Some great performances at the weekend with Yolanda King, following up her 19.03 5 kms pb and ladies win at Hastings parkrun on Saturday by finishing first lady in Sunday’s Rye 10 miler in an excellent chip time of 69.23 over what is a punishingly hilly course.

Club mate Zoe Fairclough finished a very close 3rd in 69.50, coming in just 3 seconds behind the runner-up. Martin Snape was the leading club member in 10th place in a time of 66.55, just ahead of Kieran Price in 66.57, Paul Lambert 69.16, Paul Burchett 73.00, Ben Park 73.34, Kevin Blowers 73.44, Neil Jeffries 74.54, Richard Towner – Roethe 76.50, Andy Knight 79.48, Sarah Bendle 82.38, Andy Alabaster 83.28, Ben Sallows 85.24, Simon Weatherley 87.55, Robert Dennis 88.39, Annette Fry 91.24, Lucie Smitalova 92.41, Keith Goodsell 93.27, Marie Crawford 93.59, Danny Ratnarajah 94.57, Sue Wilkinson 101.22, Stephen Slater 101.25, Klare Beecroft 101.39, Sue Alabaster 101.42, Yockie Richardson 105.54, Tracy Ratnarajah 107.14, Samantha Welfare 107.51, Louise Cavill 107.52, Krista Barzee 109.35, Shana Burchett 109.58, Hayley Ranson 115.42, Erica Wilson 135.08 – all chip times.

There were age category wins for Paul Burchett (MV45), Kevin Blowers (MV60), Robert Dennis (MV75), Sarah Bendle (FV45), Annette Fry (FV50) and the evergreen Yockie Richardson (FV75), as the club fielded 33 out of the 146 runners.

After a comfortable Hastings parkrun success in 16.34, Will Withecombe also pulled off a double by winning the Rye 5 mile event in a time of 29.36 which was an amazing 4 minutes faster than his victory in the race last year. Other HRs in the field of 32 were David Fairclough 43.06, Hannah Towner – Roethe 44.52, Adam Holland 48.06 and Joanne Fellows 60.19.

Many congrats to club secretary Andy Lee who recorded a superb time of 19.35 at parkrun to knock a full 25 seconds off the Hastings MV65 category record! There were also pbs for Andrew Shipilov 19.42 and Adam Holland 25.44.

Helen Rothermel achieved a new half marathon PB of 2 hours and 1 second at the Edinburgh Half Marathon. Also making the long trip north of the border were Nick Thompson (2:26) and Rick Burne (2:07).

Jacqueline Mannering and Darren Kilby were spotted outside Arundel Caste at 5am on Sunday morning. There was another sighting later that evening in Eastbourne. The first assumption was the traffic must have been bad, but the two of them actually ran the 102km as part of the UK Ultra South Downs 100k. In the process Jacqueline scooped up first place in her age category.

Husband and wife duo Sharon and Paul Wadham, flew the green and black flag at Arundel on Saturday morning, completed the scenic undulating 10K route in just over an hour.

An excellent turnout yesterday as Hastings Runners flagship event, the Keith Chandler Memorial Road Race, returned for its 15th anniversary with no fewer than 98 HRs in the field of 408 runners whilst close to 40 current and former club members formed the majority of the volunteers.

The return to Sussex Grand Prix status ensured that runners came from all over Sussex to take part, whilst there were also clubs represented from Kent, Surrey and London. The feedback for the new course, which included a 550m loop of the town’s historic pier, has been very positive and hopefully the weather gods will be kinder for the 2023 event!

There were some superb performances across the board with Will Withecombe first club member home in 10th place in 28.29; Yolanda King 3rd lady finisher in 32.19; Yolanda, Zoe Fairclough and Claire Thomas finished as 2nd ladies team; Will, Ashley Vora and Kieran Price were 4th men’s team.

There were age category wins for Lewis Betts (male junior), Kieran Price (MV50), Neil Jeffries (MV60 and Christine Sanderson (FV75).

Many thanks to chief marshal Alan Croucher for co-ordinating the large team of volunteers, and hopefully the event will add a few more thousand pounds to the £56,000 raised so far in its history for St. Michael’s Hospice. Well done to everyone who took part, and making this a great advertisement for our club!

