The Folkestone Rotary Half Marathon may be in our back yard, but it’s not just some walk in the park. The club put its fast shoes on for a glorious Sunday blitz along the Channel coast and painted the podium red, white and blue.
Folkestone Rotary Half Marathon – 28 September
You folks are so brilliant. You look for every opportunity to exceed yourselves and you do it routinely, but especially at home. The only thing you do by halves in marathons. Let’s see how you did.
First home for the club was Prakash Gurung with 1st in MV45 and 3rd overall. Manda Gurung took 2nd overall and 1st FV40. Simon Ramsey cruised into 2nd MV45. Helen Webb and Nikki Goodwin took 2nd and 3rd FF45, respectively. Louisa Eade was on their heels to take 1st FV50. Nas Haroun was 5th overall and 1st Junior Male. Torben Jessen took 1st MV60. Hilary Collins and Deb Parmenter scooped 2nd and 3rd FV60. Julie Gibbs nabbed 3rd FV65. You’re all champions to me.
Name
Bib
Category
Gun time
Chip time
Prakash Gurung
209
Male Vet 45
01:17:32
01:17:32
Nasradine Haroun
600
Junior Male
01:20:17
01:20:17
Simon Ramsay
160
Male Vet 45
01:23:49
01:23:47
Harry Wall
543
Senior Male
01:25:39
01:25:37
Torben Jessen
283
Male Vet 60
01:25:51
01:25:49
Manda Gurung
210
Female Vet 40
01:33:07
01:33:05
Jason Brett
624
Male Vet 40
01:35:20
01:35:10
Helen Webb
557
Female Vet 45
01:40:51
01:40:40
Adam Ward
548
Senior Male
01:42:20
01:42:10
Andy Gardiner
668
Male Vet 55
01:42:30
01:42:20
Peter Sheridan
471
Male Vet 60
01:42:33
01:42:13
Darren Philip
838
Male Vet 50
01:42:44
01:42:34
Nikki Goodwin
4028
Female Vet 45
01:43:00
01:42:57
Louisa Eede
145
Female Vet 50
01:45:29
01:45:20
Phil Haines
213
Male Vet 40
01:46:02
01:45:53
Paul Hannay
221
Male Vet 40
01:46:44
01:46:26
Miles Gawthorp
185
Male Vet 50
01:48:03
01:47:54
Nicole Dodd
595
Female Vet 40
01:49:05
01:48:45
Thomas Aspinall
615
Senior Male
01:51:59
01:51:24
Anthony Leyton-Thomas
700
Male Vet 40
01:52:23
01:52:01
John O’Hara
394
Male Vet 60
01:55:52
01:55:34
Diane Parsons
401
Female Vet 45
01:56:23
01:55:50
Clive Allon
8
Male Vet 60
01:56:42
01:56:23
Rosie Smissen
479
Senior Female
01:57:11
01:56:33
Amir Muhammad
829
Male Vet 40
01:57:41
01:57:19
Kellie Williams
879
Female Vet 40
01:58:47
01:58:25
Dominic Shepherd
470
Senior Male
02:02:41
02:02:31
Hilary Collins
101
Female Vet 60
02:08:27
02:07:48
Anthony Scott
461
Male Vet 55
02:08:53
02:08:42
Deborah Parmenter
400
Female Vet 60
02:11:59
02:11:39
Jason King
693
Male Vet 45
02:11:59
02:11:36
Amie Howard
266
Female Vet 35
02:17:58
02:17:22
Maria Felicetti
662
Female Vet 55
02:25:13
02:24:37
Julie Gibbs
670
Female Vet 65
02:26:13
02:25:32
Lauren Hart
677
Senior Female
02:37:41
02:36:57
Philippa Buckley
625
Female Vet 35
02:48:32
02:47:45
Caron Inder sent in her race report which perfectly captures the spirit of what drives us to put one foot in front of the other…really fast:
This is my first ever half marathon and though I really enjoyed the race I found it mentally challenging and it was really hard for me. With a nervous stomach for two days and 5mins before race – going through an eye of a needle comes to mind. I went off way too fast and paid for it from 14/15km until the finish line. I got caught up in the wonderful atmosphere and the very supportive crowds. Bring my first half marathon, I got a PB 2:58:21 at least it was under 3hrs. It was lovely to go into the sea afterwards and cool down my aching legs.
