The Race

Having had nearly a week to catch my breath and sort a few things out I still look

back at Sunday and think “What a day!” The course was perfect the day before.

It was even sunny as we cleared up afterwards. It hasn’t rained since and is not

forecast to rain for the next 10 days but last Sunday the John Austin Half

Marathon turned into a war of attrition for the 398 starters as the weather

simply got colder and colder as the race progressed. At races we often say the

runners and marshals were amazing without giving it much thought but last Sunday

they truly were. St. John’s Ambulance did a great job as many of the runners were

clearly in trouble as they finished suffering from hypothermia. As the runners came

in the volunteers in the hall quickly came to their aid with tea and space blankets to

help them recover.

And you runners too. How did you do it?

Over 95% of the starters made it home.

You should be proud of yourselves for

what you achieved. I have never run a

race in such bad conditions and I hope I

never will. Despite the conditions we have

had very good feedback again and it

seems quite a lot of you actually enjoyed it!

Tom Greenwood was running the race

BAREFOOT to raise money for Oakhaven

Hospice Trust. He came in cold and

blistered but still smiling in 2.11 having

raised over £400 for Oakhaven through

sponsorship.

The Race 2012.
"John Austin Half Marathon" Sunday March 4th 2012 10.30 am
UKA Licence 2012-103106

Sue Sibley teamed up with Chris Gifford from Pegasus Images as Race Photographers and you can view and order your prints direct from them.

Martin Tipper kindly captured memories of the day and has uploaded a video to U-tube

You can find more information about John Austin here

Follow the links on this site to find out more about Oakhaven Hospice Trust or any of our sponsors.

Sunday was an unforgettable day. I don’t want to be remembered for organising the toughest race of your lives but maybe I will. The marshals and the volunteers and St. John’s did a fantastic job and without such a great team we could have had a real problem on our hands. Even with the extreme weather there were very few problems. The support of the race sponsors made my life easier and gave great value to the runners in the form of prizes, discounts and items for the goody bag. Their contribution to the race ensures that runners will want to come back again. The money raised for Oakhaven Hospice Trust may even exceed last year’s total so it was definitely worth it.

Come back next year. It will be sunny then.

The starter of the race, the Rt. Hon Desmond Swayne MP showed what he was made of by starting the race and then joining the runners, finishing in a little over 2 hrs despite bleeding from taking a tumble. A tougher day at the office than he is normally used to but he too finished with a smile on his face.

Councillor Ken Thorbur started the U17 junior race (which was reduced to 3K due to the appalling weather) where the talented 12 year old Hannah Froud from New Forest Runners won the race outright.

Andrew Ryde, Pat Redicliffe, Henry Szwinto, Jo Szwinto, Irene Austin, Neil Richardson

The start of this years race.

4/4/12

Today saw the cheque presentation from the John Austin Half Marathon, run in

Brockenhurst exactly one month earlier, to Oakhaven Hospice Trust. Despite very

difficult conditions on the day and the poor weather affecting last minute entries the

race raised £13,000. A superb effort by all the runners and all the volunteers that

helped on the day. Last year’s cheque presentation was made against a backdrop

of construction and development at Oakhaven.

This year’s presentation was able to include a tour of the impressive new facilities

incorporating family and visitor suites all designed to make the patients stay more

comfortable and recognising the needs of the patient’s family and friends too.

CEO of Oakhaven Hospice, Andrew Ryde and Mike Denny accepted the cheque

from Irene Austin and expressed their gratitude to the committee of the race. The

running costs of over £2.5M per year for Oakhaven Hospice Trust is funded entirely

from donations and charitable fund raising from events like the John Austin Half

Marathon.

Both Mike Denny and Irene Austin feel the race should become an important local

permanent fixture. Irene said “The feedback has been very good, even this year

with the appalling weather. The runners seem to really enjoy the course and the

event as a whole so we should continue to try to provide a great race in years to

come.”

Planning is already starting with the date for next year being pencilled in for 10^th

March. If you have the organisational skills and would like to help the race

organisation or would like to sponsor the event please contact the committee

through racedirector@johnaustinhalf.co.uk The long range forecast is looking

bright!!

Meridian News gave us some excellent coverage and you can see it again