Eyes were on Folkestone this bank holiday as the annual 6.2 mile race hit the seafront in this flat and fast course towards the town of Hythe – and back again!
Here’s a rundown of all the fabulous showings from our Folkestone Running & Athletics Club members representing on the day:
Folkestone Coastal 10k
Ian Vousdan lapping up the race day feels
Hit with some strong winds for the first half, but a nice push on the return home – runners took on this 10km route on this busy Sunday with lots of smiles throughout.
62 FR&AC stars hit the promenade on the day with each having their own story to tell. Here’s just the headlines:
Catherine and Kirsty with their award bling
Folkestone Running & Athletics Club took home the winning Female team with Manda Gurung as second female (and top of her age category!) in 41:44 as well as Kirsty Wilson and Daisy Wright (43:52) being the first ladies across the line.
Not only smashing her PB with a time of 42:25 but Kirsty also did it on her birthday too – what a treat!
In some of other categories, Catherine O’Connor finished in 44:56 and was awarded first Vet 55 with then Deirdre Coombs coming in at 58:07 to take 1st female Vet 70.
Some other notable achievements from the day include Stuart Sprinks who was pleased with a new PB of 39:53 along with Ian Vousdan at 44:20 and Adam Ward in 44:52 who were both proud of their new best efforts.
With 10 minutes shaved off from last year, Amie Howard stormed through the day with a new time of 59:21.
Though she was aiming to be under an hour but with a very windy way out, Maria Fox Felicetti still felt good with her 1:02:40 10k run.
Malcolm and Julie Gibbs had not ran an official race for a long while due to injuries however they both came to give it their all on Sunday.
“We wanted to get back into running and thought what better race to run than a flat 10k. The strategy was to take it steady, enjoy the race and complete the course.
“We did just that!”
They loved every minute of it and said it was made easier with FRAC spectators and volunteers cheering them on.
Julie finished in 1.05.28 and Malc at 1.08.51.
Fist pump from Julie Thumbs up from Malcolm
Here are the full FR&AC results from the day:
Nasradine Haroun, 36:03
Prakash Gurung, 36:16
Nicholas Steele, 36:16
Simon Ramsay, 36:30
Guy Slingsby, 36:50
Jon Eaton, 37:25
Krzysztof Klidzia, 39:11
Elliot Chapman-Jones, 39:19
Torben Jessen, 39:38
Thierry Bal, 39:43
Stuart Sprinks, 39:54
James Barney, 40:25
Manda Gurung, 41:44
Kirsty Wilson, 42:25
Daisy Wright, 43:51
lan Vousden, 44:19
Adam Ward, 44:52
Catherine O’Connor, 44:56
Stuart Erskine, 45:15
Jacob Henwood, 45:58
Joseph Carroll, 46:12
Dominic Shepherd, 46:21
Ranjit Tamang, 46:36
Gregory Dixon, 47:12
Carrie Thomas, 47:22
Andrew Gardiner, 47:40
Caroline Curtis, 48:07
Simon Coffey, 48:39
Luke Hicks, 48:40
Beth Furneaux, 48:27
Anthony Leyton-Thomas, 48:53
Jason King, 49:22
Jason O’Callaghan, 49:40
Ron Bell, 50:27
Matthew Harris, 50:17
Kate Evans, 50:02
Dan Mccarthy, 50:48
Layla Dmonte, 50:54
David Weekes, 51:49
Karl Letchford, 51:05
Martin Murray, 52:51
Philip Bridges, 52:35
Deborah Parmenter, 53:28
John O’Hara, 54:08
Clive Allon, 54:30
Jane Wren, 54:10
Jordan Bray, 54:30
David Botting, 55:10
Diane Parsons, 55:29
Rosie Smissen, 55:09
Aldous Hosking, 55:30
Rebecca Powney, 57:08
Trudi Curd, 58:10
Jason Herridge, 58:00
Deirdre Coombs, 58:07
Amie Howard, 59:21
Maria Felicetti, 01:02:40
Carolyn Lewis, 01:03:30
Iryna Zatorska, 01:03:40
Lauren Hart, 01:06:24
Julie Gibbs, 01:05:28
Malcolm Gibbs, 01:08:51
Caron Inder, 01:11:58
Altan Ali, 01:15:57
Folkestone Coastal 10k & Junior 600m Race
Guy Slingsby took part in the Folkestone Coastal 10k after waiting a year to compete, having been one month too young to participate last time.
The wait proved worthwhile, as he delivered a stellar performance, securing a new PB, 36:50, 18th place overall.
“I’ve been looking forward to this race all year, and it didn’t disappoint. The atmosphere was incredible, and I’m really happy with my time!” – Guy
In the Junior 600m race, Hugo, also one of Pat’s juniors and Guy’s younger brother, was the 1st boy back and finished 2nd overall.
“I loved every second of it! Crossing the line first for the boys felt amazing.” – Hugo
Edinburgh Marathon
Amy Axon with her well-deserved medal in Edinburgh
Way up north on a sunny Sunday in Scotland, Amy Axon took part in the Edinburgh Marathon Festival 2025.
Voted ‘the fastest marathon in the UK’, this course is a favourite of Amy’s with offerings including iconic landmark views and picturesque sights along the East Lothian coastline.
Here’s what Amy had to say after the 26.2 mile run:
“Well, what can I say! A pure struggle; although my quickest time! I can honestly say it was my worst run. I could have quite easily stopped at mile 10 today, ended up walk/running.
“We had the full Scottish weather started off hot with the wind behind for a stretch, turned into the 42mph headwind, with some serious rain and hail too!
Amy enjoying the distance and the views at Edinburgh Marathon
“Overall really pleased to have persisted. I know I have so much more! Still a 21 minute PB, let’s get it Chicago!”
Smiling faces from Thomas, Louisa, Ian and Phil at this week’s Folkestone parkrun
parkrun results for the week:
Ashford parkrun
Diane PARSONS, 28:50 Martin SALMON, 29:25
Poole parkrun
Ian MERRICK, 19:03 Helen MERRICK, 44:21
Hoblingwell parkrun
Julia HENWOOD, 45:15
East Grinstead parkrun
Caroline CURTIS, 26:05 (3rd female)
Shorne Woods parkrun
Kate EVANS, 26:11
Tonbridge parkrun
Brian AUSTIN, 27:12
Folkestone parkrun
Nicholas BRYANT, (2nd finisher and 2nd male) 18:21 Deborah JEFFERY, (1st female), 19:35 Phil HOYLAND, 20:21 Darren PHILIP, 20:38 Thierry BAL, 20:41 Thomas ASPINALL, 20:50 David WEEKES, 20:58 Dominic SHEPHERD, 21:33 Jonathan ARANA-MORTON, 21:51 James SPRINGETT, 22:30 Phil HAINES, 23:05 Rob HUISH, 24:10 Martin MURRAY, 24:27 Jane WREN, 25:33 Hilary COLLINS, 25:40 Zoe NEALE, 25:48 Louisa EEDE, 25:58 Ian VOUSDEN, 25:59 John O’HARA, 26:02 Jason HERRIDGE, 26:05 Jacob HENWOOD, 26:11 Prakash GURUNG, 27:09 Miles GAWTHORP, 27:10 Alan RANDALL, 27:29 Christopher WOOLGAR, 28:36 Guy SLINGSBY, 33:41 Kate LANCEFIELD, 01:00:13
