The Overton 5 has been a key autumn season pipe-opener for local road racers for over 35 years. The 35th edition was held on Sunday 8 September 2024 from the Recreation Ground at the Hampshire village between Andover and Basingstoke.

Overton Recreation Centre houses the Race HQ, with showers and changing rooms available, and is the venue for the children's races on the field before the main event. The race start is a few minutes jog from Race HQ in Berrydown Lane and the entire route is traffic-free.

The undulating course has produced some rapid times, with course records of 24:49 by Mahamed Mahamed (Southampton) in 2016 and 27:46 by Helen Hall (Winchester) in 2022.

With the unusual Sunday afternoon start time at 2:00pm there is an imperative to complete the race and get back to the Race HQ for the licensed bar opening at 3:00pm. Hot drinks, cakes, and delicious bacon sarnies are on sale to raise funds for the local Scouts.

First in the queue for post-race refreshments was Joseph Arundel (Bournemouth AC, 25:56) who just edged the verdict after a tie on time with 17-year-old Will Atkins (Winchester RC) in the closest finish in memory. Third place went to Mathew Port (Winchester RC, 26:35).

The top three women this year were Erin Willmers (Winchester RC, 29:54), Emma Stevens (Aldershot, Farnham and District AC, 31:01) and Tamsin Anderson (Winchester RC, 31:28).

The oldest runner was Hugh Bethell (Alton Runners, 53:27), aged 82, and there were 466 finishers in 1:08:30. In the 35th staging of the opening race in the 2024/25 Hampshire Road Race League there were 35 runners who managed sub-6:00/mile pace and the top 125 runners bettered 35:00.

The host club Overton Harriers has kept the entry fees low at £20/£18 for EA-affiliated athletes and instead of the usual medals/mementos, the Harriers will be donating the money usually set aside to the Andover and Basingstoke Food Banks.

Full results are available at the runABC South race listing here.

Photo from a previous Overton 5 courtesy of Overton Harriers on Facebook