The 54th Wolverton 5
mile road race will be held on Sunday
25 November 2018, starting at 11am.
This year the
race will also start and finish at a new position on Willen
Lake, on the Events Field by the pub/kids park (MK15 9HQ).
You can enter the race by
completing the entry form and sending it
off to the race secretary or enter
online via Resultsbase.com.
Marshall Milton Keynes members should contact Jackson Ryan to claim their free
entry.
Directions: From Junction 14 of
the M1 Motorway, head for Milton Keynes. At the first roundabout (Northfield),
turn right onto the A509. Continue over the next roundabout (Pineham) and across the centre of Willen
Lake. At the second roundabout (Pagoda) turn left onto the V10, Brickhill Street. Follow the car-park signs into the Willen Lake car parks. Please note that these are pay and
display (pay on exit).
Race
registration and number collection is at the Willen
Lake sailing / information cabin (next to Freedom Fitness gym) with the
Start/Finish area on the Events Field (between the splash park and the water
sports café).
Please
note that no numbers or information will be issued prior to the race. Numbers
and chips can be collected on race day, so please allow sufficient time to
collect your number.
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Prizes: |
First 3 men |
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First 3 women |
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Veteran men |
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Veteran women |
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£200 prizes: |
First man to break 23 minutes |
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First woman to break 26.20 |
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Entry Fee: |
£10 (£12 unattached) |
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Late entries (on the day): |
£12 (£14 unattached) |
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Entries to: |
Race Secretary, 30 Avocet House,
Millward Drive, Fenny Stratford, |
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Entries close: |
20 November 2018 |
Cheques should be made payable to MMKAC.
The first Wolverton 5 Mile Road
Race was held in 1965 and has been held every year since that time, on the last
Saturday in November. The early races were organised by the then Chairman and
now President, Milford Callow, and his wife Rose holds the distinction of
having officiated at every single race. The first winner was Mike Price
(Bristol) in 24.10. The following year, this record was reduced to 23.34 by
Tony Sunderland (Shaftesbury Harriers). This record held until 1969 until Ron
Grove (Leicester Coritanian) reduced it to 23.20.
This record held until 1980, despite some excellent performances from
international athletes, Tony Simmonds and Ian Thompson (Luton). The 1980 race
was a tremendous contest between international steeplechasers, Roger Hackney
and Gordon Rimmer, with Rimmer
getting the edge in 23.08. The biggest ever field in the Wolverton 5 was in
1981 when there were over 700 entries and 530 finishers.
By 1991, the two-lap course
round the Wolverton Railway works was becoming heavily congested and the
decision was taken to move the race to Willen Lake,
where it has been held ever since. The course has remained essentially the
same, involving two laps of fast, traffic-free redways.
Registration/Numbers will be available at Willen
Lakeside (near the Peace Pagoda) off Brickhill Street
(V10) with ample parking. In 1992, British international, Alison Wyeth,
recorded the super-fast time of 26.21. This was the fastest five-mile time by a
woman in any British race in 1992 and remains the race record. The following
year it was the men's turn when Justin Hobbs (Cardiff) ran the fastest
five-mile time by a man in any British race in 1993, recording 23.01. In 1995
the course round Willen Lake was modified to improve
the finish. The best times on this new course are 23.35 by Julien Moorhouse, set in 1999, and 26.36 by Liz Talbot (now Liz
Yelling), set in 1996. Keith Cullen won the race in 2003 in 23:46. Prizes of
£200 are offered to the first man to break 23 minutes and the first woman to
break 26.20.
Results
of the 2003 Wolverton 5