2019 Helmdon Hurler

Information (e.g., entry forms, results and photos) for running races (e.g., 5K, 10K, 10M, half marathon), both road races and multi-terrain, that are in Oxfordshire, Berks and Bucks, parts of Glos, Hants, Northants and Wilts, ... Generated: Wed 02 Sep at 08:02:29 BST

2019 Helmdon Hurler

As very few races are taking place at the moment, I'm creating web pages entitled "where I was taking photos this time last year". Today, I'm looking at the Helmdon Hurler which takes place from Helmdon, a village that is 5M North of Brackley. It's about 28M from Oxford.

The organiser's website says "The Helmdon Hurler is a gruelling (for some!) 4.3M running event. The inaugural Hurler was held on August 30th 2010 and it has become an August Bank Holiday tradition in Helmdon. The route combines the country lanes of Helmdon with the hard-surfaced 'Astwell track'. It is gently undulating but not too difficult, even for beginner runners."

Last year's race took place on Mon Aug 26th 2019. When taking photos, I prefer the runners to be in the shade. As last year's race took place on a hot day with bright sunshine, I battled with runners running into and out of the shade. 128 did the race - as well as 49 unattached runners, it was also well attended by local club runners: there were 21 runners from Brackley_and_District_RC, 11 from Buckingham_and_Stowe_RC, 11 from Daventry_Road_Runners, 6 from Cherwell_Runners_and_Joggers and 6 from Silson_AC.

This year's race was to have taken place today (Mon Aug 31st 2020). Unfortunately, because of Covid-19 it has had to be cancelled.

By the way, you can click on any of the photos on this web page to see the photo in hi-res.

The route of the race

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The above map is taken from www.mapmyrun.com. It was produced by Peter Grieveson. The route starts at the pub in the village of Helmdon. The first bit is up hill passing houses on a quiet lane as far as the letter "F" in "Falcutt" on the above map. Thereafter the lane is flat and in countryside. There's a left turn to join the "Astwell Track" which passes the 1M and 2M markers. It passes Astwell Castle which is a "Grade II listed manor house". At the end the route turns left onto the road from Wappenham to Helmdon. It's a long gentle up hill for most of the straight that passes the 3M marker. Then it reaches the village of Helmdon where it gently descends along twisty streets but flattens out after crossing the River Towe and shortly afterwards finishes back at the pub.

Photos of the male runners who did well at the 2019 Helmdon Hurler

Here are some photos of the male runners who finished in the top 3 and/or were first in their age category. These photos are ordered by the position of the runner.

Fergus Scott (114, Rugby_and_Northampton_AC) was 1st and the 1st MU18 finishing in a time of 23:53.

Daniel Clarke (76, Daventry_Road_Runners) was 2nd and the 1st SM finishing in a time of 25:32.

David Bannister (97, Hook_Norton_Harriers) was 3rd and the 1st MV40 finishing in a time of 26:28.

Andy Green (63, Team_East_Haddon) was 5th and the 1st MV50 finishing in a time of 27:01.
Team East Haddon is a "small and friendly running club with about 30 members". They are based in East Haddon, a Northampton village that is about 8M NW of Northampton and about 8M NE of Daventry.

Alan Webb (38, Midland_Masters_AC) was the 1st MV60 finishing in a time of 37:11.

Barry Gilbert (47, Wadhurst_Runners) was the 1st MV70 finishing in a time of 50:50.
Wadhurst Runners has over 70 active members - they are based at Wadhurst, a market town that is situated on the Kent–Sussex border - it's about 7M E of Crowborough and about 7M S of Royal Tunbridge Wells.

Photos of male runners from other running clubs

Here are some photos of the first male runner from running clubs other than those mentioned above. These photos are ordered by the name of the running club.

Richard Francis (92, Alchester_RC) was 7th and the 3rd SM finishing in a time of 27:25.

Christopher Noble (62, Brackley_and_District_RC) was 8th and the 2nd MV50 finishing in a time of 28:36.

Jimmy James (29, Buckingham_and_Stowe_RC) was 10th and the 3rd MV40 finishing in a time of 28:44.

Warren Harrison (6, Cherwell_Runners_and_Joggers) was the 7th MV40 finishing in a time of 33:35.

Craig Mellows (15, Desborough_and_Rothwell_RC) was the 15th MV50 finishing in a time of 45:01.
Desborough & Rothwell Running Club is "a vibrant, friendly running club supporting the towns of Desborough and Rothwell in Northamptonshire". These towns lie between Kettering and Market Harborough.

