THE ROYAL NATIONAL LIFEBOAT INSTITUTION

IT IS WITH REGRET & SADNESS THAT WE HAVE TO ADVISE THAT THE RNLI HAVE DECIDED NOT TO CONTINUE WITH THE SOLENT SAUNTER. DESPITE THE SUCCESS OF THE EVENT IN IT'S BRIEF THREE-YEAR HISTORY - 109 ENTRIES IN 2001, 167 ENTRIES IN 2002, 200 ENTRIES IN 2003 - AND THE MONEY RAISED BY YOU THE ATHLETES FOR THE RNLI, WE ARE SORRY THAT WE WILL NOT BE BACK AT ROYAL VICTORIA COUNTRY PARK IN 2004.

ALL THAT'S LEFT ARE THE IMAGES, REPORTS AND RESULTS BELOW. THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT OVER THE THREE YEARS.

PREVIOUS WINNERS			NO OF FINISHERS	COURSE RECORDS
PETER DAVIS Southampton RC	2001	EMMA RUSHTON Unattached	97	JAMES BAKER 15:20 2003
MATTHEW KING Aspirations	2002	HELEN LOCKYER City of Portsmouth AC	149	HELEN LOCKYER 18:01 2002
JAMES BAKER Chichester Runners	2003	JENNI HARLEY Chichester Runners	162

Thank you - despite the weather, 50 on the day entries took us to 201 - a record for the event, and with generous donations of £182, plus sponsorship money and tee-shirt sales, the RNLI are delighted with the money raised at the Solent Saunter.

Horrendous weather conditions greeted the RNLI Solent Saunter for the second year running, with heavy rain soaking organisers who set up the course on Saturday afternoon. The rain continued into Sunday, and unlike 2002, it didn't clear before the race started. It even got heavier as runners began to finish, causing massive problems for our recorders as even our Weather Writers couldn't cope with the amount of water coming down. We have managed to piece together the soaked paper pieces that used to be the recording sheets, and provisional results can be found by clicking on the link below.

We apologise for operational problems to-day ~ a number of arrivals were not directed to the correct car park, and it seems did not receive a car parking pass. These should have been given to all on the day arrivals, and we do apologise to those who had to pay to park. More importantly, a number of runners seem to have taken the wrong course - certainly 6 or 8 appeared down the path from the cafe instead of returning through the woods, and we believe these were amongst the front runners. We did check the course after the race, and are struggling to find out where these athletes went wrong. Perhaps if any of you are reading this, you could enlighten us. In any case, we do apologise most sincerely for whatever the problem was, and we will get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible.

Many thanks to those other runners who praised the event and the marshals on the day.

As I woke at 6.30 in my hotel room in Eastleigh and looked out of the window, my heart sank. Pre-race entries were almost at last year's final figure, and all we needed was a bright sunny morning to ensure a good on the day entry. It was LASHING it down ! Nobody would be daft enough to come out on such a morning to register, pay £6 and run a 5k. Or so I thought.
Fortunately, the athletes of Hampshire proved me totally wrong. From pre-entered numbers of 117, we added another 49 on the day entries, giving us a final total of 166 registered runners ( 149 turned up and ran). This was up by over 52% on the first Saunter in 2001, and on behalf of the RNLI we would like to thank all of you for taking part and helping to keep the lifeboats afloat. Sponsorship and donations were up considerably on last year, and you even bought tee shirts which were a thank you to those raising over £10 sponsorship. Many thanks !

Needless to say, the course this year was badly waterlogged - if there was any doubt about this, the lake on the start line was an indication of things to come. Just after 11.00 the 149 runners hared off across the top field, before turning left and heading towards Southampton water. They then picked up the tracks and paths that lead through the woods of the Royal Victoria Country park towards the Police college, before looping back around towards the finish. The leading runner was spotted in the distance after about 14 minutes, and unattached MATTHEW KING, running out of Aspirations gym, crossed the line in 16.11, looking extremely fresh and covered in mud. Just under a minute behind was vet MARTIN GARDNER, also unattached, with GRAHAM BELL third in 17.32. We didn't have to wait long for our winning lady as vet HELEN LOCKYER came in 7th overall in 18.01. NICOLA KEARNEY was just 17 seconds behind in 9th place, with NAOMI CRANE third in 19.55 (28th position) - the first three all coming from CITY OF PORTSMOUTH AC.
Every finisher received a certificate, bar of chocolate and bottle of water, and from comments received afterwards it seemed that most enjoyed the race, the surroundings, the organisation and the MUD !! If you have any comments please do not hesitate to contact us at CAMBA EVENTS. Results are available to download below (click on link to 2002 results) and a full results booklet including detailed vet category & team results is available from Camba Events at £1 plus a sae

Dawn broke on the day of the first Solent Saunter, and by the time organizers were meeting at eight o'clock there was a beautiful blue sky and a weak sun rising over Royal Victoria Park in Netley. Southampton Water shimmered just next to the start / finish area, and the promise of an excellent day for running was fulfilled. The first on-the day entries arrived very soon after 9.30 as volunteers were busily preparing the start & finish areas, mapping out the course and getting everything ready for this first Solent Saunter.

We had decided to make the Saunter a 5km event, the idea being that the Lifeboat events in the South East would lead runners along the training road towards the London Marathon in April. This was to be the first race, giving newer runners their first opportunity to experience a race atmosphere, but being a flat course it would also enable club athletes the chance of a fast 5km. Camba Events were brought in to deal with the administration and organisation of four races in four months, and to give a more professional "feel" to the series. Despite hundreds of entry forms having been sent out to clubs, sports clubs, leisure centres, health clubs & gyms in the Hampshire area, entry numbers were disappointing. 74 had entered in advance of the day, with a further 35 turning up on the morning of the race. Was this simply because this was a new event ? Was this because it was only a 5km race ? Should we make it 10km next year ? Was there a clash of local events that we were not aware of ? Your feedback would be most appreciated on this. RNLI area organizer David Griffiths briefed the runners at 11.00, and set the runners off down the slope towards Southampton water, along the road, back up the slope and eventually out into the woods at the back of the Park. It was out here that one marshal decided to stand across the path directing runners up the road, instead of across the road, directing runners up the path. We are very sorry about this error which resulted in all the runners "doing" an extra half a kilometre or so. We estimate that the front runners were about two minutes behind their expected times.