Hastings Marathon
HE'S been knocking on the door of a fast marathon and Darrell Milner has finally cracked it.
The Stubby runner, who only ran his first marathon earlier this year, slashed a fantastic 10 minutes off his personal best time at the Hastings Marathon.
Darrell clocked a superb 3hrs 17mins for the distance. "It was a hard race with lots of hills, and even a run along the stoney beach near the end," he said. This was the centenary Hastings Marathon.
On 14 December 1908, 51 competitors lined up outside Hastings town hall for the start of the town's first marathon. On Sunday, exactly 1,908 runners did the same, with the 26.2 mile course following the same route.
The race was won by Julian Randle, from Tonbridge in Kent, who described it as "an historic occasion". "It was hard going - very hilly for the first bit, and quite cold as well," he said after running the marathon in 2 hours 36 minutes and 43 seconds.
The overall winner of the race 100 years ago was WT Clarke, of the Sefton Harriers in Liverpool, who was slightly slower at 2 hours 37 minutes and 16.8 seconds. He was one of six Olympic runners who took part in the marathon.
The East Sussex town annually hosts a half-marathon in March, but decided to recreate the full marathon to mark its centenary.
Race director Eric Hardwick said: "This event is all about history... and its almost the same weather as 100 years ago."