Brighton Marathon is big draw for Hastings and Hailsham runners … Eastbourne aces back on track

HAILSHAM HARRIERS

Eleven Hailsham Harriers enjoyed the breath-taking views of Brighton and a brilliant, vibrant atmosphere when they took part in the biggest Brighton Marathon since before the Covid pandemic, on Sunday April 7th.

Presented with windy conditions, sunshine and warm temperatures, Adam Davies raced over the line, first Harrier home in 3:05:00 knocking six minutes off his marathon personal best time gained in Malaga last December. Dave Garratt chose Brighton as his first road marathon after completing The Beachy Head marathon last October in 3:48:40, he stormed to the finish on Sunday in 3:12:38.

163 fantastic pictures from the Brighton Marathon.

One of Hailsham’s 2023 couch to 5K graduates, Oliver Chandler also made Brighton his first road marathon running to a sensational personal best of 3:30:56 whilst Hailsham’s first female Harrier across the line saw Lianne Leakey also race to a new personal best in 3:32:52. Tracy Erridge, running her first marathon since 2019 has been training hard over the last few months. She was joined on Sunday by fellow team mate Aislinn Darvell where together, they finished in 3:42:00 with a new personal best time for Tracy.

Connie Griffin, one of Hailsham’s newest recruits, buddied up with close friend Holly Catt to complete the Brighton marathon as a training run before the London Marathon on April 21st. Connie surprised herself by finishing with a new personal best of 3:46:43. Oliver Paterson, running his first ever marathon, made the challenging distance appear smooth as he finished with a well deserved sub 4-hours in 3:57:03.

Abigail Morris, a recent finisher of the tough Moyleman marathon 3 weeks previously, crossed the line in an impressive 4:11:04, followed by Leeland Pavey, running his first marathon since 2015, knocking six minutes off his previous time to finish with a personal best of 4:24:34.

Sam Palframan ran with sister Zoe to raise funds for The Stroke Association, together they finished hand in hand in a mighty time of 4:46:34, whilst Kevin Morris completed the amazing Harriers team with an awesome performance for his marathon debut, running to a fabulous time of 5:35:38. Kevin was cheered on by wife and fellow Harrier, Jayne Morris, who ran the Brighton 10K earlier that morning. Jayne completed the 6.1 mile distance in 59:44 and stayed on to cheer and support all her black and red team mates.

Further afield in London three Harriers took on the London Landmarks Half Marathon.

The race is run on closed roads, through central London. Starting at Nelson’s Column the fantastic 13.1-mile route takes runners passed St Pauls Cathedral, the Cheese Grater, The Gherkin , the Walkie Talkie , The Tower of London and Big Ben before arriving at a sensational finish line atmosphere near Downing Street.

Exploring the capital on a route like no other and joining nineteen-thousand runners, Katie Manley crossed the line, first Harrier home in 2:00:16 followed by Victoria Little 2:00:55 and Els Ruffell 2:38:29.

It has been a fabulous weekend for team black and red. Club Chairman, Andy Ruffell had this to say 'I have been in London today for the Landmarks event. I know many have been in Brighton. The volume and variety of today's achievements is something that brings a tear to my eye'.

Hailsham Harriers turns 40 this year. To find out more about joining visiti their website; hailsham-harriers.org.uk

HEART & SOLE

After six months of training, Heart & Sole Runners took to the streets of Brighton for the UK’s third largest marathon last Sunday.

For some of them, it was also their very first time tackling a full 26.2 miles.

As challenging as it was, their mission was what kept them going every step of the way.

They were supporting their teammate, Becky Alexander, to complete this race in memory of her beloved son Josh Alexander, who died last year.

Josh had unwavering faith that his mum could run a full marathon, and couldn’t understand why she kept doing the halves!

They have been fundraising along the way and have raised £4,000 to fund two Active Hastings weight management courses – something that Josh helped to lead.

The Heart & Sole members wore their race shirts with pride and were elated to receive their medals.

Thanks went to everyone who came along to cheer the team and for sponsorship.

