The 2016 track season proper gets underway on Saturday when the Southern League matches hold the first of this season’s matches at various venues across the Southern Counties.
In division one Crawley travel to Bedford while Brighton & Hove, who were relegated from Division one last year travel to Woking for a Division two west match.
The other Sussex clubs are all in Division three with Chichester, Horsham and Worthing in 3 South West.
East Grinstead, Eastbourne, Hastings and Lewes are in 3 South East with both Eastbourne and Hastings having home matches.
Sportshall Athletics UK Finals
Three Sussex youngsters are amongst the leading athletes’ from across the UK who will be competing at Manchester’s Sportscity in the Sportshall Athletics UK Finals this weekend. Here the most promising young athletes will battle it out to be crowned UK champions at the flagship athletics development event of the year.
Although Sussex has no county team in the final, three athletes qualified as individuals. For the U13’s Alicia Borrill (CRA) and Adam Dray (HHH) were invited as the leading UK Sportshall athletes in Vertical Jump and Speed Bounce respectively.
In the U15 All rounder competition Amber Anning (B&H) qualified as the South East regional winner and she is also the top performing Vertical Jumper this season.
The U13’s compete on Saturday and the U15’s on Sunday.
Brighton Marathon
On Sunday the Brighton Marathon starts at 9.15 in Preston Park but it is preceded by a 10k race.
The race was started seven years back to cater for the many thousand or runners who failed to gain entry for the London Marathon, in a weeks’ time.
It has now grown to become the 12th largest European Marathon with upwards of 10,000 people taking part.
Reigning champions Duncan Maiyo and Pennina Wanjiru will return to defend their titles when they take on two of the strongest elite fields in the event’s seven-year history.
The Kenyan pair ran the races of their lives to claim the men’s and women’s crowns on the town’s famous seafront in 2015 when Maiyo sliced more than a minute and a half from his personal best and Wanjiru marked her marathon debut with an eye-catching victory in the IAAF Bronze Label Road Race.
Maiyo dominated the men’s contest 12 months ago to clinch the first marathon victory of his career on his first appearance outside Kenya. The 30-year-old won by more than a minute in 2 hours 10 minutes 15 seconds from 2013 winner Dominic Kangor, but he will need to be on top form again in 2016 to retain the title against six fellow-Kenyans, two Ethiopians, a Ugandan and a South African.
Details of the leading British and indeed Sussex runners are not to hand as we go to press.