Yeovil Half Marathon Report

Race Report by Rach Webber

Well last Sunday saw the local half marathon for the BHAM’ily! Hosted by our friends at Immortal Sport and with many bhammers having signed up following the 2018 race this was a big event.

With nearly 40 runners taking part in the clubs Half Marathon Training and many others who have been training hard for the first few months of the year BHAM were once again very well represented with around 60 runners taking part.

The morning started early, even earlier as a result of the clock change, meaning an hour less in bed. Luckily all the runners managed this well and arrived at Pen Hill Dental Surgery, our race HQ for the day in plenty of time and for the photo call. This was where the morning really kicked off with the 2019 edition of “race to the loo” with many competitors making the dash back to get the best spot in the toilet queue, not mentioning the winner

Back to the real reason we were here. Just before 9am we made the short walk to the start line. It was so lovely to see so many of the Purple Army in the sea of runners and made the event extra special to be surrounded by familiar faces. The race began with a lovely downhill section and around the town centre while we fought for position within the masses and settled in to a comfortable pace.

The support throughout the race was incredible with many of the locals out to cheer on the runners. The race headed east out of the town centre, before heading in to Yeovil Country Park and part of the recent local parkrun route, it was nice to be in familiar surroundings as we ran the length of the park before exiting on to Lysander Road, again the support throughout this section was amazing. The race continues to head along the road and towards the airfield, where we were met with the sight of a large lorry who was baffled by the sight of so many hi-viz, lycra clad people heading towards him. It was ok though one of our own, Rob Gundry, soon sorted him out.

From this point the race headed out of Yeovil along quiet country roads, towards Montacute and again members of the BHAMily marshalling along the route provided great support. Then we entered into the grounds of the iconic Montacute House, where the drinks and energy station was a relief for some. Running along The Avenue to more incredible support provides a slight distraction as the nerves began to hit, being fully aware of what was to come next.

The trickiest part of the route is without doubt the section of undulating hills that take us back to Yeovil, the up and downs and then hitting Balls Hill was punishment for all at mile 9. Upon reaching what seems like the peak of this mini mountain a gradual incline continues until we reach Yeovil once more. From here one more little ascent before a long descent to the finish. The support continued to gather and grew as we approached the town centre where the crowds carried us down to the finish line. This provided an incredible sprint finish for most, but a special mention to Caroline who unfortunately on her sprint finish took a horrible tumble and had to receive medical attention, but Kevin Church made sure she reached the finish, showing that we most certainly are a family! She wasn’t the only one who made use of the medical support but sometimes really pushing it hard gives us the best achievements.

I am so proud to be part of the BHAMily, where we all worked together, trained hard together and achieved together. Congratulations to everyone who completed the 2019 Yeovil Half Marathon whether it be your first, a PB or you just had fun. Well done to all the marshals who helped out and provided support throughout the route and Special thanks to Gary & Susan Irvine for opening up the Dental Surgery again, and hosting us with lovely tea and cake following.

Full Results:

