After a break of three years, the oldest established Sussex Road Race is back on the calendar this year, with the Boxing Day races being held at 10.30 am in Preston Park, Brighton, on Monday, 26th December.
The 6-mile walking races were first introduced by Sussex Daily News Athletics reporter Jack Davis (Jackdaw) on behalf of the Brighton Labour Club in the early 1930s, and apart from the War years, they were held every year until the Covid-19 lockdowns.
In the early post-war years, runners were invited to try their hand, or rather their feet, at Race walking, and we witnessed an impressive performance from Welsh 400y Hurdles champion John Parry in the 1950s when the Race Walking Association gave medals to all who covered the Six-mile course inside the hour, which is quite an achievement.
Brighton and Hove AC veteran Roy Taylor remembers...
"It is great to hear that the Brighton Boxing Day events spring back into action this year after being seriously disrupted, mainly by Covid, over the last four years. I have learned a bit recently concerning the start dates for these long-standing events. I was aware that they were started by Brighton Labour Club in 1932, this year being the 90th anniversary, but obviously, there was a gap through the war years and during recent happenings. I was unaware that the running events did not start at the same time as the walking; I had no idea that Brighton Athletic Club added them 20 years later, in 1952.
This was just four years before my first appearance in 1956, having been posted to Shoreham as a 19-year-old RAF National Service Radar Operator at the Truleigh Hill radar station just three months earlier.
In my early days of participation, the runs and walks always started from outside the Labour Club on London Road and were spread right across the road at the start. Following a quick turn into Baker Street, the course proceeded across the top of the level and left into Lewes Road. After passing Cox’s Pill Factory and the Gaiety Cinema, the next landmark was Preston Barracks before carrying on through the western edge of Moulsecoomb to reach the turning point at Stanmer Park gates. There was no sign of any university buildings on those early1950s runs.
It is difficult to believe what happened next, as my early memories report that we rounded a marshal standing in the middle of the A27 before heading back to town on the other side of the road. On reaching what is now a busy Elm Grove junction, we crossed without difficulty to head for the finish at the end of Baker Street. It was then off to the Labour club for refreshments, and presentations.1950s photos show a probable field of 30 runners and a similar number of walkers.
The running numbers increased considerably to 150 at my last Boxing Day run in 1996 and will most likely be well over 200 this year. Unfortunately, race walking has gone in the opposite direction and events in Sussex and many other parts have difficulty reaching double figures. However, the walkers had a current Olympic champion as the head of affairs in 1957."
There will be the usual option to run between one and four laps, and prizes will be for the best Fancy Dress. Registration is from 10:00. The Race Walk starts at 10.30, followed by the runs at 10:45. The suggested entry fee is £5 or whatever you can afford, with all profits going to the Clock Tower Sanctuary in Brighton, which supports young, homeless people.