Stephen Buck (19, Human_Energy_AC) was the 10th SM finishing in a time of 31:29.
Human Energy AC is "a small friendly running club based at Weedon" which is a large village that is 6M SE of Daventry and 7M W of Northampton. It's on the A5 and is close to the M1.

ian moore (67, Lonely_Goat_RC) was the 6th MV50 finishing in a time of 35:55.

Bryan Ogilvie (13, Northampton_RR) was the 14th SM finishing in a time of 36:45.

Alfie Long (88, Silson_AC) was the 2nd MU18 finishing in a time of 29:01.

Alan Roberts (39, Vale_of_Aylesbury_AC) was the 4th MV50 finishing in a time of 34:12.

Michael Mulroy (86, Winslow_Warriors) was 6th and the 2nd MV40 finishing in a time of 27:15.
Winslow Warriors is a running club based in the market town of Winslow that is in Bucks about 6M SE of Buckingham. Winslow is the home of the Lions Club of Winslow 10K Road Race that is held annually in Feburary.

Paul Molyneaux (61, Witney_Road_Runners) was the 3rd MV60 finishing in a time of 39:09.

Chris Barker (72, Wootton_Road_Runners) was the 10th MU18 finishing in a time of 43:35 - no photo.

Photos of the female runners who did well at the 2019 Helmdon Hurler

Here are some photos of the female runners who finished in the top 3 and/or were first in their age category. These photos are ordered by the position of the runner.

Louise Balloch (106, Daventry_Road_Runners) was the 1st female and the 1st SL finishing in a time of 30:02.

Emma Carter (58, Human_Energy_AC) was the 2nd female and the 2nd SL finishing in a time of 32:45.

Clare Curnow (71, Cherwell_Runners_and_Joggers) was the 3rd female and the 1st FV50 finishing in a time of 33:27.

Heidi Lewis (103, Brackley_and_District_RC) was the 6th female and the 1st FV40 finishing in a time of 36:00.

Jane Smith (75, Buckingham_and_Stowe_RC) was the 10th female and the 1st FU18 finishing in a time of 36:57.
Although an earlier version of the results had Jane Smith as the first FV60, the current results says she was the first U18!

Sally Hewitt (135, WDAC) was the 1st FV60 finishing in a time of 47:25.

Photos of female runners from other running clubs

Here are some photos of the first female runner from running clubs other than those mentioned above. These photos are ordered by the name of the running club.

Jenny Dicks (109, Boxfit) was the 4th female and the 2nd FV50 finishing in a time of 33:52.

Allyson Anstee (46, Greenlight_Pt) was the 3rd FV40 finishing in a time of 38:03.
GreenlightPT is a "triathlon coaching and club for beginners" based in Milton Keynes.

Claire Eales (37, Harborough_AC) was the 14th FV40 finishing in a time of 55:42.
Harborough AC is a "is a friendly and progressive club that provides competition, coaching and companionship for all our athletes from the age of 8 upwards" based in Market Harborough. Although runners 36 and 37 ran with red crosses across their bib indicating "don't publish photos", they told me before the race that this was a misunderstanding - they were happy for me to publish.

Charlotte Davis (111, Northampton_RR) was the 5th FU18 finishing in a time of 44:39.

Sue Torrance (11, Silson_AC) was the 7th female and the 3rd FV50 finishing in a time of 36:16.

Liz Rowe (110, Porter_Valley_Plodders) was the 7th FV40 finishing in a time of 42:37.
Porter Valley Plodders is a "running club for trail and fell lovers", based about 4M SW of Sheffield. They meet on Wednesday nights and have a plod up the Porter Valley, followed by beer and crisps in the pub - "you should expect to plod at least 6M with 800 feet of ascent on muddy trails".

Postscript

If you did the Helmdon Hurler in 2019 and want a reminder, then here's a link to all the photos that I took. There's a calculator on that web page that makes it easy to find the photos of a runner given their time and you can find the time from the results web page.

If you want to see the reviews I've done on other races, then here's a link to a web page that includes an index of the reviews of races.

I'm planning for my next review to be of the 2019 Cotswold Classic 10. I hope to post that on Saturday (Sep 5th 2020).

I maintain a web page for runners that provides a list of races near Oxfordshire and the latest results. As well as a lot of postponed/cancelled races(!), it is now beginning to includes several races that plan to abide by the Covid-19 regulations. So go and visit www.oxonraces.com to see what races may take place. And if you use twitter, you may want to follow @oxonraces to become aware of important changes to this web page.

This web page is at www.oxonraces.com/blog/2020-08-31-helmdon-brackley. It was created on August 30th 2020 and last updated on September 2nd 2020.