Duck Pond Waddle
THERE was no ducking the challenge for Zippy Grice, who won the Duck Pond Waddle for the third year on the trot. Zippy led home a Stubbington 1-2-3 in West Sussex, with Andy Simpson second and Alasdair Ewing in third.
A field of 228 runners took part in the race which is organised by Worthing Striders. It is a nine-mile race staged over rural countryside with a mixture of tarmac and chalk/farm tracks.
Zippy took almost a minute and a half off his winning time 12 months ago to clock 55min 47sec for the course, followed home by Andy in 58.30 with Alasdair, who was second a year ago, third in a time of 59.03.
They were the only three runners to duck under the hour mark.
It was cold and wet, and there was mud everywhere, with a chilling wind adding an extra dimension to the challenge.
“When you see so many people coming over the finish line covered in mud and smiling, you know it's been a great race,” said one competitor.
Seventh-placed Katy Moore, from Brighton & Hove AC, was the first lady to cross the finish line in a time of 1hr 2min 33sec.
Jon Leigh also braved the conditions for 30th place in 1:09.41, with Paul Hammond 47th in 1:13.06, and Richard Simms just a few metres adrift in 52nd place with a time of 1:14.02.
Neil Jarvis, fresh from his marathon running, had a good run in 62nd spot with 1:16.09, Tony Mundy clocked 1:17.17 for 69th place, Andy Lee checked in 74th in 1:18.02, and Caroline Street was the lone Stubby lady coming home in 207th with a time of 1:48.55.