I have to look back over the past 5 months and not be too hard on myself. I managed my first Park Run this year on 15 March 2025. My first 10K was Folkestone Coastal 10k, followed by Romney Mash 10k. I then managed the Virtual 10mile race (twice – as I did the wrong course the first time 🥴). Now the first half marathon. It’s easy to judge yourself to others especially when you are very slow but I have to also remember how much I have achieved as well since March this year. – Caron Inder
Vitality London 10000 – 28 September
London did its best to match Folkestone’s hype. They tried so hard they even got some genuine FRAC runners to smash it! Showing up with PBs were Nick Bryant, who ran for the Felix Project charity finishing in 37:30, and Anna Thomsen who arrived in 40:35.
Westminster Mile – 27 September
Just the day before the Vitality 10k, heroes in other colours turned out to set a different kind of record. Thomo Murray reports how they could be heroes, even if just for one day:
Martin and I ran the Vitality Westminster Mile with our brother Kevin. We were part of the 434 finishers dressed as superheroes which meant it is a new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ for the most people dressed as superheroes to complete the same one-mile run. It was a super fun event with loads of cool costumes on show.
Chase the Sun Battersea 10k – 24 September
Men’s Captain Nick Steele (amazing that he’s actually Captain Steele and not a comic book superhero) also had an appointment in London at dusk last Wednesday. He reports:
I did the Chase the Sun Battersea 10k last wednesday evening. There wasn’t much in the way of sun to chase though and it was pitch black by the third (of four) lap. I narrowly missed out on a PB with 36:09.
Altra 13 Valleys Ultra – 27 September
Those ultra runners – they’re running a different kind of race, aren’t they? Sylwia Tokarska, the mountain maiden herself, gives us a piece of her mind from Saturday’s event:
I took part in the Altra 13 Valleys Ultra – 5 Valleys distance, covering 58 km (36 miles) with around 2,500 m (8,000 ft) of elevation gain. The route started in Ambleside and finished in Keswick, linking together five of the Lake District’s iconic valleys with a mix of technical trails, rocky descents, and steep climbs. Along the way, we crossed two high points: Thornthwaite Crag (785 m / 2,575 ft) and Sticks Pass (748 m / 2,454 ft).
Out of 765 finishers, I placed 352nd overall and 72nd female, crossing the line in 9 hours 40 minutes – well inside the 19-hour cut-off. One unexpected highlight was a “victory lap” around legendary Keswick Square just before the route led to the finish — a fitting way to end an epic ultra trail race in the heart of the Lakes.
Dark Downs 50k – 27 September
Combining both an ultra and darkness like some wild cross breed of our other club members’ races is the indomitable Phil Maull, who finished the looped course in 109/159 and 7:40:44 – in the dead of night.
The Dark Downs 50K is a night ultra marathon that loops around the South Downs and runs from dusk to dawn. This was the first time I’ve attempted an Ultra at night which certainly brings some challenges! I loved seeing the stars though which are spectacular on this Dark Sky Reserve. The weather was pretty perfect, and although I struggled a little with the 4200′ elevation, I’ll always remember seeing the line of head/ chest torches running over multiple hills- such a spectacular sight. A very well sign posted event and a wonderful course starting and finishing at Plumpton Racecourse.
English Schools Finals – 22 September
And finally, with a late entry due to the life of being a junior athletics star who still has to be in school for 8:30 AM, Helen Webb shares Thomas Webb’s big weekend now cast in gold. Congratulations, Thomas!
Last weekend, Thomas competed in the English Schools finals for Combined Events. Combined Events is Decathlon at the senior level. In the men’s Under 17 category, the athletes do an Octathlon which is 3 running events (100m hurdles, 400m and 1,500m), 3 throws (javelin, shot put and discus) and 2 jumps (high jump and long jump). Thomas was in the Kent team for the U17 men, and the team won Gold, beating every other English county. This competition ended a fantastic season for Thomas where he won 5 medals at national level, 2 of them gold.
parkrun
Folkestone parkrun
Our own parkrun Challenge Cup nears its inevitable conclusion as competitors now progress to the semifinals. Darren Crew gives the wrap on this weekend’s action:
Parkrun Cup Results 27/09/2025
A CUP Amy Axon 104.242 (PB) vs Rossie Smissen 104.161 (PB) Amy Wins Jon Wilson 101.3 vs Matt Harris 97.8 Jon Wins
B CUP Thomas Aspinall 94.0 vs Elliott Chapman-Jones 94.6 Elliott Wins Jake Harvey 99.9 vs Kate Evans Injured Jake Wins Carrie Thomas 99.3 vs Stuart Erskine 88.3 Carrie Wins
Our congratulations go to Amy and Jon who progress to the A Cup semifinals and Elliot, Jake and Carrie who make it through to the B Cup semifinals.
Special mention to Amy and Rosie, who gave us a truly close match and both scored new PB’s!! Commiserations to Rosie, Matt, Thomas, Kate (repair soon) and Stuart who all exit the competition – thanks for taking part.
