Five-mile race is wide open

No less than 15 runners are expecting times under 30 minutes, including Steve Cale, from Shrewsbury Athletic Club, who is the Welsh champion fell runner (2 miles with a rise of 850 feet in under 20 minutes).

Among the other men in the field for the sixth annual staging of an event organised by Hastings Runners is Dominic Bieri, who is coming all the way from Lucerne in Switzerland.

The favourite for the women’s race is Kim Lo, from Haywards Heath Runners, who came third last year and expects to finish in around 31 minutes. However, fast, local runners are likely to take part.

Favourite for the junior (15 years) race is local lad James Weston. Twenty-six teams have entered already and on-the-day entries will be taken from 9-10am in Hastings Town Hall (first room on right) at a cost of £13.

The run will start from outside the town hall at 10.30am and head out onto the seafront along the promenade before returning to the town hall for the finish. The runners, particularly the slower ones, appreciate crowd support.

Completely flat, the course is suitable for slow joggers and those wanting to produce a fast time. A £100 prize is on offer for a new male or female course record. All proceeds from the event will go to St Michael’s Hospice.