Esmee and Nina are club Welfare Officers for Hastings Runners. The club welfare officers are there to ensure that the club fulfills its safeguarding duties to children and adults and to be a point of contact for issues relating to the wellbeing of club members, with the aim of fostering positive experiences and relationships within the club.
What does a welfare officer do? A club welfare officer is the person within a sports club with primary responsibility for safeguarding adults and children in the club. One of our roles is to make sure that people feel safe and included when they are running with the club, for example that they don’t get left behind on a run or in cases of bullying. We also put in place procedures to safeguard children and adults in the club, and if necessary, report safeguarding concerns to EA.
If something happens that makes you feel uncomfortable, please contact Esmee or Nina for assistance, so they can talk to you and work with you to address our concerns sensitively and promptly. You can reach Esmee on: esmee.russell@gmail.com or Nina on: neeneelam@hotmail.com
Another fantastic advert for the club with circa 110 members taking part in this Hastings Runners event, whether as runners or marshals, in the stunning setting of Hastings Country Park at Fairlight.
For the majority of the field the 10.30 kms course over 2.66 laps proved a real stamina sapping test in sweltering conditions with over 220 metres of elevation, but new club member Matt Draper made light work of the conditions to go second on the club’s all time list with a superb time of 41.06.
Runner up for the third successive year, despite running 76 seconds faster than last year, was Ashley Vora in 42.21, with Stuart Johnstone 3rd in 46.26. Another recent club recruit Fleur Record-Smith claimed the women’s trophy, overhauling the long time leader Claire Thomas in the final kilometre and finishing 22 seconds clear in 51.21, with Amanda Link 3rd lady home in 54.29. An excellent 4th place in a time of 46.43 saw Darren Barzee take the men’s vets award, with Sally Grainger taking the women’s equivalent in a time of 58.56.
No fewer than 11 runners who had contested the race in 2022 managed to improve their race times, with Simon Linklater deservedly taking the Improvers Award with a huge improvement of 5 mins 43 seconds.
The club welcomed 10 new runners taking part in their first HR race, namely Matt Draper, Fleur Record-Smith, Chris Brandt, Mark Rodrigues, Dave Morrow, Scott Thirkettle, Dave Turner, Oli Kellett, George Marshall and Peter Harding. After the race, Christopher White and Tracy Ratnarajah were presented with their Improver Awards for the club’s Spring 5kms and Hastings 5 mile races, whilst Lewis Betts received the 5 mile junior male trophy for the second successive year.
67 runners completed the course, with 40 marshals – expertly co-ordinated by Alan Croucher – giving up their time. Just two runners failed to complete the race including Shana Burchett who, pushing hard for a course pb, became airborne going through the final downhill woodland section and sustained a nasty cut on her left knee.
After hobbling back to the start line, this was expertly patched up by run director and former GP Susan Rae which has left the club’s first aid kit bereft of giant plasters now! Many thanks to Susan and fellow RD Piers Brunning for overseeing proceedings, and to Wisdens for handing out race medals.
