ON a beautiful spring day, with a window of respite between the incessant storms which have been battering the region, Haslemere Border Athletic Club’s head coach Daniel Allaway chose to spend his birthday not relaxing in the warmth of the day but taking part in the annual Fleet half-marathon.

A firm favourite with club runners, the team competed on the self-proclaimed original pre-London half-marathon hosted by Fleet and Crookham Athletics Club. Many of the group use the race as training for their own London Marathon attempts.

The route is a fast course around urban and rural roads, starting and finishing in Calthorpe Park.

The birthday boy rewarded himself with a half-marathon personal best in a super-quick time of one hour 19 minutes 31 seconds.

Jon Fairs led the Borders team home in 1.15.12, narrowly beating the birthday boy, with Luke Shearing following close behind in 1.22.58 and being paced by the club’s first lady home, Katy Ward, in 1.22.59.

David Jarratt completed the half-marathon course in 1.26.44, with Roger Cripps following in 1.30.47. Donna Read finished in 1.34.05, with Robert Urwin coming home in 1.38.41 closely followed by Mike Cathcart in 1.39.09.

Paul Fleming had a tight tussle with Tom Bampton, the pair crossing the line in 1.46.30 and 1.46.41 respectively, Lisa Blayden finished in 1.49.19, and an injured Lari Williams crossed the line in a commendable 1.50.31.

They were a tight set of finishing times for Team Border.

Elsewhere, Katie Simmonds competed in the Hampton Court Palace half-marathon. The race starts and finishes in the courtyard of Henry VIII’s famous palace and follows a route along the banks of the River Thames, turning back toward Esher before heading back to the palace to finish, again, along the banks of the Thames.

Finishing in an excellent time of 1.39.33, Katie was an impressive 47th out of a field of 1,840 ladies.

For the more patriotic in the club, St Patrick’s Day was an excellent day to celebrate, not with a pint of Guinness but a run.

Helen Crainey and Sharon Kemp opted for the longer 10k challenge, with Helen finishing in 1.03.46 and Sharon achieving a personal best time of 1.06.08.

The race, which was run around the lakeside in Portsmouth, is the second in the Patron Saints race series in aid of the Lifeboats charity, the ladies having previously competed in the St David’s Day race on March 1.