Inter-Counties 20 mile Road Race
Rochford, Essex - 1 March 2020

Hampshire team before the raceThe Hampshire team before the race:
Dan Cunnington (Winchester & District), Dan Baker (Southampton), Minna Jones-Walters (Southampton), Valeria Sesto (New Forest Runners), Emma Jolley (City of Portsmouth), Charlie Metcalfe (Ryde Harriers) and Max Costley (Southampton) [missing from photo: Alistair Pickburn (New Forest Runners)]

On Sunday 1st March, men's and ladies' teams representing Hampshire headed to Rochford in Essex for the Essex 20. The event posted the fastest times in the country in 2019, so is definitely the event to run. The teams of 4 men and 4 ladies saw 5 athletes return from representing Hampshire in the 2019 version of the event, along with 3 new members of the team.

The day was bright but with a fairly strong breeze which made running a challenge on exposed parts of the course. As in 2019, the Essex athletes were soon to the fore, with the Hampshire athletes running in a controlled manner at their scheduled tempos.

As the race progressed, most of the Hampshire athletes moved up their respective fields, and all finished the race strongly. It was clear that the team titles for both men and ladies would go to Essex, with the battle on for second. Eventually, Sussex pushed Hampshire into third place in both events out of the eight teams represented.

Hampshire team wearing their medalsThe Hampshire team wearing their medals

Many thanks go to both the athletes and team managers.

Pete Costley
Men's Team Manager

Men's Team Results

Team Position County Team Time Position Name Time  
1Essex5:26:041Paul Molyneux1:47:30 
   2Pete Robinson1:47:40 
   5Mark Newton1:50:54 
   (13Alex Manton1:55:00) 
2Sussex5:43:524James Turner1:50:23 
   10James Skinner1:54:55 
   25Phil Stevenson1:58:34 
   (29Ash Dorrington1:59:07) 
3Hampshire5:45:096Max Costley1:52:35debut
   9Dan Baker1:54:44PB
   21Dan Cunnington1:57:50debut
   (24Alastair Pickburn1:58:14) 
4Kent5:50:218Phillip Dickens1:54:43 
   12James McDonald1:54:56 
   33Lewis Baker2:00:42 
5Berkshire5:52:193Neil Kevern1:48:28 
   34John Burnett2:00:43 
   45Barry Regan2:03:08 
   (60Bruce Poll2:06:53) 
6Bedfordshire5:55:5714Rob Elmore1:55:04 
   26Rob Barnes1:58:40 
   40Adam Mills2:02:13 
7Cambridgeshire6:01:2717Ty Farrer1:55:51 
   37Phil Martin2:01:53 
   48John Uff2:03:43 
   (58Neil Shorten2:05:43) 
8Suffolk6:02:1623Neil Pollard1:58:12 
   35Scott Williams2:01:25 
   43Adam Wade2:02:39 

Women's Team Results

Team Position County Team Time Position Name Time  
1Essex6:36:181Emma Prideaux2:06:41 
   4Nikki Woodyard2:13:59 
   8Jackie Stretton2:15:38 
   (13Hayley Lamkin2:16:57) 
2Sussex6:42:382Kat Owens2:13:25 
   3Rachel Gorman2:13:35 
   9Beth Male2:15:38 
   (10Bobbie Searle2:15:48) 
3Hampshire6:49:586Charlie Metcalfe2:14:12PB
   7Emma Jolley2:14:38 
   16Minna Jones-Walters2:21:08debut
   (20Valeria Sesto2:24:28) 
4Berkshire7:00:355Dawn Godwin2:14:05 
   14Vicki Taylor2:17:41 
   25Sarah Dooley2:28:49 
5Cambridgeshire7:02:4712Toni Alcaraz2:16:10 
   17Sabrina Crothall2:21:29 
   22Shelley Duffy2:25:08 
6Bedfordshire7:43:3423Christine Lathwell2:27:09 
   34Ruth Mitchell2:36:06 
   39Coralie Anderson2:40:19 
7Suffolk8:31:1230Michelle Gordon2:32:53 
   47Rosie O'Neill2:43:20 
   100Jennifer Wright3:14:59 
   (114Joanna Blyth3:27:36) 
8Kent-21Ali Farrall2:24:44 
   45Olwen Cockell2:42:39 

Race information from the Essex Athletics website