Race times were:Matt Draper 41:06; Ashley Vora 42:21; Stuart Johnstone 46:26; Darren Barzee 46:43; Martin Noakes 47:10; Patrick Bermingham 47:43; Simon Linklater 47:44; Sam Evans 48:03 16; Chris Brandt 48:13; Dave Turner 48:19; Martin Snape 50:28; Graeme Grass 50:55; Fleur Record-Smith 51.21; George Marshall:51:24; Lewis Betts 51:31; Claire Thomas 51:43; Steven Stanley 52:01; Neil Jeffries 52:16; Matthew Miller 52:44; Kevin Blowers 53:32; Amanda Link 54:29; Oli Kellett 54:43; Kevin Davis 54:59; Ben Sallows 55:02; Mark Storey 55:10; Dan Hall 55:19; Simon Trevena 55:49; Malcolm Smith 57:37; Jo Lambourne 57:46; Sally Grainger 58:56; Lawrence Bell 59:32; Sarah Bendle 59:49; Dean Betts 59.51; Simon Weatherley 60.15; Sean Dwyer 60.32; Rob Thomas 60.42; Jessica Cull 61.16; Adrian Barratt 61:54; Bill Edmondson 62:13; David Witcombe 62:38; Dave Morrow 62:54; Scott Thirkettle 63:34; Annette Fry 64:17; Ruth Spiller 65:01; Keith Goodsell 65:04; Kate Lewis 65:59; Nigel Thornely 66:02; Susan Wilkinson 68:27; Deanne Smith 70:00; Danny Ratnarajah 70.00; Mark Rodrigues 70:44; Sarah Marzaioli 71:43; Sarah Loring 71:50; Tony Skinner 72:49; Tracy Ratnarajah 73:00; Chris White 73:41; Jackie Scott 74:34; Louise Cavill 74:34; Lauren Coleman 75:33; Sue Palmer 75:41; Samantha Welfare 78:32; Krista Barzee 78:32; Peter Harding 82:12; Susan Mann 85:30; Davinia Hill 89:01; Erica Wilson 92:10; Corrina Skinner (sweep) 92.11.
Hastings Runners’ Zoe Fairclough posted a superb victory as first lady finisher in the Rye 10 miler, a gruelling Sussex Grand Prix as well as club championship event held in very warm conditions on Sunday morning. Zoe, who was a close 2nd in this race last year behind clubmate Yolanda King, took the lead after 8 miles and finished 34 seconds clear of the runner up in an excellent time of 69.29.
Adam Weller was the first club member home, finishing 7th in a cracking time of 65.30, with Steve Stanley doing well to pick up the M60 age category award. The scenic course starting from Jempsons Superstore in Peasmarsh took in the undulating lanes between Peasmarsh and Beckley, and attracted a field of 206 runners including a huge contingent of 50 Hastings Runners.
Hastings Runners’ results were: Adam Weller 01:05:30; Stuart Johnstone 01:08:48; Darren Barzee 01:08:56; Zoe Fairclough 01:09:29; Ashley Vora 01:10:53; Paul Burchett 01:12:36; Simon Linklater 01:12:53; Steven Stanley 01:15:36; Neil Jeffries 01:16:07; Joe Cruttenden 01:16:25; Graeme Grass 01:17:36; Andy Knight 01:19:09; John Simcox 01:19:48; Michael Norris 01:20:34; Matthew Miller 01:21:33; Adrian Barratt 01:21:42; Mark Storey 01:22:15; Kevin Davis 01:23:19; Charles Bowley 01:23:51; Tamsin West 01:26:25; Nick Webb 01:28:13; Trevor Briggs 01:28:55; Roland Baines 01:30:00; David Fairclough 01:30:58; Jon Smalldon 01:32:53; Keith Goodsell 01:32:57; Ruth Spiller 01:34:26; Jo French 01:36:50; Jess Hayward 01:37:26; Robert Dennis 01:37:33; Simon Weatherley 01:38:46; Marie Appleton 01:40:37; Craig Weeks 01:42:15; Mark Rodrigues 01:42:26; Susan Wilkinson 01:42:40; Marie Crawford 01:42:47; Kelly Derosa 01:44:21; Kate Lewis 01:44:51; Sarah Marzaioli 01:45:15; Tracy Ratnarajah 01:46:43; Susan Sparkes 01:49:11; Yockie Richardson 01:50:21; Kayla Quinnell 01:51:34; Krista Barzee 01:57:16; Adam Holland 02:02:38; Susan Mann 02:03:07; Lorraine Ashby 02:05:03; Louise Cavill 02:09:33; Amanda Robinson 02:15:46; Erica Wilson 02:17:25.
Meanwhile 6 club members tackled the Rye 5 mile event – Debra Van Aalst 48.30 (1st F60); Jackie Scott 49.48; Jo Nevett 51.58; Danny Ratnarajah 52.01; Shana Burchett 55.17; Joanne Fellows 62.42.
