Harriers run hearts out in fun run league
Haywards Heath Harriers were fully involved when Crawley Run Crew hosted their Run Your Heart Out 8k endurance run. It was the second run of the season in the West Sussex Fun Run League calendar, taking place in Tilgate Forest and park over an multi-terrain course.
The league contains 17 athletics clubs around Sussex with each hosting one event over the year. This equates to 17 races over 85 miles. Run Your Heart Out was Crawley Run Crew’s inaugural run in the league and what a run they had planned.
Starting from K2 Leisure Centre the route went around the 400m track, along the side of the car park into the forest, winding around the forest before taking a turn into Crawley Park heading past the Tilgate Nature Centre and towards the Smith & Western tavern.
Running downhill, athletes did a three-quarter run of the lake before being sent back via the forest to the second lake. This led to the last stretch home around the forest before one last lap of K2’s 400m track.
The course has something for everybody and some real challenges.
Haywards Heath Harriers had some star performances with Andy Hind, Dave Warren and Jack Chivers chasing down the frontrunners and completing the course in a great time. This was the first event run by Caroline Gumm who had an excellent run and achieved her PB for 8k.
Results: 1st Mike Houston 28:13, Chichester Runners; 2nd Lian Briscoe, 28:57, Fittleworth Flyers; 3rd Michael Daly 29:13, Horsham Joggers.
Haywards Heath Harriers results: Andy Hind, 32:09; Dave Warren 35:45; Jack Chivers 38:58; Abigail Redd 39:22; James Smyth 39:37; Eric Hepburn 40:35; Bill Whitehead 44:35; Katherine Buckeridge 45:46; Marion Hemsworth 47:13; Michael Parish 48:54; Carys Hind 49:11; Hugh Stevenage
54:13; Caroline Gumm 55:01; Richard Bates 57:24; Rupert Purchase 01:02:58.
Elsewhere, Harriers were busy in other events.
James Bennett ran in the Tunbridge Wells Half Marathon on Sunday, finishing in 109th position in a time of 1hr 36min 9sec.
Kim Lo ran in the Marriott’s Way Trail Half. She finished in a time of 1hr 45mins.
Last Saturday parkrunners turned up for the normal free run on a Saturday morning at Clair Park, Haywards Heath.
What many did not know was that, at some point during the parkrun, the 50,000th finisher at Clair Park would cross the line. That special person, finishing in 47th position, was Noel Jennings. Clair parkrun has been part of Clair Park since the first parkrun was completed on July 20, 2013.
The ever-improving Abby Redd improved her best parkrun time to 21.44 at Preston Park parkrun. In Brighton and Hove parkrun in 38th place was Graham Hart in 19.48.