Woon Wins In Worthing

Trotters hit the road at the weekend with events in city, coast and country locations.

Not for the first time, Jacki Woon put the Trotter name on the podium, finishing as first over 55 female at the Worthing Half Marathon.

She was joined in West Sussex by Mandy Wheeler and Sarah Pike. The event has been postponed since 2019 due to a storm and then the pandemic; but returned on Sunday.

The seafront event was blessed with sun, but with a persistent coastal wind. Mandy led the trio home, running 1:37:03 to place 140^th and 13^th female overall. She was followed by Jacki who was 159^th in 1:38:02 and first female over 55. Sarah finished in 1:45:22 in 299^th. There were 955 finishers overall.

Also on the south coast, Karen O’Brien took on the Southampton Marathon. Although she reported hot weather, she also praised the event organisation and plentiful water stations. Karen came home in 5:40:19 to place 797^th. There were 834 finishers.

Ruth Johnson took on a huge weekend, taking on the Sid Valley Half Marathon on Saturday on the new East Devon-based walking route. It was a course with a total elevation of 2,260ft, so hardly one for fast times, but certainly one for great scenery. Ruth clocked 2:51:05 for 67^th overall out of 90 finishers. 

The event formed a mere aperitif for Ruth ahead of Sunday’s LDWA (Long Distance Walkers Association) Devonshire Dumpling event. Starting out from Budleigh Salterton, the event covered sections of the South West Coast Path and inland areas with 52k and 32k races.

The 52k race saw Ruth cover the distance in 8:27:51. In the 32k event, Allan Taylor and Rob Faulkner ran as a team and covered the distance in 4:05. Full results not available at time of writing.

In Cornwall, Derek Skinner and John Holland took on the “Marathon - The Bodmin Way (Beacon Beast)”. The brand-new multi-terrain event covered a figure of eight route and incorporating five very different churches supporting runners along the way.

A hilly course, but well supported through small villages, Derek and John both enjoyed the experience and came home in 4:50:59 and 5:14:52 for 50^th and 65^th respectively. 122 ran.

After nearly a year on the side-lines from racing with long Covid-19, Andrew Fox came back to action with a very satisfying tun at the Exmouth Clinic Maer 10km and Half Marathon. The course followed the promenade and looped back taking in urban and country roads. 

Taking on the shorter distance, ‘Foxy’ came through the wind, rain and cold to clock 46:05, placing 8^th overall and 7^th in the M45 age group. Afterwards, he said: “Not a particularly fast time but it’s one I needed to get my confidence back and it surely did.” There were 51 finishers. In the half marathon, Tim Synge was 14th in 2:02:08 and Darren Petch was 54th in 2:55:19 out of 55 finishers.