On Saturday 15 Hastings Runners travelled to Horsham to take part in the Run to the Sea 50K Ultra.

It was a superb performance with the club claiming 3rd place in the team prize. Kevin Blowers took 1st place in the MV60 category, competing in his first ever Ultra in a time of 5:13:05.

Richard Roethe, Sarah Bendle, Rob Thomas, Nina Lambrou and Emily Allchurch all came in under the 6 hour mark!

With Saturday’s hangovers a distance memory some of our club’s finest were in race action at the weekend.

Multi award winning Kevin Blowers achieved his goal and smashed the “Good for Age” time for London Marathon, by running a massive Marathon PB of 3:30:08 in Milton Keynes.

Darren Barzee ran an amazing time too, clocking a personal best of 3:23. An hour in the First Aid tent post race showed just how much he pushed himself to cross the finish line. Lucky for him, Kev was able to walk (just) and limped off to McDonalds to fetch our man a Big Mac and fries.

I (Simon Linklater) managed to knock 64 minutes off my personal best Marathon time to join the Three PBigo’s, running a time of 3:40:00.

Whilst Kevin plans his trip to the capital in 2023, several of our members were heading back from the capital having competed in the Vitality 10K.

There were PB’s for Nicola Steed (43:59), Lucia Smitalova (51:05) and Rachel Inns (52:12). Sharon Wadham (57:07) narrowly beat hubby Paul (57:29) and Linda Beddis crossed the line in 1:10:55.

Presentation host Andy Knight continued his good form with a time of 1:19:55 in the Haywards Heath 10 Miler.

If I’ve missed you out, then get in touch. Apologies for the delayed report as well, turns out a Marathon is actually quite hard.

A magnificent turnout for the club’s 5 kms event on Wednesday 27th April, with 76 taking part in the evening seafront race despite the chilly conditions.

The out and back course from Grosvenor Gardens was diverted via Bottle Alley after a last minute switch, owing to a road traffic accident which caused the top prom to be blocked.

Another tremendous run from star junior Finlay Goodman (aged 13) who coasted home in 16.58, nearly a minute clear of runner up Ashley Vora, followed in by Adam Weller in 3rd and Finlay’s dad Mark in 4th.

An excellent run by 8th placed Zoe Fairclough in 20.11, who was the first lady home. 5th placed Kieran Price took the male vet’s prize, whilst the evergreen Sally Grainger claimed the ladies vet’s award.

Club chairman Nick Brown said:”It was very encouraging to see no fewer than 18 runners taking part in their first club race. Many thanks to race director Nick Webb, and to chief marshal Alan Croucher and the rest of the volunteers.”

The debut runners were juniors Amy & Sophie Ashby, Lewis Betts, Romey Jondorf; and adults Klare Beecroft, Sean Dwyer, David Fairclough, Joanne Fellows, Nathan Godden, Sue Hull, Stephen Ingram, Nathan Jondorf, Ben Kempner, Matthew Miller, Phil Morris, Mark Storey, Adam Weller and Tamsin West.

