Benidorm Half Marathon
WORD from the far outback, beyond the precincts of Rowner and Copner, reaches the south coast by way of jungle drums, carrier pigeon and fleet-footed runner bearing a wax-sealed parchment enscribed with details from Juan Tussler in far away lands.
Juan, or John to his mates in Stubbington, is the club's official ambassador to the Iberian Peninsula, and in his latest missive, he brings details of how the natives enjoyed the Benidorm Half Marathon, where there was much mirth and merriment in the Med.
Here is Juan's little missive from Spain:
"The race season is now underway here on the Costa Blanca and one of the more popular events took place on Sunday.
I was one of three Stubby members who joined 2115 other runners for the Benidorm half marathon which started beneath overcast skies and spots of rain but it did not take long for the sky to clear and the sun to shine making it very pleasant conditions to run in although there was quite a stiff breeze along the seafront and up the hill leading out of the town.
I completed the race in 969th place in a time of 1hr 44min 50sec and John Reeve, running in his first half marathon since moving over here in March this year, was the 1519th runner to cross the line in 1:55.26.
The third Stubby to take part was Mags Smith who travelled over from the UK for the race with a few friends and she had a fine run to finish in 1:43.28 for an 884th place. The first runner home was Clement Koech from Kenya in a time of 1:05.52 whilst the first woman was Malika Asahssah from Alicante in 1:15.29.
"This was the first of a number of half marathons which take place locally between November and April, so if anyone fancies doing a race in winter sunshine (not guaranteed!) do not hesitate to contact me at john_tussler@hotmail.com or on (0034) 677 811 254."