Pos	Race No	Name	Time	Chip Time	Category	Cat Pos	Gender	Gen Pos
28	1561	Paul Thomas	01:25:59	01:25:56	40-49	10	Male	28
130	1350	Thomas Rowe	01:35:27	01:35:22	40-49	38	Male	121
139	159	Tom Brister	01:35:38	01:35:34	30-39	50	Male	129
169	1211	Christopher Pinnock	01:37:08	01:37:01	40-49	44	Male	157
207	850	Mark King	01:39:17	01:39:13	40-49	60	Male	191
273	2079	Ben Gunn	01:42:19	01:42:00	30-39	88	Male	246
308	351	Craig Dabinett	01:43:31	01:43:07	30-39	101	Male	276
316	210	Kevin burton	01:43:42	01:43:23	40-49	94	Male	282
324	253	Kevin Church	01:43:57	01:43:37	40-49	98	Male	289
477	1337	Mark Romans	01:50:04	01:49:40	40-49	136	Male	412
480	352	John Dabinett	01:50:05	01:49:43	50-59	60	Male	415
497	1668	Rachel Webber	01:50:34	01:50:11	30-39	25	Female	71
498	1346	Rebecca Rowe	01:50:36	01:50:21	40-49	20	Female	72
563	316	Georgia Coward	01:52:42	01:52:14	U20	3	Female	96
659	1667	Marc Webber	01:55:59	01:55:29	30-39	178	Male	531
695	1672	Anthony Welch	01:57:13	01:56:49	40-49	184	Male	552
696	236	Chip Chapman	01:57:13	01:56:49	50-59	84	Male	553
705	1792	Richard Mitchell	01:57:23	01:56:33	40-49	186	Male	560
710	833	Shaun Kent	01:57:32	01:56:57	50-59	88	Male	562
733	778	Gary Irvine	01:58:11	01:57:46	50-59	92	Male	573
857	239	Spencer Chapman	02:01:10	02:00:47	40-49	219	Male	646
858	199	Nic Bullock	02:01:11	02:00:43	40-49	71	Female	212
880	1212	Rebecca Pinnock	02:02:13	02:01:11	40-49	76	Female	225
908	1253	Brendon Purdy	02:03:50	02:03:25	30-39	219	Male	671
918	1271	Catherine Rands	02:04:25	02:03:20	50-59	24	Female	242
968	1520	Richard Swaine	02:06:35	02:05:15	30-39	232	Male	703
971	317	Kate Coward	02:06:47	02:06:18	40-49	91	Female	268
995	1255	Marc Purdy	02:07:47	02:06:49	40-49	231	Male	713
998	1254	Jessica Purdy	02:07:49	02:06:49	40-49	96	Female	284
1104	180	Dan Brown	02:12:21	02:11:53	40-49	244	Male	757
1106	822	Tracey Kanditt	02:12:22	02:11:07	40-49	123	Female	348
1107	1740	Mark Wyatt	02:12:23	02:11:34	50-59	120	Male	759
1132	1635	Shaun Walker	02:13:06	02:12:21	50-59	123	Male	769
1162	265	Jo Clarke	02:14:03	02:12:54	40-49	135	Female	382
1192	305	Donna Cornelius	02:15:05	02:13:49	40-49	144	Female	398
1198	384	Nicky Deady	02:15:10	02:14:02	40-49	146	Female	401
1227	81	Laura Batten	02:16:40	02:15:23	40-49	151	Female	420
1268	1196	Amanda Perrin	02:19:16	02:18:06	50-59	66	Female	442
1270	802	Brian Jennings	02:19:26	02:18:31	50-59	140	Male	828
1302	1892	Wendy Driver	02:20:59	02:19:26	60-69	16	Female	462
1324	1166	Christabel Pates	02:21:55	02:20:13	50-59	74	Female	480
1364	144	Claire Bragg	02:24:26	02:23:58	50-59	82	Female	510
1379	1410	Jim Silsby	02:25:00	02:23:49	40-49	275	Male	858
1380	1411	Melanie Silsby	02:25:00	02:23:49	30-39	148	Female	522
1405	287	Ali Collier	02:27:21	02:26:08	50-59	86	Female	541
1408	2062	Isabel Marks	02:27:41	02:26:15	40-49	196	Female	542
1409	1748	Nicky Partridge	02:28:11	02:27:07	40-49	197	Female	543
1410	1972	Charlotte Loxston	02:28:11	02:27:06	40-49	198	Female	544
1411	730	Tara House	02:28:13	02:27:47	40-49	199	Female	545
1412	320	Anthea Cox	02:28:15	02:26:44	40-49	200	Female	546
1414	958	Emma Mann	02:28:23	02:27:18	40-49	201	Female	547
1422	233	Nikki Channon	02:29:37	02:28:20	30-39	153	Female	553
1427	254	Sharon Church	02:31:07	02:29:57	50-59	87	Female	556
1499	668	Emma Herrod	02:39:36	02:38:01	50-59	98	Female	610
1500	345	Jenny Curtis	02:39:36	02:38:02	40-49	223	Female	611
1515	1238	Roxane Pratt	02:41:04	02:39:52	50-59	102	Female	621
1568	457	Sharon England	02:51:46	02:50:10	40-49	235	Female	657
1569	456	Jason England	02:51:54	02:50:20	40-49	293	Male	912
1570	205	Simon Burke	02:51:55	02:50:16	50-59	159	Male	913
Last		Jon Forsyth (TAIL RUNNER)

Photos Courtesy of Derek McCoy