Full results were:
Finlay Goodman 16.58;
Ashley Vora 17.56;
Adam Weller 18.03;
Mark Goodman 18.45;
Kieran Price 19.02;
Paul Lambert 19.08;
Martin Noakes 19.36;
Zoe Fairclough 20.11;
Michael Norris 20.28 pb;
Lewis Betts 20.34;
Nicki Steed 20.55 pb;
Neil Jeffries 20.56;
Nathan Jondorf 21.02;
Mark Storey 21.11 pb;
Andy Knight 21.12;
Stephen Ingram 21.31 pb;
Joe Cruttenden 21.39;
Graeme Grass 22.01;
Matthew Miller 22.17;
Ben Sallows 22.19;
Nathan Godden 22.20;
Jamie Kennedy 22.22;
Dean Betts 22.23;
Ben Kempner 22.57;
Andy Alabaster 23.04;
Matt Beaver 23.07;
Romey Jondorf 23.10;
David Fairclough 23.13;
Ben Brett 23.28;
Darren Owen 23.29;
Sally Grainger 23.33;
Jamie Hitchman 23.39;
Lewis Wadham 23.47;
Jo Nevett 24.12;
Ruth Spiller 24.15;
Sue Hull 24.23 pb;
Sean Dwyer 24.41;
Amy Ashby 24.47 (fastest time for 6 years!);
Berenice Consavela 24.59;
Glenn Read 25.24;
Rachael Inns 25.28;
Danny Ratnarajah 25.32;
Bill Edmondson 25.34;
Marie Crawford 25.38 pb;
Jessica Cull 25.45;
Klare Beecroft 25.49 pb;
Paul Wadham 26.20;
Marie Appleton 26.33;
Sue Quincey 26.34;
David Bratby 26.49;
Robert Gagyi 26.54;
Rick Burne 26.57;
Catherine Mitchell 27.01;
Phil Morris 27.07;
Sue Alabaster 27.15;
Sharon Wadham 27.19;
Jan Young 27.45;
Sophie Ashby 28.18;
Louise Cavill 28.29;
Sue Palmer 28.41;
Krista Barzee 28.51;
Julia James 29.02;
Allison Tanner 29.05;
Yockie Richardson 29.16;
Simon Woroniecki 29.21;
Christine Sanderson 29.52;
Tracy Ratnarajah 29.54;
Irene Kitson 30.12;
Alan Croucher 30.32;
Sophie West 31.01;
Christopher White 31.33;
Sylvia Huggett 32.25;
Joanne Fellows 33.41pb;
Erica Wilson 35.48;
Henry Worthington 40.10;
Hayley Ranson (sweep) 40.15.

How incredible was that? The grin still hasn’t left my face.

Take a bow. Every single one of you that stepped foot on the start line,  that conquered the hills and did our club proud.

Thank you to those that ventured out to offer vocal support and encouragement. It’s hard to quantify what an impact having someone cheer your name does, it’s huge and I feel that’s evident in some of the amazing performances on Sunday morning.

Matt Edmonds produced his finest hour yet in his green and black vest, literally almost an hour, finishing the race in 1:13:54. It was a personal best and good enough for 4th place overall and the first local runner to cross the line.

8 years on from his last half marathon, Will Withecombe ran a superb time of 1:21:01, a 3 minute PB and 24th place overall. He was closely followed by Colin White in 1:22:47, another PB (this course ain’t flat folks). I told you the support made a difference.

Yolanda King was the first female Hastings Runners across the line in 1:32:06, 14th place overall. Closely followed by Zoe Fairclough in 1:32:29, also securing a 20 top position (16th). Nicola Steed made up the Top 3 in 1:41:18.

The half marathon PB’s don’t stop there. Far from it. Paul Lambert produced a 4 minute PB to mark his return to form in 1:30:25. Kevin Blowers who celebrates his 60th birthday in a weeks time, ran 1:35:11.  Yes, I did say 60th!! Perhaps someone should tell him? Or perhaps not?

Richard Roethe (1:38:37), Andy Alabaster (1:51:59) and Jon Smalldon (1:53:28) all clocked PBs in their first outing around the hilly Hastings route. Jacqueline Mannering was probably one of the few who found the 13.1 miles too short, with a 5 minute PB in 1:52:42.

Annette Fry came tantalizing close  to breaking the 2 hour barrier, but still managed a PB in 2:00:38. Next time Annette! Sharon Wadham joined the PB gang in a time of 2:12:38.

Yockie Richardson, 76 years young, completed her first ever Hastings Half Marathon in 2:20:00, 1st in the W75 category. I just don’t have the words to describe how inspiring that is.  Erica Wilson pocketed 2nd place in her age category too. Linda Beddis knocked 8 minutes off her previous best Half Marathon in 2:38:45.

Lucie Smitalova (1:57:15), Glenn Read (1:58:27), Lucy Brett (2:27:31) and Joanne Fellow (2:58:03) all completed their first ever half marathons. So I guess the times count as PBs?

There were several runners representing charities. Amanda Link (MacMillan Cancer), Catherine Southgate (Red Cross), Davinia Hill (Stroke Association), Millie Mitchell (National Autistic Society) and Samantha Welfare (Ukraine UK Red Cross) all raised money for good causes.

