Tone Zoners on the trails with terrific times

On what was one of the hottest weekends so far this year we saw some of the Bognor Regis Tone Zone Runners take on a 100km / 63 miles race around Bosham, Goodwood and Arundel, A trail half marathon on the Southdowns, A 18 mile trail race at the Isle of Purbeck and the brand new Selsey 5 miler.

Starting at Goodwood Racecourse at 6:50am on Saturday 11th June Jack Penfold headed off with his friend Ben Stittle to take on the 100km course, Stephanie Hilton-Smith was also running the non-stop 100km route with her wave starting at 8:10am. The first half of the route took the runners down Centurion Way, through Fishbourne and Bosham before heading into Funtington and West Dean to climb back up to the racecourse for the first 50k. The second 50k headed from Goodwood Racecourse through Eartham woods ascending all the time to Whiteways in Houghton Forest. The runners then descend down to Amberly before taking a 7 mile loop around Arundel Park and along the River Arun to head back to Amberly before taking a long climb up to Bignor Hill at mile 53. The last 10 miles of the course followed the Southdowns Way towards East Dean with the finish line in sight from Charlton albeit with one last hill to ascend.

Both Jack and Steph were taking on their first Ultra Marathons and it was a hard one with the heat and hills but both completed the challenging course which saw over 80 runners pull out. Jack finished the day at 11pm with a time of 16 hours and 9 minutes with Steph who started later finishing in 17 hours 42 minutes in the early hours of Sunday morning, some proper tough running.

Another mention of a debutant Ultra Runner goes to Michelle Maxim who completed the UK Ultra 50k in the inaugural event after the success of their 100k event in 2021. Maxim took on the challenging course which runs from Falmer to Eastbourne, finishing in under 9 hours in 8 hours 56 minutes to become an Ultra Runner.

Lisa Wadey was taking on the Southdowns Trail Half Marathon, starting at Queen Elizabeth Country park already screams hills. With over 1,000ft of elevation Lisa completed the Half Marathon with a time of 2 hours 33 minutes.

Sarah Zacal was flying the flag down in Dorset in the Big Sea 18. A new event at the Isle Of Purbeck taking in a lot of the Dorset scenery and coastline, there is a 50k option if you’re mad enough. Zacal finished the tough and hilly course in a time of 3 hours 29 minutes.

In its first ever running the Selsey Thrive 5 miler saw 15 club runners take the small trip across the coast. Gary Macey was the first runner from Blue and Orange Army to cross the line in 34.18, Macey was closely followed by Jess Thomson in 34.40 who also took to the podium as the 3rd female. Josey Faggetter finished in 37.59 as the 3rd Tone Zone runner across the line. Jon Cummins finished on the 40 minute mark and rounding out the top 5 was Charlotte Tennant with another impressive run of 41.58. Emma Tidmarsh snuck under 45 minutes in 44.36, on the other side of 45 minutes was Andy Medlock in 45.41 and James Savage 46.32. Debbie Patching and Leonie Ranson all ran under 50 minutes in 47.56 and 58.13. Sam Yates finished in 56.52 just ahead of Zoe Hemes (57.35) and Matthew Macey (57.57). Shirley Peacock and David Graves crossed the line together in 1 hour and 2 minutes.

Race to the King - 100k Jack Penfold 16.09.52 Non-Stop Day Stephanie Jane Hilton-Smith 17.42.13 Non-Stop Day

Southdowns Trail Half Marathon Lisa Wadey 2.33.07

Big Sea 18 Miles Sarah Zacal 3.29.00

Selsey 5 Mile 12.06.22

Gary Macey 34.18

Jessica Thomson 34.40 3rd Female

Josey Faggetter 37.59

Jon Cummins 40.09

Charlotte Tennant 41.58

Emma Tidmarsh 44.36

Andy Medlock 45.41

James Savage 46.32

Debbie Patching 47.56

Leonie Ranson 48.13

Samantha Yates 56.52

Zoe Hemes 47.35

Matthew Macey 57.57

Shirley Peacock 1.02.02

David Graves 1.02.02