Ardingly Village 8km Fun Run

SATURDAY 7th SEPTEMBER saw the annual Ardingly 8km Fun Run and Village Fete.   Open to all runners this was a good old fashioned cross country run taking in the famous resevouir.

 

Beetroot Army.
I am not in this photo as I had to shoot off to work.

The course started at the Ardingly Recreational Ground and ran along the footpath up past the South of England Showground and the Gardeners Arms pub before turning left at the end of the village.   It then went cross country in a large loop back to the start.

This is a beautiful route that, once off the road, feels easy going, until you realise that you are running for a long period of time downhill!    What goes down eventually must go up and this run does just that.   There are two majestic hills involved in the run that test your stamina.  

The first starts just after the wooden bridge that links the route with Ardingly Reservoir and goes up a single track footpath before slowly starting to come round again.   The second is part way round the Reservoir when you turn left going up the footpath past the fields.

The course was checked earlier in the day with no issues but there was an unexpected hornet swarm on the second part of the reservoir path which resulted in the race being diverted for some of the runners.   Organisers thanked local runner Philip Kelly for his initiative in leading other runners a safer way and foregoing his own race.   They also expressed their utmost thanks to first aider Melissa Byers, all the other marshals and the ambulance service who came to the aid of their allergic runner and brave tail runner Steve Kemsley who also got badly stung.

Haywards Heath Harriers results: Chris Smith 28:31; Time Miller 34:59; Mat Quinton 41:25; Ian Dumbrell 41:52; Gemma Morgan 43:40; Theresa Mockridge 44:56; Andrew Wilson 45:48; Carl Bicknell 47:04; Michael Parish 51:12; H. Johnson 59:30.