Race number 2 was back to the familiar setting of Itchen Valley country park. And with thankfully no traffic related mishaps 6 runners safely lined up at the starting line. The only potential hitch was a very stubborn parking machine which refused point blank to take any form of payment, but with plenty of time to be spared this didn’t casue any big delay as we found a working machine. The introduction of parking charges with a fuller use of parking may have perhaps eased the congestion which can be a problem at this location (I didn’t see any cars on the approaches), so hopefully this is adopted for the future.

Having raced 4 differing iterations at this venue it was a pleasant surprise to find they had pulled a really nice loop out of the bag. This was a really straightforward 2 lap route of around 4.7 miles with a large section on fairly firm bridleway, with the rest on trail with the usual culprits of puddles, branches and some uneven turf making an appearance. Mud was plentiful but easily avoidable, unless you happened to be running next to someone that just felt like splashing it all over you. Overall though a very welcome and simplfied route.

The parkrun barcodes also seemed to go off without a hitch, a big tunout again with 510 runners. Everyone finished with some excellent running and times, final placings were Mike (126), Phil (130), Andrew (184), Chris (257), David (278) and Richard (287). Well done all! Full results will be available at the usual place. I’m sure we will get another good turnout at the next race at Hamble, a Wessex B team potentially on the cards!