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Race Listing for Hampshire

About the area

Hampshire is a scenic county that provides the perfect backdrop to a vibrant running scene - active clubs, a growing number of groups, a calendar of well-organised events and a network of specialist retailers. From Basingstoke in the north of the county to Southampton and Portsmouth in the south, there's lots going on. And runners can take advantage of a beautiful and accessible natural environment with highlights like a great coast, the New Forest and the South Downs.

The county has a full programme of great races throughout the year and a couple of series that add interest during the summer months. Highlights have to be the Great South Run in October and the autumn half marathons at Basingstoke and Gosport. The year kicks off in style with the Stubbington Green 10K in January and the Portsmouth Coastal Half Marathon the following month. Springtime sees lots of small 5 and 10k events - there must be something near you.

In summer look out for the regular Lakeside 5K Road Races in Portsmouth and the Yateley 10K series, as well as the New Forest 10 in July. A new event successfully launched in 2013 was the Gosport Golden Mile and 5K, watch out for this one again in June 2014. We still haven't got our head round the Christmas in July, Santa Fun Run in Basingstoke but hey - whatever takes your fancy!

In September the New Forest Marathon and Half Marathon is a double header that attracts a big entry while the Portsmouth Victory 5Mile and 10K is always popular. Check out our full Race Listing here.
The growing list of parkrun events (11 strong now including the Isle of Wight) also provides opportunities throughout the year to test yourself against others.

The retailer network is strong, with Alton Sports growing from their Alton base to add new outlets at Eastleigh and across the county border in Farnham. The chains - Sweatshop, Up and Running and Runners Need - are all represented, while independents like Absolute Running, Love Running (Isle of Wight), and Alexandra Sports provide a great local service.

So all in all, this county of close to 2 million people has everything a runner requires - so enjoy our more detailed look at Hampshire below...

If you would like to add information to our listing please get in touch with us.

Hedge End Runners

Happy birthday, Hedgies! So how were you conceived? Two main driving forces; one - lots of Netley parkrunners were looking to develop in a club setting, plus there was a gap in the Hedge End, West End, Botley area of Southampton.

Home sweet home? We were lucky to find a nice local base at Wildern Leisure Centre.

Influential members? Karen Andrews is a motivational ladies captain, and Berni Dutton is an enthusiastic training director.

The Big Sessions? Tuesdays - intervals; Thursdays - steady run; Sunday - long run.

How do you spice it up? Recently we had a ‘Miles for Mind’ relay to support the club charity. Tough - we had to race a couple of speedy miles - but great fun. Tony McGinnes impressed with his metronomic pace, and Bernie wasn’t taking any nonsense from a bollard that refused to budge!

Highlights of the year? The Marwell Wildlife 10K in May summed up what the club was all about - members rallied round to marshal and ensure 1,400 plus entrants had a great race. And the kids enjoyed a fun run, going to the zoo and a post-race picnic.

Tell us more about food? The social side of the club has been great and we all loved the summer BBQs at Manor Farm Country Park.

Most popular member? Has to be Sheryl James - nothing to do with her ability or dedication and everything to do with the spectacular cupcakes she brings along on special occasions.

Any running between the BBQs and the cupcakes? Ah! em... The club did compete in the Hampshire Road Race 10 with Karen Andrews and Stephen Kivlochan, our top performers. We also paid our way helping to organise the Manor Park event in June.

And... We’re signed up for the Hampshire Road Race League and the Southern Cross Country League over the winter.

What about the club championship? We’ve given that idea a bit of a twist and called it the Pentathlon. 7 distances from 1 mile to marathon - your 5 best count and earn you points. Most points and you win the gold medal!

Best place visited? The Hedgies loved their trip to scenic Wilverley in the New Forest for a RR 10 leg. And we saw the ponies!

Members in the news? Well, Carol Sergeant never has an uneventful race. She battled to glory at Edinburgh Marathon and had a great run at the Royal Parks Half Marathon despite losing her husband en route.