HY AC

Last year, head coach Terry Skelton set up a group for ladies from HY Athletics Club and beyond, many of whom had done only short-distance running, to train for the Brighton Marathon.

The transformation from their first steps in the club's road session to date has been remarkable and after some rallying and persuasion, they signed up for the marathon.

On Sunday the club celebrated their perseverance, grit and sheer determination to defy the odds. Not only did they embrace a new challenge but they also joined the 1% of the world's population who have run a marathon.

Rachel Wigmore was first home in a remarkable 3:26:28 followed by Ivy Buckland 3:40:33, Sonnii Pine 3:57:06 (10 minute PB), Lisa Buchanan 4:28:03 (12 minute PB), Leanne Badrock 4:28:04, Jo Smith 5:18:32, Emily Hardes 5:22:33, Donna Foster 5:44:40, Hayley Foster 5:44:40 and Laura Dearsley 5:44:40.

For four of those, their runs were in support of the local hospice. Laura, Leanne, Hayley and Donna completed the 26.2 miles, their first full marathon, raising over £1,100 for the charity.

They thanked everyone who sponsored them.

Meanwhile, HY’s Ben McCallion matched his previous PB set in Manchester last year in an excellent 2:57:21 and Joe Moore 3:56:16.

Kayleigh Skelton also took part over the 10k race.

Kayleigh knocked two minutes off her previous PB set just six weeks ago in 43:17, an outstanding achievement given this was only her second occasion racing over the distance.

The London Landmarks Half Marathon marked Deb Read's third weekend in a row of racing.

She knocked an excellent two minutes off her previous PB (set at the Hastings Half two weeks earlier) in a time of 1:45:35.

And after much perseverance Susan Dunn finally cracked the two-hour mark with a PB in an fantastic 1:59:21.

Rosie McSweeney also ran 2:11:55 raising money for Tommy's Baby Charity.

Paul Jenner also travelled to Paris to run a PB over the marathon distance in 4:16:21.

Read more from HY in the right-hand column on this page.

HASTINGS AC

Hastings AC entered five teams into the Sussex road relays in Brighton’s Preston Park.

Elizabeth Hutchinson, one of HAC’s up-and-coming new talents, ran what looks like being confirmed as the second fastest leg on the day.

The under-11 girls were made up of Bella Taylor, Georgia Stavely and Eva Harwood who kindly stepped in from Bexhill Runners due to another member having an injury.

This meant they were technically a non-scoring team. They were unofficially placed tenth with a time of 21.11.

Next up were the under-13 boys with Cobey Buckley, Caleb Buckley and Edwin Chapman running. All three put their all into the race coming out with 11th place and a time of 19.29.

Edwin is usually a sprint runner but was determined to give the longer distance a go and put every bit of effort into the day.

Cobey was slightly disappointed not to get sub six minutes but they had fun at their first ever road relay and enjoyed playing football afterwards in the park.

The U13 girls comprised Marcy Page, Lucienne Simkiss-Day and Elizabeth Hutchinson and with some great performances they were fourth in 18.39, only just missing out on a Sussex medal.

Last but not least, the U15 girls, Rosie Ferguson, Honor Casselton Elliot and Isla Horsman, finished ninth in a time of 19.34. Maximum effort was put in by the girls.

This was the first event of its kind for every single team member and everyone finished strongly and with a smile on their face.

The HAC U20 and senior men just missed out on fourth. Rhys Boorman 9.51; Miller Davies 11.01; Michael Maxwell 10.23; Jeremy Henwood 9.58 finished in 41.15.

Elsewhere, at the Yeovil spring open Rae Le Fay was third in the 2000m steeplechase.

This was her first track race this year and her first attempt at this event, so it was a positive result with plenty more to come. 7.07.13.

Meanwhile Cobey Buckley made up for his frustration at the road relays at the Brighton Marathon mini mile. He managed 5min 55sec and was very pleased to go sub six minutes, an achievement he was very much working towards. He has raised over £300 for his chosen charity @fredstonefoundation.

Jenna Levett and Holly Horsman ran the London Landmarks half marathon.

Holly is in the beginners and improvers’ group at HAC, and this was her first half marathon since having children.

