Long Wittenham, Oxfordshire

Prew Bowtell, organiser of the event reports …

The Long Wittenham Fun Run took place last Sunday (14th June) in glorious sunshine.  There were 195 entrants, although several who had entered online did not take part, perhaps because other events clashed at the last minute.

This is one of the village’s most inclusive events – with young children joining the older generation to take part in some way.

Jenny Caw was right at home as the announcer and stepped in to do the five-minute exercise routine to warm everyone up.  She did a splendid job at both, and everyone was geed up and eager to go when she’d finished.

Over twenty marshals from the village ensured everyone made it safely around the course, which took runners through Neptune Wood and around the edge of Paradise Wood before returning via the community orchard to The Plough for well-deserved refreshments.  These included bananas and sweets donated by Tesco, a PTA fundraising barbecue, a Pre-School cake stall, and excellent beer and Sunday roasts in the pub.

The barbecue raised money for the school and the cake stall was for the pre-school.  Between them they raised about £600, which was a bonus to the delicious treats they served and the fun the volunteers seemed to be having!

Leading the field of 168 finishers was 17-year-old Sebastian Goswell, who completed the course in 18:10.  The first woman home was Ellen Jackson of Long Wittenham in an outstanding 20:09, setting a new course record.

Category winners were:
Under 8: Finn Beeton 23:47 (new course record), Arabella Bursa 30:33 (knocking 2 minutes of her winning time from last year)
Under 12: Hector Loxton-Edwards 20:57, Artemis Loxton-Edwards 29:00 (Long Wittenham’s very talented twins)
Under 18: Sebastian Goswell 18:10, Ava Whalley of Little Wittenham 23:40
Adults 18-39: Oliver Verdon 20:12, Ellen Jackson 20:09 (both of Long Wittenham)
Adults 40-64: Richard Ashby 19:14, Eileen Naughton 21:32 (both setting new course records)
Adult Over 65: James Wigmore 29:22 (6 seconds off Peter Greenland’s record), Helen Monaghan of Long Wittenham 40:02.

The Family Shield was won by regular participants, the Grant family from Didcot, who persuaded Grandad Philip and Aunty Aimee to travel more than an hour to take part this year.  They made the winning team with Lucy and Jason (mum and dad), and sons, Jake and Zane.  Grandad heard that Zane wasn’t keen and knew that at least 2 adults and 2 children had to finish to challenge for the trophy.  He emailed me to say that he would ensure Zane finished, and it was great to see them crossing the line, encouraging each other.

There were lots of similar stories from around the course with children taking turns to run with younger children to keep them going.

It is always wonderful to be part of this amazing community event, and even better when the weather is fine and everyone stays around to catch up with old friends.  Massive thanks go to the 50-plus helpers and all the participants who make the event worthwhile.  Nearly £1,500 will have been raised through entry fees, the cake stall and the barbecue, with the proceeds going towards village causes.

Many thanks also to the Parish Council for its support, Liam Carberry and his team at The Plough for providing such a lovely venue, and the Earth Trust and the Sylva Foundation for allowing us to use their land.

Download the full results by Category and by Time, and the villagers results.