Running by torchlight

Athletics

Several Ashford & District Road Running club members took part in an event with a difference when they competed in the Moonlight Challenge on Saturday night.

Run around farm tracks on a mixture of challenging surfaces in Reculver, the runners set off at 6pm to complete various distances from half marathon to ultra distances in darkness, running with the help of their head torches.

Completing the ultra distance, Anthony Brown finished second in a time of 5hours 32minutes and he was followed, in third, by Darren Santer (5:42).

Helen Weeden clocked 7:47, and Eddie Rodger 7:48, while in the 26.2-mile race, Steve Hickman, completing his 124th marathon, ran 5:31.21. Rhian Shrimplin completed the half marathon distance in a time of 2:11.

Jon Wells was first home for the club in Sunday’s Tenterden 5-mile road race.

Wells ran 32.16 to finish 16th, while Christine Costiff continued her impressive form with a time of 35.36 – good enough to make her third lady and leading female vet-50.

Just behind her was clubmate Gill Pragnell whose time of 36.20 made her fifth lady and first female vet-45.

Nigel Costiff finished in 42.18 and Anne Healy ran well in her first race for the club, recording a time of 46.34.

The course was run along the quiet lanes of Wittersham and the field had to contend with both hills and wind.

Sunday saw two of the club’s runners complete one of the more unusually named marathons – the Good, the Bad and the Ugly marathon.

Run along the cycle path at the Betteshanger Country Park, the runners completed 13 laps in blustery conditions with Amanda Bashford, in her 46th marathon, running 4:58.54 and Jeremy Chambers coming home in 5:53.44.