Friday evening marked the return of the Charing 10k – a fixture equally loved and dreaded on the club racing calendar. A formidable army of 41 club members descended upon the otherwise peaceful, picturesque village of Charing. To put it simply: we came, we saw, we conquered.
The course, famous for its “undulating” terrain, with ‘The Hill’ at the heart of the dread. But on Friday, nothing was going to stop the blue, red, and white wave.
Up at the front, Joe Bruce took the overall win in an astonishing 34:59, looking entirely effortless and nonchalant, as usual.
Not to be outdone, the exceptional Nikki Goodwin utterly dominated the women’s field, claiming 1st female overall with a spectacular time of 42:20.
Behind our winners, a sea of club colours flooded the top positions, locking down an incredible seven of the top ten spots: Tom Bean: Ever-impressive, securing 2nd place overall (35:38). Philip Haynes: Striking distance of the podium in 6th (38:34). Nick Steele: Cruised into 7th overall (38:57) and deservedly snatched the Male Vet 40 crown. Ian Merrick: Hot on his heels in 8th (39:08). Paul Bartlett: Placed 9th (39:15) whilst claiming the Male Vet 50 category win. Nick Bryant: Rounded out the top ten dominance in 10th (39:33).
The masterclass continued through the field. Alongside Nikki’s overall victory and her Female Vet 45 prize, the women’s squad packed the top ten beautifully. Vicky Scott came home for 8th female (46:16), with Nicole Dodd right on her shoulder for 9th (46:22).
Coach Catherine O’Connor took 1st in the Female Vet 55 category (47:04), and the formidable Hilary Collins won the Female Vet 65 category in 56:01.
Whether hunting down a category win, battling the hill, or just there for the post-race pints and prosecco, it was a spectacular evening for the club.
Full Charing 10k Results:
1 Joe Bruce (Senior Male) 00:34:59
2 Tom Bean (Senior Male) 00:35:38
6 Philip Haynes (Senior Male) 00:38:34
7 Nicholas Steele (Male Vet 40) 00:38:57
8 Ian Merrick (Senior Male) 00:39:08
9 Paul Bartlett (Male Vet 50) 00:39:15
10 Nick Bryant (Male Vet 40) 00:39:33
11 James Barney (Senior Male) 00:39:40
13 Jake Parsons (Senior Male) 00:40:11
15 William Parry (Junior Male) 00:41:01
16 Thierry Bal (Male Vet 50) 00:41:13
20 Darren Crew (Male Vet 50) 00:41:46
24 Nikki Goodwin (Female Vet 45) 00:42:20
27 Dan Mccarthy (Senior Male) 00:42:42
30 Tristan Bruce (Male Vet 50) 00:42:54
35 Joseph Carroll (Male Vet 40) 00:43:33
42 David Hitching (Male Vet 50) 00:44:19
43 Peter Sheridan (Male Vet 60) 00:44:38
53 Don Gilliland (Male Vet 40) 00:45:44
56 Vicky Scott (Female Vet 35) 00:46:16
58 Nicole Dodd (Female Vet 35) 00:46:22
64 Catherine O’Connor (Female Vet 55) 00:47:04
65 Ismay Bruce (Senior Female) 00:47:05
69 Phil Haines (Male Vet 40) 00:47:26
71 Louisa Eede (Female Vet 45) 00:47:33
95 Adam Ward (Senior Male) 00:50:19
115 Amy Axon (Senior Female) 00:52:10
116 Ian Vousden (Male Vet 40) 00:52:17
120 Clive Allon (Male Vet 60) 00:52:43
128 Julie Apps (Female Vet 45) 00:53:31
135 Belinda Hitching (Female Vet 50) 00:54:17
139 Lara Parsons (Senior Female) 00:54:44
142 Diane Parsons (Female Vet 45) 00:54:48
143 Anthony Scott (Male Vet 50) 00:54:59
148 Marie Brazier (Female Vet 45) 00:55:14
156 Hilary Collins (Female Vet 65) 00:56:01
159 Alan Randall (Male Vet 60) 00:56:20
178 Gary Brazier (Male Vet 50) 00:58:27
205 Amie Howard (Female Vet 35) 01:02:40
206 Katrina Peak (Female Vet 35) 01:02:41
259 Lauren Hart (Senior Female) 01:10:28
Hampshire Hoppit
Our resident trail junkie, not content with what Charing had to offer, hopped off to Hampshire to compete in the grueling Hampshire Hoppit Marathon. With even bigger events on the horizon, Adam Ward controlled his pace brilliantly to finish in 5:31:35, conquering a massive 1,300 metres of elevation.
Joining Adam and dipping her toes into the trail scene was Amie Howard, competing in the Hampshire Hoppit Half Marathon. Despite being taken down by some rogue fencing wire just three miles in, she persevered bravely to complete the course in 3:13:11.
While the marathon and half followed different routes, they intertwined at points, giving the couple a chance for an unplanned rendezvous.
Talking about the coincidence, Adam said: “Through pure chance, I managed to meet up with Amie and got to see her turn off, dashing into the distance.”He added: “We both finished our races and celebrated with some rather large burritos, a race-engraved pint glass, and a rather funky moveable medal!”
Hythe Bay Triathlon
Fresh from her efforts at Charing, club stalwart Marie Brazier tackled the multi-discipline Hythe Bay Triathlon on Sunday. Consisting of a 250m pool swim, a 13.5k bike ride, and a final 5k run, Marie crossed the line 22nd in the female category with an impressive time of 1:10:15.
Competing alongside Marie was Kate Miller, who put in a fantastic performance to complete the triathlon in 1:14:24, followed closely by Katrina Peak, who crossed the finish line in a strong 1:21:46.
Reflecting on the race, Marie said: “Great event apart from Sandgate Hill! But it was very well organised.”
Kent School’s Athletics Championships
Our juniors were also in fine form this week. Patricia Hanys reports from the Kent Schools’ Athletics Championships:
Abigail Smith secured a brilliant bronze medal in the intermediate girls’ javelin, throwing a fantastic new personal best (PB) of 31.65m.
Sam Voyle also clinched bronze in the intermediate boys’ 400m, knocking nearly a second off his previous best to finish in a blistering 53.87 seconds.
A host of other FRAC athletes put in stellar performances for their respective schools, racking up several new PBs along the way
Thomas Webb: Intermediate Boys Javelin & 110mHurdles
Mack Stein-Hughes: Intermediate Boys 100m Hurdles & High Jump
Oliver Hawkins: Intermediate Boys 100m & 200m
Aiden Robinson: Intermediate Boys Javelin & 200m
Alex Eggleston: Intermediate Boys 400m & Long Jump
Jessica Smith: Junior Girls HammerPoppy Rockall: Junior Girls High Jump & Long Jump
Parkrun
The drama of the Parkrun Cup continued with the opening fixtures of the B Cup. In two highly anticipated head-to-heads, Kirsty Wilson faced Rachel Thompson, while Pam Allon went up against Caroline Curtis. While all four athletes clocked fantastic times, it was ultimately Kirsty and Pam who earned their spots in the next round.
Kirsty Wilson 103.1 vs Rachel Thompson 100.5
Pam Allon 100.1 vs Caroline Curtis 97.2
Folkestone runners were out in force across the country – and even internationally – this weekend. Special mention goes to Stephen Male, who managed a superb 5th-place finish at Dover, and James Barney for a cracking 7th place at Maidstone. Meanwhile, Jacob Henwood took the club global with a great run at Parkrun Vingis in Lithuania.
