Horsham Joggers a wow at Windlesham – and aim to be explosive in Gunpowder race

The race, hosted by Worthing Harriers for the first time since 2019, features a long, steady climb up 128 meters for two-and-a-half miles on to the top of the South Downs before turning back down for a steep and winding slope to the finish back at Windlesham School.

On the day the runners were greeted with beautiful clear blue skies which made a welcome change to Saturday’s heavy rain from Storm Babet.

Runners made the most of it with smiling faces all round and fantastic views from the Amex in Brighton to Lieth Hill in Surrey were reported to have been seen.

The official results for this race have yet to be released, but with three runners finishing in the top 10, Horsham Joggers will be hoping for another strong finish.

The release of the results from last WSFRL race, the Great Walstead 5 at Walstead School in Burgess Hill, mean that Horsham Joggers remain on top with 1,317 points.

That's 70 ahead of the team in second place and last year’s runners-up Chichester Runners.

The points system in the WSFRL is based on a mixture of participation points and the position of the team’s runners.

Each runner a team fields gains one point up to a maximum of 25 points.

While the team’s position points are based on the decile the team's top 10 finishers finish in, if a team's top 10 runners all finish in the top 10 per cent of male or female runners then the team gains maximum points of 100 – that’s 10 per runner.

While results from the Windlesham House four-mile race are yet to be released, final results from the Walstead 5 have now been released with Horsham Joggers, scoring 119 out of a maximum 125 points, extending their lead over second-placed team Chichester Runners, with 112 points.

Stand-out performances came from Michael Daly storming home in first position in a time of 32min 24sec, impressive given the hilly and technical nature of the five-mile long course.

The first female finisher was Rosie Gasson from Fittleworth Flyers, finishing in 38.00.

Other strong finishers include Natalie Haarer from Chichester Runners and Kirsty Philpot from Burgess Hill Runners, finishing as second and third females.

For the men Mikeey Kwoka from Chichester Runners and Simon Perkins from Horsham Joggers finished second and third respectively.

With this great result and another strong performance behind them, Horsham Joggers are looking forward to the final WSFRL race of the season – the Joggers’ own home race, the Gunpowder Trott on Sunday, November 5.