It's all about the experience, the views and getting around in one piece, which everyone did with aplomb.

Chris Butler, on his first race with the team, was the first Crusader past the post, with a time just shy of 44 minutes.

Claire Jeffrey was the first Fareham lady to finish with a time of 49 minutes flat.

Kevin Emmonds also completed his first race for the club, and Cathy, Liz, Mick & Roger all finished the course (a Grade A fell race) with times and performances to be proud of. After the race, like moths around a lightbulb, the team found the beer tent and enjoyed a well earned pint of Hampshire's finest.

This course is about as tough as it gets, so well done everyone, and we can now look forward to Clarendon Way next week, and getting back on the road in October and November for the Road Race season.

For pictures of the raceclick HERE.

Saturday 1st September

OVERTON 5

This past Saturday marked our first outing as a competetive running club in the yearly HRRL competition.

An impressive 10 crusaders took to the course just north of Basingstoke, and enjoyed sunny race conditions.

Despite the heat, and the narrow exit off of the playing fields and ont the roads, all of our entrants did themselves proud and scored a fantastic set of times to start us off in the league. Mike Dally was the first Crusader past the post, in a little over 32 mins, running just under six and a half minute miles.

Claire Jeffrey and Tracey Lancaster were the first Ladies to finish, and were seperated by just 7 places. Clare was the 64th lady to finish, and Tracey the 68th.

Geoffrey Bedford ran in close to the 40 minute mark, and irishmen Michael Macenri and Ian Beattie ran in close times to one another, at 41:28 and 42:49 respectively.

Well done also to Tracey, Helen, Cathy and Liz who all ran in great times. Everyone's efforts have been reflected in the first results for the HRRL league standings.

The mens team currently sit third in division 3, while the ladies not only scored points for the B Team, but the A team presently sits TOP of Division 3!

This is a fantastic effort, and reflects the importance of the role that everyone has to play in the club, so well done to everyone. The next HRRL race will be the SOLENT HALF MARATHON on 7th October.

Wednesday 8th July 2007

Promenade 5k

Another fine turn out for the Crusaders in the third and final summer race around the Promenade, with some truly remarkable success stories to finish the season.

Roger Thomasson was the first home in a time of 23.33, with Claire Jeffrey the first woman home in a time of 23.36, representing a whole minute's improvement across the season , well done Claire.

Liz Farquharson finished with a time of 26.43, three minutes faster than her time in the first race. Ocean All Star, Sonia Baker, completed the course in 30:18, three minutes faster than her time from a month previous.

A special well done to Cathy Ellis, who had to pull out of the last race with an injury, but through gritted teeth completed this race injury free.... well done Cathy!

Well done also to Mick, Helen, Geoff, Liz, Cathy, Sarah and Neil (in his first Crusaders race) who all completed with respectable times.

Images coming soon to the gallery, (curtosey of Claire).

11th JULY 2007

Congratulations to all Crusaders who took part in the recent 2nd race in the Promenade 5k series of 3.

Tracey Lancaster finished with a time of 22:44 in her second outing in a Crusaders vest, while Claire Jeffrey beat her PB and the 24 minute barrier with a time of 23:58.

In addition, sisters Ellen Young and Lisa Pugh both completed their first races (sprint finish included), with times well under 30 minutes. Well done girls !

Sonia Baker, part of the Ocean FM all stars also completed her first race, whish is an important step along the road to completing the Great South Run later on in the year. Well Done Sonia.

4 Crusaders also completed the New Forest 10 on Sunday, so well done to Helen, Geoff, Ian and Sue.

1st JULY 2007

Fareham Crusaders are now signed up to the HRRL Road Runners League. The league is run over 10 races over the course of the 2007/8 season and we have both a mens a ladies team registered.

A list of races is available from Jim on training nights can also be accessed on the HRRL website.

The first race is the Overton 5 on Saturday 1st September.

The club has entered the league as a training aid, to help encourage race entries and simply to become more involved in the local scene.

Any member of the club can run and score points for the club on race day, as points are dictated simply by which club runners cross the line first.

For more info email jim, james@farehamcrusaders.co.uk

Marwell 10k Sun 29th April

Report, picnic review & excuses as to why the gallery is still not up yet, will appear here...

Eastleigh 10k - Sun 25th March

"It was PB Sunday this past week as the Crusaders entered a varied field of runners. Some aiming to better their performances 2 months previous in Stubbington and some aiming to simply complete their first 10k.

Eastleigh is a pretty good course. There's a big fat hill at around the 4-3k mark, but other than that, it's a flat route that is well marshalled throughout.

On an absolutely perfect day for racing, a FANTASTIC 6 Crusaders picked up PB's.

Mike Dally AGAIN broke 40 mins with an official time of 39:21. Mick Macenri took a massive 3 mins off his pb with a time of 50:30 & James Musselwhite took 2 mins off his Stubbington 10k time with a time of 45:10.

Helen finished in a new PB 54 mins flat, and Liz Macenri claimed a new pb and got closer to the magic hour with a time of 1hour 3mins. Rachel also completed her first 10k with a time of 1hr 2mins.

The pictures of all the runners will be up in the NEW GALLERY shortly so be sure to check back for details.

Stubbington 10K

"With blue skies, scattered whisps of white fluffy clouds and a fresh, crisp bite to the air, the Stubbington 10k road race provided an excellent start to the racing year. 15 Crusaders completed the race this year, our biggest participation in our four year history. All runners completed the course, which was excellently marshalled throughout.

Despite a difficult start for those not in the sub 45 minute pen, the pack soon found it's stride and the views of the Isle of Wight along Lee on Solent front were gorgeous. The course, flat as always, provided easy conditions runnign wise, and the weather remained sunny throughout.

Mark Grubert was the first Crusader home in a time of 41.03, narrowly pipping Mike Dally to the line by a mere 2 seconds. Paul Feilon and Richard Walker finished with times of 43.08 & 45.42 respectivley and James Musselwhite worked off his new year hangover in a time of 47.03. Ian Beattie continued his comeback with a time of 55.44 and Mick Macenri beat 54 mins for a new personal best.

Of the ladies Claire Jeffery and Clare Nobbs started the year strongly looking comfortable with great times, and Catherine Pittick finished an agonising 1 second short of beating the hour mark.

Well done to EVERYONE who entered and raced under the Fareham Crusaders banner, and here's to hoping for more success stories in the future.