Winter Handicap, 26th January 2026
Between the weekend’s wind and rain and the arrival of Storm Chandra, we were lucky to have a relatively calm, dry evening for this year’s January handicap. Ok, there were a few big puddles and a bit of a breeze, but it could have been a lot worse!
Living up to her reputation as a handicap specialist, Rose Hawkswood had closed the gap on the earlier starters with a mile to go, and kept up the pace to romp home nearly two minutes ahead of second placed Niamh Garratt. Becky Webster managed to hold off Holly Porter in a photo finish for third place, completing an all female “podium”. From 5th place onwards, the runners came in thick and fast, a testament to the diligence of new handicapper Aaron Mansell.
The winter version of the Terry Welsh Cup proved to be a walkover for Cate Walker= she was the only finalist to actually run! The cup was presented to Cate by Terry’s brother John, who kindly came along to perform the duty. John also donated one of Terry’s running books to the club. Cate had to make do with the existing prize, but by the next handicap, we should have a shiny new trophy worthy of Terry’s name. It will be contested by Janet Palmer, Tara Hipwood, Roberto Marzo and David Lydall.
The speed merchants on the night were Luke O’Neill in 24:39, Sonam Wangdi (25:20) and guest James Adair (25:33). Fastest lady was Izzy Neatrour in 28:28, followed by Holly Porter (30:33) and Nina Jensen (31:09).
As well as a new handicapper in Aaron, it was a debut for Mark Flynn in the role of “Mr Handicap” and it is to their credit that everything ran so smoothly. Aaron also assisted Alex Harding in the processing of the results, and has made some tweaks to the spreadsheet to make everything that much quicker and easier. So a big thanks to all three.
Also thanks, as ever, to all the volunteers who stood out in the cold and to Anna Round for ensuring that we were well fed at The Carriage afterwards.
