After the end of the 2022-23 Hampshire Road League series of races, the eagerly anticipated final tallies are now known.

The Farnham Runners ladies’ A and B teams will both stay in the top division for next year, finishing seventh out of the ten clubs in each.

The Farnham Runners men found out they will have to battle for promotion back to the very competitive top A and B divisions next season.

The consolation is that if they are in the top two clubs in Division Two for either, they will win a trophy!

Chris Raby has won a prestigious league T-shirt for completing all 12 races – a feat not accomplished by many.

It will be presented at one of the races next season.

Nine of the club’s members ran seven or more races, which is enough to qualify for a prized mug with the names and positions of all who qualified.

The men are James Clarke (sixth), Chris Raby (61st), Tony Jones (67th), Justin Clarke (77th), Ivan Chunnett (87th) and Richard Denby (89th).

The ladies are Louise Granell (12th), Linda Tyler (25th) and Jane Georghiou (38th).

Sixteen Farnham Runners took part in the penultimate race of the season, the Alresford 10km – which is organised by Alresford Rotary Club.

The thunderstorms predicted didn’t materialise, so it was safe for the race to take place, but paces were slowed by the high temperature and humidity – which made the undulating race a stiff challenge.

For two of the first three Farnham Runners home, it was their first 10km road race.

James Robinson crossed the line in a splendid time of 37.12 for 14th place in a field of 430 finishers, while Joe Collins clocked a fine 38.05.

Between them, James Clarke – who was the third M35 finisher – had to settle for 37.46 this time.

Nick Grist completed the Hampshire League A team result in 42.33. The team came a very worthwhile fourth in the top A division.

The B team, which placed sixth, consisted of Chris Raby, Tony Jones, Sam Angell and Andrew Brown. Raby finished in 44.05 and was the second M60 finisher, Jones finished in 44.19 and was the fifth M55 runner home, Angell crossed the line in 47.15 and Brown finished in 47.18.

There was an incomplete C team of Ivan Chunnett, Justin Clarke and Robert Drummond. Chunnett finished in 48.37, Clarke crossed the line in 49.21 – and was the fifth M75 – and Drummond finished in 1:12.54.

Louise Granell was 20th lady and fifth F35 in 47.24, Bella Weetch clocked 52.16, Jane Georghiou was second F70 in 54.56, Laura Quinn finished in 55.56 and Colette Grist crossed the line in 57.45 as the ladies’ team came sixth in the top A division.

The organisers had sustainability at the forefront of their planning. They sourced the wooden finishing medals from the UK, cookies were baked by the local Arlebury Cafe and watercress was provided by the Watercress Company.

The first age group prizes were hampers of local produce and the second prizes were boxes of chocolates from the Alresford Chocolate Craft Company – with Chris Raby and Jane Georghiou being two of the lucky winners of these!

Two weeks later, in much cooler conditions on a flat course, 16 Farnham Runners represented their club in the final event of the Hampshire Road League season – the Lordshill 10km.

The men’s A team faced a huge battle to stay in the top divisions. When the results were adjusted to count only the best nine races for each team, Farnham Runners finished one point behind Stubbington Green Runners – despite having a faster team on the day – and missed out on staying in the top division.

The A team comprised James Clarke, Tony Jones, Justin Clarke and Chris Raby.

James Clarke was the 20th finisher in a speedy 35.22, Tony Jones finished in 41.59, Justin Clarke crossed the line in 42.44 and Chris Raby finished in 43.00.

The B team also had too much to do to avoid relegation, and finished seventh out of nine clubs on the day.

For the B team, Sam Angell finished in 43.59, Richard Denby crossed the line in 44.46, Paul Keogh finished in 45.03 and James Goodwin crossed the line in 45.07.

Dominic Fry ran his first race in Farnham colours and finished a personal best time of 45.59. He was followed by Chris Gill in a personal best 54.52 and Robert Drummond in 1:11.47.

The ladies were already calculated to be safe in the top flight – unless two other clubs both had stellar results – but Farnham still put out a good team to complete the series.

Newcomer Lizzie May showed her potential in her first appearance for Farnham and was seventh lady overall and fourth senior lady in an excellent time of 39.52 – which was a new personal best by more than a minute.

Linda Tyler was third F60 in 45.44, while Lindsay Bamford, Billy McCulloch and Debbie Moorcroft recorded times of 50.48, 51.48 and 54.34 respectively, with Moorcroft achieving a new personal best time.

The next Hampshire Road League series begins on Sunday, September 3 with the Overton five-miler.

Kate Townsend and Linda Tyler recently took part in the Snowdonia trail marathon.

Starting  and finishing in Llanberis, the race has beautiful panoramic views and tough climbs. Runners ascend 1,685m over 28 miles of spectacular trails and ultimately ascend Yr Wyddfa. The event is described as one of the UK’s most challenging trail races.

Running together, Townsend and Tyler both finished in 8:00.39 – an indication of the toughness of the race! Townsend was the 11th F50 home, while Tyler was the third F60.

Three Farnham Runners – John Bigg, Toria Dick and Cath Wernham – chose the tough but scenic Giant’s Head marathon in Dorset on a warm and humid day in June.

Just a week after running multiple laps at Endure 24, Paul Mackie ran the South Downs half marathon organised by 2:09 Events in a suitable time of 2:09. He said: “I ran the lovely, hilly South Downs half marathon with a friend for fun and the scenery.”

A large contingent from the club enjoyed the rather shorter Elstead ‘marathon’ – the longstanding race of about 5.5 miles in Elstead organised by the local Scout group.

John Phillips completed the Isle of Sheppey 10km and raised £738.54 for the charity Pancreatic Cancer UK.

Other running and social events continue for Farnham Runners with a huge turnout for a hash run on Frensham Common, followed by a curry and a drink at a local venue.

It was organised by Nicola O’Connor, with the trail for the ‘hares’ to follow laid out by Richard Denby, Chris Gill and Toria and Stephen Dick.

Jane Georghiou