Arena 80’s Masters Strike Gold

Arena 80’s Masters runners dusted off their spikes this past Saturday 17th January for the Sussex Masters XC Championships at Coombes Farm and returned with a huge medal haul.

The day kicked off with the first men’s race, covering the 50+ age groups. First across the line for Arena was Adam Taylor, finishing 9th overall in a time of 32:47. While he didn’t take an individual medal, Adam – along with Kevin Meegan and Jim Watson – claimed team silver in the M50-59 category. They finished level on points with Lewes, but Jim’s 11th place was higher than Lewes’ third scorer, securing the silver for Arena.

Jim was a double medallist on the day, also taking individual bronze in the M55 category. Full results from the race are below.

Pos	Time	Name	Category	Cat Pos
9	32.47	Adam Taylor	M50	4
13	33.05	Kevin Meegan	M50	8
14	33.06	Jim Watson	M55	3
28	34.51	Craig Isaac	M50	10
40	36.54	Dan Vaughan	M50	12
41	37.03	Andrew Malyan	M60	14
45	37.28	Steve Howard	M60	16
46	37.31	John Orden	M65	5
56	39.26	Michael Miller	M65	7
60	40.09	David Kemp	M65	8
75	43.30	Stuart Brown	M65	15

Next up it was the women’s turn – and yet more medals followed. Caroline Haig, competing in her first-ever XC race, finished sixth overall in 34:26, earning silver in the W40 category. Jemma King placed third in the same category with a time of 35:29. Along with club captain Katie Wright, they combined to take team gold in the W35-49 category. Jane Heathwood, who finished just behind Katie, claimed individual bronze in the W45 category in 35:38.

Another gold went to Caroline Wood in the W60 category in a time of 37:04, with Lynn Chislett taking silver in the same category. There was also gold for Chris Naylor in the W70 category, and the three combined to take team gold in the W60+ category. Full results were as follows.

Pos	Time	Name	Category	Cat Pos
6	34.26	Caroline Haig	W40	2
9	35.29	Jemma King	W40	3
11	35.34	Katie Wright	W40	4
12	35.38	Jane Heathwood	W45	3
19	37.04	Caroline Wood	W60	1
22	37.30	Alexis Howsam	W40	7
24	38.09	Lynn Chislette	W60	2
26	38.26	Helena Rooney	W40	8
43	42.34	Chris Naylor	W70	1
48	43.35	Sue Brumwell	W60	5
53	46.19	Jenny Hughes	W65	4

The final race of the day was the men’s 35–49 age group and brought one more medal: team silver for Arena’s first four scorers – Dan Harmer, Michael Barker, XC debutant Charlie Bulled, and Tristan Sharp. Full results were as follows.

Pos	Time	Name	Category	Cat Pos
16	30.05	Dan Harmer	M45	5
17	30.31	Craig Puncher	M35	NS
19	31.25	Michael Barker	M35	7
22	31.51	Charlie Bulled	M35	9
25	32.18	Tristan Sharp	M40	8
26	32.31	Ben Wright	M45	7
30	34.01	Jamie Hinks	M35	11

A special mention goes to our dream team of Mark Stephenson and Caroline Wood, who volunteered to set up the course on Friday. Jay Howard and Rob Smith also marshalled on race day – a timely reminder that these events simply cannot go ahead without volunteers.

Next up are the SEAA Southern Championships at Beckenham Place Park this Saturday. Race report to come!