Sunday 8th February saw the latest running of this annual race. There was a reduced number of athletes from Forest of Dean AC taking part this year: partly since the race isn’t part of the Club Championship this year, and partly because it clashed with the latest round of the Gwent Cross-country league.
Race report thanks to Dursley & District AC:
The Dozen Dozen preparations start early, August the preceding year in fact, and on the day of the race helpers are up early on Sunday to greet the runners in the 2015 event. Today they were greeted by a thick cold mist. However the mist very quickly started to lift to leave the Dozen course bathed in bright winter sunlight.
Despite the good weather conditions as ever the entrants looked suitably nervous. With no numbers being posted out this year race organisation was at a premium, chip distribution at race headquarters worked well and runners started to gather at the start line from around ten past ten onwards. The conditions looked to suit the front runners with relatively firm conditions around the course. The conditions under foot would change dramatically as the more and more runners churned the course up, with frosty ground underneath the mud proving to be quite slippery.
By the time the race started there was very little need for any thermal clothing apart for maybe a pair of gloves. The narrow path up through the woods means that if you are not at the front off the field you are likely to be slowed down in a large human traffic jam that wends it way up the Golf Course. Dan Anderson of Dursley led the charge up to the chain with the aim of getting a clear passage up to the golf club. It was Paul Fernandez and James Bingham who came out into the bright sunlight of the Golf course first. Dan Anderson was now in the top five. Wendy Nicholls was the first woman to reach the golf course.
Fernandez and Bingham had opened up a significant lead by the time they entered Hermitage Wood at around three and a half miles, having in the mean time taken in the speedy descent of Sheep Path Wood before climbing back up Listers Drive to re-emerge onto the golf course. It was noticeable at this point that Fernandez was not working as hard as his challenger. Behind them Connor Carson was also distancing himself from a chasing pack. Wendy Nicholls was also establishing a small lead over Charlotte Bowers (Chippenham Harriers) and Helen Fines, late of Cheltenham but now of Holmfirth Harriers. The dry weather conditions and warm sunlight made the going good for the front runners and all were showing a good turn of pace.
The turn for home made all the difference in the men’s race after the speedy descent into Ashen Plains wood Fernandez starting to pull away on the ascent, with not much changing in terms of the position of the following runners.
Behind the front runners Joe Browning had taken and initial second place for Dursley as the race emerged onto the Golf Club, Mike Compton in third. Kate Browning led the Dursley Women’s contingent with Kim Stephenson in second. By Hermitage Wood Compton was quickly closing Browning down, suggesting the latter may have set off a little too briskly. Dursley Stalwart Kevin Jackson was not far behind.
Back at the front of the race Fernandez continued to maintain his lead looking extremely comfortable as he returned across the Golf Course to the Broadway and the final descent into Dursley. Bingham and Carson were too far from Fernandez and each other to make any impact on the placings. The battle for fourth pace was closer with Dean Taylor of Pontypool and district only some 50 metres in front of Dan Anderson on the traverse to the Broadway. Anderson was on his last legs and was more concerned that any effort to gain fourth place might leaving him blown back to sixth. So the order over the golf course plateau was to reflect the final result with Fernandez emerging triumphant at May Lane, blowing away the course record 01:18:57.
The women’s race proved to be less contested with Wendy Nicholls stretching out her lead until she finished over two minutes in front of Charlotte Bowers, Helen Fines could not close a gap of one minute and had to be satisfied with winning the FV40 category in third place overall.
Julian Boon was the first male FODAC to finish: 43rd in 1:36:28. Jacqui Wynds was first lady in 2:13:40, gaining another prize as first FV60. Other results: Mark Mathews 1:37:45; Gavin Robertson 1:39:31; Scott Berry 1:45:05; Graham James 2:09:43; Chris Hawkins 2:14:34 and Liz Usedon 2:24:18.