July 2028 - A Month of Celebration

Annual General Meeting

was The Club’s AGM, which has become one of the Club's social highlights of the year, was held on 8th July 2026.

Well over 50 of the Club’s members had taken the time and had been tempted to hear what the Club had been up over the past year, as well as enjoy a catch up with fellow members over the delights of barbeque.

The occasion was also marked by the stepping down of Sarah Hilliard, after her many years of service as Club Treasurer, and Meg Atwood as Social Secretary, who was leaving to spend time enjoying the many pleasures of motherhood. A huge thank you was extended to both for their contributions to the Club. Joining the committee were Scott Werner as Club Treasurer and John Crockford as Social Secretary.

The highlight of the evening, as always, was the presentation of the Club awards by Eileen Welch, the Club’s Captain. The many worthy winners were:

Mary Nightingale - Ladies Championship - 1st Place

Pearl maner - Ladies Championship - 2nd place and Vet 3 (Ladies).

Clare Styles - Ladies Championship - 3rd Place and Vet 2 (Ladies)

Chris Russell - Mens Championship - 1st Place

Will Isted - Mens Championship - 2nd Place, Senior(Male) and Most Improved Runner (Male)

Zach Drake - Mens Championship - 3rd Place and Vet 1(Male)

Christy Styles - Senior (Lady)

Heather Stevens - Vet 1(Lady)

Gordon Berry - Vet 2(Male)

Bryan Tapsell - Vet 4 (Male)

Jayne Meyers - Most Improved Runner (Lady)

Sarah Hillard - Services to the Club

Sharon Wheeler - Captain's Cup

Christy Styles - Cross Country Champion (Lady)

Matt McCarthy - Cross Country Champion (Male)

Bewl 15 and 5 Mile

If you are a runner the circuit around Bewl Water is particularly worthwhile and was once voted by readers of Runners World as the 6^th best race in the UK..

Organised by Wadhurst Runners, the Bewl 15 is an annual event and has featured in the Sussex Grand Prix series for many years.

Amongst the 396 on the start line this year on what was really hot day were 5 of our clubs members.

Leading the Crows home in 5^th place, was Nick Harvey and by doing securing for himself 1^st place in his age category.

There was also some very creditable running by the other members that took part, with the boys securing 1st place Male Team. The full results were as follows:

The full results for the Crows were:

Finishing Position	Name	Time
5th	Nick Harvey	1:38:40
20th	Mark Redfern	1:51:18
24th	James Bryant	1:52:10
60th	Marizio Di Santo	2:02:40
166th	Sarah Cooper	2:29:01

As it is not in the Sussex Grand Prix series, the 5 mile race perhaps doesn’t get the exposure of that of its big brother. Nevertheless, it is a race that is highly recommended. This is why it saw Richard Grinham and Pearl Manser from the Club on this year’s start line, with Pearl coming home in 0:50:53 and securing for herself 1st place in her age category, and Richard finishing in 0:49:15

Jurassic Park Mighty Hike

MacMillan Cancer Support is a charity that is close to hearts of many of us, with so many of us having someone near or dear, or that we know, having been blessed with the incredible services they provide. One of their many fundraising events is there Mighty Hike series. The one said to be the most picturesque, is one that that allows you to explore the World Heritage site of the Jurassic Coast that runs from Exmouth in East Devon to Studland Bay in Dorset.

The hike starts in Wareham and you wend your way to Swanage, which is where you wave bye-bye to the half- marathoners before continuing on, going past Old Harry’s Rocks to Studland, where to turn inland and finish where you started near Corfe Castle.

Swapping their running shoes for walking boots this year were Sarah Hilliard and ex-member Maggi Bradgate, with Sarah so far raising nearly £800 for this worthy cause. If you haven’t done so and would like to, you can still donate by going to Will you donate to Sarah's Mighty Hike 2026 Fundraiser Page?

Phoenix 10k

The Phoenix 10k that took place on 15th July 2026 is the Brighton Phoenix Running Club's flagship event.

The Phoenix 10k remained a highly popular event even though it coincided with the England World Cup game. However, for 8 of the Club’s members it was no contest and a there was great turnout by the Club.

