Hastings athletes get a move on across the south - and north

Hastings Runners were out in force again last weekend.
Hastings Runners at their latest club championship eventHastings Runners at their latest club championship event
Hastings Runners at their latest club championship event

Up and down the country the green and black vests were worn with pride. In Tonbridge came the return of the Half Marathon, part of Club Championship, with crucial points up for grabs.

Kevin Blowers snatched the whole 200 on offer with a sensational performance.

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Tonbridge brings 195m of elevation but Kevin smashed his PB to cross the line in a fantastic time of 1:36:21, sevenminutes quicker than his previous best over 13.1 miles.

Helen Rothermel, Kate Lewis and Kevin Wilkes of Heart and SoleHelen Rothermel, Kate Lewis and Kevin Wilkes of Heart and Sole
Helen Rothermel, Kate Lewis and Kevin Wilkes of Heart and Sole

Manami Cheves was also in PB mood. She ran 1:44:10, and much to her amazement, landed first place in the FV55 category. Simon Weatherley continued his excellent recent form with a PB.crossing the line in 1:48:51.

Also in attendance were John Simcox (2nd HR home 1:41:39), new member Robert Gagyi (1:54:39), Charles Bowley (1:57:21), Marie Crawford (2:05:28), Sarah Marzaioli (2:11:38), Joe Cruttenden and Louise Cavill (2:36:57).

Thirty minutes up the road, Matt Edmonds, Will Withecombe and Simon Linklater were competing in the superbly organised and well attended (over 750 runners) Petts Wood 10k, a mixture of road and trails provided a challenging route, with excellent support throughout.

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Matt produced a scintillating performance to cross in third place in a time of 35 minutes. He was shortly followed by Will Withecombe (36.32) in sixth place. Simon Linklater came home in 79th position in a time of 45:28.

Manchester staged its big marathon and five Hastings Runners made the trip

north and had plenty of success.

Jakuk Kucharski completed the 26.2 miles in 3:46:10. Improving Ben Brett was rewarded for his dedication in training with a new marathon PB of 4:15:22. Lucy Brett notched up marathon number two and a new PB in 6:11:12.

Jess Tanner raised over £1200 for the charity BEAT and ran alongside mum Alison. They finished in 7:08:58 and 7:09 respectively.

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James Graham did it bare-footed and came home in 5:15:12. Catherine Southgate completed her first half marathon in 2:44:38.

Back down south, four runners were in action at Brighton Half Marathon. Nicola Steed smashed her previous best over 13.1 miles to come home in a superb 1:43:19. Matt Beaver (1:51:03), Keith Goodsall (1:57:53) and Sarah Holmes (2:13:47) were also in action in Brighton.

The Royal Parks Half Marathon in London attracted Marie Appleton who ran a very respectable 2:17:20. Chris Weeks finished the race in 2:14:42.

The latest staging of the Race 4 Life in Alexandra Park, Hastings, saw Chris White do the 10k and was very happy with his time of 1:10. Jacqueline Scott completed the 5k in 28:40.

HEART & SOLE

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There have been some fine marathon and half marathon times recorded by the Heart & Sole run group over the past two weekends.

Six runners took part in the Virtual London Marathon, running 26.2 miles around Hastings.

Linda Young, Sally Dann and Donna Gardner finished their route in 6:26.57 while Kate Lewis ,who was supported by Helen Rothermel and Kevin Wilkes, finished the marathon distance in 5:34.38.

This was followed by a weekend of half marathons with Gavin Bailey finishing the Tonbridge half marathon in 1.30.

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Nick Thompson and Helen Rothermel took park in the Royal Parks Half 2:42.05 and 2:15.50 respectively.

Tracy Watts was unable to make the Royal Parks marathon but completed her own half marathon around Hastings with the support of other team members in 2:24.34, raising £200 for ‘Happy Days Childrens Charity’.

Claire Moor also took part in Race for life.

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