Hastings road racers turn up the pace at Sussex Grand Prix opener

Competing in the Haywards Heath 10 Mile race – the opening contest of the series – Lewis Parsons, in the senior male age category, ran a very impressive personal best time of 1hr 3min 41sec.

His average pace of 6:22 per mile (3:57 per km) saw him placed 18th in a field of over 400 that was packed with quality. Among them were two HR stalwarts: Andy Lee who finished second in the MV65 age cat with a time of 1:14:35; and Sarah Marzaioli, winner of the FV75 cohort in 1:40:17.

The Haywards Heath race was one third of the annual Mid Sussex Marathon Weekend festival, which coincided with the Worthing Run-Fest, another multi-distance event which attracted seven Hastings Runners.

In the Half Marathon, MV40-44 Adam Weller was the club’s fastest, placed 29th in a field of 1,838 with a time of 1:25:30 despite the strong north-east wind. Also wearing the green and black of HR were MV35-39 Danny Firth (running a 1:27:10 PB) and MV60-64 Kevin Davis (1:42:29).

In the second event, the Worthing 10k, there were four Hastings Runners among 1,344 entrants. MV55-59 Michael Norris was the first of them over the line, third in his age cat with a PB time of 43:34. There were also strong showings by MV40-44 Col Turner (46:04), FV35-39 Nicki Steed (51:09) and FV40-44 Rachael Inns (53:39).

Finally, in the Three Forts Challenge meeting held at Lancing, Allison Tanner completed the Marathon in 6:07:37, and Jan Young ran the Half Marathon in 2:32:36.

- Places are still available for this year’s prestigious Hastings Five Mile race, organised by Hastings Runners and run from the Town Hall out and back along the seafront on Sunday, June 1. The flagship event, which raises funds for St Michael’s Hospice, can be entered online via register.enthuse.com

Hastings Runners welcome new members of all abilities aged 12 and over for fun, training and competitive running. Visit https://hastingsrunners.co.uk