Dumbrell delighted after Arunners' Beach Run win

Dumbrell, 30, from Horsham, produced a dazzling performance, taking the title in a time of 27mins 14secs.

The 30-year-old blew the 539-strong field away, with Saints and Sinners Athletics Club’s Jason Harrold in second place (28:44), not finishing well over a minute after Dumbrell.

Another Saint and Sinner racer, Glenn Mitchell (29:09) , made up the top-three in this year’s annual West Sussex Fun Run League event.

Dumbrell, who is currently focusing on training for triathlon competition, was delighted to have be crowned 2017 champion and said: “It reminded me a little bit of cross-country to be honest. The surface wasn’t solid to spring off, you could feel your core working a lot and I’ve never done anything like that before.

“I’ve got experience doing 10k races and cross-country races but never an event like this one.

“Sometimes you think you are on a good part of sand, then you just have to be aware of where your foot placement is.

“I’m focusing on triathlon as my main sport, so I’m pleased with my time considering I’ve not done too much running recently. These races provide me with a good tempo and test to build for triathlon races.”

Chichester Runners’ young gun Tara Sallaba was the first female to finish.

Sallaba, just 15, took top honours in her first-ever West Sussex Fun Run League race.

The talented young athlete is now hopeful of competing in more West Sussex League events in the future.

She said: “I do run 8k quite alot but this is the first one I’ve ever done on a beach. I generally stick to the track, competiting over 1,500 metres. I’d never done a West Sussex Fun Run League race before this evening, so it was a really nice first experience.

“I’d like to do more in the future, everyone was really friendly and it was a nice event to be part of.”

Sallaba’s time of 31:32 was easily enough to take her to victory in the female competition.

Saints and Sinners made up half of the top-six finishers on the male and female side, with Amelia Brown (32:22) coming home second in the women’s competition.

Burgess Hill Runners’ Jo Bryce was the third female to finish (32:42).

Arunners’ five-mile Beach Run was the eighth West Sussex Fun Run League of the year. Henfield Joggers Seven Stiles race is the next to take place on July, 30.

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