Many congrats also to Yolanda King who won the recent Haywards Heath 10 mile race, another Sussex Grand Prix event with a field of over 400 runners, in a very impressive time of 67.11.
The term “family” is often used to describe our wonderful club and Saturday was further evidence of the strong bond between the members at Hastings Runners. Such is the camaraderie, the group travelled together by minibus, departing at the crazy time of 5:30am, kindly organised by Sarah Bendle.
The Run to the Sea starts at Horsham and leads runners through a mixture of terrain, including some wonderful trails and beautiful downlands, covering a total of 50 kms and finishing on Brighton seafront. Many congrats to Sally Grainger who won the FV60 age category, supported en route by Kevin Blowers, just a matter of weeks after completing the London Marathon. Despite the damp conditions Darren Kilby improved on his time from 12 months previous. Jan Young was celebrating her birthday in the perishing cold, with the slightly odd combination of a survival blanket around her shoulders and an ice cream in her hand. Richard Cross and Simon Trevena both finished in high spirits, despite their self confessed lack of preparation.
Hastings Runners “A” team (Darren Kilby, Kevin Blowers, Sally Grainger, Rob Thomas & Amanda Link) came 2nd and the “B” team (Luke Evans, Cassie Colvin, Lucie Smitalova, Richard Cross & Jan Young) 4th in the team competition with combined times of 28 hours 15 mins and 30 hours 34 mins respectively.
CENTURION PETE AVOIDS THE CORONATION!
Whilst most of the country was glued to their TV sets on Coronation Day, Hastings ultra runner Pete Heasman tackled the Centurion Thames Path 100 mile event over the weekend. Starting at Richmond Town Hall and finishing in the centre of Oxford, the route followed the river path for most of the way. Steady rain throughout the first day meant that some sections became extremely muddy, and nearly 40% of the 300 runner field dropped out. As per usual, Pete eschewed the normal ultra runner preparation and jumped straight in having run no further than 10 miles in training! With the aid of a gin and tonic in the final few miles, Pete finished in a time of 27 hours 30 mins.
Close to a record turnout as no fewer than 105 club members took part in the midweek Spring 5kms, with star junior Finlay Goodman winning for the second consecutive year in a superb time of 15.41 (the first time that he has broken the 16 minute barrier!), followed home by Will Withecombe 17.35 and Finlay Garlick 18.14.
Zoe Fairclough won the ladies race, also for the second year in a row, setting a club race record with a 19.22 PB; excellent times too from Claire Thomas 20.47 and Amy Rodway 21.59. There was a battle royal for the men’s vets award with Martin Noakes only passing runner up Steven Stanley in the final 200m; whilst Jo French took the ladies equivalent, finishing 22 seconds ahead of Debra Van Aalst.
Club chairman Nick Brown said: “The event was a great advert for our club with 19 new members taking part in their first club race, and as ever the volunteers – expertly co-ordinated by chief marshal Alan Croucher – did a superb job on the out and back seafront course from Grosvenor Gardens. It was also great to see two of our members, Andy Alabaster and Nicki Steed, coming back to form after major surgery.”The new members were Helen Cassell, Gilda Da Silva, Kevin Davis, Charlotte Ede-Morley, Rachel Gower, Peter Harding, Scott Hilton, Tracy Jarrett, Kate Lewis, Ben Muggridge, Theresa Mummery, Kayla Quinnell, Paul Rackstraw, Amy Rodway, Fatima Serhir, Sarah Stewart, David Townsend, Conal Tracey and Dave Wood.
