Hailsham Harriers enjoy marathon adventures - locally and internationally

With warm New England weather for the morning of this point-to-point race, Maria raced to an impressive 3:30:41, picking up the historic unicorn shaped medal.

Last Sunday, the London Marathon celebrated the record for the largest marathon in the world with an enormous field of 56,000 runners enjoying the superb race atmosphere, tropical weather and the sights of an incredible city.

Eight Harriers proudly stood on the start-line at Blackheath, some for the first time and some raising funds for charity. For two of Hailsham’s legendary Harriers, Peter Daws celebrated his incredible 26th London marathon in 5:38:47 while Lady Frances Delves, celebrated her 19th in a time of 5:06:51.

Both Frances and Pete represent the 70-74 age category and have both been life-long members of Hailsham Harriers.

Hailsham’s club chairman, Andy Ruffell, who ran to raise funds for Dementia UK in memory of his late father, stood proudly on the historic start-line on what was an emotional day. He crossed the line in 4:47:48 and said: “I knew I would cry and I did. It to me is one of the most special days of any year. So much effort and achievement on display. A day which is a true celebration of humanity.”

Abigail Morris led the Harriers team home in a fabulous time of 4:02:07, her first London Marathon experience, along with Mark Pope 4:09:30, Andrew Moore 4:29:01 and Ros Thomson 5:52:18 who won the club’s ballot last year for the place.

For one of Hailsham’s newest recruits, Sophie Forbes, London was her very first marathon. After months of hard work and determination, Sophie, cheered on by her best friend and teammate Wendy Pike, finished in an impressive 5:37:39.

Joining the virtual London marathon where athletes decide on their own route and complete the miles on the same day, but in their own time, were Kirstie Groves, 6:29:28, who travelled to London for midnight with local running neighbours Run Wednesdays to run the route in reverse, and Kaz Chapman 5:28:09.

Harriers’ husband and wife team Kevin and Jayne Morris enjoyed an electric atmosphere at the Manchester Marathon. The couple ran the entire way together finishing in a superb 5:42:39.

Closer to home and taking on the Garmin Trail Running marathon in the New Forest, Hailsham’s Claire Keith stormed around the undulating course to finish first female overall in 3:33:36.

Claire, who is raising money for Prostate Cancer, has taken on the challenge of running 160 miles in April which has included two marathons, the Southampton Marathon being her first race. With just 12 miles remaining, Claire said: ‘This one was for you dad... day off running tomorrow but back on it on Tuesday to complete my challenge’.

By the time you are reading this, Claire will have completed her challenge and raised close to £1,000 for the charity.

On Saturday, May 10, the Harriers look forward to the graduation of their 2025 Couch to 5K recruits.

To find out more about joining Hailsham Harriers, head to their website hailsham-harriers.org.uk