Challenge for Royston Runners

Royston Runners were in action at the weekend with four of them taking on one of the hardest road marathons in the country. Kate Nankivell, Libby Mitchell, Sean Allen, and Chas Avis took part in the Beachy Head Marathon alongside 1,750 other entrants on

Royston Runners were in action at the weekend with four of them taking on one of the hardest road marathons in the country.

Kate Nankivell, Libby Mitchell, Sean Allen, and Chas Avis took part in the Beachy Head Marathon alongside 1,750 other entrants on Saturday and completed the 26-mile course.

Chas said: "The Beachy Head Marathon has been running for 25 years and is a challenge to any athlete.

"It was a fantastic race, and certainly quite a tough one to compete in.

"Bearing that in mind, I think we all did well, particularly Kate, who was the first Royston Runner home.

"The rewards were exhilarating and I think we all felt an enormous sense of achievement."

The run started at the base of Beachy Head along the South Downs and continued across Bostal Hill and Cradle Hill, through the Westdean forest, and along the coastline of the Seven Sisters.

Kate, the first of the Royston entrants home, finished 157th in a time of 4 hours 13 minutes.

Sean was next home for Royston in 4:43 minutes to see him finish in 418th place. Libby improved on her time last year and finished 441st in 4:55, ahead of Chas who finished 784th in 5:59.

Royston Runner Toby Staines competed in the Snowdonia Marathon alongside 1,650 other athletes.

Toby ran along the hilltops of Pen y Pass and into Beddgelert before the sharp drop into the Llanberrs and across the finish line.

It was an impressive run for Toby, who finished 158th in 3:36.

Shaun Milford won the race in 2:12.