Full results were: Finlay Goodman 15:41pb; Will Withecombe 17:35; Finlay Garlick 18:14; Ashley Vora 18:48; Andrew Shipilov 18:54; Stuart Johnstone 19:00pb; Zoe Fairclough 19:22pb; Sam Evans 19:26; Martin Snape 19:36; Paul Burchett 19:44; Lewis Betts 19:51; Patrick Bermingham 19:53; Martin Noakes 19:54; Steven Stanley 20:01; Simon Linklater 20:06; Nathan Jondorf 20:27; Simon Newstead:20:29; Andy Knight 20:36; Joe Moore 20:37; Graeme Grass 20:41 21 Claire Thomas 20:47; Stephen Ingram 20:53pb; John Simcox 20:57 24 Michael Norris 21:12; Steven Hoath 21:15; Mark Storey 21:24; Romey Jondorf 21:36; Kevin Davis 21:40; Matthew Miller 21:50; Jamie Kennedy 21:52; David Townsend 21:53; Ben Muggridge 21:54; Amy Rodway 21:59; Tamsin West 22:01; Charles Bowley 22:18; Col Turner 22:23; Ben Sallows 22:25; Adrian Barratt 22:27; David Fairclough 22:40; Conal Tracey 22:41; Robert Weeks 23:03pb; Nicki Steed 23:17; Andy Alabaster 23:25; Craig Weeks 23:40; David Harding 23:42; Peter Noakes 23:50; Lucie Smitalova 23:58; Bill Edmondson 24:08; Paul Rackstraw 24:28; Sean Dwyer 24:32 ; Keith Goodsell 24:34; Jessica Hayward 24:35; Nick Webb 24:36; Fatima Serhir 24:42; Jessica Cull 24:46; Richard Cross 24:55; Sarah Stewart 24:57pb; Jo French 25:41; Charlotte Ede-Morley 25:44; Berenice Consavela 25:53; Dave Wood 25:58; Nigel Thornely 25:59; Debra Van Aalst 26:03; James Graham 26:20; Susan Wilkinson 26:31; Kate Lewis 26:32; Sue Quincey 26:33 ; Annette Fry 26:35; Kelly Derosa 26:38; Klare Beecroft 27:15; Simon Woroniecki 27:18; Chris White 27:31pb 73 Jackie Scott 00:27:31; Helen Cassell 27:54; Victoria Harding 28:00; Allison Tanner 28:22; Shana Burchett 28:46; Danny Ratnarajah 28:50; Theresa Mummery 28:51; Tracy Jarrett 29:00; Yockie Richardson 29:02; Tracy Ratnarajah 29:02; Amy Ashby 29:04; Sophie Ashby 29:04; Kayla Quinnell 29:20; Sue Palmer 29:23; Louise Cavill; 29:26; Marie Appleton 30:03; Scott Hilton 30:05; Christine Sanderson 30:11; Gilda Da Silva 30:47; Peter Harding 31:11; Alan Croucher 31:34; Lorraine Ashby 32:07; Irene Kitson 32:11; Rachel Gower 32:12; Davinia Hill 33:17; Susan Mann 34:07; Joanne Fellows 35:08; Catherine Southgate 35:15; Eric Hardwick 36:00; Terry Kitson 37:44; Erica Wilson 39:23; Henry Worthington 42:38; Christine Rackstraw 44:05.
Chris White and Jessica Hayward were also presented with their Improvers awards for the Hastings half marathon, after both knocked nearly 20 minutes off their times in last year’s race!
Over 130 Hastings Runners took part in the 39th staging of the town’s Half Marathon on Sunday. The constant rainfall and East Sussex Council’s reluctance to repair the worst potholes in the UK, couldn’t discourage us from taking to the streets and completing the 13.1 undulating miles in determined fashion.
The annual pre race photo lifted spirits but left us soaked before the race even began. The entrance to Race HQ was even muddier than Tim’s farm for the Pett XC a few weeks earlier. At the top of the field we were missing some of our strongest runners due to injury and other commitments, but as a club we represent more than just race times. Hastings Runners is about inclusivity across all abilities and age groups, something that was celebrated this weekend.
