INTREPID athletes from Haslemere Border have braved wet weather to take on some extreme challenges.

For some the event was the Winchester half-marathon.

On an ideal day, the half-marathon is a scenic route through the idyllic setting of the surrounding countryside and passes landmarks of Winchester Cathedral and St Catharine’s Hill, albeit the course is very hilly. But for Daniel Allaway, Tim Wishaw, Lari Williams and Karen Sinclair, the weather forecast didn’t deter them.

With all runners starting the race already soaked, the conditions couldn’t have been any worse. Head coach Daniel Allaway bought the team home in one hour 26 minutes two seconds for eighth overall and third in his age category, just four minutes behind the overall winner. Tim Wishaw finished in 1.41.36, Lari Williams in an excellent sub-two-hour time of 1.59.53, and Karen Sinclair followed up her previous day’s Frimley Lodge Park run with a finish time of 2.37.20.

As the Winchester half marathon runners headed home for some warmth and dry clothes, club runner Philomel Bennett had only just reached the halfway point of the Surrey Hills Challenge ultra, a mere 38 miles of the ups and downs of the Surrey Hills. Starting at Haslemere, the route heads toward the Devil’s Punch Bowl, follows the Greensands Way and the challenge of Pitch Hill, Holmbury Hill and Leith Hill, before ascending onto the North Downs Way and eventually finishing at the Denbies Wine Estate in Dorking.

For Philomel, this was her first ultra and another item to be ticked off on her bucket list. With the race starting from Haslemere Hall at 7am, Philomel headed off to the Devil’s Punch Bowl in ideal dry, sunny conditions, but it wasn’t long before the rain came and conditions deteriorated. Despite the weather and Philomel going ‘off piste’ because of poor route signage, she still manged to finish in an incredible time of 7.18.11 for 28th overall and fifth lady.

The following weekend, on a perfect day for running, the annual women’s Windsor 10k took place in the Great Park. The undulating 10k course passes through beautiful countryside, passing the Royal Lodge which is now home to Prince Andrew, the Royal School and the statue of Queen Elizabeth II erected in celebration of her Golden Jubilee. The downhill finish sees participants run from the top of the Long Walk with Windsor Castle as the backdrop.

Ten ladies from Haslemere Border competed, with everyone taking part in the pre-race warm up, exuberantly led by club runner Rebecca Connor. AFirst home was Claire Green in 56.49, followed by Suzy O’Rourke in 1.06.23, Rebecca Connor in 1.07.29, Cheryl Stafford-Jones in 1.10.50, Anne Kettles in 1.10.52, Helen Crainey in 1.13.42, Ann Varnes in 1.23.39, Christine Williams in 1.23.39, Patsy Petersen in 1.41.25 and Debbie Parry in 1.41.58.

For many of the group this was their first time at the annual race and everyone enjoyed the event and look forward to returning next year.

The runners were also given additional support by fellow club runners Karen Sinclair and Lorraine Herring, both unable to run due to injury, family members and bag carriers Andy Wareham, Rebecca Wareham and Peter Varnes.