Sylvia Huggett and Darren Barzee maintained their amazing streak of having completing every half marathon since it began.

Well done to Nigel Thornley, Jessica Cull and Sarah Bendle who were part of the pacing team for the race.

Let’s also give Terry Kitson a mention. Terry twisted his ankle before the race even started. Sadly he had to take the sensible decision to sit this one out.

Wait a minute.

That’s wrong.

Terry chose to run anyway, completing the course in 3:04:16. Congratulations to Terry and Irene who celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary at the weekend.

In the Mini Run Lewis Betts finished in 4th place, completing the 2km route in 7 minutes and 26 seconds. Sophie and Amy Ashby finished in 9:42.

A big thank you to Eric Hardwicke for all his hard work. Also to the Sea Cadets who do an amazing job helping out on the day. These events are not possible with the hard work of so many individuals, often behind the scenes.

Please if I’ve missed you out, drop me an email or DM and I will update the report tomorrow morning before sending it off to the Observer.

💚 GO HASTINGS RUNNERS 🖤

Simon Linklater (PB for me to, but didn’t want to brag)

Hastings Runners has always been proud to be a club representing all abilities and age categories. It’s inspiring to see the achievements of fellow runners and that was on display once again this weekend as the we staged the final race of the East Sussex Sunday Cross Country League.

Thank you to Tim Jury for all his hard work in ensuring the event continues to be a roaring success. We are very grateful to Tim and the volunteers that gave up their Sunday morning to trudge through the mud, stand in the cold and cheer on the runners. Thank you also to anyone who contributed to the cake stall, with over £400 raised for the Farm Africa Charity. Amazing!

On the day, Will Withecombe capped a superb debut season in the Green & Black colours with a 4th places finish in 28:14, securing 2nd in the overall standings. Will has been a great addition to the club, producing consistently strong performances whilst encouraging his team mates too.

Mark Goodman was the 2nd Hastings Runners across the line in 31:59, doing his best to maintain the respect from his ever improving off spring, who sadly for Mark, get quicker than him with every passing year.

Martin Noakes, a real stalwart of the team down the years finished another excellent campaign to take 2nd place in the Male 55 category, finishing Sunday’s race in 32:21. Darren Barzee (32:32) and Kevin Blowers (35:11) made up the Top 5 finishers for Hastings Runners.

Trying not to keep Will waiting too long, Claire Thomas was the 1st female up the hill in a fantastic time of 37:16, followed soon after by Tamsin West in 42:16.

It was the females that dominated the overall standings, especially in the F70 category with a clean sweep in the Top 3. Sarah Marzaioli (1st), Yockie Richardson (2nd) and Christine Sanderson (3rd) left rival clubs shaking their heads and asking “what exactly does Yockie put in that Lemon Drizzle Cake?”.

There were prizes for Trish Auldis (FV65) and Jane Coles (FV55) who both finished 2nd in their respective categories. Overall the club were 8th out of the 17 teams that took part.

Until next year, stay dry, stay warm and keep those shoes clean.

Pett X-Country Results

28:14 Will Withecome
31:59 Mark Goodman
32:21 Martin Noakes
32:32 Darren Barzee
35:11 Kevin Blowers
37:16 Claire Thomas
38:06 Paul Burchett
38:16 Simon Trevena
42:15 Tamsin West
42:27 Jane Coles
43:43 Jo Nevett
46:10 Piers Brunning
47:30 Rick Burne
47:42 Trish Audis
51:45 Shana Burchett
53:45 Yockie Richardson
55:24 Christine Sanderson
56:18 Sylvia Huggett
57:34 Jo Edwards
59:58 Irene Kitson
1:14:47 Henry Worthington

How awesome are we?

Sunday morning lie-ins? Don’t be silly. We were up and early to iron our Green & Black vests as race season is well and truly underway. The first Club Championship event of 2022 was the Brenda Boyle Pier to Pier. 16 miles from Eastbourne, along the coastline, pebbles and all, back to Hastings Old Town.

The 30mph tail wind, which saw the postponement 2 weeks early, was cruelly replaced with a 20mph headwind, adding to the challenge. Runners were having none of it though and were in cheerful spirits as the coach departed the Angling club shortly after 8am.