Matt Draper: 1st Hastings Runners home
A special mention for Darren Barzee and Sylvia Huggett who have now completed 39 consecutive Hastings Half Marathons. Only 7 other runners can claim this amazing achievement. We had age category wins for Sally Grainger in the FV60 and Yockie Richardson in the FV75.
And what about Eric Hardwick? He received an MBE for his decades of commitment and hard work in organising the race. This year he passed on the baton to local race organiser Nice Work and ran the route himself, finishing 2nd in the MV80 category. We love you Eric.
In the junior race, Lewis Betts overcame some early obstacles to finish in 5th place in a fantastic time of 6 minutes and 56 seconds.
Back to the main event, new member Matt Draper was the first Hastings Runner across the line in a superb time of 1:17:49 to break into the Top 20. Adam Weller 1:21:57, Kieran Price 1:27:07 (PB), Bob Russell 1:27:12 and Paul Lambert 1:27:59 (PB), made up the Top 5 club finishers with some superb performances.
Our pacing team
On the female side Zoe Fairclough produced a brilliant run to come home in 1:31:48. In 2nd place was Denise White in 1:45:46 and Jacqueline Mannering produced a PB of 1:47:09.
The club also filled all 4 of the pacer slots. Simon Linklater (I had to give myself a mention somewhere) 1:49:17, Sarah Bendle 1:58:18, Charles Bowley 2:10:05 and Jessica Cull 2:29:23, did a stellar job in providing support for fellow runners.
Let’s take a moment to show gratitude for all of the spectators that came out to support this amazing event, despite the inclement weather. I think as a club we should take some pride in this with the efforts we contribute to the race, notably our leaflet distributing, thank you to Mike Hall for organising that.
Marie Appleton sums up the day perfectly
If anyone ran a half marathon PB then let me know and I will give you a mention. Full results to follow.
Hi everyone, for those of you who like to plan ahead here is the provisional FPTP championship race calendar for 2023.
Once again, you have a choice of 23 races plus a marathon of your choice covering a wide range of distances on road, off road and mixed terrain surfaces.
To qualify for the championship, you need to complete a minimum of 8 races including 2 club only races.
You can obtain another 200 points by volunteering in one of the 7 club only races, or our host cross country fixture at Pett, or our flagship event the Hastings 5 miler.
The two worst supported races in last year’s calendar were the Rye 5 kms and the Tonbridge 1/2 marathon, and therefore these races are being dropped in favour of the Kings Head Canter 5 kms and the Bedgebury Forest 1/2 marathon.
RACE CALENDAR 2023 … definite dates in bold
19thFebruary ….. HR Brenda Boyle Pier to Pier 16 miles
12thMarch …….. Club hosting ESSCCL Pett cross country 5 miles
26th March …….. Hastings Half Marathon
26th April ………. HR Spring 5k
7thMay ………… Rye 10 miles
4thJune ………… Hastings 5 miles
13th June ……….. HR Alan Corke 6.40 miles
18th June ………. Heathfield 10k
23rd June ………. Robertsbridge 10k
2ndJuly ………… Bewl 15 miles
9th July…………. Woodchurch 5 miles
19th July ………… HR Handicap Race 5k
10th August ……… HR Barry Richards 10k
28thAugust …….. Kings Head Canter Chiddingly 5k
3rdSeptember ….. Battle 10k
10thSeptember … Rye Ancient Trails 30k
24th September …. HR Rye to Hastings 12 miles
1st October …….. Hastings Seafront 10k
29thOctober …… Bedgebury Forest Half Marathon
5th Nov ………….. Beckley 10k
12th Nov ………… HR Winter 5k
26th Nov ………… ESSCCL Cross Country 5 miles
16th Dec ………… Xmas Pudding Dash 5 miles
Sadly the Great Northiam 10 kms Run will no longer be held, so we look forward to suggestions for a replacement 10 kms race that we can slot into the race calendar. Please email nickbrownrunning@gmail.com with any suggestions.
The HR ladies race in Alexandra Park is provisionally set for 16th August, but is not a championship race.