As it was, success for the English football team was not to be. However, there was success on the night for two of the Club members. In particular Byron Thomas who secured himself a PB and Bryan Tapsell, who on this occasion swapped trails for the flat, coming 2^nd in his age category. Nevertheless, great running by all.

The full results were as follows:

Finishing Position	Name	Time
102	Peter Noon	0:41:25
151	Byron Thomas	0:44:43
156	Alan Dean	0:44:56
197	Chris Russell	0:48:33
231	Sarah Cooper	0:55:11
244	Bryan Tapsellr	0:52:01
292	Lisa Herbert	0:56:56
331	Ron Cutbill	1:03:14
342	Charlotte Mathers	1:15:01
343	Shirley Matthews	1:15:14

Going It Alone

The Mid-Kent 5 mile race that took place this year on 12^thJuly 2026 celebrated its 18^th year and there to join the celebrations and enjoy a predominantly flat course through country lanes was Pearl Manser.

Pearl writes:

“I was the sole Crow at the mid-Kent 5 miler and ran my fastest time since 2022, so thank you coaches”

You look well pleased with yourself Pearl, and rightly so.

Pub Run

This month’s Pub Run was one with a difference.

There had been high hopes of Crowborough having its own parkrun based in Walshes Park and a lot of the spadework on behalf of the Town Council had been done by member Craig Chapman, by identifying a course, measuring it out and everything. Unfortunately, this is currently not to be. However, not to waste an excellent opportunity it had been agreed to incorporate the intended course as part of the monthly Pub Run, which this month started and finished at the Wheatsheaf in Mount Pleasant.

With the added bonus of the test run in Walshes Park, the event was well attended.

I know I speak for everyone that was there that we all enjoyed what was a 2-lap undulating course and our appreciation very much goes Craig for getting there early and setting up the course.

An excellent precursor to a lively rest of the evening at the Wheatsheaf.

A Family Affair

The Hailsham Community Runs are one of the fastest growing running events in the county. Having had to be postponed from 17^th May due too road works, the event incorporates distances ranging from 1 mile to 10k. So, something for everyone of all ages, which is no doubt what encouraged the Noble family to take part. So, why Pearl was strutting her stuff in Staplehurst, Naomi and the rest of the gang where running the streets of Hailsham, with Naomi knocking out the 10k in 1:02:19.

Also Going It Alone

There is nothing like to buzz of a mass participation event around the streets of the Capital. Iconic landmarks, DJs to help power you up and cheering crowds to support you along the way.

On such event is the Saucony 10k that took place this year also on 12^th July.

There representing the Club was Zach Drake knocking it out in 0:40:05

Great running Zach

A Bit Last Minute

It was in Battersea park that a half-marathon took place on 18^th July and it was due to the generosity of a fellow member who had had to pull out that member Tim Probert was there.

Tim writes:

“I have to say it was delight to run such a flat course. Compared to running around Crowborough, it almost felt like cheating.”

Going North of the Border

The inaugural City of Aberdeen Half Marathon took place on 18th July 2026

Member Shirley Matthews was in the mood for a highland fling that day as so while on a girly weekend away, and whilst her friend went off to do some retail therapy, Shirley Matthews took on the half marathon. Whilst saying she hadn’t done a lot of preparation, she still managed a finish time of 2:42:22.

Way to go Shirley

Meanwhile in Northern Tuscany

There representing the Club in the Attraverso Le Mura was Andrea Battelli.

Andrea writes:

"The race was in the town of MASSA in northern Tuscany and is called: Attraverso Le Mura (Going through the town walls).

It is an evening event with a starting time of 21:15 because of the very high air temperature. This year it was 32 degrees at 9 pm just before race start.

The race is a 5 lap course and it’s a hilly course and some really fast world class elite runners take part every year. This year there were some really quick Kenyans which stormed to sub 30 minutes finishing times, which is quite impressive considering the hilly nature of the course.

Anyway, my chip finishing time was 38’34”. My general position was 49th and I managed to finish in 2nd place for my category VETM.

Great running Andrea.

Not a Flat One by Any Means

The 26^th July saw the running of the Will Page 10k in the village of Newick.

There representing the Club were Sam Hyde, Alistair Lee and Yasmin Jenkins-Khan who completed the course in 0:49:51, 0:50:48 and 1:03:322 respectively.

