Hampshire runners cross Sussex border to take Midsummer 5 honours

This year’s Chichester Corporate Challenge winner, Harry Carter, competing for City of Portsmouth AC, was too good for the rest of the field. Having broken clear at the halfway mark midway round the Goodwood airfield, he strode home to finish half a minute clear of the field in 26min 4sec for the five-mile course. Following in his wake was in-form Julian Manning from Denmead Striders, with Robin Ward and Martyn Bean also inside the 27-minute barrier. Ward, in third place, led Portsmouth Joggers to a convincing team victory with 51 points, with defending champions Chichester having to be content with second place with 67 points – in front of Bognor-based Tone Zone with 76 and Midhurst Milers in fourth on 82. In the absence of James Baker through illness, veteran Chris Jack led Chichester home in 12th place overall but despite this Jack had to be content with third place in the over-40 veterans, having to give way to Denmead’s Nick Baker in sixth overall and Dean Angell from Horsham Joggers in ninth. Completing the scoring for Chichester were James Pennicott in 15th, John Leonard 19th and veteran Kevin Mcgreal 21st. In the women’s race it was much more of a Sussex affair with a fine run from Midhurst’s Emma Taylor-Gooby winning a close-fought race in 31min 31sec. Some 20 seconds further back was Jane Harrop who had managed to catch up with the winner at the halfway mark but was just unable to match her speed over the last mile to the finish. Harrop had the consolation of winning her over-45 veteran category by almost two minutes and also of leading home team-mates Fay Cripps in third and over-55 winner Jane Leonard in ninth to win the team prize with a mere 14 points ahead of the Tone Zone with 38 and the Chichester B team, comprising Katie Michael 13th, Anneleise Dziubak 14th and Felicity Paton 15th, just behind on 42 points. The rest of the Chichester contingent comprised Lee Neumann 31st, Matthew Sheldon 43rd, Philip Court 47th, Andrew Moore 48th, David Pike 49th, Mark Jennings 57th, Chris Tucker 58th, Don Faircloth 67th (5th over 60), Kevin Lockyear 70th, Norman Marshall 79th, Mark Hazlewood 82nd, Martin Miller 85th, Michael Moorcroft 86th, Kevin Batt 96th, David Knight 96th, Tony Cooley 102nd, Andy Harrop 109th, Jan Hill 121st, Nigel Mcnestrie 125th, Keith Akerman 128th, Gary Tompsett 132nd, Catherine Betts 134th, Sue Baker 148th, Darren Knight 154th, Kelly Baldwin 161st, Lorraine Griffiths 183rd and Sandra Lyndon 187th.