Somehow she managed to look poised and smiley the whole way round, despite the really difficult windy and warm conditions.

Jenna Levett came through as 87th women overall, sixth for her age in 01:37:07 – not a PB but she had lots of fun on the way to the finish.

At the Southampton Half Marathon James Crombie came third on his debut at this event in 1:16.40.

Hastings AC have a huge selection of training sessions and competitions across the board for all ages in track and field coming up, so feel free to go along for a free trail

See www.hastingsathleticclub.co.uk for more – plus more from Hastings AC on page 59.

HASTINGS RUNNERS

Members of Hastings Runners who were lucky enough to gain entry are gearing up for the UK’s premier marathon event – London on April 21.

And a number of them have been in action at other events.

Fleur Record Smith travelled the furthest, opting to run her first 26.2-mile race in France, completing the Paris Marathon is a time of 3hr 49min 42sec.

Closer to home, 11 runners crossed the finish line in the Brighton Marathon, the fastest being Jake Stewart in 3:27:59.

He was closely followed by Conal Tracey (3:28:47 – a PB that knocked over 20 minutes off his previous best time), Stuart Johnstone (3:28:54). Allan Payne (4:37:32) was third in the MV70 category, securing a ‘good for age’ place at London in 2025.

First HR woman to the finish line was Jessica Hayward (4:47:59). Well done also to Joe Moore (3:56:16) and Adrian Barratt (4:04:41), as well as Ben Brett (4:55:14) plus the Wadham family of Paul, Sharon and Lewis who crossed the line together in 5:51:02.

In the shorter Brighton event, the 10k, Nikki Steed clocked 48:26 while Rachael Inns registered a PB of 50:33.

Meanwhile, in the London Landmarks Half Marathon, Abi Clarke completed the 13.1-mile course in 2:38:23 and Caz Hall ran home with a new PB of 2:42:25.

Hastings Runners welcomes new members of all abilities aged 12 and over for fun, training and competitive running. Visit https://hastingsrunners.co.uk

EASTBOURNE ROVERS

The summer season has now started for Eastbourne Rovers athletes, with one of the first open meetings being held at Crawley.

Rovers were keen to get back on the track to test their speed after winter training, running indoors and cross country.

For U17 Oscar Mizen it was his first time running over 400m. He ran a superb race keeping up a good pace then sprinting for home on the final bend to overtake the leader. His time of 54.87 puts him 11th in the South East.

Matching this was his training partner, U15 Stanley Atkins, who came 4th in his 300m race in a PB of 41.96 ranking him 11th in the South East.

One of the biggest surprises came from U15 Nathan Burge who eased through the 100m in 11.96 in second place before he tackled the 300m for the first time.

He blasted away, keeping his form to cross the line in first place and a fantastic 38.1 sec. With the English schools qualifying time at 38 second s this was a great start and ranks him 5th in the country.

Honest Chinengundu (U17) continues to impress in the shorter sprints with two easy wins and best times of 12.38 for the 100m and 27.49 for the 200m.

Caitlyn Spencer (U20 ) came home with a brilliant first in the 200m in 27.49 and second in her 100m 13.37. Zoe Wright and Sophie Hutchison raced in the U20 300m with Zoe coming 2nd in a PB of 44.71 and Sophie 6th in a PB of 47.52.

Middle distance runners have finished the cross country season and Eleanor Strevens found speed in her 400m coming 2nd in 57.84. Ilya Korchev was close to dipping under two minutes for his 800m coming second with 2.00.61.

Joshua Webster tackled the U15 800m and was pleased with 4th place in 2.31.46. Sister Jessica came 4th in the U11 75m in 12.69 and 7th in the 600m in 2.12.81.

Raya Petrova ran a strong 800m for a PB of 2.25.42 in 5th spot with Ellie Mclean sixth i n 2m25.57. Lexie Mcl ean w a s 7th in 2.46.34.

Senior Bryn Smith went to Tonbridge for a 150m a nd 300m. He was a clear winner i n bo th but his 300m of 33.98 smashed the club record held by Moyo Sargent.