Winchester'S Rachel Townend and Stubbington Green's Mark Le Gassick took individual honours at the Alton 10 road race.

Part of the Hampshire Road Race League, the race starts and finishes at the Lord Treloar College at Holybourne on the outskirts of town, and takes runners on a testing run through some beautiful villages and country lanes

It is a course which gives and takes. The Alton 10 takes with some testing climbs, but gives with some lovely downhill stretches and fantastic countryside. There were 468 finishers overall - 309 men and 159 ladies.

Stubbington's Le Gassick, who heads the HRRL rankings, won in an an impressive time of 54min 35sec - his second league victory of the campaign after success at the Hardley Half last October.

Second was Denmead Striders' Nick Baker in 55:41, with James Buis from Lordshill Road Runners in third in 55:58 and another Denmead runner, Pete Turrell, who won the Vet 40 category, third in 56:03.

If Le Gassick wins the final race of the season, the Brading 10km race on the Isle of Wight on June 18, the 33-year-old will be crowned champion. But Southampton Running Club's Andy Morgan-Lee, who won at Totton, to add to to second places at Lordshill and Hayling 10 milers, plus the Overton 5, can overtake Le Gassick if he wins on the final day.

Winchester & District AC, whose men packed well in the first dozen, took team honours on the day, ahead of Denmead, with Southampton Running Club in third, to cement their second position overall. Winchester lead men's division one.

Winchester's first four were Ian Hardcastle (7th) 56:42, Jason Perry (8th) 57:00, Gavin Smith (10th) 57:18 and Simon Stevens (11th) 57:53.

The Southampton team was made up of Simon Ridley (15th) 58:37, Paul Fotherby (18th) 59:36, Russell Kober (19th) 59;41 and Russell Colman (21st) in 60.14.

The ladies' race was won by Rachel Townend from Winchester & District AC. Competing in her first race of the season, she won in a time of 1hr 2min 35sec, which earned her 33rd place overall.

Rachel Kenchington from Overton Harriers was second in 1:03.42 for 42nd overall, and Karen Rushton from Southampton Running Club claimed third spot and 46th overall in 1:03.56.

Nicky Clarke from Overton Harriers is the current leader of the ladies' league standings. She was sixth in 1:07.29, with Lordshill's Angela Lee, who lies second overall, coming in 16th in 1:12.53.

Winchester's women took first (Rachel Townend (1st) 1:02.35, Katharine Jones (4th) 1:04.07, Sarah Reid (13th) 1:11.39), and third in the team rankings (Carol Francis (17th) 1:12.58, Jan Ross (18th) 1:13.19, Sandra Bowers (19th) 1:13.31), split by second-placed Lordshill Road Runners (Amanda Kingsley (9th) 1:09.56, Clare Hamson (15th) 1:12.43, Angela Lee (16th) 1:12.53).

Full list of runners in tonight's Daily Echo