THE fifth race of the Southern Cross Country series was hosted by Stubbington Green Runners at Manor Farm Park, near the Hamble Estuary.

Haslemere Border, who sent out 33 runners in bitterly cold, but fine weather, finished first on the day to maintain their overall lead in this exciting series.

Farnham Runners, meanwhile, achieved a season’s best third to remain fifth on aggregate.

The going was best described as ‘good to firm’ and the runners relished the new, much wider starting line of this race. At around halfway, a previously muddy field had frozen hard and seemed to be endless, but then back to the beautiful woodland paths around the lake. There were some huge slippery steps to ascend and descend and a few stiles made it a true agility test for all.

Nineteen determined Haslemere women gave it their all. First in for the club was Jackie Field in fifth place, with Sally Goble chasing hard in sixth. Donna Read completed the three team scorers in 12th, closely followed by team captain Sofia Shearring in 13th, Isabel Peters 16th and Amy Smith 17th.

Other Border results: Lari Williams 29th, Philomel Pike 46th, Karen Dixon 51st, Clair Wadey 55th, Lisa Blayden 70th, Jules Dellar 72nd, Helen Spandley 90th, Rachel Barlow 99th, Becca Weighall 102nd, Katie Spencer 114th, Annick Hollins 122nd, Kate Elmer 127th, Caroline Lawler 148th.

These results earned the Haslemere Border ladies an excellent first place.

Third-placed Dave Taylor headed a strong effort by the 14 Haslemere men. Jon Fairs came a fine sixth and the other scorers were Harry Wood in 20th, Luke Brocks 24th and Dan Allaway 30th.

Other Border results: Chris Lee 50th, Charlie Barwick 82nd, Marco De Caprio 118th, Roger Cripps 122nd, Rupert Hollon 145th, Andy Wareham 147th, Tim Whishaw 156th, Dave Bateman 172nd, Tom Bampton 186th.

The men’s third position gave a combined first place overall for Haslemere Border.

A party of 23 from Farnham Runners were at Manor Farm Park. “It’s dangerous,” warned the race director and so Ian Carley was pleased with an 11th place that confirmed his return to form.

Andrew Ellison made a valuable contribution in 29th, while Stuart Haig, 52nd, kept ahead of Mark Maxwell (58th) and Neil Ambrose (60th). These five scorers earned the men fourth place out of 23 teams. Matt Dellar had to settle for 70th and Terry Copeland was 80th.

Kayleigh Copeland was again first Farnham lady with 18th, her best league placing to date. Not far behind was Eloise Stradling in 21st, while Lindsay Bamford was the final scorer in 38th. This trio gave the ladies sixth place and the club a combined result of third.

Other Farnham results: men – Nick Hill 113th, Haywood Drake 129th, Terry Steadman 148th, Damien Probett 154th, Craig Tate-Grimes 190th, Jeff Loomis 199th, Jonathan Salomon 209th; ladies – Alice Healy 49th, Linda Tyler 54th, Jane Georghiou 57th, Kay Copeland 73rd, Mary D Fitzgerald 116th, Cyra Parkes 148th.

Alton Runners were also out in force at Manor Farm and the men’s team was headed by Chris Sandy who finished 84th, followed by Richard Taylor in 102nd and Philip Scrase 117th. Other placings: Tiziano Tesolin 149th, Jonathan Read 154th, Michael Pearce 160th, Jim Armitage 176th, Richard Scrase 197th, Dominic Nixon 200th, Terry Blake 215th, Terry Newman 222nd.

The first three Alton women packed closely together, with Jane Scrase coming 76th, Rossella Guiditti 77th and Karen Mason 78th. Other results: Clare Read 94th, Natalie Percy 147th, Caroline Freeman 162nd, Jenny French 173rd. The combined result gave Alton Runners 22nd on the day.

* The sixth and final race will be hosted by Haslemere Border at Polecat Valley on February 26, when the series winners will be presented with the cup.