CROSS-COUNTRY / PARKRUN

BROOKS SUSSEX LEAGUE, Race 3, Stanmer Park, Brighton, East Sussex

A CRACKING men’s race saw Haywards Heath second claimer Chris Smith win his second Sussex League race of the season, after battling with former English Schools 1500m champion Robbie Fitzgibbon for the first half of the race, Martin Duff reports.

The 39-year-old eventually broke clear of his much younger rival over the second lap before extending his lead on the much tougher third.

“I pushed on the uphill and got a gap on the second circuit but it was a ding-dong battle before that,” said Smith who went even further away on the long downhill final run to the finish.

The first claim Thames Valley Harrier was aware that maybe he should have run for them in the Met League but said that he had done those for 20 years and that Haywards Heath was now his local club.

For his part, 20-year-old Fitzgibbon revealed that he had not done a league match for four years and, despite his middle distance speed pedigree, said: “he killed me on the fast downhill after pushing hard on that second lap.

Previous race winner Jamie Knapp closed on that downhill finish but was relegated to third, albeit it well ahead of Tom Evans.

British & Irish Masters M40 champion Howard Bristow had an off day and was never with the lead group and wound up a distant seventh, albeit first vet.

Further back M60 winner in Glasgow, John Lowden, reveled in his new found success to hand out a 100 second defeat to Sussex veteran champion Paul Whelpton.

In the men’s team stakes, Phoenix just got the nod over rivals Brighton & Hove City and now top the league standings after three rounds, but just by three match points.

Joe Smith, maintained his record in the U15 age group with another league victory but was closed down by George Pool in the latter stages..This was Smith’s third league win of the year and his 28th victory in all competitions during 2016 and go with his two third placings in this autumn’s UK cross challenge races.

The women’s race saw first match winner Izzy Coomber take her second league victory of the campaign, to go with her second spot in the previous match.”This is my preferred course because of ups and downs,” said the 26-year-old. She was chased hard over the first lap by former three time AAA 10km road champion Caroline Hoyte, now 46, who has been coming back to good form this year.