Gosport Road Runners Half Marathon - 17 November 2024
This event - I won’t call it a race because none of these are actual races as most people have no chance of 'winning' – had been on my 'possible' list for a while. Putting me off was the fact that it was run in late November 2024 with favourable weather being unlikely and being coastal, it would most likely be windy. Also a big negative was that headphones were banned except the bone-conducting variety. The positives being it was supposedly flat and on an actual path or road as opposed to the muddy trails I hate at this time of year.
So when a local runner posted on Strava he couldn’t run that day and would transfer his entry I jumped at the opportunity. Just a £1.47 admin fee and a (sort of compulsory) £5 charity donation was all that was required. Race numbers required collection, either early on the day or the day before. Despite a 60-mile round trip, I decided to go the day before to avoid any stress on the day.
The first thing to point out is that the free 'race' car park is NOT SIGNPOSTED but the Pay and Display car parks are! I had to stop and ask for directions to the 'race' car park. Even at 8:30am it was very nearly full. The event started at 10am. I positioned myself in the middle of the pack, figuring the usual macho bolt types would be at the front, so they could get on with it and I could settle in and run at my own pace without having others pushing past. Time enough to set up my bone-conducting headphones. The trouble was BlueTooth didn’t auto-connect and a search resulted in watches, phones and headphones of everyone near me. But I did get them to work.
The route starts along the coast road, half of which in the opposite direction is open for traffic. I found an issue with streetlight posts on the footpath when a lady two feet in front of me swerved to avoid one leaving me with a very quick side step to avoid a clattering. We continued on the road which surprisingly and unexpectedly started to rise, around a mile of gentle but steady upward climb of 9 metres (overall a 55m gain - so much for the route being flat!), combined with a 30mph gusty north-westerly in our faces! At the end, I descend down on to the nice flat, well-maintained seafront footpath (unlike in Selsey), with the wind on my back, for about five miles before doing a u-turn on the road for the second lap of 6.5miles.
Despite the forecast earlier in the week, we got away with the weather. Wind was easing and it was even a tad hot when the sun came out at 11:30am as I tried to keep my pace for my 2-hour target time.
This event is very well organised by a lot of very friendly people. According to Gosport Road Runners, 180 volunteers take part and I thanked a few of them on route for giving up their Sunday for us.
Water was supplied with proper water bottles, none of that cup of water nonsense. The general public respected the runners, were very supportive and kept out of the way on the route. There were no recreational runners or cyclists on the route throughout unlike during the Richmond Marathon.
Gosport Road Runners who organised this event state on their website:
"We consider it a way of thanking other clubs for hosting events for us throughout the rest of the year. Surplus profits from this event enable Gosport Road Runners to donate approximately £13,000 each year to local good causes."
All very good? Not so fast! 
I checked my time later that afternoon and had a screenshot of the result, I discovered the following day that I have been "disqualified" (DQ’d) for "headphones". I did see a great many running with in-ear headphones which are obviously not allowed and 24 female and 7 male runners, a total of 31 (including myself), were disqualified for apparently breaching their no headphones rule. A week later 4 of these had been changed to QRY. Of those that were disqualified, just 4 were club runners.
I emailed Gosport Road Runners to appeal this petty and in my case unwarranted disqualification, metered out for an alleged breach of the "no headphones" rule, asking for it to be reversed that day. I received a reply in the evening, suggesting that "the race committee are dealing with your e mail and we will respond to it in the next couple of days" which they failed to do.
Considering I had noted the (entirely unnecessary) "no headphones" requirement and that only bone-conducting headphones (not my first choice) were allowed - I used the bone-conducting type.
"For the Gosport Half Marathon Bone conducting headphones are permitted so long as the wearer can hear traffic and marshal directions.”
I have used my bone-conducting headphones in other "no headphones" events such as the Fleet half marathon and recently the Richmond marathon without being disqualified!
My normal over-ear (preferred) headphones as worn in the London Marathon, even though I can still hear traffic and what people say to me, I respected Gosport Road Runners’ rules.
Whilst in the scheme of things it actually matters little as I have my time and position as well as a medal, it is now on record that I was DQ’d for headphones, which I clearly did not use and this obviously took the joy out of the day. I believe it remains an unjust slant on my character, an embarrassment to be disqualified. It should not have happened, it was incorrect, it was unjustified and it has not been reversed. Perhaps in future to avoid any ambiguity the GRR Stasi make it an absolutely "no headphones of any sort" event so everyone is clear.
The vast majority of this half marathon route is on closed roads and/or public footpaths and therefore apart from one small section, where the pavement is also available, is there any road traffic and even then it is restricted to one side, oncoming traffic only. This would suggest that the 451 page UK Athletics "Rules of Competition" UKA rule 240 S5 (Page 328) is not applicable. Furthermore, I believe these rules are primarily for official championships and competitions, not a recreational running club’s Sunday half marathon! However, it does give the officious running club jobsworths, an opportunity to be vindictive and abuse the little authority they have for a limited time.
I did send Gosport Road Runners (GRR) a further e mail which seven days later and at the time of uploading, even now, no reply was received.
"It takes 20 years to build a good reputation and five minutes to ruin it.
If you think about that, you'll do things differently." - Warren Buffet
In the absence of any reply and/or reversal of my unjust disqualification, which a 2 weeks later still rankles with me, I pointed out that the no headphones rule could be withdrawn for future events if:
1) The Gosport Half Marathon was regarded as the family recreational running 'event' it clearly is, and not a 'competition', therefore the UKA Rules would not apply. Nevertheless, Gosport Road Runners does refer to its half marathon as an "event" not a race or "competition".
2) Add: "The participant accepts that the event they are entering is not a race in any format" to the T&Cs
Gosport Road Runners disqualifications for headphones is being enthusiastically enforced:
2021 just 5. 2022 none at all. 2023 - 11 and this year, 2024 – 31; 2% of those that finished!
It is interesting no DQ’s shown for the Fleet half marathon in 2023 run on mostly open raods with traffic with people running with in ear buds which are clearly not being allowed.
QUOTES FROM PREVIOUS YEARS RACES
"As good as it gets… Some of the best and friendliest marshals I have ever encountered. Superb organisation without being officious." You think?
"Quite a high proportion of club runners, but didn’t feel competitive, and in fact lots of support from other runners too.” So not a race then?
I really do thank the 180 volunteers who gave up their Sunday morning for us to run this event. They worked well, were very friendly and supportive and made it a very enjoyable day. However, at least one overly officious "jobsworth" has got it WRONG with my DQ and this should have been reversed. The streetlights on a narrow pavement posed more of a safety issue for me, than any traffic I could clearly see and hear!
Would I run Gosport half marathon again? Hell no.
Would I recommend it to others? Another firm no.
Would I run another club-organised half-marathon with a UKA 240 S5 'no headphone' rule? No.
Would I join a running club? Very unlikely now
Even the 'toy-town' medal was also disappointing. There is no mention of "Gosport half marathon 2024" on the medal at all, it was in previous years. Half marathon 2024 is stated in on the ribbon between the adverts. Every time I look at it I will remember how pissed off I was having been disqualified.
The 'goody bag' was full of sponsor’s commercial leaflets, a packet of salt and vinegar crisps, a Kellogg’s bar and Cadburys Twirl.
