Brighton to Paris....

Over 12000 people took part in the Brighton Marathon on the hottest day of the year so far. Among them were 29 from Bognor Tone Zone Runners.

Simon Gill scorched to a fantastic 10th place in 2hrs 39mins. Competing in his first marathon was 20 year old Jack Penfold. He started strongly but hit the dreaded wall at 20 miles as the energy sapping heat took effect on the youngster, after slowing for 3 miles he was spurred on by his fellow club members at the side of the road and dug deep to run the final 3 miles to finish in 3.27. Sy Daymond, Christopher Dummer and Jess Thomson were also competing in their first marathons. Daymond and Dummer ran well to finish in 3.25 and 3.44. Jess finished slightly after them in 4.04 after also being effected in the last quarter by the severe heat. The final marathon debutantes were Daryl Fairbrother and Michelle Miles in 4.18 and 5.47. Two runners amazingly achieved PB's, Colin Hiscock in 3.27 and Paul Wells in 5.48, Wells along with Claire Baker is raising money for a defibrillator in Bognor Town Centre.

Another marathon taking place on the same day was in Paris. The club had 4 runners taking part in even hotter conditions than Brighton. Chris Gallagher ran with aplomb to cross the line in 3.39. Husband and wife team, Mark and Jackie Willamson ran 4.18 and 4.26 respectively with Jo Hinckley completing the course in 4.41.

In another feat of endurance, Paul Coe took part in the South Downs 50 mile challenge. As the name suggests this 50 mile run starts from Worthing College and ends at Eastbourne via the South Downs Way. If the distance isn't a tough enough task to overcome there's also the small matter of over 6100ft of hills to tackle. Despite all of this, Paul finished in 10 hrs 49 mins.

BRTZR Results

Brighton Marathon : Simon Gill 2.39, Sy Daymond 3.25; Jack Penfold 3.27; Colin Hiscock 3.27; Anne Kari Enes 3.38; Christopher Dummer 3.44; Gary Pidgeon 3.54; Tony Holcombe 4.00; Jess Thomson 4.04; Ian Bayley 4.17; Daryl Fairbrother 4.18; Peter Ramsdale 4.19; Carl Bryant 4.25; Alan Coombs 4.34; Simon Bodsworth 4.37; Gary Smith 4.45; Derek Natoli 4.46; Gareth Stemp 4.49; Lesly Ward 4.55; Grace Natoli 4.57; Claire Baker 5.12; Bushka Skladanek 5.14; Andy Miles 5.19; Daniel Hughes 5.27; Lisa Joyce 5.32; Ian Culton 5.42; Christine Rounds 5.47; Michelle Miles 5.47; Paul Wells 5.48

Brighton 10k : Mark Edwards 47.28; Paul Westwood 51.49; Judith Bazeley 57.08;

Paris Marathon: Chris Gallagher 3.39, Mark Willamson 4.18; Jackie Willamson 4.26; Jo Hinckley 4.41

Southdowns Way 50: Paul Coe 10.49