By Hilary Humphreys
Strider Josh Rudd leads the field at the start of the race
Whilst the Eastbourne Half is not on the same scale as that held last week in Brighton, it always draws a good entry. This year was no exception with over 1,100 runners braving early morning downpours. Thankfully the weather forecast promised clearing skies by the 10am start time and the weather gods were listening! However, the strong winds did not abate and the Seaford Striders were out in force to do battle with 16 runners.
Following the start/finish at Princes Park the route headed west along King Edwards Parade to the Meads and the notable climb up Beachy Head Road. It comes as no surprise to those familiar with the gradient that this is where the conversation ends and the serious lung capacity testing starts. Next, it’s down the equally steep hill back to the seafront, utilising the Upper Promenade and along to the seemingly endless, stamina sapping, tour around Sovereign Harbour, (9-11 miles) before the final dash along the seafront and into Princes Park, making this a race that tests even the most seasoned of runners.
This year’s winning Strider and 8th overall, with a superb performance, was Josh Rudd in a course PB of 1:22:18; heading home Gareth Hutchinson, third in his age group in 1:26:34 and an ever-improving Scott Hitchcock in another course PB of 1:27:04. Close on his heels was Dave Dunstall, who was second in his age group in 1:29:27 and Luke Borland who knocked over 3 minutes off last years’ time to achieve another course PB of 1:30:28.
Other strong performances were given by Jim Stephenson, 1:31:37; Billy Moakes, 1:31:51 and Ed Tuckley, 1:34:36 making a grand total of eight Striders to cross the half marathon line in under 1 hour 35 mins, an achievement at any time but notable given the adverse weather conditions.
Other runners who always deliver and who certainly didn’t disappoint on the day were Phil Robinson 1:41:16 and first female Strider Claire Keith in 1:43:58. Certainly not hanging around was Ben Shorer, 1:48:13 and Richard Honeyman who picked up his pace to ensure making it a sub 2 hour race, finishing in a time of 1:59:03.
Next to cross the line was Hilary Humphreys, who was pleased to return to this distance after an absence of 2 years, with an improved time of 2:03:38, giving her 2nd place in her age group. She was followed by strong performances from Emma Goodwin, 2:17:22, Stacy Bennett, 2:28:58 and Trevor Jones, 2:21:33. Worthy of note was that five of the above runners had run the same distance at Brighton only one week earlier – an amazing achievement!