Seven on of the 12 Striders who took on the Hastings 5
By Hilary Humphreys
Over 500 runners gathered for the 12th anniversary of the Hastings Runners 5 Mile Keith Chandler on 7 May, named after a well-loved Hastings runner who lost his battle with cancer in 2005 and where fittingly, proceeds are donated to St. Michael’s Hospice.
The race is a flat, fast course, starting and finishing in front of the Town Hall, incorporating most of the Hastings and St. Leonards sea front and is completely traffic free. On the face of it, such a straightforward out-and-back route would appear run of the mill, but with or without the sun the Hastings spectators are always generous with their support, giving the race an authentic seaside atmosphere.
Being a shorter distance than most of the Grand Prix races, there is a temptation to go out quickly and attempt to maintain that pace. As a result, runners are often out looking for a PB (personal best) and the Striders did not disappoint.
The fast and flat course saw Josh Guilmant (Brighton Phoenix) win in a time of 26.10; with Arena 80AC taking the honours for the first female in the form of Maisie Stafford in 30:16.
Headline grabbers for the Striders, with PBs all round, were Joel Eaton, who made it look easy in a time of 28:43, and Simon Fletcher in an equally imposing 29:18, impressive coming on the back of London. Completing the trio of front-runners was Ed Tuckley in another notable time of 30:36.
Next and leading a second Striders group, came Luke Borland, who’s in a rich vein of form and achieved another PB in 31:14. He was followed by close friends Dave Freeman and Ben Shorer, both recent additions to the club, who are both improving on a daily basis and constantly vying to be ahead of the other. On this occasion, Dave took the honour, finishing in an impressive 34:50 with Ben close on his heels in 35:32.
Next it was the turn of the women, with Emily Eaton coming home in 35:42 and Anna Norman in 39:04, another PD time. Peter Weeks finished hard on Anna’s heels in 39:19. Then it was the turn of Sue Garner to cross the line, first in her age group with 40:37, doubly impressive following on from the London Marathon.
Finishing off the interest as far as the Striders were concerned were Hilary Humphreys in a PB time of 41:11 and Emma Goodwin, who was racing for the first time over this distance and managed a fantastic sprint finish overtake to come home in 45:51.
Congrats to all!