Course record brings thrilling Challenge series to a fitting end
Phil Baker
See video from the final Corporate Challenge race night at www.chichester.co.uk
The 25th year of the chichester Corporate Challenge Road Race series finished in grand style with one junior record and the senior record falling by the narrowest of margins.
Conditions were ideal for fast times and many personal bests were set over the flat city centre course.
Primary schools
Repeating their good form in previous races Joe Mclarnon from North Mundham and Cameron Walker-powell from Mayville High led home the Year 6 runners with the two fastest times this year – 4.38 and 4.39 – with Sam Corbett of Jessie Younghusband a few secondary schools’ individual races with only Charlotte Bullard from Chichester High School in the Year 8 race preventing all four victories going across the border.
Eloise O’neill was again dominant in the Year 7 contest with Anya Pigden again too good for the Year 10 runners.
In the Year 9 event, Ellie Farrow (Warblington) turned the tables on Mia Billins (Portsmouth High) to set the fastest time of the day, 7.02 for the 2,100m course.
The fastest team came from Midhurst Rother’s Year 8s – fine packing from Lily de Lacy, Ella Howard and Ellajane Creasy gave them more than a minute advantage over the Bishop Luffa Years 9/10 winning team of Holly Heffron, Amber Dodd and team to victory while Ethan Fincham from Angmering was impressive in winning the Year 9 boys’ race.
Surrey’s Blamey twins from Rodborough School repeated their success in the Year 8 race with Liam Dunne a fine third while Josh Fawcett just pipped Douglas Smith in the Year 7 race, with both boys given the time of 7.16 for the three laps.
Fawcett led Portsmouth Grammar to a two-second win over Midhurst Rother, led by Oban Cunningham, while good packing from Tom Davy, Joe Careswell and Elliott Millman gave them a big win in the Year 8 race.
Seniors
There’s been new interest this year in the A race, such has been the quality of the fields.
Our coverage of the final race of 2016, when doctor Chris Zablocki took a second off the course record