History and Background to the Denmead 10k Race
The original Denmead 10k was a very successful and popular race organised by Portmouth Joggers Club (PJC) over a 20 year period from 1992-2012. Approximately 60% of the route was along Forest Road and Shoot Hill to the west of Denmead since these roads were relatively quiet in the early days. However, increased volumes of traffic over the years started to present a significant safety hazard to the runners with the result that PJC decided to abandon the route – the last race was in 2012.
Realising that the loss of this race resulted in a void in the autumn racing calendar, in October 2013 the Denmead Striders’ committee (with amicable agreement from PJC) decided that we should organise a new “Denmead 10k” event with the aim of the inaugural race to take place in October 2014.
The first task was to design a new route entirely along quiet country lanes, avoiding any junctions with main roads. It was to be suitable for runners of all abilities but challenging while allowing the visiting runners the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful countryside of the South Downs which we all enjoy in the environs north of Denmead! The course which eventually evolved is described below. It was intended to be a small, friendly race with numbers initially restricted to 200 due to the narrow lanes, particularly at the start. The first race took place on 19th October 2014. Feedback was excellent despite numerous comments along the lines of “I didn’t realise there were so many hills around Denmead”!
Greatly encouraged by the positive feedback from our first attempt at organising a road race, Denmead Striders have held the event successfully for the subsequent years except, of course, 2020 due to Covid restrictions. We also increased the number of entries to 250 and have raised it to this number again in 2024.