The “60th Anniversary” Crawley Open Track and Field meeting at the K2 Stadium on Saturday vies with Sunday’s Brighton Marathon for attention this weekend and although the Marathon will grab the headlines it is the Crawley event, where so many Sussex athletes will be making their first competitive steps of the season that will create the greater interest for the Sussex athletic community.
The Crawley event will start at 10.30 and entries will be accepted on the day apart from in the 300mH and 400mH. A bright warmish day is forecast with a mild south easterly wind, which may slow the sprints a little but by and large conditions should be good for most athletes.
Conditions for Sunday’s Marathon and the preceding 10k race look good for the early runners though the sun may be a bit on the warm side for those taking over four hours to complete the marathon course.
Although the anticipated clash between local runners Jon Pepper (Brighton Phoenix) and Brighton & Hove’s Kevin Rojas will not now materialise as Rojas has had to withdraw with the absence of African runners this year, we can expected a much more interesting race.
Pepper, the fastest athlete on paper stands a good chance of a becoming the first local medallist since Brighton & Hove’s Chris Thomson’s third place in the inaugural race. Marathons however are notoriously unpredictable and even minor things can throw the best laid place awry.
Pepper’s Phoenix club mate looks the best of the local runners in the 10km and could end up with a medal while Brighton & Hove’s Helena Tobin and Arena 80 veteran Caroline Hoyte could well place high in the women’s event.
If you have any queries or want more information regarding this post, please Email Reg Hook.