There was a capacity field for the Romsey 5 Mile road race by Challenging Events on Sunday 19 January 2025, with 903 runners completing the course in Broadlands Estate in under 90 minutes. The beautiful route and atmosphere of this event are captured in this short video...

Broadlands Estate is situated in the Test Valley, a wonderful landscape in northwest Hampshire. Covering 250 square miles, it’s a peaceful place where you slow down and unwind as you follow the River Test, one of England’s greatest trout rivers, as it twists and turns through water meadows, woods, villages and towns.

The Romsey 5 Mile starts in front of Grade I listed Broadlands House, the home of the Earl and Countess Mountbatten of Burma and their family since 1979. Its formal gardens and historic landscape are Grade II listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.

Up to 1,000 participants have the annual privilege to run through this exclusive environment in the Romsey 5 road race, where the predominantly flat, three-lap course climbs a mere 20 metres, making this one of the flattest five-mile road races in the country.

A thrilling encounter saw just eight seconds between the top three men, with Richard Waldron (Southampton AC) prevailing in 26:34 from Michael Stone (Andover AC, 26:40) and Matthew Bennett (Romsey Road Runners, 26:42). With chip timing the margin was even less at six seconds!

Erin Williams (Winchester Running Club, 30:03) had a more peaceful Test Valley experience in the women's race. Her closest opponents were Nina Martin (Basingstoke & Mid Hants AC, 31:14) and Mel Swan (unattached, 31:41).

This recent review summarises the event: "My 6th time doing the Romsey 5 Mile. As it was the first race I ever did, it holds a special place in my running calendar. The atmosphere is fun, the crowd supportive and encouraging, as are the smiley marshalls. It is well-organised and has great medals. A friendly (and fast) start to the running season. I look forward to it all year! Thank you Kelly and the CE team!"

Full details are available at the Romsey 5 Mile website here.

Results can be reviewed via the runABC South race listing here.

Photo courtesy of the Challenging Events Romsey 5 Mile website