A record number of runners took part in this year’s Caterham Rotary Half Marathon and 10K event on Sunday 22nd  July sponsored by local independent hospital North Downs Caterham.

This year the half marathon was part of the British Masters Athletics Federation championships and they brought runners from home and abroad to compete in all age categories. Karl Welborn won the half marathon in a time of 1 hour 13 minutes and 13 seconds with Elspeth Turner the first lady home in 1 hour 21 minutes 34 seconds.  Andrew Inglis won the 10K in a new record time of 34 minute 59 seconds beating the previous record by an impressive 81 seconds. The first lady home in the 10k was Nicola Archer in 41 minutes 5 seconds.

The distance of both events was linked to the roads surrounding Redhill Aerodrome including the village of Nutfield and was measured so that the event was approved and timed to count towards athlete’s performance records as required by UK Athletics. An extra water station was added bringing the total to 8 on the half marathon course as it was hot and humid. Welcome bottles of water were given to every finisher along with a banana and a draw string bag from North Downs Hospital.Runners were encouraged to warm up again this year with Emily Watson of Bunny Hop Dance and Fitness who provided some very rigorous exercise routines  so the runners were well and truly ready for the off. Emily then joined the runners to compete in the half.

Simon Dean Operations Manager North Downs Hospital commented, ““North Downs Hospital is delighted and proud to again be the main sponsor of the Caterham Rotary Half Marathon. It was fantastic to see an increase in numbers from the previous year. The runners brought the sunshine with them and the feedback from participants was that they loved the route. We very much look forward to continuing our association with this event in years to come and offering physio, sports injury and orthopaedic services to runners.”

Organiser of the event Caterham Rotarian Richard York said “More runners over two distances with more supporters enjoying a pleasant morning and loving every minute describes today’s Caterham Rotary event perfectly. We were raising funds for the Kent Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance and SERV SSL who provided the lead bikes in full Blood Bike livery. We were delighted that the new Air Ambulance helicopter was able to visit us for purely social purposes.”

One competitor on the day, Walter Hill the Road Race Secretary  to the British Masters Athletics Federation said after the races

“Prior to the race I posted these word to our members.This is not a big road race promotion.
The roads are not closed to traffic and there will be no music on the course and no hype!
What you will experience is two laps of a challenging rural course with left hand turns and a set of very friendly marshals from Caterham Rotary whose aim is to make a small profit ,all of which goes to very worth while causes. Pleae appreciate the Rotary Team give up their time on Sunday morning so we can enjoy a day of competitive racing at a very realistic entry fee. 
 With athletes travelling from Sweden, Jersey, Cornwall and the North it was imperative I got it right.

 I can now feed back to you and the Rotary that it was a day to remember. Not one complaint was expressed only words of praise to your Team. In short a perfect morning of racing. Thank you it was a real pleasure to be part of the success story.”

We have already had Press coverage from  a daily web news  runABC South magazine (click on the following link for full details)   http://southernrunningguide.com/news/caterham-rotary-half-marathon-and-10k-report-2018

The following link will take you to a range of photos from the event: http://www.caterhamphotography.com/halfmarathon2018   Copies can be purchased from the site payable directly to Caterham Photography.

The winners were:

 Half Marathon:

1st man – Karl Welborn, Tipton Harriers 1:13:13

2nd – Paul Cheetham, Thames Hare & Hounds, 1:17:23

3rd – Spencer Goodall, City of Norwich AC 1:18:28

1st lady – Elspeth Turner, Horsham Blue Star Harriers 1:21:34

2nd – Andrea Banks, Jersey Spartan AC 1:27:42

3rd – Juliette Braithwate, Fulham Running Club 1:29:26

10k:

1st man – Andrew Inglis, Cambridge Harriers  34:59 (New course record).

2nd man – Jamie Corbett, Worthing & District Harriers 36:17

3rd man – Jake Hooley, Thames Valley Harriers, 36:57

1st lady – Nicola Archer, 41:05

2nd lady – Natalie Harmer, South London Harriers, 45:34

3rd lady – Jessica Lee-Wright, 45:58

In addition to our main sponsor North Downs Hospital we would also like to thank the following organisations for their help and support leading up to the event and on the day:

SERV SSL Blood Bikes, Redhill Aerodrome, Waitrose (Caterham), Caterham Photography, Bunny Hop Dance and Fitness, Nice Work Race Management, RAYNET Communications, Dinerette,  Morissons Caterham, Isagenix, RiDE.