HOT AND HAPPY COSARC RACERS

The ABP Southampton series of races for 2022 was regarded as one of the best organised and, perhaps, the best in terms of support and atmosphere from the marshals and crowds. The event drew big crowds who were happy to show their encouragement and appreciation of all the runners.

The weather was clear and bright with a bit of a breeze to chill the runners nicely. The organisation of the event was top class, with a group warm up to prepare everyone for the rigours ahead. The races started bang on schedule and there were plenty of water stations to keep the runners hydrated. To keep the runners, marshals and supporters entertained there were several fab singing and dancing groups. The hardest section of the routes were the hills, with the Itchen Bridge in particular making the runners twice dig deep for the long haul up, and then back over it again the other way. Many runners were very happy to see a local householder in her front garden with a garden hose spraying any runner that wanted a quick cold shower as they ran past ! There were amazing scenes in the finishing stretch with crowds of people banging on the barriers as the runners sprinted for the line. Many were running for deserving charities like the amusingly named ‘Pooperman’, Crohn’s and Colitis UK. There were many fine performances from CoSARC participants.

In the Marathon CoSARC finishers were Jenny Hartley 3:20:27, Catherine Morgan-