Matt Edmonds set a personal best for the route in 1 hour 40 minutes and 11 seconds. That’s an average km pace of under 4 minutes, into the wind, the 20mph wind. Amazing! He was followed in 2nd place by Colin White in 1:49.

Paul Burchett finished in 3rd place in 1:56, just ahead of Martin Snape who once again did his best to sabotage his own race with an early fall. He dusted himself off and bravely completed the course in 1:58.

Manami Cheves was rewarded for her recent efforts in training as the first female across the line in 2:19. Has anyone seen her yet as the trophy still awaits? The Vets prizes were won by Kevin Blowers (2:06) and Sally Grainger (2:25) who appear to be getting quicker with each passing year.

A special mention to Mandy Robinson who is our first blind runner to complete the Pier to Pier course. A remarkable achievement and aided by Zak Horsley. Well done Mandy!

We should thank all the volunteers for making the race possible and sacrificing their warm beds to be in position nice and early to greet the runners and guide them safely along the route. Thanks. You too are amazing!

8 Hastings Runners made their own way to Eastbourne, but chose to run around the town and drive home again. Far more sensible if you ask me. It was of course the Eastbourne Half Marathon.  According to the results some chap called Simon Linlater (similar name to me) completed the course in 1:42:28. Patrick Bermingham 1:45:02 and Simon Weatherley made up our top 3 in 1:56:04.  James Graham light footed his way round in 2:16:43.

Shana Burchett was the first female HR to cross the line in 2:19:30, followed by Marie Appleton, Krista Barzee and Louise Weatherley, all completing the 13.1 miles in exactly the same time of 2:28:01.

16 miles wasn’t enough for everyone in the club. Jon Smalldon headed east to tackle the Lydd 20 and finished in a really good time of 3:13:45.

Charles Bowley called Jon’s 20 miles and raised him another 6 as he climbed over 3000 feet across the South Downs to tackle the Steyner Stringer Trail Marathon.

Will Withecombe headed out of East Sussex to tackle the Beckenham 5K, so I’m not really sure if that’s worth a mention? Given he crossed the line in 1st place, in true WW fashion, it would be rude not to include him. I’ve even added a photo too.

David Fairclough 1:51:44, Richard Cross 1:52:42 and Andrew Clubb 2:36:02 completed the Lydd Half on Sunday.

There were also park run milestones for Jacqueline Scott and Simon LinKlater who reached the 100 mark on Saturday.

Please if I have missed you out, let me know via email or messenger and I will update the report.

Pier to Pier Results

Another massive field for Sunday’s East Sussex Sunday Cross Country League fixture at Warren Hill, with 390 runners tackling the challenging 5 mile downland course in bright, sunny but blustery conditions.

A superb run by Hastings Runners Will Withecombe saw him finish just 13 secs behind the leader in an excellent time of 28.02, whilst veterans Darren Barzee and Martin Noakes both claimed top 40 placings in 32.05 and 32.07 respectively.

They were followed in by Kevin Blowers 35.15, Neil Jeffries 35.35, Claire Thomas 36.19, Simon Trevena 38.44, Susan Rae 39.48, Jane Coles 40.40, Manami Cheves 41.22, Paul Hope 43.27, Ruth Spiller 43.40, Jo Nevett 43.40, David Bratby 43.54, Piers Brunning 46.58, Trish Audis 48.12, Shana Burchett 49.26, Krista Barzee 49.29, Sarah Marzaioli 49.43, Yockie Richardson 50.36, Christine Sanderson 51.54, Jo Edwards 58.08.

Fielding 22 runners, Hastings Runners finished a very creditable 8th out of the 17 teams participating. With 4 races completed out of the 6 race series (best 4 scores to count), the club look set to claim their fair share of age category awards with Will currently lying 2nd in the men’s senior rankings; Martin leading the M55s with Kevin 4th; David 4th in M65s; Claire 5th in ladies seniors; Trish 2nd in F65s; Sarah, Christine and Yockie threatening a 1-2-3 in the F70s.

Meanwhile the Goodman brothers, Oliver and Finlay, who won the u11 and u15 races comfortably, put themselves in contention to win their respective categories provided that they produce similar performances in the remaining two fixtures.