Alton Ten has some serious competition from other ten mile races in Hampshire & the IOW - Hayling Ten is the best local club race with old-school organisation; Ryde Ten is a punishing hilly course and an excuse for a day out on the island; and the Great South is a huge televised event with an ultra-fast course and a raft of elite athletes taking part. Salisbury Ten is also a very good local race over the same distance.

Alton Ten sits alongside these awesome races pretty nicely. It has the local club feel of Hayling and Ryde, and offers an undulating course similar to Salisbury (though not as soul-destroying as Ryde, which remains the hardest ten miler in the south).

Organisation is very good, and as with all the club races in the HRRL the marshals are friendly and enthusiastic, they also know the course well and are positioned well enough that you are never in doubt of which turning to take on the country roads that make up the vast majority of the course. Traffic levels are low and road blocks are well managed, so nothing should interrupt the flow of your race.

The race is run in early May and the past two years have been over a weekend where temperatuures soared after a cooler April, with this in mind it is good to know that there are three water stations which are well-manned and well-stocked, there is also a hose at the end of the race to cool overheating runners. As with all good league races, you can simply ignore the water stations if needed and surge past at race pace with plenty of room (water stations on narrow parts of a course are a pet hate of mine). The private medical cover (as with all of the HRRL races) is very good, a friend of mine who was suffering from heat exhaustion and dehydration after the 2016 race was treated by the team and recovered well.

Alton Ten is a good spring middle distance race option, the price is very good and Alton is a good location for a beer or food post-race.