Alistair Writes

“We were hoping for cooler weather for the Newick 10k on 26th July and thankfully it was, although it was still very humid. The course was hilly, with some long downhill sections at the start that lure you into quick early pacing, but they were interspersed by short ups to keep things in check. We had been told about a horrible hill at the end, which was there so no surprise, but still tough. Someone even snapped a photo of me that ended up on the Newick Talk Facebook page, which was a fun surprise.

I ran my best 10k yet and came away with a PB, and Yasmin hit her goal too, despite the climbs. A tough route, a good day, and results we’re both proud of.”

100 Miles, No Sleep, Questionable Life Choices.

Lisa Herbert writes

“At 0800 on Saturday morning 25^th July 2026, while many sensible people were enjoying a leisurely coffee, I set off from Edinburgh on the Rat Race Castle to Castle Ultra. The objective sounded simple enough: run 100 miles to Glamis Castle.

One hundred miles. A good round number.

The Planning Phase

Being me, you won’t be surprised to know that I approached this with project methodology precision:

Detailed route plan downloaded as a GPX file (never used because I cannot read a map)
Food station strategy (fell apart at 20 hours when I could not eat another gel without retching)
Pacing schedule (smashed it)
Contingency plans – thank you, AI, at 01h00 in the morning
Discussions with Copilot about calories that lasted longer than some board meetings

At one point I had spreadsheets, feeding schedules, estimated arrival times and fuel calculations that made it look like we were preparing to launch a satellite rather than send a middle-aged woman jogging across Scotland.

The Reality Phase

What actually happened was 33 hours and 18 minutes of moving forward while continuously asking myself: "Whose idea was this?"

The route stretched for 166.5km across Scotland with over 2,000 metres of climbing.

The first few hours felt great.

The next few hours felt fine.

The next twenty-five hours became a fascinating study in sleep deprivation and poor decision-making.

The Night Shift

Running through the night is a unique experience. At around 0200 you begin questioning your life choices.

At around 0400 you start negotiating with inanimate objects.

By sunrise, every sheep looks like it has useful advice and every hill appears to have been personally designed to offend you.

Somewhere in the darkness I became convinced that the next food station was only "just around the corner". It never was.

The Food Stations

The food stations became the highlights of my social calendar.

Never has a paper cup of lukewarm soup received so much gratitude.

Every arrival was accompanied by the same process:

Eat everything.
Refill everything.
Wonder how far it is to the next checkpoint.
Regret asking.
Shuffle off into the Scottish wilderness.

The carefully calculated nutrition strategy and pacing plan largely survived, although by Sunday morning my body was running on equal parts determination, Huel and stubbornness.

The Finish

After 33 hours, 18 minutes and far more conversations with myself than I'd care to admit, Glamis Castle finally appeared. I had fallen into a few bushes in the last few miles as I closed my eyes ‘for just a second’ while by now, walking.

There are moments during an ultra where you feel strong, moments where you feel broken, and moments where you're not entirely certain what day it is. And you hallucinate ….

Crossing the line was definitely in the broken category.

Lessons Learned

Copilot can help build a surprisingly effective ultra-marathon plan.
Scotland is bigger than it looks on a map.
Food stations are magical places with magical people called VOLUNTEERS. I deeply love all of them angels!
Sleep is apparently optional.
Humans are capable of much more than they think.
It is entirely possible to cover 100 miles on foot and still spend the following week walking like you've just discovered legs for the first time.

Would I do it again? Ask me after I've caught up on the sleep I missed between Saturday morning and Sunday evening.

The Skye's The Limit.

Regressing back to June for a moment, it was on the 13^th June that member James Welbury, former Club Chairman John Tighe and former Club Secretary Domonique Welbury were on the Isle of Skye.

The Isle of Skye is one of Scotland's most spectacular islands, famous for its dramatic mountains, rugged coastline, waterfalls and distinctive rock formations.

The reason they were they were there was to take part in 10k. This takes place on the same day as the Skye half marathon with participants being given, rather uniquely I think, a bus ride to the halfway point of the half marathon to get to the start line.

The route of the 10k takes you along a single track closed road with the route having been designed to showcase Skye’s raw natural beauty.

Great running by all.