The famous faces of Chichester Runners – as club celebrates 40th birthday

That can be seen from joggers you see pounding the streets and the parkrun brigade who do the wekly 5ks.

Fun runners can find themselves lining up with Olympic medallists and pop stars – or at least they can if the history of Chichester Runners is anything to go by.

As the club celebrate their 40th anniversary, here are some of the famous names who have been members or taken part in their events…

The 1960s pop idol

During his first appearance at Chichester Festival Theatre in the 1980s, 1960s pop star Mark Wynter started running with the club when his schedule allowed. Keeping himself fit for his demanding musical roles, the “Venus in Blue Jeans” star proved himself no mean runner over half marathons.

Premier League player

Footballer Joel Ward – who played for Pompey and has since had 12 years at Crystal Palace – was a useful middle distance runner in his early teens and combined his commitments as an academy footballer with appearances for Chichester’s junior teams in cross country and track running as well, as being a very good javelin thrower.

Lightning Lioness

Current England Red Roses ruby union star Jess Breach was a fine multi- eventer in her time with Chi Runners. Running in sprints and hurdles, she could also be relied on to jump well and if needed for the team and throw a decent shot. A brace of tries as recently as last Saturday against France shows she has not lost her strength or speed.

Tri-umphant tri-er

Harry Leleu travels the world mixing it with some of the best triathletes in a quest to gain world ranking points and is still improving after a decade near the top of his sport. He has competed for the club at all ages from under-13 upwards and still dons the Chichester vest when his busy schedule permits. Harry is a close friend of Paris Olympic Champion Alex Yee, having come through the national junior ranks together and sharing a house along the way.

Relay king

Returning from Paris with a bronze medal as part of GB’s 4x400m squad, Toby Harries has become a reliable member of the national relay set-up. His athletics career started at Westbourne House School and he was introduced to Chichester’s junior squad as a promising sprinter. A move to Brighton conincided with a number of years with rugby as his main sport before rediscovering his love for athletics in his late teens and going on to the very top level.

Corporate

Challenge stars

Attracting serious and fun runners alike, this Chichester event’s three record holders have all made their mark on the international stage. In the very first year in 1992 it was Olympic steeplechaser Tom Buckner who was the first runner to cover the 4500m course in under 13 minutes before Commonwealty 1500m champion Michael East scorched round in 12min 39sec in 2008. This stood until American doctor Chris Zablocki took a second off in 2016. Zara Hyde – a GB international – holds the women’s event record from 1996 in 14.15.