Tunbridge Wells Half Marathon
DISGUSTED of Tunbridge Wells wrote that she had seen a trio of 'orrible-looking green-vested Stubbington runners sullying the streets of her fair Kent town, and wondered what on earth was going on?
Well Disgusted of TW, the three said miscreants were Jon Leigh, Nick Kimber and Marcus Lee - London Marathon aspirants taking their training seriously with a trip to Kent, and possibly a bevvy of the county's finest product afterwards.
Run of the day came from Jon, who ducked under the magic 90 minute mark with a fantastic time of 1hr 29min 58sec and a new personal best for 97th place.
Nick finished in 164th in an excellent time of 1hr 34min 13sec and Marcus was not far behind in 206th place with 1:36.08, as the gleesome threesome finished 15th in the team rankings.
A delighted Jon said afterwards: “This was one of the best organised races I’ve had the pleasure of running. The race was started by local girl, Dame Kelly Holmes, and at the end there was a nice medal, t-shirt and goody bag, all for an entry fee of just a dozen pounds.
“It’s not surprising the race is rated in the top 50 in the country in Runner’s World.”
A total of 1,361 runners took part in the race which was organised by Tunbridge Wells Harriers, and based at the town's sports centre. This was the 25th anniversary of the race which is described as "a testing, single-lap course through some of Kent's finest countryside" and formed part of the Kent Championships.
Benjamin Noad of Highgate Harriers AC led home the field in 1.09:48, over two full minutes clear of second place Huw Evans of Tonbridge AC, with James Baker of Chichester R&AC half a minute further back.
Tina Oldershaw of Paddock Wood AC was the first woman home in 1.23:12, four minutes clear of Fleur Swaney and Janine Brown of Ashford & District AC another minute back.