London Marathon awaits Hastings star Sarah... virtually

Slowly but surely she began to tot up the marathons and the idea of achieving the unthinkable 100 became a real possibility.

Since that first appearance in the capital nearly 20 years ago, Marzaioli has completed 15 London Marathons - and 2020 was set to be a special year.

Not only would it have been her 16th time of crossing that famous finish line down The Mall, but it would have seen her join the 100 Marathon Club.

Sadly the race was postponed, but Marzaioli already had a back-up race planned. So while she didn’t have the experience of the fans cheering her home, she did reach the milestone of 100 marathons in The Moyleman, a memorial race over the South Downs and around Lewes.

Why stop there? Even with races cancelled Marzaioli is keen to continue her passion for running. On Sunday, she will take part in the Virtual London Marathon. She has plotted a route from Eastbourne to Rye to cover the 26.2 miles.

The course passes by the RNLI Lifeboat stations at Eastbourne, Hastings and Rye Harbour. Marzaioli is raising money for the RNLI by taking on the challenge.

If you are inspired by Marzaioli and want to donate go to uk.virginmoneygiving.com/giving/ and search for Sarah Marzaioli

HY RUNNERS

HY Runners sent four of their fastest athletes out for the Noble Pro MK 5k PB Special in Milton Keynes.

Despite the wind the times were fast, and the winning male time was 13.50. Second over the line was Adam Clarke (who has close links to HY) in 14.10.

The winning female time was 15.49.

HY Runners’ Gary Foster crossed in an incredibly fast 15.14 – a PB for him putting him in 39th position.

He said: “It was a tactical race, the wind meant no-one wanted to be out front.”

David Ervine ran a PB (16.55) as did Benji Symes in 18.52.

Symes said: “It was a great experience running in a top race with top level athletes.”

Stacey Clusker didn’t have the best race as the strong headwind caused her some breathing issues.

Nevertheless, she hung in there and got the job done in 19.03.

HASTINGS AC

Two up-and-coming young athletes from Hastings Athletic Club competed at the Blackheath and Bromley Open meet at Norman Park athletics track.

This was Becky Smart and Rae Le Fay’s first race of the season and their commitment to training over lockdown paid dividends with Smart running the 800m in 2.23 and Le Fay running the 1500m in 4.59 - a PB for the U15 talent.

Hastings AC meet on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and Sunday mornings at Ark Alexandra Academy athletics track in Hastings.

The club was founded in 1964 and has a solid track record of producing international athletes across track and field and road running disciplines.

All abilities aged from eight upwards are warmly welcomed.

For more information please visit www.hastingsathleticclub.co.uk