Thousands Raised for Autism Charity

The 9th annual Nationwide Somerley 10k & 5k run, held within the grounds of Somerley Estate, attracted hundreds of runners recently and raised over £9,000 for The Wessex Autistic Society.

International ultra distance runner, current Scottish 100km champion and husky trainer, Sandra Bowers, who lives in Salisbury, competed in the 5k race and was the first female to cross the line. Running with two of her Siberian huskies, Sandra’s time was 18 mins and 46 seconds . The second and third ladies were Carole Smith from Weymouth (21mins 27secs) and Ginette Craig (25mins 28secs).

Sandra comments, “I had been really looking forward to this event as I find short runs are helping with my speed for my ultra distance training. But I lost one of the husky dogs over the Christmas period which made it incredibly difficult to run this event as we are all in mourning for Kai who was 14. As it turned out I think it was the best thing I could have done both for myself and the other dogs. We all really enjoyed the day and it was so uplifting to hear so many people say they had come to the event just to see the huskies. They are great companions and training partners.”

The first male across the 10k finish line was Lee Piercy who got a hat trick by winning the race for the 3rd consecutive year in a time of 34 minutes flat. Lee lives in Wick in Christchurch and is a keen supporter of The Wessex Autistic Society. 2nd and 3rd male finishers in the 10k were Eddie O’Gorman of High Wycombe (34mins 35secs) and Nick Buis of Southampton (35mins 33secs).

The first male across the 5k finish line was Kevin Archer from Weymouth in a time of 18mins and 01 second. Second and third were Southampton based Nathan Ranyard (18mins 32secs) and Roland Turnell-Ritson (18mins 57secs)

The first female to finish the 10k race was Jenni Harley of Chichester in a time of 40 minutes and 53 seconds. Second and third were Bournemouth based Corinne Clarke (43mins and 38secs) and Julie Humphries from Odiham, Hampshire (44mins 11secs).

Millie Gollings, Community and Events Fundraiser at The Wessex Autistic Society comments; “Over 800 runners attended the event and helped raise over £9,000 this year. We are really pleased with the turn out and thank everyone for taking part. We couldn’t have done it though without all our incredible volunteers and also extend our gratitude to Lord and Lady Normanton for use of their land.  Ena’s Florists in Westbourne donated wonderful bouquets for the winners and Lush in Bournemouth also contributed to the prizes. The day ran really smoothly and we are grateful to everyone who helped to make this such a successful event especially our main supporter Nationwide.”

Anyone wanting to volunteer for the charity is encouraged to call the fundraising team on 01202 703597.