Mr & Mrs? We do have have a few couples at the club - the Trendalls, Smiths, Davies, Hoskins, Cookes, Ramptons, Kivlochans, Heslops, Sinclairs etc - and that can lead to some interesting situations.

So what about the birthday party? We stayed traditional for that one and had big blow out at Posh Spices Indian restaurant in Southampton. Oh! sorry we’re talking about food again!

Focus on Holly Hill Runners

For Run England group leader Katharine Jones, her four weekly sessions are a labour of love. The sub-3 hour marathoner has always been into fitness - she was an aerobics teacher in the 1980s - so her recent evolution as a UK Athletics Endurance Coach (Level 2) and a Leader in Running Fitness has been a natural development.

As you might expect from someone who enjoyed a 25 year career in the world of air traffic control, Katharine brings an element of precision to her new role as leader of the Holly Hill Run England group in Sarisbury Green near Fareham. She admits that her classes are structured and were created to enable new runners to progress smoothly but she emphasises that sessions are flexible, responsive to individuals and, always, good fun!

Katharine told runABC South: “We’re lucky that we have Holly Hill Woodland Park as our main location. It’s an ideal setting for woodland runs with paths stretching down to the River Hamble, and also interval sessions that utilise the perimeters of the lake and the local cricket ground.

“The Holly Hill group was set up in 2009 and we now have four sessions per week. Beginners (Friday - 10.30am), mixed ability (Monday - 6.30pm & Friday - 9.30am) and improvers (Friday - 9.30am).

“The beginners group is a gentle baptism with mixed running and walking in the initial stages. After that, there are milestones - from 1k non-stop to 3 miles non-stop at the end of the block. After 10 weeks, beginners have usually developed to the stage where they can think about a 5k parkrun which is a nice introduction to events if they’re interested. I back-up the sessions with an emailed hand-out which might provide information about the benefits of a particular interval or stretch, or offer nutritional advice.

“I encourage new runners to go out once or twice a week beyond the weekly session and as often as not pairs or threesomes will make arrangements to meet-up so there’s a social aspect to the group - they invariably have coffee and cake afterwards!

“Lots of people who do the beginners course, stay with the group and progress to ‘mixed ability’ where there’s the opportunity to work towards a 10k or just to enjoy the experience of longer runs. There’s more scope now for intervals - that’s where the lake and the cricket ground come in handy - and circuits, relay or sports-day based sessions. I aim to make it fun but usually sneak in the progression and the hard work under the guise of hilarity.

“Retired midwife and group stalwart Miranda can be relied on to assist with the high jinks, she’s always game for a laugh but somewhere between the giggles and the jokes, she’s advanced from a run-walker to someone’s who put in a great effort at the recent Great South Run. Another success story is Roanna, a once-sporty mum, who thrived as her fitness improved and she got back to the shape she had been in 10 years before.

“This year we had a marathon group preparing for Brighton Marathon, and there are usually big turnouts of Holly Hillers at Gosport Half, Eastleigh 10K and at our local parkrun at Netley Abbey. So today the group is a nice blend of newcomers, established runners and people who just enjoy the fun and camaraderie of the weekly sessions. I’ve encourage a few of the more ‘hardcore’ members to graduate to one of the excellent local clubs but they seem reluctant to ‘fly the nest’ which must be a testimony of sorts!

“Although the daytime sessions are predominantly female, Monday evening is popular with the boys. One ‘boy’ who caused a stir when he came along last year was Portsmouth FC hero Linvoy Primus. The ex-football star was a great addition to the group and we all enjoyed his friendliness and willingness to join in.”

Check out Holly Hill Runners on Katharine's website where you will also find details of Katharine’s personal coaching service.

