Bognor and Chichester athletes roar to road-race success

Bognor Tone Zone runners raced almost 600 miles between them over one weekend.
Tone Zone Runners at BrightonTone Zone Runners at Brighton
Tone Zone Runners at Brighton

The big one was the Brighton Half Marathon, where perfect conditions greeted the 40 TZ runners who lined up for the start in Madeira Drive.

Among them were six runners competing in their first half-marathons for the club and themselves.

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Many from the club are currently halfway through their marathon training for London or Brighton in April so this was a good test to see how they’re shaping up for the ultimate running distance. Thirteen members achieved personal bests.

Four runners competed in the extremely tough and aptly-named Heartbreaker Marathon with Simon Bodsworth the first of those runners in a great time of 3hr 38min.

Tone Zone times: Brighton Half Marathon - Peter Lee 1.20.40 PB; Danny Mahoney 1.27.30; Chris Gallagher 1.33.48 PB; Sy Daymond 1.34.19; Neil Strudwick 1.34.39 PB; Nina Baldwinson 1.35.20 PB; Gary Pidgeon 1.35.36 PB; Duncan Stephenson-Gill 1.35.46; Ian Bayley 1.36.06 PB; Keith Hardwell 1.36.45; Anne Kari Enes 1.37.36; Tony Holcombe 1.38.30; Gary Mitchell 1.38.47 PB; David Skidmore 1.39.22 PB; Mark Williamson 1.41.24; Carolyn Stapely 1.42.27; Kate O’Connor 1.43.39; Jessica Thomson 1.45.40 PB; Daryl Fairbrother 1.48.25; Neil Borley 1.48.30 PB; Adam Norgett 1.51.28 PB; Jackie Williamson 1.52.10 PB; Daniel Hughes 1.55.53; Sarah Santer 1.55.57; Stuart Thomson 1.58.32; Sarah Stothard 2.00.49 PB; Felicity Paton 2.02.13;

Natalie King 2.03.20; Mark Edwards 2.06.24; Claire Baker 2.07.44; Michelle Miles 2.10.48; Andy Miles 2.10.48; Carl Bryant 2.10.48; Amanda Shepheard 2.15.20; Benita Milton 2.15.49; Michelle Maxim 2.24.22; Paul Wells 2.25.43; Carole Mulry 2.26.13; Jacqui Salt 2.37.10; Moggs Glendenning 3.15.04.

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Heartbreaker Marathon: Simon Bodsworth 3.36.22; Paul Coe 3.59.36; Andy Mair 4.05.57; Joan Woolley 5.22.47.

Priory Park 10k: Peter Chittenden 1.43.22.

Rowans 10k Trail Race: Denis McLinden 59.13; Peter Chittenden 1.34.41.

The past weekend was another busy one for Tone Zone.

In the Selsey 10k, 22 members lined up for the start. Natalie King, Neil Strudwick and Nina Baldwinson managed personal bests with Baldwinson sixth female home.

Paul Coe had a busy weekend competing in two marathons. On Saturday he ran the Phoenix Spring Marathon in an impressive time of 3.41.17 and on Sunday it was the tough Steyning Stinger Marathon. Conditions were extremely muddy and hilly but Coe managed 4.49.24.

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Selsey 10k: Paul Jarvis 42.41; Duncan Stephenson-Gill 43.04; Nina Baldwinson 43.34; Neil Strudwick 43.40; Mark Warwick 45.19; Jessica Thomson 47.56; James Savage 48.32; Andy Miles 48.50; Carl Bryant 49.19; Stuart Thomson 52.11; Paul Stevenson 53.05; Michael Stead 53.12; Daniel Hughes 53.37; Denise Moznabi 53.46; Christine Rounds 54.11; Natalie King 54.13; Garry Gaskin 54.48; Helena Wilmers 56.35; Bogumila Skladanek 59.52; Michelle Miles 1.09.48; Nicola Kettley 1.09.48; Peter Chittenden 1.35.57. Phoenix Spring Marathon: Paul Coe 3.41.17. Steyning Stinger Marathon: Simon Bodsworth 4.23.29; Paul Coe 4.49.24. Steyning Stinger Half Marathon: Felicity Paton 2.30.15; Judith Bazeley 2.47.10; Jade Fish 2.48.51.

Chichester Runners have also been well-represented in recent road races.

In the field of more than 300 in the Selsey 10k, they had 30 runners competing and provided the overall winner, top team and several age group winners.

Ever-consistent James Baker added to his already impressive total of 600-plus race wins with another fine performance to break the tape in 33min 35sec, beating off the challenge of perennial rival Julian Manning from Denmead by 24 seconds – with the rest of the field some two minutes further back.

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Also making the top dozen were veteran Andy Nicholson in tenth and Mikey Neville in 12th. Leading the next batch of Chichester athletes was Ivan Prince in 22nd, just behind local resident Aaron Smith who scooped the under-20 award.

Jane Harrop was Chichester’s first woman home in 24th overall and fourth in the women’s race and an easy winner of her over-55 age category in a time of 40.20.

Other finishers: 25th Keith Akerman 40.20, 30th Nick Palmer 40.47, 35th Gary Williams 41.58, 37th Andrew Wingham 42.21, 48th Tom Newberry 43.28, 54th Graham Woodward 44.24, 56th Ashley Spratt 44.46, 63rd David Pike 45.22, 78th Polly Neville 46.23, 89th Kim Nelson 47.33, 106th Helen Dean (1st over 60) 48.28, 123rd Jack Harrington 49.30, 136th Emma Newberry 50.40, 141st Andy Harrop 51.32, 190th Rachel Ballard 55.23, 192nd Sue Baker (2nd v60) 55.33, 228th Carla Wood 58.16, 235th Sandra Nemorin-Noel 58.51, 239th Carol Palmer (1st v65) 58.50, 259th Sonsoles Acosta 60.13, 271st Jennifer Harland-Jones 61.18, 303rd Claire Solliss 66.38, 308th Lynette Woodward 67.30.

Meanwhile two of Chichester’s top senior road runners lined up with more 3,000 competitors at the recent Brighton Half Marathon and were rewarded with top-five finishes.

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Chris Zablocki claimed a second place at Brighton, albeit more than three minutes behind winner Paul Martelletti, whose time of 64.53 is the fastest seen by a UK athlete in England so far this season.

Zablocki clocked 68.20 while next home for Chichester was Jo Corbett in a personal best of 69.21, which ranks him 30th in the UK senior table at this early stage in the season.

With the fine form of Peter Concannon and James Baker plus the under-20s Harry Leleu and James McKenzie, Chichester senior team for the Sussex road-relay championships on April 9 in Horsham could be their best for many years.

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