30 is the magic number as city race series ends
Corporate Challenge event
There was a certain symmetry in this year’s Corporate Challenge road races in that the 30th edition of the event came to its conclusion on the March 30.
Since 1992 nearly 50,000 runners have crossed the finish line on 89 race nights, the missingoneasaresultofthefirst Covid lockdown in March 2020.
Thankfully there were no interruptions this year, and the runners were greeted with a fine evening last Wednesday. Senior A & B races
There was another fine display of front running by a young athlete who is making his mark in the senior ranks.
On this occasion it was Jacob O’Hara who showed a clean pair of heels to the rest of the field from the first lap.
The Hampshire-based runner had shown fine form with a fine 33rd place in the recent UK Inter Counties Cross
Country championships and showed this form around the streets of Chichester with a finishing time of 13min 1sec.
While not as fast as Ned Potter’s superb 12.46 set two weeks previously, O’Hara’s time places him in the all-time top 10 since 1992.
With 18 year-old Cameron Walker-Powell having won race one in early March, the average age of the three men’s winners at just 20 years is the youngest in the history of the race.
Local favourite James Baker snatched third place from Walker-Powell this time.
There were no surprises in the women’s race with Cassie Thorp winning and a fine 16th overall in a very good time of 14.49 for the 4500m senior course.
Newcomer Jessie Lutwyche of Birchfield Harriers was followed by Eleanor Harrison, making it a clean sweep for the Solent MD team.
There was a fierce battle among the men’s and mixed sports teams with Team Purser getting the better of Solent MD with both teams well under the hour for their aggregate four times.
Team Purser made it a double by edging out Chichester Casuals in the women’s team competition.
In the corporate team standings, there was another celebration for the Hampshire ased Dstl squad. They once again sawoffachallengefromBottrill’s Flyers and Cowdray. However Cowdray turned the tables in the women’s event with another win over NM Fundamentals. Primary races
The evening’s activity started with the primary schools races and it was once again Horndean runner Toby Baker who led the Year 6 boys home with a fast time of 4.39, less than 10 seconds outside the course record.
Max Gayle from Kingsham had his fastest race of the series in second just in front of Luca Di Giovanni from Herne.
Jonah Tildesley from St Swithins won the Year 5 race in front of Levi Pearce from The
March. Third-placed Sebastian King from Oakwood led his team to a half-minute advantage over Kingsham with Parklands in third.
Freya Briggs from Highbury once again flew round the 1400m course to win the Year 6 girls’ race in from of Daisy Hillyer from Westbourne and Bethany Adams from Bosham.
There was a Walberton & Binsted clean sweep in the Year 5 race with Bella Hollands followed home by twin sister
Mia and Maya Stair.
Theydidwelltofinishsecond inthecombinedYears5&6team race behind Oakwood with Westbourne Primary in third. Secondary schools races While there were some fine individual performances in the secondary schools races, event organisers were disappointed with the smaller size of the fields and hope that in 2023 more pupils will run.
But the crowd was treated to an impressive display from
Mayfield’s Florence East whose time of 6.38 is one of the fastest on record.
Laila Hellyer from Chichester Free School pipped Penny Worthy from Meoncross to complete the top three in the Years 9 & 10 age group.
Former primary winner Poppy Taylor was followed in the Year 7 & 8 age group by Molly Smithers from Chichester High School and Elodie Hill, who led Bishop Luffa to a win over Midhurst Rother.
There were three different schools represented at the head of the boys’ four-lap Yr 9 & 10 race with Josh Dunne from Bohunt leading the field home from Onjoro Sumba from Oaklands and Ben Ward from DitchamPark,withBishopLuffa dominating the team race.
Midhurst Rother pair William Allen and Grant Elmes ledtheYear8runnershomeover their 3 lap 2100 metres course with Ben Stewart next home as first year 7 to finish.