Groups in Hampshire

• Accolade Health and Fitness Group, Centurion Park
• Andover Beginners Group, Andover Leisure Centre
• Andover Parkrunners, Charlton Sports & Leisure Centre
• Andover Runners
• Applemore Beginners Group, Applemore Health and Leisure
• Baffins Fit Club, Baffins, Portsmouth
• Bishops Waltham Saturday Group, Priory Park
• BQ House Improvers Running Group, B&Q House, Eastleigh
• Chandler’s Ford group, Knightwood Leisure Centre
• Chandlers Ford Running Community, Physio2Fit
• Chineham Runners, Fitness First Health Club (Basingstoke)
• Compton Running Group, Compton
• Crawley Court Runners, Winchester
• David Lloyd Port Solent, Port Solent marina
• Dibden Running Group, Applemore Health and Leisure
• Eastleigh Running club beginners, Fleming Park Leisure Centre
• Farnborough Group, Rushmoor Community Pitches
• Fit runz, Morelands School, Waterlooville
• Fitness Divas Running Group, Broughton Village Hall
• Geoff and Kims Group, Southampton Sports Centre
• Get Up and Go, Peter Driver Sports Ground, Fleet
• Gosport Group, Gosport Leisure Centre
• Hart Runners, Hart Leisure Centre, Fleet
• Haslemere Border AC, Woolmer Hill Social Club
• Hedge End Running Club, Wildern Leisure Centre
• Hiltingbury Group, Hiltingbury Rec. Ground, Chandler’s Ford
• Holly Hill Group, Holly Hill Car Park
• Horndean Ladies Running Group, Horndean Technology College
• Keep Moving, Spirit Health Club (Eastleigh)
• Kim & Geoff’s Group, Southampton Outdoor Sports Centre, Bassett
• Lee-on-Solent Group, Lee Recreation Ground
• Long Sutton Runners, Four Horseshoes
• Lordshill Beginners Group, Southampton common
• MSE Fitness with Tiffany, Merchiston Hall, Horndean & Taro Leisure Centre, Petersfield
• New Forest Group Ashurst
• New Life Training, Osborne Road Rec, Warsash
• Optimum Training Group, Zebon Copse Centre, Church Crookham
• Rachel’s Runners, Rectory Road Playing Fields,Farnborough
• Rookie Runners, Jubilee Fields, Alton
• Run Bordon, Phoenix Theatre
• Run Four Marks, Four Marks Recreation Ground
• Run in Alton, Alton Sports Centre
• Run in Lee, Lee On Solent Recreation Ground
• Run Warsash, Crofton Community Centre, Fareham
• Sally’s Runners, Car Park Brockenhurst
• School Run Runners, Southampton Common
• Southampton Running Sisters - Eastleigh, The Hub
• Southampton Running Sisters Beginners, Southampton Solent University
• Southsea Pirates - Beginners, South Parade Pier
• Southsea Running Group, South Parade Pier
• Sportivate Andover College Beginners Running, Charlton Sports & Leisure Centre
• TB Runners, King George V Playing Field, Farnborough
• Totton Beginner Group, Ashurst & West Totton Community Centre
• Valley Park Total Beginners, Valley Park Community Centre, Chandlers Ford
• WE Run, West End, Southampton
• Whiteley, Fareham Running Group, Meadowside Leisure Centre
• Winchester Running Group, River Park Leisure Centre
• Winchester Sports Stadium Running Group

If you run a group and would like it to be featured here, send us an email!

Services in Hampshire

Do you operate a service for runners in the Hampshire area? If you'd like to be added to our list get in touch with us!

Chiropody

Please contact us and we will include details of your service

Nutrition Advice

Please contact us and we will include details of your service

Personal Training

Please contact us and we will include details of your service

Physiotherapy

goPhysio Chandler's Ford

Please contact us and we will include details of your service

Podiatry

Please contact us and we will include details of your service

Sports Massage

• goPhysio Chandler's Ford

Please contact us and we will include details of your service

Services in Hampshire

Do you operate a service for runners in the Hampshire area? If you'd like to be added to our list get in touch with us!

Chiropody

Please contact us and we will include details of your service

Nutrition Advice

Please contact us and we will include details of your service

Personal Training

Please contact us and we will include details of your service

Physiotherapy

• goPhysio Chandler's Ford

Please contact us and we will include details of your service

Podiatry

Please contact us and we will include details of your service

Sports Massage

• goPhysio Chandler's Ford

Please contact us and we will include details of your service