Hastings athletes set fast pace

Three of Hastings Athletic Club's young talents at the Withdean Stadium - Evie Clements, Maya Ramnarine and Harmony Cooper.

Hastings Athletic Club members have produced yet more fine performances over the last 10 days.

Athletes from the local club were in splendid form at a British Milers’ Club event in Brighton and in the gruelling South Downs Way 100 Miles Relay.

Virtually all of the Hastings AC competitors in the middle distance event at the Withdean Stadium clocked personal best times, some of them by quite a margin.

Under-17 athlete Harmony Cooper ran a big PB of 4:45 in the 1,500m, while under-15 Maya Ramnarine knocked 10 seconds off her PB for the same distance with 4:50. Another under-15, Erika Body, ran a PB of 5:00.

Hastings Athletic Club's men's team at the South Downs Way 100 Miles Relay.

Under-17 talent George Pool won the 1,500m B race in a new PB and English Schools’ Championships qualifying time of 4:04. Although up against a strong field, Pool took off with 600m to go and was a clear winner.

Gary Foster knocked another six seconds off a 3,000m PB set only recently with a strong run of 8:46, while Stacey Clusker smashed her PB for the same distance by 30 seconds in 10:20. Adam Morrissy clocked a PB of 2:31 in winning his 800m race.

Ross Skelton, from St Leonards but representing Brighton Phoenix, ran a nine-second PB of 1:55 in a very strong 800m field.

The club then fielded two teams in last weekend’s South Downs Way event, a very hilly off-road race from Eastbourne to Winchester in which the six runners in a team each complete three of the 18 legs.

The men’s team of Dan Anderson, Rhys Boorman, Marcos Miranda, Zac Fawcett, Tom Hilder and Phil Handrihan finished in 11 hours and 23 minutes.

The ladies’ team of Riz Maslen, Frances Burnham, Rosy Clements, Caitlin Millar, Claire Burnham and Karen Murdoch completed the course in 13:38.