With the sun shining by the sea, Hailsham’s Samantha Neame joined four thousand entrants to run the Brighton & Hove 10K. Crossing the line in 55:35, she then joined fellow team mates along the seafront to cheer on the twelve strong Harriers team racing in the Brighton marathon alongside twelve thousand runners.
Leading the way for Hailsham in the marathon saw run leader, Adam Davies, race to a new personal best time of 3:00:09, followed by a strong performance by men’s captain Carl Barton in 3:12:46 and fellow team mate Michael Husarz running a new personal best in 3:23:43. Hailsham’s Alice Denning, taking part in her first ever road marathon, stormed across the line with friend and fellow Harrier Dave Garratt in an impressive 3:25:27. Sarah Day enjoyed a perfect day by the sea, shaving off a huge twenty minutes from her first marathon at Malaga in December last year, running a new personal best of 3:29:46. Katy Reed made Brighton her first ever marathon racing to a sensational time of 3:50:10 whilst Jo McGowan ran a new personal best time of 3:51:06. Niki Ward-Smith, also running her first ever marathon sailed to the finish in a mighty impressive 5:09:20.
On the same Sunday along the coast and up onto the South Downs, seven Harriers took part in the UK Ultra inaugural Springtide 50K event. Traversing the challenging hills and multi-terrain course on a beautiful day with stunning views, Mark Bassett flew over the line leading the way for Hailsham Harriers and running a new personal best in 5:52:16, followed by Chris Little 6:33:53, Oli Paterson in his first ultra marathon 6:33:53, Victoria Little 8:04:08, Michelle Hollands 8:04:08 and Julie Lewis-Clements 8:34:50 all running new 50K ultra marathon personal bests.
Claire Keith headed to Southampton on Sunday 6th April to join 1300 entrants for the Southampton marathon. Claire, who is running two marathons this month to raise funds for Prostate Cancer, finished in 3:37:53. She will be running the New Forest marathon on Sunday April 27th
At The London Landmarks Half Marathon, Harriers and best friends, Claire Hope and Lou Lou Williams enjoyed the magical sights of The Gherkin, The Walkie Talkie, Buckingham Palace and Big Ben as they raced the 13.1 mile distance around the city. Crossing the line hand in hand Claire and Lou Lou finished all smiles in 2:22:58.
And finally on Sunday 13th April by the coast at the Martello Seaford Half Marathon, seven Harriers enjoyed the sunshine and windy conditions. First Harrier home saw Matt Southam finish fifth overall in 1:27:39 whilst Claire Keith finished 17th overall, taking the win for the ladies in 1:36:51 - an impressive performance after running a marathon just the weekend before. Two of Hailsham’s newest recruits made this their debut race in Harriers colours with Matt Courtnell crossing the line in 1:46:32 and Ryan West finishing in 1:50:41. Hot on their heels saw Leeland Pavey finish in 1:58:03 with Mark and Steph Bassett completing the Harriers strong team, finishing together in 2:00:36.
Hailsham Harriers would like to thank the organisers of the Brighton Marathon, The London Landmarks Half, The Southampton Marathon, UK Ultra events team and our running neighbours at Seaford Striders for five superbly organised events.
We wish all those heading to The Boston USA marathon this weekend and the London Marathon on April 27th the very best of luck.
Hailsham Harriers are a friendly running club for juniors and seniors. We welcome all abilities and meet every week throughout the year. For more information visit hailsham-harriers.org.uk.
